lapwings

I've seen few Lapwings as yet this winter but large flocks numbering perhaps 2000 in total were wheeling around as I around as I drove north. The most southerly flock was from the N10 north of Ruffec. As always, I find it very sad that these beautiful birds are regarded as chasse in Charente.
I calculated as I drove to Caen that kestrel sightings averaged about one every 10 kilometers.

last day here for a bit

Another mild and mainly sunny morning followed by rain in the afternoon. A male hen harrier was quartering the plains near La Tache and the skylarks were still there in their hundreds. The two separate pheasants which I saw were probably recently released or disturbed by hunters.

sun after rain

After yesterday's torrential rain today saw clear skies and it was warm if you could escape the northerly breeze. A hawfinch was in the woods close to La Poterie as was a short toed treecreeper and a couple of nuthatches. The plains were full of skylarks and linnets as usual but there are still no signs of any branblings among the chaffinch flocks. Greenfinches seem to have gone off the radar for a while and the four goldfinches which I saw near La tache were the first I've seen for a few days.
The Bonnieure river was over its banks at Chasseneuil yesterday.

wet and dry rivers

I dodged the showers to do a little birding by the Son-Sonnette and in the Braconne Forest. The river levels are interesting; the Son and the Sonette are just coming over their banks after the recent rains but the Tardoire and the Bandiat near Le Pont d'Agris  both have completely dry river beds still. The Bonnieure and the Charente seem to have reasonable levels.
In not very promising conditions--a stiff, cool breeze-- I recorded 35 species, the most interesting of which were a cetti's warbler near Valence, at least 4 marsh tits and 2 firecrests in the Braconne; small flocks of redwing in the forest, the first that I have seen in the Charente this winter. Nuthatches were very vocal and visible at both locations. Two sparrowhawks flashed by in the course of the day and a tawny owl was calling at La Tache in the evening.

sunshine and a harrier

Yesterday gave welcome relief from all the recent (and present) rain. The skies was blue, the light intense and large flocks of skylarks were wheeling around the Lairiere plains like so many waders. A few meadow pipits and chaffinches were using the same habitat and dozens of white wagtails were on any recently ploughed field but a bright male hen harrier stole the show as he elegantly quartered the field edges.
It's curious how few robins are around in Charente; an individual frequents our house in La Tache but the density of this species in England  during my recent sojourn there seemed to be something like one every hundred yards or so and their song and ticking call was everywhere.
My friends tell me that some cranes were seen still migrating only a week or so ago.

December and back in Charente again

It seems like a long time since my last post but then I've had to be in the UK since late Oct as poor old Mam's not very well.
Except for the flock which I saw on the way to Poitiers, I missed the crane migration but Stella tells me that is was substantial and protracted.
One thing about a prolonged absence is that you notice the differences more. There are not many leaves left on the trees but far more than I expected for mid December; the winter wheat is well up and the landscape looks remarkably green. The temperature is a few degrees up on the Isle of Wight and much warmer than that in Glos.
As for the birds, I've yet to see a black redstart and it was difficult not to fall over one only 7 weeks ago. All the summer visitors have of course long gone except for the odd chiffchaff which I have heard singing (and I daresay there are some blackcaps around somewhere). There is little sign of winter visitors though, presumably as the weather has been so mild north of here---but that seems to have changed this week. I did see a couple of fieldfares fly over La Poterie yesterday as I was viewing the progress on the re-constructed house. And I had brief views of a merlin near La Tache on the 8th.
A walk around La Tache on the 9th gave several woodpecker sightings including a lesser spotted in the old chestnut trees. Nuthatches were very noisy and the fields held several meadow pipits.

Cranes

Well my last post was nearly my last for a while but I have to add that as we were driving north from Charente on Friday our first skein of autumn cranes passed overhead. About 200 birds were flying south in their distinctive drawn out and wavering lines.
Not in Charente, but while waiting for the ferry at Caen, I watched several arctic skuas chasing sandwich terns while several razorbills were sat on the sea or flying to and fro. Two new species for the year for me.

lapwings and linnets

This will be the last blog for a couple of weeks as we are off to the UK. The clear nights are becoming coolish---only 5C at 8am today--- but the days are beautifully clear and very warm in the sunshine. A flock of about 20 lapwings were on the plains and hopefully evading the hunters whose gunfire I could hear earlier. It's such a pity that this beautiful species is still classed as chasse in Charente.
Speaking of chasse, two red legged partridge were waddling down the road in front of the car and we had virtually to shoo them away, hardly difficult targets!
Large numbers of linnets were flocking on the recently harrowed fields; small flocks of skylark were everywhere and blackbirds were very common.
A welcome sight in the garden was a dunnock, my second in just a few days!

late stone curlew and early lapwings

The hot weather seems to be coming to an end and maybe the last stone curlews will finally fly south. I've spent some time on the western edge of Charente in Bourcelaine over the last few weeks and the cries of the stone curlews could still be heard most evenings. Coming the other way as it were, I saw my first autumn flock of lapwings on Friday.
The song of the woodlark seems to be everywhere at the moment but I'm not sure why they sing at this time of the year. Meadow pipits and chiffchaffs are still plentiful and barn, tawny and little owl can all be heard at night.
It can't be long before the first autumn skeins of cranes appear.

lesser spotted woodpecker

Of the 33 species of bird which I saw around La Tache today three of them were woodpeckers. Green and great spotted are common of course but the lesser spotted is always more difficuly to find. This one was feeding noisily in the ancient sweet chestnuts. Also there were several nuthatches. The only birds other than the usual suspects were a mistle thrush, a red legged partridge, a blackcap and the La Poterie green sandpiper which did not take kindly to the disturbance of my brother and me who were moving some very heavy beams from inside the burnt house. If he decided not to return, I hope he avoids the many hunters who were around this overcast Sunday.

dunnock

The highlight of yesterdays walk around La Tache was probably the sighting of a hedge sparrow. Surprising, one might think but this species seems to be curiously scarce in these parts and this is the first that I have seen for many weeks.
The only sign of migration at present is the number of chiffchaffs that are in the hedges and fields. There are also many white wagtails on the ploughed land;  this is certainly seasonal but I don't know whether it is a feeding concentration or some kind of southerly movement.
Woodlarks were singing and I watched a sparrowhawk chase some skylarks and linnets across the plain.
The green sandpiper is still at La Poterie.

green sandpiper

Another green sandpiper was happily pottering around La Poterie's pond on Oct 6. It's good to know that this tiny habitat provides a regular feeding station fot these migrants.
A pair of hen harriers were gracing the fields around La Tache in the afternoon.

Spanish trip

The annual October trip to northern Spain took place a little earlier than usual this year. A very dry summer meant that the water levels on the Costa Brava were very low but a few flamingos were gracing what was left of the pools at Aigumolles. Most of the shallow water seemed to be being hogged by the white storks and wader numbers were vey low with just a few ruff, wood and green sandpipers, lapwings and little ringed plovers.
A single great white egret and two purple herons were flying around and large numbers of cattle egret were in many fields.The only wildfowl beside mallards were a few teal, gadwall and shoveler.
There was little sign of any passerine migration except for the occasional wheater and yellow wagtail, but swallows, house martins and swifts were still plentiful.
I failed to see a hobby in Charente this year but, very pleasingly, one of these graceful falcons gave us a display of dragonfly chasing.
The very hot weather that we have been experiencing in Charente persisted on the Costa Brava and it was still very hot in the central Pyrenees when we moved to the Hecho valley later in the week. Crag martins were plentiful at Los Riglos as were griffon vultures and we saw one or two blue rock thrush.
This was the first time that I have failed to see bearded vultures in the Hecho valley but the absence of the elusive wallcreeper was less surprising. Still, the place was as stunningly beautiful as ever with the high rock peaks startlingly bright against the blue sky  and the beech woods beginning to turn golden.
The ridges were thick with griffon vultures and in the conifers crested tits were common. There was some evidence of passerine migration taking place with plenty of chiffs, blackcaps, pied flycatchers and redstarts about. We saw just a couple of rock buntings and a single dipper but then we were in the valley for little over a day. Not a single black kite was seen on the whole trip, perhaps they have already migrated further south but red kites were a common sight even as we drove back through south west France.

whinchats

My first whinchats of the year turned up at last. Six of them very obligingly appeared in the rape field next to my house on Sept 24th. Other migrants in my garden on that day included pied flycatcher, common redstart and chiffchaff. A grey wagtail was on the pond and I watched a great spotted woodpecker carrying a walnut and trying to wedge it low down in the trunk of one of my trees. I presume he was then going to try to break into it but I have never seen this behaviour before.
Nor have I ever previously seen a partial albino chiffchaff but one has been in the vicinity of the bio farm at La Tache over the last few days.When perched it appears to have white primaries and when it flies the whole wing seems pure white.
Also around La Tache were a wheatear, a few meadow pipits and a yellow wagtail. In all,34 species made an appearence.

autumn wheatear

I stopped the car near La Tache today to view a small flock of meadow pipits in a ploughed field near La Tache and while I was scanning to locate them I came across my first wheatear of the return migration; she was posing in that proud posture which is so distinctive of the species.
Later, while working at La Poterie, I heard a woodlark singing close by. Chiffchaffs, robins and black redstarts were flitting among the trees in the garden. No sign of any swallows today despite the fine, warm autumn weather.

spotted flycatchers

We are moving into the last week in September and it's looking like this could be the first year in a while when I have failed to see either a hobby or a whinchat. But the weather seems to have stabilised after the recent wet and stormy spell and some migrants are in evidence so there's still some hope,
Two spotted flycatchers were feeding at the La Poterie pond yesterday and there were plenty of chiffchaffs around La Tache this morning. Lots of blackbirds are feeding on the hedgerow berrries and the occasional common redstart and whitethroat put in appearances. Today, though, there were no swallows to be seen which is remarkable as they have been so plentiful over the last few days.

curlew, quail and harrier

I dodged the showers this evening to take a walk over the plains and my reward was the sight and sound of a solitary curlew flying westward. This species, like most other waders, is not a common sight in this area.
Shortly afterwards I flushed a quail from the side of the path, the first that I have seen, rather than heard, this year.
A female hen harrier was quartering the fields, a single whitethroat brightened up a hedge and swallows were purposely moving southwards, some of them at head height.

september birds and a BIG STAG

At this time of the year I tend to explore the plains and nearby fields and hedgerows, partly to avoid the hunters in the woodland but mainly because the migrating birds prefer the open countryside. Two trips around the La Tache area produced 33 species the most interesting of which were several whitethroats, a singing woodlark, a meadow pipit and a female hen harrier.
Swallows were swarming in their hundreds and were often very noisy. Robins are now plentiful and their autumn song could be heard from virtually every piece of cover. Blackbirds also seem to be in every berried bush making what I always think of as their distinctive autumn chuckling.
The most amazing sight though was of the biggest stag that I have seen this side of the Scottish Highlands. He was making his stately progress across the plains at about 8am, his dignified appearance enhanced by a large circlet of brambles which must have become attached to him as he was in the forest. I did manage to photograph him but the misty, drizzly conditions were too much for my small camera to focus sharply. Just after he crossed the Artenac road a car came by and understandably drew to a halt. The stag surprisingly did not bolt but stood his ground and stared back at the vehicle from just a short distance away. I hope they had a camera.

honey buzzard

I've gone virtually a whole summer without seeing a honey buzzard but one was circling west of Chasseneuil yesterday.
I've been too busy to do any serious birding this week but perhaps tomorrow when I aim to undertake a longish walk.

september and pied flycatchers

I'm back in a rather stormy and wet Charente the grass of which I've never seen so green at this time of year. Nevertheless it is autumn and therefore signs of the return migration are under way. A pied flycatcher was in my garden at La Poterie and I saw another in La Tache. A male common redstart that was also in my garden showed only faint vestiges of his bright summer plumage. Swallows have been massing for a while but birds can now be seen flying determinedly southward. Irv reported seeing a white stork near Aigre yesterday. The stone curlews haven't left yet and they were vocal throughout the evenening at Bourcelaine yesterday.
Owls seem to be making a lot of noise as well; I have heard barn, tawny and little on several occasions this week.
The comment from Le Pre d'Are on my last posting was very interesting. From the description and habitat I would say that the bird was very likely an immature little bittern. This is a rare summer migrant to Charente and I have yet to see one in these parts---perhaps I need to do more canoeing.

mid august

Nothing much to report especially as I'm in the UK for a couple of weeks but the green sandiper was still on the pond at La Poterie on Sunday afternoon.
I'll leave others to report on what's happening with Charente's birds while I'm away; by late August the return migration should be well under way.

green sandpiper

The weather's been pretty hot over the last few days and early August is never the best time for seeing much in the way of birds but a green sandpiper has been on the La Poterie pond throughout this week. This species is commonly seen on the Bandiat during Spring migration and this must be an early returning migrant. I have seen small flocks of them on the pond in previous years.
Swallows seem to be the commonest birds around at the moment with quite large flocks feeding over the harvested fields. Jays, cirl buntings and woodpeckers are also noticeably visible.

28 july

The weather remains very hot so birding is best early or late in the day. A walk over the plains this morning turned up the male red backed shrike again. He was hunting a couple of hundred yards from where I've seen him previously. I'd not bothered to bring my camera which was a pity as his plumage was very bright in the morning sunshine. At one time he was sat on top of a bush which also contained two melodious warblers.

 Other birds that were around included a stonechat, 2 young nightingales, a calling quail, a calling nuthatch, several calling common redstarts and a calling stone curlew, a flying grey heron--the 1st I've seen for a while, lots of blackcaps, greenfinches and blackbirds (but only one chaffinch) and a family of long-tailed tits. Jays and buzzards are common but I saw only one kestrel and no harriers.

In the evening a flock of about 100 starlings were wheeling around La Tache.

female and juvenile red backed shrike sharing a post at La Tache.  (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

6 shrikes; 3 stone curlew;1 montague

The weather's abysmal today with persistent drizzle. It was cool yesterday but there was some some sunshine and a walk around the plains revealed the whole family of red backed shrikes. There were at least 4 juveniles and possibly 5; some were with mum and some with dad but all were flying around the bushes and fence posts at the bio farm
I could here the stone curlews calling before I got onto the plain and then saw them flying off and poking their heads up out of the grass. The recently harvested fields probably suit them for feeding now as they look a bit like the stoney semi desert which they are fond of.
On the way back to La Tache I watched a male montague's harrier hunting over the fields. This is the first of this summer visitor which I have seen this year.
Other birds of note include a quail calling on the plains and a male common redstart still in bright summer plumage. Many swifts were feeding high above the plains; it won't be long before they head south.

July 22

Last week's visit to the UK for a cataract op will improve my birding enjoyment I hope.

One of the first birds which I saw with my new eye was the male red backed shrike at La Tache. He was very noisy and accompanied by a young bird. Close by there was a nightingale. This species is very common in Spring but once the birds stop singing they seem to disappear entirely and give the impression that they have already cleared off to the south. This one was popping in and out of a bush accompanied by house sparrows.

I'm still thinking about the possible identity of the bird which Cagouille described in a comment in mid month.

pair of shrikes

a pair of red back shrikes at La Tache this evening

another shrike

A second red back shrike, again a superbly plumaged male, was near to the bio farm at La Tache yesterday evening. He was busy feeding and using both the tops of the hedges and the posts of the electric fences as perches.
The moorhens at La Poterie have a second brood but without rain it can't be long before the pond dries up. The mallards have been down to 3 for some time now. Where the other 8 went is a mystery.

spotted flycatcher

My first spotted flycatcher of the year was perched at the top of an ancient sweet chestnut at La Tache.
A serin is still singing very noisily around the village, often perching on tv aerials.  Curiously, this bird which is a scarce migrant to the UK is the emblem of the Isle of Wight Ornithology Group (IWOG) on the rather flimsy grounds that an occasional bird has been seen to arrive from the sea at St Catherine's Point.
The many swallows are also making a din but except for the occasional high flying ones, swifts are absent from the village.
The hoopoes which seem to be nesting around the back of the village are no longer calling but I see them flying around occasionally. Young black redstarts seem to be cheeping away everywhere.

back again---and a shrike

I've been back in Charente for a week or so. The weather has been mainly very hot and dry and remarkably the grain harvest is virtually complete. This must have had an impact on ground-nesting birds and I saw one rather forlorn looking stone curlew this week standing by a recently-cut field--but then stone curlews always look forlorn so I might be reading too much into it.
I've not had much time for birding because of other obligations but I've seen quite a few black kites around and a few hen harriers but no montagues as yet.
I saw my first red backed shrike (male) sat on a wire near Chavignac today. This species has become very uncommon in recent years.
Black redstarts continue to sing everywhere as do a few other species such as orioles but I don't know why some birds such as nightingales and cuckoos become quiet by this time of year. Irv suggests that  species such as the latter ones may already have returned south.

Nightjars

The weather continues to be very hot and dry. A visit to the nearby forest this evening resulted in good views of several nightjars both perched and flying. There was lots of churring and wing-clapping going on particularly from one pair who seemed to be involved in courtship.
Earlier I came across the sad sight of a recently dead buzzard by the roadside near La Tache. Presumably it had been hit by a car on this very quiet route.
Last evening a barn owl could be heard calling as it flew repeatedly around La Tache so it must be nesting nearby. A tawny owl was simultaneously calling from the woods but the regular call of a little owl derived from a  local starling who is a very good mimic---must have learned it locally though.

stone curlews

At least 5 stone curlews were in the same field on the Lairiere plains this morning.
A golden oriole was singing loudly close to La Tache but I have still yet to actually see one this year.
The first few spots of rain for many weeks fell today.
Two days ago a bonellis warbler was singing by the river at Montignac. This species is clearly not confined to dense woodland.

VE Day May 8 and bonellis warbler

The weather is still warm and mainly sunny. I had a pleasant walk in the forest near La Tache and had good views of a singing bonellis warbler

Costa Brava trip

Made a brief trip to Costa Brava for the first few days of  May. Water levels were high on the reserve so little space for small waders with short legs. Plenty of stilts about and a couple of avocets and black tailed godwits . On the flooded fields there were a few wood sand piper and ringed plover but that was it except for 3 woodsands and a little ringed plover on the beach and 2 on a shingle bank on the river.
Several purple herons and plenty of squacco heron were about but only one little bitern and no night heron.
We saw rollers and bee eaters on several occasions and woodchat shrikes on the final day but there was no evidence of any intense migration. On Empuria seafront the crag martins were not in their usual place but a few alpine swifts were a surprise there on the 1st day. 
There were plenty of swifts about and some could have been pallids but the jury's still out on that. Lesser kestrels were less of a problem but none of the many kestrels which were about were very obliging with the views they allowed.
New species for the year included tree sparrow, sardinian warbler, wood warbler, parakeet, whiskered and gull billed tern, short toed eagle and little gull.

April 28

Still sunny but rather cooler today. Five turtle doves were sat together in the middle of the La Poterie to La Tache road today.I assume they arrive in small groups overnight. Yesterday the nearby forest did not yield any wood warblers which have been singing there in late April during the last two years. An oriole was calling though as were plenty of cuckoos, tree pipits and turtle doves.

tree pipit La Poterie

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Turtle Doves

The warm clear weather has returned and turtle doves have finally turned up. On a walk from La Tache to La Poterie 4 separate birds were purring in the trees although I didn't see one of them.

White Stork

White Stork over Mansle

Stone Curlew at La Tache   

April 22

The warm weather is continuing though it seems to be wet and cool in Spain and the migrants continue to drift in from the south. I saw my first swifts and heard my first quail and oriole, all at Bourcelaine, a couple of days ago.
I watched a pair of cuckoos being chased off by a starling at La Tache this morning. There is a sizeable colony of the latter here because of the numerous nesting holes in the old chestnut groves. Walking around the village nearly always reveals plenty of other vocal migrants: tree pipit, melodious warbler, nightingale, cuckoo, hoopoe, common and black redstart, blackcap, chiffchaff and swallow but I've yet to hear the purring of turtle doves.
Other interesting sightings in the last week or so include a stone curlew flying across the Romfort road and lesser spotted woodpecker at La Tache.

April 15

No new migrants to report but another grasshopper warbler was reeling by the Son Sonnette on Wed.
Today's pleasant walk in the forest near La Tache revealed a singing common redstart---I can't remember hearing one before. There were several tree pipits, whitethroats and lots of blackcaps,firecrest  and chiffs but no sign of any orioles or wood warbler which should be turning up about now.
A male hen harrier has been regularly quartering the fields near la tache. Skylarks often fly up from the road- side verges giving the impression that it is these uncultivated edges that they use for nesting. The threat from mechanised farming is a huge one for ground-nesting birds and some mowing for hay was taking place this week. (not that the roadside verges are safe from mowing!)

siskin

One of the siskin that I saw a couple of week's back. Click on the image to enlarge.



APRIL 12

Last week's very hot weather has now settled back to something more seasonal but the migrants are still turning up. Nightingales are singing in lots of the woods, tree pipits seem to be common and I have already seen more redstarts than in the whole of last year. I heard my first melodious warbler near to La Poterie today.
A much rarer obsevation was of a grasshopper warbler  which was reeling in the rape field behind my house on Saturday. This is the first that I have seen for several years; the last one stayed around for a couple of days in my garden.
There's still plenty to look forward to though----like whinchat, swift, oriole, willow, reed and sedge warbler, turtle dove etc.............
I don't think I've mentioned it but I saw my first Scarce Swallowtail butterfly of this year a few days back.

April

April 4
2 nightingales were sing at The Bandiat as was a whitethroat. A few sand martins were flying across the small amount of water that was flooding. A new gouffre has appeared since last year with a consequent waterfall which drops a couple of metres.
Irv reports a male common redstart at Bourcelaine.
On the plains at Lairiere 2 female hen harriers were hunting.

April 5
2 stone curlews were on a ploughed field at La Tache. 3 corn buntings were singing---but no wheatears to be seen.
Around La Tache village were: a male common redstart, 2 tree pipits, 2 singing garden warblers, 3 hawfinch, a hoopoe, a serin and a small flock of linnets. A few meadow pipits are still around.

Spring Migration Update

I'm still trying to fill in some gaps now that I'm back on line.
March 22 saw me spend an hour at Comporte (St Saviol) while Stella had her hair cut nearby.
This is a very pleasant spot on the Charente with a large mill pond. I had only just arrived when an osprey appeared above me and circled around. By the time I'd popped back into the car to locate my camera he had a large fish in his talons and was shaking water from his feathers. he flew around with the wriggling fish for a minute or so and then moved off upsteam and out of sight, presumbly to eat his dinner. The only pic I got was of his disappearing profile.
I still had time to have a quick look around and was rewarded by a small flock of siskin which were feeding in some conifers.

March 24 I was at Bourcelaine where I saw my first hoopoe of the year--3 of them in fact. There were also 2 yellowhammer, 6 late fieldfare, a short toed treecreeper and singing woodlark.
The warm weather has also brought out some butterflies--- orange tip, wall brown, common blue, cabbage white, red admiral, peacock and of course brimstone. I saw my 1st humming bird hawk moth on the 25th.

March 26 My first cuckoos were calling in The Braconne Forest. There were also 2 marsh tits there.
A serin was singing at La Poterie.

March 27 Barn Owl at La Tache

Spring Migration

Saturday, 2 April 2011

Spring Migration

I'm still a bit busy sorting out things with the insurance people etc but I've managed to fit in some birding over the last few weeks and I'm pleased to see that others have too. I've not had much time to keep up the blog partly because I've only just been reconnected to the internet so here's an attempt at a summary of recent birding observations. The crane migration seems to have stuttered on till very recently with reports of skeins still moving north over Montignac up until last week. Black redstarts and blackcaps are singing everywhere, cuckoos are calling, swallows are flying around the villages, stone curlews are making their strange sounds at night and hoopoes are back in their traditional nesting places. Wheatears seem thin on the ground though, Irv had one sat on his wheelbarrow just over the border in Charente Maritime and I had a distant view of one yesterday even further east near Marenne but I've not had a sighting nearer home. There's no sign either of the rapidly declining little bustards which should have arrived by now. Chris and linda woke up to find a white stork resting in their garden near Fontenille and I saw four of them flying low over Mansle last week. A trip to the coast yesterday revealed that there are lots of them about including some which are already on their nests. It's a similar story with black kites; there were dozens of them close to the coast and quite a few have passed over locally. None of the river valleys are in flood after such a dry Spring and so it was no surprise to find nothing other than 2 migrating green sandpipers when I visited the Bandiat last week. There's still a lot of migration to take place, though, which is what makes this the most exciting time of the year. Yesterday's trip to the coast which I've already mentioned gave a little taster of the species which are just starting to arrive: a few whitethroats, were singing, some blue-headed wagtails were on the marshes, house martins were circling a church tower and a bonelli's warbler was doing its monotonous call in the coastal forest. I saw my first tree pipit of the year this morning. More details to follow.

apres le grand feu

I've been back in France for a few weeks now but I'm based in La Tache at the moment. The house at La Poterie won't be re-built for some time yet.

Despite the devastation, bird life goes on and the kestrels which nested on the gable of the house last year have already returned, The cranes have started their migration and some flocks have passed over in the last few days. The recent warm weather has caused a number of birds to burst into song including, blackbird, song thrush and woodlark but it's still a bit early for other Spring migrants to appear.

I've sent the last few days around Fontenille and corn buntings have been common with flocks of up to 20. I've also seen a couple of yellow hammers there and a cettis warbler has been calling from the wet meadows. My first lesser spotted woodpecker of the year showed himself well as he drummed noisily in the sunshine.

On a negative note, chiffchaffs seem to have disappeared since the cold snap earlier in the year.

I'll be back in the UK for the next couple of weeks but I expect that a few spring migrants may have turned up by the time I return.