UK Interval

Regular readers of this blog may have noted an absence of posts from me during the last fortnight. The birth of a third grandson took me away to the UK and while there I toured the nation, catching up with friends and relatives. The social schedule meant that birding took a back seat but I managed to fit a bit in and among the highlights were snow buntings on the Great Orme, 23 red kites counted along the M40 and several bullfinches in Gloucestershire.
Fortunately at least a few folk kept an eye on Charente's birds and I see that Cagouille reported large movements of cranes.
I've returned with a cold of course ! but I managed to cycle out on to the plains today and was grateful to see a skein of seventy cranes heading south plus another twenty five species in the warm sunshine.

Red Kite

This is rather a limbo time for birds in Charente as we have lost all of our summer visitors except for a few over-wintering chiffchaffs and perhaps the occasional blackcap but few wintering migrants have yet turned up.
 As mentioned in recent posts the main crane migration is very late this year and the only thrush movements have been a few song and mistle.
Red kites tend to wander at this time of year though and a very beautiful specimen shared a thermal above the Bonnieure valley with a sparrowhawk yesterday and a hen harrier was on the plains today, so together with the plentiful buzzards and kestrels it has not been a bad time for birds of prey.

Cetti's Warblers

Cetti's have been difficult for me to find in Charente this year but two and possibly three individuals were singing on the Son-Sonnette yesterday.
Still no cranes for me despite yesterday's superb weather but I met two other people who have seen skeins of over a hundred birds in the last couple of days.
As forecast, the warm, dry weather ended with a monsoon-like downpour early this morning and temperatures have reverted to their norm for late autumn.

Cranes (and 40 Kilometres)

Today's post title should have read 'Forty Species and Forty Kilometres' as that was my bird list and cycling distance on this hot last day of October but it was Stella and not me who saw a skein of about fifty cranes flying over La Tâche --- but the world would be less interesting without a touch of irony!
Mr Plumency of La Tache  reports that cranes flew overhead on the previous day also.

The highlights of my wanderings were more diminutive, being a goldcrest, the first I've come across for a long time, and a coal tit, another species which has been elusive of late. Marsh tit was around again today but the absence of crested tit spoiled the full set of six for this family.
Tawny owls are calling at night and in the early morning at the moment (and occasionally even in the middle of the day)
Finches were scarce with only chaffinch and goldfinch making an appearance.