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.