The Darkling Thrush

Thomas Hardy heard his thrush in Dorset on the final day of the 19th century but despite the shift in location and time, some things do not change. While cycling near St Front today I picked up the song of a mistle thrush coming from the other side of the valley. This species has been showing itself for several weeks now, usually in the poplar plantations where it feeds on the mistletoe which gives it it's name. Today was the first time this winter that I've heard one in song. Up to now it has been just the distinctive rattling call which has announced the birds' presence.
Anyway, it's a good poem (as are most of Hardy's) and any reader of this blog who does not know it should do a google immediately.
The other highlight of today's excursion was a confiding male sparrowhawk which flew from a tree as I approached and the sat on an old sunflower stalk just fifty yards from me. I watched it for some time, admiring its strong colours, especially the orange breast barring. I can never work out the function of the random white spotting on the back of the male's head and wings though. The bird was still there when I returned along the same track some ten minutes later.
The big finch flocks seem to consist entirely of chaffinches at the moment; search as I might, I could not find one brambling in any one of them.
Long tailed tit flocks and small groups of firecrests are easy to find but I have not seen a coal tit for some time. A single marsh tit was near the Bonnieure yesterday.
Nuthatches are pretty active and a pair of short toed tree creepers were busy feeding near Ventouse today.
Buzzards are by far the most common raptor this December but it's quite a few days since I have seen a harrier.

Blackcap and Woodlark

And the fine,warm weather goes on!!

Today's 15k  bike ride in the environs of La Poterie turned up just on thirty species but, for me at least, a few of them were a little special.
The male blackcap near St Front was the first I've come across since the majority of them moved back to their southern winter quarters at summer's end.
Woodlarks are always a delight to see--and hear. Usually they occur as a tight bouncing flock of 10 to 20 birds but today they showed themselves at the top of a small tree and their little crest and broad supercilium were clearly visible. There were 13 of them.
I always think that the grey wagtail's name is a misnomer as it makes them sound rather dull. In reality they appear as bright yellow and powder blue and with their extremely long tail they are the most striking of the wagtail family. The bridge at Valence is as good a place as any to find them and one was bobbing along the river bank today.
I also caught up on a few of those species which eluded me on my last ride but nothing in the line of winter passerines such as redwings, fieldfares, bramblings and siskins------- and still no bullfinch!

Crested Tit

It's quite a while since I've seen a crested tit in Charente. The previous ones were were in the Braconne forest and this one was no so far away in the Foret de Bois Blanc near Gerat.
Yesterday was another superbly warm and sunny day and it tempted me to take on a 16K walk in an unfamiliar area. I chose the Chemin de Deux Sources which starts and ends in Gerat but first I took a detour to the Touvre Source itself.
This beautiful protected stretch of water held quite a few species of wildfowl, mainly mallard of course but also lots of gadwall, coots, moorhen, little grebes and mute swans and there was just one wigeon to give a bit of variety. I've seen kingfisher and little egret here before but none were on show yesterday.
It's also a good location for water pipit and a a pair dutifully turned up and perched for me in a nearby tree.
The walk proper produced several  other interesting species: a red kite was sharing a thermal with four buzzards, firecrests were plentiful, and the conifers which held the crested tit had also couple of goldcrests.
Thrushes are still thin on the ground though and I saw only singletons of mistle and song thrush. (but while speaking of thrushes, there was a solitary fieldfare in my garden yesterday.)

Yesterday's full list came to just over 40 species (but as always, with some strange absentees eg  greenfinch, linnet, cirl bunting, stonechat, dunnock and grey heron.)

The ones that did turn up were:

cormorant
mute swan
mallard
wigeon
gadwall
coot
moorhen
little grebe
buzzard
kestrel
red kite
great spotted woodpecker
green woodpecker
wood pigeon
collared dove
carrion crow
rook
jackdaw
magpie
jay
water pipit
meadow pipit
white wagtail
skylark
blue tit
great tit
crested tit
long tailed tit
firecrest
goldcrest
short toed treecreeper
nuthatch
robin
wren
starling
house sparrow
chaffinch
goldfinch
blackbird
song thrush
mistle thrush
chiffchaff

Great White Egrets and Cranes

Today's weather was about as good as you could get in December, being both warm and sunny after the overnight frost and even the Red Admirals were on the wing.
 I took a bike ride that took me along along the Son-sonnette and was very surprised to catch a glimpse of an egret flying behind the trees, seemingly disturbed by a buzzard. I was even more surprised when I went to investigate further and found not one egret but two feeding in a field close to the river. Nor were they the more common little egret but the much rarer great whites, both with the bright yellow bills which this species sports in winter. A few weeks ago I reported  my brother's sighting of great white egrets near Roumazieres but this is the first time I can remember seeing them in this part of Charente.
In the long distant past of my early bird watching, great white egrets were unlikely to be found away from Eastern Mediterranean lagoons and Les Oiseaux Des Charente gives just one sighting in 1979. Things have changed remarkably since then and records at all times of the year now come from all over Western Europe. One has been present on the Isle of Wight  throughout the summer for instance.
The sunny day's birding didn't end with the egrets as a skein of about 30 cranes flew over my house just after I arrived back there.
There were a few good birds  in between  as well, over thirty species in fact. These included a small flock of woodlarks near St Front and a group of at least half a dozen chiffchaffs feeding together on the insects that were swarming in today's warmth. This is another interesting species as regards changing distribution.
The numbers of this summer migrant which decide to winter in Europe have seemingly been increasing over recent years. The number of them which I saw or heard today was into double figures and there have been plenty of them about, including in my garden over the last few weeks.
As always, in just few hours spent birding, some common birds eluded me and there was no sight or sound of goldfinch, greenfinch or magpie today.
And speaking of missing species, I'm still looking for the first bullfinch of 2013 and there are only three weeks left!

Plovers (and turbines again)

There has been some pleasant warm sunshine of late but it can only be appreciated if you can get out of the the brisk north wind ! The birds don't seem to mind though (it was DH Lawrence who said that you never saw a bird that felt sorry for itself) and the cranes are still making their way south. I saw a flock of about 100 yesterday.

 Lapwings or green plovers as they used to be called, usually turn up in these conditions and a flock, again of about 100, were in a freshly ploughed field near the house today. They were accompanied as so often by a sizeable flock of starling and also by a pair of golden plovers. The latter seem more easily spooked and continued to fly around calling after the other birds had resettled on the ground. As I have surely mentioned before, it saddens me that both these harmless and beautiful plovers are still on the chasse list in Charente.

Speaking of which, I witnessed the distressing sight of a deer being shot in the field opposite my house yesterday. I have no objection to hunting deer and wild boar as their numbers doubtlessly need controlling (nor am I a vegetarian) but I find it distasteful that people can actually enjoy the activity.  The seeming insensitivity to the creatures' suffering is also disturbing; yesterday the wounded animal spent several minutes pathetically trying to fend of a pack of excited dogs while the chasseurs leisurely made their way across the fields, seemingly in no hurry to put it out of its misery.

Anyway that's my little rant for today---so back to the birds. The truth is that there is not a great deal of activity going on. Today's (chilly) cycle ride produced nothing of note other than the plovers and perhaps the large numbers of meadow pipits which are still frequenting the rape fields.  I have had a few sightings of male hen harriers over the last few days and I came across another very pale morph buzzard on the way to Ruffec----not quite as startling as the near white individual which is often around these parts but impressive nevertheless.
My brother reported two great white egrets near Rocheouarte last week. I've not seen an egret of any species around here for quite a while; I must visit the wetlands more often.

And finally, looking for all the world as though the space shuttle has landed, here is a shot of the plains on Sunday. The first, and almost completed, of the eight turbines is on the horizon.

l

Cranes..........at last

Posts on this blog have been rather infrequent recently. I'd like to think this reflects more on the paucity of recent bird news rather my lack of application.
That said, the mystery of the missing cranes (for me at least) was partly solved yesterday when a couple of thousand flew over the house in mid afternoon.  The weather was far from ideal with low cloud and a north easterly wind on which the skeins we removing along at a rapid pace. Some were doing their usual circling until stragglers caught up but then quickly moved on southward....and I don't blame them as the weather has been rather dire here for the last couple of weeks.
Elsewhere, raptors are perhaps newsworthy?  have seen several hen harriers this week and kestrels have been particularly plentiful. The growing flocks of larks on the plains attracted the attention of a female Merlin and a sparrow hawk during the last few days.
Mention of the plains reminds me that the eoliens have finally started to appear there. In less than two weeks the masts of all eight of them have turned that open landscape into one which resembles Fawley oil refinery. I just hope I can learn to love them.

Autumn Cranes

A flock of 150 cranes flew over today but they were seen by Stella and not by me ; she was taking a bit of exercise while I was out birding! A good sign, though, as the last week of October is the traditional start of migration. Some could have gone through already of course. I would not have seen them as I have just come back from a break in Spain.
Despite not seeing the cranes, today was a pretty good one for birds. Large flocks of skylarks were in evidence as were flocks of mixed finches including one which contained a brambling and I saw a few woodlarks close to La Poterie.
What might well be my last swallow of the year flew over me at St Colombe and a red kite flying along the Bonnieure valley was a pleasant sight spite having seen dozens of them in Spain and Southern France  during the last couple of weeks.
Buzzards were about in large numbers---at least 15 during the two hour cycle ride--- but I saw only two kestrels and two hen harriers (both ringtails).
36 species were seen in all, one of them being a dunnock, a bird I find often to be elusive in these parts. (I can raise the list to 36 if I include this evening's barn owl.)
The temperature got up 22C as I rode around and clouded yellow butterflies were everywhere along with a few red admirals.

Rain, Guns and Migrants

I've been wittering on about signs of the ending of the summer for a while now but this week's persistent rain and the sound of hunters' guns  indicate that we are slipping into autumn proper. Conditions obviously haven't been conducive to extended birding but I have made a few sorties, mainly to the plains.

The stone curlews are still there with four flying around at the weekend, probably a family group. A few wheatears and whinchats can also be seen and the swallows are either feeding low over the fields or making their way determinedly southward, a few house martins mixed in with them.

I've seen two male hen harriers this week and a female sparrowhawk  which sat in the middle of a ploughed field was perhaps eyeing up the wheatears.

Migrating passerines are feeding long the hedgerows and include willow warblers, blackcaps, common redstarts and pied flycatchers. Small groups of black redstarts and white wagtails are in the harvested fields. Turtle doves which were still around up to about a week ago have now probably moved south.

In the evenings tawny and little owls are calling but I've not seen or heard a barn owl for a while.

Gordon tells me that migrating white storks have been seen at Chasseneuil recently.

Tawny Pipits

Migration is intensifying with large numbers of pied flycatchers monotonously 'chipping' away from what seems like every bush or tree and even spotted flycatchers are appearing in some numbers; there were at least 4 around La Poterie on Friday. It's the same with whinchats which are particularly benefiting from any land which has been left uncultivated and contains lots of wild seeds; wheatears are less common though, I saw only one yesterday in the field just opposite the house.
The most interesting birds have been tawny pipits of which I saw a pair on Friday in a ploughed  field near La Rochette and another pair yesterday near the eolien site on the plains. The latter ones gave excellent close views and I regretted not having taken my camera. I have seen them only once before in Charente and the location and timing was very similar to Friday's birds. They were accompanied by a few white wagtails but in a field closer to Lairiere a few migrating yellow wagtails were also present. According to the most recent data I can find, only a handful of birds breed in Charente with a slightly healthier population of around 30-60 pairs in Vienne (1994/5).
Skylarks seem to be strangely absent at the moment and  I saw only one on my bike ride yesterday. One wonders where all the breeding birds go to before they return form the huge winter flocks.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Today I was treated to my first Charente lesser spot of the year (apart from the one that died when it ht my glass door). I watched it climbing up a dead tree as I was cycling down a track along the dried up Tardoire.
My announcement in my last post about the shrikes having left for southern climes proved premature because I came across a young bird just south of St Angeau. The only other observations of note were a flock of about thirty goldfinches at la Poterie, several pied flycatchers calling and two separate grey wagtails, again by the waterless Tardoire.

Return Migration

There's no doubt that there's a touch of autumn in the air at the moment as even though the sun is sending out plenty of heat, the mornings and evenings are getting cooler. Today was an extreme case in point; it was only 14C at 9am when I began my bike ride and the first rain in weeks was threatening--- and duly arrived before I got back home.
I say all this as preface to the fact that It seemed a propitious opportunity to see if there was further evidence of the year's return migration other than the pied flycatchers in the garden and lots of swallows sitting on wires.
I decided to pop up to the plains as this relative high point hereabouts (all of 130 metres) is where migrating birds often take rest to feed up. I was cycling past the site of eolien 4 when I came across my first wheatear of the autumn flying up from the side of the track. He was quickly joined by a couple of others and then the group expanded to six or more as they perched on the mountain of excavated rocks. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea to leave this sizeable pile of interesting habitat rather than use it for backfill so that future migrants could make use of as a slight compensation for the unwelcome intrusion of the wind turbines ---but then I doubt if anyone would listen.
A red kite made an appearance a little further down the track; although not necessarily a long-distance migrant, the species disperses after breeding and this individual was not from around here.
A flock of a dozen or more blackbirds which were feeding on hedgerow berries were a post breeding group which were probably migrating but the three whinchats which I flushed from the roadside between the bio farm and Artenac certainly were. Just by them in a bush was a calling willow warbler, a species like the wheatear and the whinchat which mainly breeds far north of here.
Negative evidence of return migration came from the absence of the family of red backed shrikes which I have mentioned in earlier posts and not a single call of a golden oriole; both these beautiful birds seem to have left us until next spring.

Mid august

The hot weather has been with us for some weeks now and looks to continue. A female pied flycatcher has been in the garden for the last few days and when I check back to last year's posts I see that the autumn arrival of this species was in the same week in 2012.
Irv and I undertook a long walk last week from Piegut to Montbron------it took nearly six hours so it must have been long----.and we came across our first short-toed eagles of the year about half way through the trip. This species is listed as breeding in Charente but is a very rare sight.
A far commoner raptor is the sparrow hawk but it's quite easy to go several weeks without seeing one so I was pleased when a female flew low across the road in front of my bike this lunchtime.

Daytime Nightjar

Nightjars are of course crepuscular birds and I usually go to look for them in the early summer around sunset; it's also possible to find them just after dawn as I mentioned in a recent posting. Coming across one in the middle of the day is quite unusual but that is just what happened on Wednesday as I cycled down a forest track near Cellfrouin. A female suddenly flew up from just ahead of me and then proceeded to fly around me calling loudly. Sometimes it hovered just a few yards away at head height and sometimes it setttled in a nearby bush but still flapping its wings.All this was I suppose a distraction technique as I must have been very near its nest (there was some bracken close by). So as not to cause it more distress I rode away still hearing it calling in the distance.
The only other sighting of note in the forest was a small flock of hawfinches.

more shrikes

After yesterday's post about the paucity of red backed shrikes this year, I saw another male (carrying food) near Saint Angeau and then this morning, when I cycled past the La Tache site, yesterday's singleton had turned into a family of six!
Orioles were again in numbers in my garden and along the Bonnieure , swifts were still around the church tower at St Angeau and stone curlews were calling near Lairiere earlier today.
Yesterday I cycled from La Poterie to Montignac mainly by way of the old roman tracks; it was a very interesting (and hot!) journey done without binoculars to avoid neck-ache. Other than the male shrike just mentioned, the most interesting bird was a confiding melodious warbler as I haven't seen one for a while.
We have just entered August and I have to confess that I still await my first bullfinch of the year. Where have they all gone??

Red-backed Shrike and Storms

Red backed shrikes have not been common this year but a male in superb plumage allowed me to watch him for some time as he sat on top of a hedge near La Tache's bio farm. the fact that he was reluctant to fly away indicates that he probably had a nest nearby; a pair did breed close to here last summer.
After the scorching heat of most of July we had fierce storms and strong winds for two days. Many trees have been toppled or damaged and my village is still on only provisional electricity supply as it's taking a week to repair power lines. Much of the sun flower crop is lying on the ground after the southerly gales. Today we are back to blue skies and I daresay high temperatures by this afternoon.
Several swifts were feeding high up yesterday so they have not quite left us yet and orioles were still singing this morning. Starlings are flocking and  one flock of well over a thousand birds was wheeling around Chasseneuil last Friday evening. From my house I have heard stone curlews calling all night, presumably displaced by the harvesting. Almost all the grain is now in and fields are already being harrowed; it makes you wonder how ground-nesting birds manage to survive

Honey Buzzard

Honey buzzards are always special to see, having the attraction of being a relatively uncommon summer visitor coupled with a much more attractive appearance than the common buzzard, and so I was delighted to see one soaring low over the house yesterday evening. The garden has been a good place to be to see and hear birds during the recent very hot spell; a family of golden orioles have been flitting through its trees for several days now and while sitting on the terrace on a very warm evening I listened to the purring of a nightjar coming from a nearby wood. Other visitors include green and great spotted woodpecker, white wagtail, turtle dove and tawny owl.
The farmers have been making the most of the heatwave by harvesting the grain and a common sight has been small flocks of black kites following the combines. Swallows are now flocking after the breeding season and swifts are still much in evidence in the larger villages and towns.

Quails, Stone curlews and Montague's Harriers

Well after all my moaning about this year's weather, Summer has kicked in with a vengeance with temperatures in the 30's during the last couple of weeks and set to continue into the foreseeable future; I don't think the lawn will continue to look green for much longer.
A consequence of the eolians construction is that the stone curlews have taken to hanging around the cleared ground at the base of the excavations. On several occasions when I have cycled up there, I have unintentionally flushed up to four birds at a time. They fly off to no great distance calling noisily. Flushing a quail is much more difficult even when you can hear one calling from the grain almost at your feet but I must have taken one by surprise yesterday as I round downhill and it flew up explosively and whizzed away just above the crop, dropping down about 100 yards away.  A bird that you don't really think of as flushable is a montagues harrier but they often seem to sit in the ground and this includes the tracks that cross the plains' One held his position until I was within 30 yards or so this week.
Two golden orioles have been visiting the garden recently, their distinctive call always sounds quite tropical and reminds me of the mynah birds during my time in Sri lanka. The blackcap that is in the garden sings almost continuously throughout the day and has been doing so for about a month now.
Of the birds that I have mentioned in recent posts, the tree pipits are still singing in several locations and I heard a snatch of nightingale song from a hedge on the plains lat week. There were still plenty of swifts flying around Mansle yesterday but it can't be long before we lose these early departees.
Cetti's warblers have not been much in evidence this year and I have not heard one on the Son-Sonnette for instance but one was calling from the undergrowth as I canoed on the Charente near Echoisy.
Flocks of white wagtails have begun to appear on the plains and this may be linged to the grain harvest which is just getting underway,
Red kites have been thin on the ground for me this year but I saw one above the N141 near Roumaziers.
A species which I have not seen (alive) in France this year is a lesser spotted woodpecker but one sadly came to grief when it flew into my front door.

Early July

This is my first post for a while which shows that there has not been a great deal of note on the birding front.The weather is just about beginning to settle and it's getting distinctly warmer -----just about in time for what is traditionally the quietest time for bird activity, but who knows what will happen in these rather unpredictable times?
Two days ago I watched hundreds of swifts steaming south over the house and I presume this is the beginning of a very early return migration for this species. Many are still around, of course, but it could be that the non-breeders have had enough of struggling to find flying insects and have decided to move back south.
The nightingales seem to have stopped singing within the last week or so and I have not heard a cuckoo for several days though I did watch one yesterday repeatedly going to the ground in a sunflower field presumably to pickup food items. As for other migrants, the orioles are still quite vociferous as are blackcaps, tree pipits and melodious warblers., and I have heard an occasional quail calling from the grain fields.

Will we ever settle into summer?

It's been a while since I posted an entry partly because I've had quite a lot on at chez nous with both DIY and visitors but also because the weather has not been particularly conducive to birding. Yesterday was a baking 30C for instance while this afternoon is humid, showery and rather gloomy. The only pattern that seems to exist is one of changeability------but there I am, moaning about the weather again!
As for the birds, there are still plenty of montague's harriers and black kites around, the latter often scouring the recently harvested hay fields. While cycling near Artenac I had the remarkable sight of a montagues harrier taking something from someone's front lawn. Orioles are still very vociferous and one was in my acacia tree a couple of days back. Nightingales too are still in song but I have heard only a few quails including one in the wheat field opposite my gate.
I came across another pair of stone curlews in a maize field near Licheres and I stil think there might be two pairs on the Lairiere plains as I have come across them in fields far apart from each others he cherry crop is huge this year and mine are being raided by birds. The main culprit are the  blackbirds but starlings, house sparrows and great spotted woodpeckers are also having a field day.

Sunshine Birds

June is here and the sun has finally decided to come out so it was a case of on the bike to see what was around locally.
A three hour tour turned up 50 species ncluding a pair of stone curlews on the plains in a different field from the one I have seen a pair in earlier; perhaps there are two pairs. raptors were abundant, particularly harriers and I saw at least six montagues and several hen harriers including two males which were sat close to each other on the ground, quietly preening, while just a single black kite was hunting over the fields. The rest of the fifty included spotted flycatcher, short-toed tree creeper, tree pipit, crested lark, melodious warbler, golden oriole, hoopoe, cuckoo, yellowhammer and the usual suspects---but not goldfinch, swift, house martin, dunnock or black redstart!

Little Ringed Plover

My brother showed me a large flooded clay quarry near Roumazieres today and I saw my first Charente LRP's of the year there (although I  had seen one on my Portugese trip). I think that the only time I have seen them in Charente before has been on migration but presumably these were staying in this suitable habitat to breed. The only other birds on the water were several little grebes and mallards with young but Carl had seen common sandpiper there recently, again presumably breeding. Several sand martins were flying around with the swallows, house martin and swifts, and in the trees nearby a spotted flycatcher was lurking.

Nightjar

One anticipates looking for nightjars on warm early summer evenings but they haven't arrived as yet so around sunset last night I risked the strong chance of cool showers and paid a visit to my usual site within the forest near Cellefrouin. There were no birds to be seen or heard at that location but I did have my best views ever of a nightjar as I was driving there. I have seen these birds sitting in the middle of the road before but I almost had to do an emergency stop to avoid running over this individual and he remained sitting in front of the car, dazzled by the headlights for a good two minutes, his large eye reflecting the beam. His cryptic plumage was of little use to him on the tarmac although he looked very similar to the short piece of a branch which he was lying next to; perhaps he had confused it for his mate.

Honey Buzzard

The bizarre weather continues (for all western Europe, never mind France); yesterday was warm and sunny yet today has a forecast high of 14C and cars passing the house have their headlights on at 9am because of the gloom.
A honey buzzard was a welcome sight yesterday. Circling on level wings, not far from the house, it gave excellent views of its plumage including its distinctively barred tail. A stony field near Chatenet held a crested lark. Quite apart from the pointed crest, they always strike me as having a much slimmer build than skylarks and their plumage is duller and less contrasting. Orioles were calling from many locations as I cycled around but I did not catch a glimpse of one.
In yesterday's post I forgot to mention seeing a male montague's harrier sitting on the ground on the plains.

May Migrants

A rare sunny day took me on a bike ride over the plains yesterday and I was surprised to come across two male wheatears and a whinchat as I assumed that summer visitors had stopped moving by now. also up their were four black kites, wheeling in a thermal with a couple of buzzards. A single stone curlew popped his head over a near horizon at Artenac.
Later I called in on the Braconne Forest; the foliage makes observations difficult now but I heard the call of the black woodpecker and, above a clearing, I watched a hobby circling. The only warblers about were melodious, blackcap, chiffchaff and whitethroat with no sign of bonellis which breed there.
Unsurprisingly given the recent weather, the Bandiat is in full flow but there was little in the way of birds except for nightingale, mallard and moorhen. 
A common redstart is singing in my garden throughout most of the day.

What a Cold Wet May !

May 2013 has settled into what must be the coldest and wettest in living memory! Consequently, birding has taken a back seat to huddling by the fire with a book but, as D H Lawrence noted, 'you never see a bird that feels sorry for itself' and so they try to continue about their business.
A welcome visitor to the garden has been a spotted flycatcher perhaps the same one that nested here last year. Other birds that are nesting either on the house or in the garden include kestrel, wren, house sparrow, starling, blackbird, cirl bunting, chaffinch, goldfinch, black redstart, serin, moorhen, white wagtail and wood pigeon; there could be others but it's too wet to go and look.
I've had a few glimpses of golden orioles at the tops of nearby trees, and cuckoos are still calling. On a rare warmer evening a couple of days back a hobby appeared above the house and caused some consternation among the swifts. Hen harriers and hoopoes have made occasional appearances in nearby fields.

Reed Warbler

Reed warblers are none too easy to find around here mainly because there are so few reeds, most suitable locations having been turned over to poplar plantations. There is a small stand of phragmites on the Son-sonette near Valence and it usually has a pair in the summer so it was no surprise when cycling by yesterday to hear a bird doing its endless, monotonous chattering. Other migrant warblers that were around were blackcaps, whitethroat, chiffchaff and melodious but there was nothing to be heard of the resident Cetti's.
Nightingales were singing and cuckoos calling but perhaps the most interesting bird sound of the day was of tree pipits whose song ends with a cadence that always reminds me of waders.
Common redstarts have been elusive for me this spring but a male appeared in the garden a day or two back.
The sun is shining as I write but May is still rather a chill affair; perhaps the Charente summer will start to kick in before the month is out.

shrikes

The cool showery weather continues and I have little to report on the bird front but as I was passing Les Vielles Vaures a couple of days ago I stopped to see the state of the river. The Bandiat is still flowing strongly and partly in flood but there were two red backed shrikes, both males perched high in different trees. They could still be passage individuals but it seems likely that at least one of them is breeding there.
At the house nightingales and  orioles are still very much in full voice and a serin is nesting in a very low tree in the garden, a noisy starling family has a nest n a wall of the house as do the kestrels and house sparrows make a lot of racket under the eaves but the reurning black redstarts do not appear to have bred on the property this year; perhaps the changes after last year's building work has deterred them. A pair of white wagtails is often on the lawn as are cirl buntings so I assume they are nesting nearby.

May

I've just got back from a birding trip to Portugal where, among other things, it was good to see bustards again as I haven't come across one in Charente for a few years now.
Everything has greened up here in the last two weeks with almost every tree in full foliage. Golden Orioles must have arrived while I was away as their loud distinctive song can be heard coming from the woods. Nightingales and blackcaps seem to be singing everywhere, a hoopoe was calling around the village today and I heard several melodious warblers and a bonelli's warbler on my walk.
 I watched a male montague's harrier hunting close to the house yesterday afternoon. This more delicate version of the hen harrier is a summer visitor; it was very common sight in Portugal and it's strange to surmise that this individual could possibly be a migrant which I saw down there some two weeks ago.

Shrike, Swifts et al

A good morning's birding today produce several swifts at the Bandiat along with swallows, house and sand martins. A beautiful male red backed shrike was hunting from a hedge there as was a hobby and a female sparrowhawk from above. A second hobby was hunting very low over the field which contained three stone curlews on the Lairiere Plains and nearby a few wheatears were present.
 The Braconne gave Richard and I good views of bonelli's warbler and marsh tit and a frustratingly brief one of a black woodpecker flying through the trees.

Mid April's latest arrivals

It's been a very warm week and a busy one for me about the property but I've managed to squeeze in some birding.
Cagouille reports his first nightingale and there are certainly plenty about now. It's the same with whitethroats which seem to have turned up in numbers. I came across my first bonellis warbler of the year in the Braconne a few days back and I heard my first cettis warbler yesterday at Valence. This species is a resident but I have not heard their call throughout the winter so they appear to have arrived from somewhere.
I've seen three black kites as I have been driving about and quails were calling on the plains yesterday where a pair of stone curlews were still in a field.
The Bandiat has been disappointing though; it is still partly in flood but has attracted fewer migrants than it did a week ago.
My brother reports common redstart from near Roumazieres but I have yet to cast eyes on one here. Not so for melodious warbler which was singing in the garden yesterday and a grasshopper warbler was reeling by the Bandiat a few days ago.
Everything is making its way northward but there is still stuff to arrive, orioles, swifts, whinchats turtle doves and montagues harrier to name a few.

Wheatears and wood sandpipers

The spring is still a very rainy one but between the showers a little birding is possible. On Wednesday there were 4 or 5 wood sandpipers at the bandiat and a green sandpiper there yesterday as were
two male wheatears  in a ploughed field near La Rochette.
Away from the migrants, a black woodpecker was again heard and seen flying away near Le Gros Fayant on Wednesday.

Tree Pipits

Tree pipits were the latest of the spring arrivals to turn up; two of them were in a tree (appropriately) at Les Vielles Vaures. The redshank and greenshank were still both feeding there as were most of the other migrants viz swallows, house martins, chiffchaffs,blackcaps and yellow wagtails but no sand martins today.
There was no sign of the black woodpecker near Le Gros Fayant but a coal tit and a hawfinch were a welcome sight for me as these species can be elusive.

Four New Arrivals

It was back to Spring today with some pleasant sunshine once the mist cleared. A trip to The Bandiat produced one greenshank, one redshank, several house martins and a few sand martins. Two green sandpipers flew off just a I arrived and there were probably about a hundred swallows feeding there but others seemed to be resting on branches and telephone wires as were others at Agris and Pont d'Agris. This whole area where the Bandiat meets the Tardoire provides plenty of insect food for migrants. The only warblers present were blackcaps and chiffchaffs, the latter in their dozens. A couple of yellow wagtails were feeding in the wet meadow.

Stuttering Spring

Sadly there is little of any moment to report at present as spring seems to be only faltering forward. Yesterday was warm and sunny but the butterflies and flowers were more striking than the birds on view. I saw my first bright brimstone of the year and peacocks (butterflies not birds) were plentiful. Cowslips are out all over the place as are stitchwort and celandines, and in the wet meadows by the Son-Sonnette the startling and mysterious marsh fritillaries are in full flower but........I saw just one swallow and a single singing serin.
Today we were back to rain and single figure temperatures but perhaps the warmer forecast for next week will bring us an influx of migrants.

six green sandpipers (chevalier culblanc)

We are still in March but one is ever hopeful of new spring arrivals everyday. That's never quite so of course but new individuals if not species are turning up and the green sandpiper count at Les Vielles Vaures rose to six yesterday. They are easily spooked and that may explain why I saw none in a brief visit this morning as a fisherman was there before me at this usually deserted site. Plenty of swallows were flying around and there were a few at Pont d'Agris but no martins as yet. Chiffchaffs (pouillot velocé) were present in well into double figures and just one blue-headed wagtail.
Curiously, although all the birds seem to be pairing up for the breeding season, there was a large flock of several hundred chaffinches (pinson du nord) on what are increasingly becoming the desecrated Plains of Lairiere.

blue headed wagtails

Despite the warmth in the sun this week, migration is not moving on apace. A few swallows (hirondelle rustique) are flying around but I've seen no new arrivals except for two blue-headed wagtails (bergeronnette printaniere) which were feeding around the feet of cattle near Agris. These are the most common race of the yellow wagtail which migrate through Charente.
A few winter visitors are still hanging around--perhaps they know something of the freezing conditions further north; during the last few days I have come across a handful of redwing (grive mauvis) and a single female brambling (pinson du nord).

Spring migrants ---and black woodpecker (pic noir) !

Today's birding deserves this second post. The cuckoo (coucous gris) which I mentioned earlier flew over the house as I set off on my bike but that was after I flushed my first hoopoe (huppe fasciée) of the year from the field opposite my gate. Other cuckoos were calling around the Lairiere plains but at first I could find no signs of any stone curlews (oedicneme criard) as I cycled around the huge craters that are soon to house the turbines. Quite apart from this building disturbance, the farming regime this year doesn't seem too conducive to their nesting as most of the land is already greened up with winter wheat. However, a scan of one of the few bare earth fields that remain produced a pair of these fascinating migrants. One of them flew off and landed in a wheat field while the other remained and called plaintively. Let's hope they stick around in the face of adversity.While cycling back to La Poterie I came across several corn buntings (bruant proyer) singing and then my first swallow (hirondelle rustique)of the year appeared at Puyclavaud.
Not satisfied with the morning's haul, I took a drive out to the Bandiat but drew a blank except for one swallow and then went on to the Braconne forest.  Towards the southern end of it and in what must be its highest part I explored an area of very tall trees which looked promising for the elusive black woodpecker (pic noir). I was delighted when after about twenty minutes one flew across and landed on a nearby trunk. For some five minutes I was able to admire his red crown and his large ivory bill and then, making a call which was a cross between that of a green woodpecker and a monkey, he flew off with a deeply undulating flight towards the sound of another black woodpecker in the distance.

Cuckoo

I've been to and fro a rather chilly UK over the last few weeks so it's good to be back in what is beginning to feel loike a real Spring in Charente. Cagouille reports swallows (hirondelle rustique) but I've yet to see one and they are a week or so late compared to last year---perhaps today?
A cuckoo (coucous gris) was calling as I let the cat out at 7 this morning and there are plenty of other signs of return migration: blackcaps (fauvette a tete noir) and chiffchaffs (pouillot velocé) are singing everywhere; a pair of black redstarts (rougequeue noir) visited the house yesterday (sadly they cannot use their old nest site which was inside the house as we now have windows!) and a green sandpiper (chevalier culblanc) was on the Bandiat at Vielles Vaures on Friday ---but nothing else at that migration site.
The stone curlews (oedicneme criard) should be back on the plains and I am going to cycle up there in a minute but the place is very much disturbed and obstructed by the erection of the new wind turbines so I am a bit concerned.
Friday was a particularly good day for raptors: buzzards (buse variable) were well into double figures and enjoying the thermals for their courtship; kestrels (faucon crécerelle) were plentiful; a sparrowhawk (épervier d'europe) was at the Bandiat; a red kite (milan royal) appeared briefly on the plains and I saw there the fascinating sight of a tiny,dashing male merlin (faucon émerillon) harassing a lumbering buzzard.

Red Kite (milan royal)

A stroke of luck this morning revealed my first red kite of the year magnificently sailing over the house as I walked out of the door. It was heading northward and probably returning to breeding quarters.

Even More Cranes

Today was warm and sunny and a good one for cranes (gru cendré) although, given the numbers that have already passed through, you would think there were no more to come. About 450 passed over Fontenille in mid afternoon and another skein of 85 birds came low over my house at 5pm. Whether either of these were the flocks which Diane mentions in her comment on the previous post I do not know. There is a french site which collects and provides data on the crane migration and I have been feeding my info into it. It's accessible by just googling 'gru migration' .
The warm weather has also brought in some chiffchaffs (pouillot véloce) These inconspicuous warblers are always the first of the migrant warblers to arrive. None of the ten or so which I have come across in the last few days were singing though. Several were in the wet meadows at Fontenille as were reed buntings (bruyant des roseaux) and both species were near the Bandiat river yesterday.
Also at Fontenille today were sparrowhawk (épervier), female hen harrier (busard st martin), a single redwing (grive mauvis) and my first yellowhammer (bruant jaune) of the year. Large flocks of lapwings (vanneau huppé) are still around, some feeding in the fields and others passing north.

lapwings

Large flocks of lapwings (vanneau huppé), containing several thousand birds, were resting/feeding in fields along the Mansle-Valence road today. They are making their annual movement back to their northern breeding grounds. Their migration does not attract as much public attention as that of the cranes (gru cendré) but in a different way the phenomenon is just as beautiful and remarkable.

Around the garden there are the first signs of birds pairing up for breeding; tits (mésange) and blackbirds (merle noir) were (respectively) chasing each other today and a pair of moorhens (poule d'eau) have been active around the pond for a week or so now.

The crane migration continued yesterday with almost 1000 birds passing over the house in the afternoon.

More Cranes (cendré gru)

My surmise that the main Crane migration must be over was rather premature as over a thousand birds flew directly over the house this afternoon in the space of a couple of hours !

wood larks (allouette lulu)

The sun is still shining although there is a distinct nip in the wind. The birds are still feeding incessantly at the feeders incuding the bramblings (pinson du nord). Thease are winter visitors of course but I remember coming across one in mid summer in the Braconne forest some years back.
A flock of eight wood lark (allouette lulu) was in the field opposite the house yesterday. I always stop to look when i come across this bird maybe because it is so scarce in the UK--but it's also daintily pretty, has a pleasant, fluting song and an impressive french name.
Speaking of impressive birds, I have not seen any hen harriers (busard st martin) for the last few days but over the last few weeks I have come across several including some beautiful males.

Cranes on The Tardoire

Around 400 cranes (gru cendré) were feeding on the fields along the flooded Tardoire near Fougere today. There were also many hundreds of lapwings (vanneau huppé), a few fieldfare (grive litorne)
numbers of white wagtails (bergeronnette grise) and about twenty black-headed gulls (mouette rieuse).

Bright Bird-table Visitors

The weather has turned bitterly cold over the last few days and the garden feeders have been very busy as the birds try to take in the vital calories.
 House sparrows (moineau domestique) are the most numerous at the moment with a flock of about 20 present virtually all of the time but this morning among the tits (mesanges) and the chaffinches (pinson des arbres)  was a very bright brambling (pinson du nord) and then an even brighter male hawfinch (gros bec casse-noyeau) bossed everything else off the main bird table. This species can be very secretive but they occupy all the woodlands around here. When seen up close as this individual was this morning, they are very striking in appearance, almost parrot-like in fact. They are also very chunky having around twice the bulk of a sparrow. A song thrush (grive musicienne) appeared briefly in a nearby tree but seemed too cautious to approach the feeding flocks.

Male Brambling at Feeder

As a footnote, an unusual site by the feeders last week was a short-toed tree creeper (grimperau des jardins) but he was more interested in the cut tree trunk that supports a feedin tray rather than in the food itself.

Crane Stragglers

The main migration of the cranes (gru cendré) seems to be almost complete. I saw none today but about 300 flew over the house yesterday and a similar number the day before.
The female brambling (pinson du nord) is still visiting the feeders.
At least one crested lark (cochevis huppé) was feeding on fields near Bresdon on the western edge of Charente  yesterday.

Crane Chasing

I've always admired those nutters in Kansas or wherever who chase tornados and the like in order to get a closer look; well chasing cranes is not quite so dangerous but on several occasions over the last few days I've found myself jumping into my car to get closer to the big skeins which are not quite passing over the house. One such case was at about 5 o'clock this evening when two huge groups of cranes straggled there way across northwards but more over Romfort than La Poterie. I caught up with them---they travel deceptively quickly at times--- and their numbers totalled over 3000. There can't be too many left to come!

The other species of note today was woodlark (allouette lulu); two separate flocks totalling about twenty birds were in the vicinity of La Chatenet this morning.

It's good to hear the thrushes singing during our recent warm evenings.

The Day of The Cranes (gru cendré)

The gloom of this long, grey,wet winter has lifted over the last couple of days and my! did the cranes take advantage of it!
I was cheered yesterday afternoon to see about 300 pass over the house but that was nothing to today's spectacle; I have marvelled at the February migration in Charente for over twenty years but never have I witnessesed a spectacle like today's.
 Between 3pm and 6 pm around 15,000 (thousand) birds flew over the house. On several occasions it was fascinating to watch skeins turn back on themselves as they noisily circled while waiting for the following skein to catch up and mingle with them. Most of the groups of skeins held around a thousand birds and the above figure of 15,000  may well be a conservative estimate. Quite amazing!

Marsh Tits and February

February is something of a doldrums month if you are away from the wetlands or coast. Waders, wildfowl and seabirds might brighten a birder's day in Charente Maritime but there is little chance of those species making their way into Charente. But never mind,; we chose to live here and so we must make do with what we can find until the spring migration brings us some new arrivals.
The first of these is likely to be the cranes (gru cendré) which traditionally make an appearance in the last week of this month.
As for what's about now....this week  I came across my first marsh tits (mésange nonnette) of the year. This is a resident species but far less common than the familiar blue (bleue), great (charbonnière) and long-tailed (a longue queue) tits (mésanges). In some ways it is similar to the coal tit (mésange noir) in that you can go for quite long periods without catching up with one and yet you know they are about. A 'localised species' is probably the best way of describing these birds. Coal tits tend to prefer conifers but marsh tits are usually in mixed woodland. Their distinctive nasal calls usually draws attention to their presence and once located they are often quite confiding and give good views.
Other interesting birds of late include a grey wagtail (bergeronnette des ruisseaux) feeding with two white wagtails (bergeronnette grise) on the Son-Sonette at Valence, at least two siskin (tarin des aulnes) near St Front, a couple of wintering chiffchaffs (pouillot véloce) in the same area, goldcrests (roitelet huppé) which still seem to be more common than firecrests (roitelet triple-bandeau) at the moment and reed buntings (bruant des roseaux) accompanying cirl buntings (bruant zizi) in the fields.
Our garden visitors have included a green woodpecker (pic vert) on the lawn and a female sparrowhawk (épervier d'europe) sat on the bird table! The pair of bramblings (pinson du nord) are still coming there for food.

kingfisher and bird-feeders

With the weather now wet and mild, the local bird scene is a quiet one. Winter visitors are restricted to the occasional redwing (grive mauvis) and brambling (pinson du nord) including a male of the latter which is a regular visitor at my bird feeder. It's always fascinating to see which species are drawn to feeders and how they behave when they are there.
Mine is dominated by great tits (mésange charbonnière) which are usually present in double figures. They are aggressive towards each other but are surprisingly often dislodged by the smaller and inoffensive looking blue tits (mésange bleue). The two robins (rougegorge) which are frequent visitors are of course very intolerant of each other and seem to expend much of the energy they are getting from the food in stopping the other individual having a feed.
A few species forage underneath the hanging feeders, picking up the droppings from the more acrobatic tits. These include a few chaffinches (pinson des arbres), house sparrows (moineau domestique), the aforementioned brambling (pinson du nord) and a dunnock (accenteur mouchet) 
A wren (troglodyte mignon) occasionally flits around but I have seen nothing of greenfinches (verdier) or goldfinches (chardonneret élégant) this year nor of the more exotic hawfinch (grosbec) or nuthatch (sittelle torchepot) which have visited in the past.
Speaking of exotic, a kingfisher (martin pêcheur) flew by in all his halcyon splendour when I visited the Bonnieure yesterday. (In the days when La Poterie's pond was full of fish, I once had a kingfisher perched in the garden!) .
Like all the other local rivers, La Bonnieure is in flood at present and spreading over the surrounding fields. If they stay like this until the spring we shall be in for a treat of migrating waders and wildfowl.

cold weather movements

A belated happy New Year to anyone who reads this blog. You might spot my resolution in how I have recorded what follows.
We are nearing the end of January and I'm only just getting round to my first post. I've been in Charente for only about a fortnight of 2013 as I had to take a 10 day trip to the UK so I've not had a great deal to report until recently.The recent cold snap has resulted in some interesting birding, however.

Yesterday I took a walk over the Lairiere plains, an area which has a little feel of the uplands with its wide open spaces and distant views. The snow cover intensified this effect but even moreso did the flocks of lapwings (vanneau huppé) and golden plovers (pluvier doré) which were moving southwards ahead of the cold weather.

Lapwings numbered several hundred including one sizeable flock which occasionally settled. But most of them simply drifted by in that silent, ghostly style which is very much in contrast to the purposeful dashing of the golden plover. They usually were in flocks of around 30 birds; some of them were calling as they flew by and one group alerted me to their imminent arrival above my head by the noise of their rushing wings.

A single flock of abot 50 fieldfare (grive litorne) was the only evidence of thrush movement although I have seen a few redwing (grive mauvis), song thrush (grive musicienne) and mistle thrush (grive draine) on other days.  Skylarks (alouette des champs) were about in vast numbers and a flock of over 20 woodlark (alouette lulu) made an appearance as did an individual bird at La Poterie as I was beginning my walk. The large finch flocks still seem to be almost entirely chaffinches (pinson des arbres) with just the occasional brambling. (pinson du nord)

I was enjoying watching a female hen harrier (busard saint-martin) gracefully making its way towards me when my attention was drawn to another large bird which revealed itself as a short eared owl, (hibou des marais) the first that I have seen hereabouts for a couple of years.
A group of cirl bunting (bruant zizi) in one f the few hedges that remain in this area was accompanied by a male reed bunting (bruant des roseaux) This species seems to wander away from its usually watery habitat during cold weather.

In all, 31 species put in an appearance and this included the local very pale buzzard (buse variable) which looks for all the world like a cross between a harrier and an osprey.