Harrier and Marsh Tit

The superb late October weather continues and maybe it's holding back the cranes as I have not yet heard of any sightings of their return migration.
The sunshine encourages cycling however and a trip along the Bonnieure valley gave me my first view of a hen harrier for some days back. It was a ringtail as most seem to be at this time of year. Perhaps the adult males have wandered off southward.
Similarly, I have not seen a marsh tit for a while so to track one down in the woods after I had heard it calling made a nice end to the warm afternoon.
The plains still have plenty of skylarks and meadow pipits but little else except for a few white wagtails.
Birders have a thing about lists and it occurred to me that as I've just reached 66 that I might start putting together a variant on the usual personal year list and instead have one based on the twelve months that start on my birthday. I've not counted up but I reckon I've seen about 50 in the Charente so far.

Thirty Five Species in Twenty Six Kilometres.

On an extremely hot October day, a twenty six kilometre saunter on my bike turned up thirty three species of birds (the owls revealed themselves during the evening). I've not done a list for while so here's one, but in no particular order except that non-passerines come first.
Perhaps just as interesting are the species which didn't show up but were around a similar area on the previous day. These include mistle thrush, chiffchaff, linnet and long-tailed tit.
Song thrushes have not been around for a while but there appears to have been a influx yesterday.
No sign of the cranes yet.

Crow
Jackdaw
Jay
Magpie
Tawny Owl
Little Owl
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Grey Heron
Moorhen
Buzzard
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Green woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker

Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
House Sparrow Starling
Wren
Robin
Dunnock
Cirl Bunting
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Meadow Pipit
Skylark
Woodlark
Firecrest Nuthatch Short-toed Treecreeper Stonechat Blackbird Song Thrush

Birthday Merlin

It's the day after my birthday and the temperature in the sunshine is a remarkable 42C ! Yesterday was not quite so warm but still very pleasant for late October. A cycle trip around the plains turned up 32 species of birds none of which was particularly remarkable except for a female merlin which was dashing around among the skylarks. I saw what might have been a second bird later in another field but it might have been the same individual.
The skylarks numbered in the hundreds, a big increase on recent days.
The near-white buzzard was sitting prominently in a tree  near La Tâche.

Quiet October

The sun has largely won its battle with the clouds during recent days but despite the mild weather there has not been too much to report of late.
The harvesting of the maize is virtually over and most of the fields are now either being prepared or already contain their winter crop. The first finch flocks are starting to form but at present they consist only of goldfinches and linnets. Meadow pipits are plentiful and favour the young rape plants while small flocks of white wagtails are often following the ploughs.
The kestrels which nested on the gable end of my house are back again and often sit there or fly noisily around. Today I saw them mating while perched in a tree in the garden, a curious sight at this time of year!
I have seen the occasional hen harrier on the plains and the very light phase buzzard was perched near La Tâche this afternoon.
The flocks of skylarks are still quite small but some individuals are still in song as are a few woodlarks.

Late Wheatear

The Indian summer seemed to have come to an end last week and we've had a spell of cool, wetter weather. This probably explains why I've not seen swallow for a few days and yet I came across a wheatear on the plains this week, leaving things a little late for making his way back to Africa.
Elsewhere there has been little of note to report except for the occasional hen harrier and plenty of meadow pipits.

Late stone curlew

And the stone curlews still haven't gone as I clearly heard one in the field behind my house in the darkness of Thursday evening. Elsewhere though things seem to be slowing down; swallows are no longer commonplace and the calls of the remaining chiffchaffs seem to be the last sounds of summer.
While cycling to Chasseneuil on Wednesday I stopped to listen to a singing woodlark, the first I've  heard for a long time.
The nearly albino buzzard is still flying around as he has has been for several seasons now.