Wheatear and monty's and seasonal rivers.

Man Utd's 4-4 draw today may have jeopardised their championship hopes but today's birds were some compensation. A male wheatear dressed in his Spring finery was sat in the miiddle of a stoney field on the plains and shortly afterwards I stopped the car near La Tache to look at a raptor sat by the side of the road. It turned out to be a male montague's harrier which slowly flew off but only over a short distance as though it were tired. It possibly was a migrant which had just arrived.
 My first french house martin of the year (there were plenty in Spain) was flying across the plains along with 3 swifts and a few swallows of which there has been a steady northern migration all week.
At least two willow warblers were at La Poterie pond, one of which was singing. This species seems to be a passage migrant in these parts, choosing to nest further north. A cuckoo flew across the road near La Poterie, a reminder that it is really Spring despite the wet, cool April weather.

Yesterday I had a look at The Bandiat. The good news is that it was flowing strongly after the recent rain but there was no evidence of migration except for a singing nightingale. The new gouffre which I reported as appearing last year is possibly affecting the nature of the small marsh as some of the water which is overflowing from the main channel is disappearing down this hole rather than spreading outwards. I hope this does not make the area less attractive to wetland migrants.
Speaking of seasonal rivers, The Tardoire has been flowing quite well for a few days now but only in sections. There is plenty of water at Pont d'Agris but nothing at all just a little further downstream at Biagne. Somewhere in between the water must disappear underground. The vanishing rivers are a fascinating feature of this part of Charente; perhaps I'll try walking upstream along the dry river bed until I find the spot where The Tardoire is going underground at the moment. It's a curious though that after previous wet winters and springs this river has overflowed  and created temporary lakes along its valley providing a habitat for migrating waders, gulls and wildfowl.