Five Tits and a Garden Pied Flycatcher

All but one of Charente's six species of tit were together in the Braconne forest this week, viz
blue, great, long-tailed, marsh and crested. Only the coal tit was missing but I have found these to be elusive recently. The flock was accompanied by firecrests, nuthatches, treecreepers and, very fleetingly, a lesser spotted woodpecker.
It's that time of year when pied flycatchers turn up in my garden and sure enough one was calling as it flitted among the trees yesterday.
Robins are revealing themselves much more of late. They seem to be more reclusive during the breeding season.
And as for the weather, it still won't settle down!

Charente Maritime and Waders

I called in at Mortagne sur Gironde yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at the extent of the salt marsh and reed beds. Dozens of ringed plover and dunlin were feeding on the edge of the estuary accompanied by a resting little tern. Two montague's harriers were hunting and large numbers of sand martins filled the sky. I suspect that bluethroats would be found here earlier in the year but mid August is not really the time to locate them. A few migrating willow warblers were flitting around in the reeds though. Little egrets were present in double figures.

Hobby

A hobby was hunting over the plains today and I came across yet another family of red backed shrikes between La Tâche and Goise. Green woodpeckers seem to be particularly common at present.

Pied Flycatcher

I've seen a few spotted flycatchers over the last few days but near Saint Angeau one small group, perhaps a family, was accompanied by a pied flycatcher, my first this year.
Red backed shrike family groups are still around but orioles seem to have gone quiet.
Swallows are feeding in numbers over the ploughed fields and together with the cool weather they give an ominous sense of summer approaching its end.

Garden Birds in August

It's early August and despite its being pleasantly warm, this must be the coolest Charente summer for a long time. Today was clear blue skies and a high in the upper 20's but clouds and showers are forecast for the next few days. My lawn is still very green, very different to the parched straw look of  virtually every August that I can recall.
I had a good bird day in the garden last week though, with 26 species heard or seen while I took my breakfast on the terrace. These included two male golden orioles, a hoopoe, a tree pipit and both green and great spotted woodpeckers.
 I did create anther blog some time back called 'Breakfast Birds' although I have never written any posts. Perhaps I'll reactivate it;  the basic idea was to encourage others, wherever they live, to record what birds they see or hear while they are breakfasting.
Away from the garden things have quietened down as one would expect at the height of summer. I went for a bike ride today without my binoculars so sure was I that little would turn up. I was right more or less although I did see my first male common redstart for a few weeks.
Stone curlews were still calling on the plains last week and black kites were scavenging the recently harvested or ploughed fields.