mid november

Friends from the UK were with us last week but we managed to dodge most of the showers again and get in a few walks around La Poterie.
Hawfinches were showing particularly well and a few brambling were mixed in with the chaffinch flocks. We came across several flurries of redwing and just one flock of about 30 fieldfare.
A group of half a dozen cranes was perhaps the tail end of the migration but there were one or two false alarms with small flights of cormorants that passed over.
Firecrests were not showing at all but goldcrests were surprisingly common. Skylarks were numerous especially on the plains but only one small group of woodlark revealed itself near the Bonnieure.
The woods held plenty of tit flocks; long tailed were particularly common but there was a single marsh tit in a large bird wave that also contained short toed treecreeper and nuthatch.
There was no sign of any lapwings but Irv and sandy reported large flocks of them north of the Loire so perhaps the colder weather will bring them down.
Hen harriers were very sparse

cranes

The showery weather relented by late afternoon and a long single skein of over a hundred cranes seemed to be taking advantage of the situation and passed over the house at about 4pm on November 10.
As usual, I was alerted to their presence by their call. They were flying quite high and had they remained silent they would probably have gone undetected. Some of the higher crane migration may possibly pass by un-noticed.

Bramblings--what bramblings?

The brambling flocks that were around just a few days ago seem to have moved on. In fact there are few finches around except for chaffinches. It's been raining most days for the last week and today was no exception. I managed an hour or so between showers this afternoon and struggled to find just over 20 species--not even a starling ! The liveliest things around were perhaps the two small flocks of long-tailed tits which I came across.

Back in Charente---again!

Another two week absence, this time to Germany, Poland and Italy, has meant that Charente birding has passd me by. We've returned to quite mild weather but with light rain. My gauge tells me that there has been over 25cm while we have been away. This is much appreciated by the mallards who now find that they can swim around in the pond and eat a bitof duckweed. Nine of the original twelve ducklings have survived and they are now almost the size of the adults.
I've heard nothing about the crane migration except for a report of a skein going over Lairiere on Sunday.
Three grey wagtails were at La Poterie pond on Sunday, tawny owls are calling at night including from in the garden; a flock of bramblings visited the garden today, the first this winter . About 40 skylarks were in the field opposite the house this afternon along with a few woodlark. The latter have been singing occasionallyover the last couple of days.