Snipe

No one in their right mind would have described today's gloomy weather as spring-like but some birds seem to think so. Like the migrating six snipe and five green sandpipers which were happily paddling away in what's left of the Bandiat flood this morning. A few swallows were zigzagging around for insects but the only duck were mallard, no sign of any garganey this Spring.
Nearby in the Braconne nuthatches and treecreepers were very active with at least five of the latter on show within a hundred metres or so.

Cuckoos, Hoopoes and Stone Curlew

At least three cuckoos were calling close to the house this morning before I watched one being chased off by a crow.  I didn't catch sight of any hoopoes but one was calling close to La Poterie and another near to La Tâche .
There is little bare ground this Spring on the Lairiere plains as almost all the fields seem to be planted with either rape or winter wheat but one ploughed field held a solitary stone curlew, always one of the earliest migrants to show itself.
There was little activity at Les Vielles Vaures though; the Bandiat is still partly in flood there but a group of six green sandpipers, a few mallards and a single swallow were the only birds of note.
A small number of swallows and house martins were flitting around the Bonnieure bridge at St Amant and a single black kite seemed to be using the N10 as a migration corridor near Tourriers this afternoon.
Other migrants such as blackcap, chiffchaff and black redstart helped bring today's total to over forty species.

Dartford Warbler ?

Cagouille's garden bird still remains a mystery but this is a pic of an IOW dartford warbler taken this week. It might help clarify things.

I forgot to mention in my last post that a kingfisher was on the flooded Bandiat this week.

House Martin and Yellow Wagtail

Spring migrants are drifting in but mainly in small numbers. Flying above the Bandiat today was a single house martin along with about eight swallows. The only other migrant there was a solitary green sandpiper. Another of the latter was at Fougère where the flooding is now restricted to a few tiny pools, and my first yellow wagtail of the year was in one of them.
Serins have recently added their song to that of the early blackcaps.

I saw my first wheatear of the year on Oleron on Wednesday.

WHEATEAR

Swallows

One swallow doth not a summer make but the three which I saw at the Bandiat today might make fairer weather more likely.
Chiffchaffs are among the earliest spring arrivals are are usually seen flitting around in bushes and trees so I was rather surprised to see seven of them busily feeding on my lawn this morning. The bright male redstart that has been around recently was still with them.
Elsewhere there is little to report except that the great white egret is stil at Fougère along with what looked like three green sandpipers in the far distance.
Corn buntings are not migrants as such but the first ones that I have seen this year were singing near the eoliens this afternoon.
All this bird activity is overshadowed by the very sad news that our much loved cat, Yoda , was killed by a car outside the house today.

Green Sandpipers,Snipe and Rock Sparrow

It's still very warm but there are still a few wet fields for passage waders to take a migration stopover.   Some of them were near to the Bandiat today where nine green sandpipers and five snipe were paddling in the shallows.
But the only waders at Fougère seemed to be lapwings. The great white egret was still present though along with nine grey herons and a pair of mallard.
Perhaps the most interesting bird today was not a wader but a rock sparrow taking a bath in a puddle at Les Vielles Vaures.
A black redstart was singing in my garden today.

Great White Egret

Despite a few showers yesterday the warm weather has resulted in the water levels in the flooded fields to continue to fall. Nevertheless Fougère hosted a great white egret today along with a few hundred lapwing, two ruff, a redshank about a hundred black headed gulls and the injured white stork mentioned in previous posts. There was no sign of yesterday's golden plovers though. I had no time to check out the Bandiat.
The garden held a few species too; a fine male black redstart, a chiffchaff, a firecrest,a cirl bunting and a great spotted woodpecker all made appearances. About 70 cranes flew over in the early afternoon. The pair of kestrels which usually nest on the gable wall of the house seem already to have taken up residence.

Ruff and other Waders.

Not surprisingly with the warm, sunny weather the flooded fields are beginning to dry up but early migrants are still taking advantage of them.
Along with the hundreds of lapwings near the Tardoire at Fougere today were three ruff (one a male with striking white head and neck),  five redshank, a few dozen golden plover, a single white stork with an injured leg, a male teal, a male shoveler and over a hundred black headed gulls. In comparison The Bandiat at Les Vielles Vaures was very quiet.

Chiffchaffs were singing today as was a black redstart in a Saint Angeau garden. The small flocks of meadow pipits which are around are probably Spring migrants.

Yesterday was almost as warm with clear skies and at least two thousand cranes passed over in the afternoon as I toiled away clearing over a hundred large mole hills from my lawn.

One of today's ruff was very similar to this individual

Peregrine Falcons

Peregrines are very rare birds in Charente, in fact the literature refers to the last breeding being attempted in the 1970's and despite their name they are not great wanderers from elsewhere. It was a great surprise therefore to come across a breeding pair today. It would be irresponsible on an open site such as this to reveal the whereabouts as they are sadly highly prized by egg collectors and even more so by illegal falconers. Suffice to say they were in a quarry and became very agitated and noisy at my unexpected appearance. I'm very used to seeing these beautiful raptors as they nest on the cliffs near my old Isle of Wight home but this is the first time that I've seen them sitting in a tree which is what they both did after leaving the rock face. Quite apart from their bright plumage, the intense yellow of their legs in the sunshine was truly startling.

After a sharp overnight frost the day dawned bright and sunny and the gloves that I needed for an early morning start were abandoned by the warm afternoon as was my fleece. Lapwings were everywhere, probably numbering at least a thousand spread over various locations but I could not find a single golden plover among them unlike yesterday. Huge numbers of white wagtails were still mixed in with them though.

Two male blackcaps, seen at very different locations, were perhaps early arrivals rather than overwintering birds which had come out to enjoy the sunshine, but the only other warbler that I saw was a solitary chiffchaff.

The black kite and the 130 cranes which I saw in mid afternoon were genuine migrants but almost as interesting was the sight of a resident marsh warbler and my first two brimstone butterflies of this Spring.

Floods and Storks

Most of our rivers are over their banks and into surrounding fields thus providing a nice habitat for wetlands birds. Though it's still a little early for spring migration some birds are on the move and two white storks among the dozen or so herons were the highlight of this afternoon's visit to the Tardoire valley at Fougère There were other birds there as well though; several hundred black headed gulls and large flocks of lapwings often took to the air from the flooded fields. About sixty golden plovers and a few starlings were mixed in with them and flocks of white wagtails were everywhere.
The flooded Bandiat was a bit of a disappointment though with just a small flock of lapwings and golden plover but there were plenty of white wagtails there also.