Siskins

There seems to be no end to the unseasonal warm and clear weather but I'm not complaining.
 Today's bike ride surprisingly turned up some harbingers of colder times, though. While travelling along the Bonnieure river path I came across a flock of 20+ siskins feeding (as they always do) on alder seeds. Only a few of them were males with vestiges of bright yellow in their plumage. In a nearby tree were a handful of redwings, yet another species that often augers a cold snap so perhaps we should beware.
An unexpected sight in the same location was a single cormorant flying overhead and another slightly surprising bird was a reed bunting in the Tardoire valley.
The day's tally was 37 species in just over two hours which wasn't bad considering that familiar birds such as long tailed tits, linnets and mistle thrushes did not put in an appearance.
I've seen no more late cranes in the last few days but a flock of around 300 over Montignac was reported to me on Christmas Day.

Merlin and More Cranes

The unseasonal warm weather continues with the sunshine  temperature still breaking into the twenties but there was a strongish southerly blowing yesterday which allowed me to exactly count the slow moving skeins of cranes that were battling against it; there were sixty birds in all.
Later I unintentionally flushed a male merlin from one of the few trees which survive on the plains and he rapidly shot off towards one of the many restless skylark flocks.

Winter Chiffchaffs

Its close to Christmas but there's no sign of winter yet, in fact the temperature was over 22C in the sun this afternoon. The chiffchaffs that are around at the moment are probably going to overwinter with us as a few do every year but there seem to be far more than usual and they are usually encountered as singletons so I was surprised today to come across a small flock of about six of them mixed in with several tits.
Among the 35 species which I clocked up on my bike ride were a hawfinch, a pair of bramblings and a sparrowhawk.
Earlier in the week a little egret was near Luxé again and a great white egret was in a field near Chasseneuil, perhaps the same individual that I saw near Saint Mary.

Two Cranes

Stella called me to the door this morning two witness two lonely looking cranes flying south, the first I've seen since my last post. That post also mentioned a stock dove and this species turned up again last week but in greater numbers with several dozen feeding in a field alongside wood pigeons near Saint Amant. There was another great white egret too, this time in a field near Saint Mary.
Otherwise it's been a pretty uneventful period with just the occasional hen harrier and hawfinch putting in an appearance, plenty of goldcrests, mistletoe thrushes and great spotted woodpeckers though.