The figure of under 50 species by mid Jan which I mentioned in my previous post seemed rather paltry so I took a trip to the Touvre in order to up it slightly through the addition of a few birds which like a wet habitat.
And so I quickly added eight to my total:
Mute swan
Coot
Little grebe
Gadwall
Kingfisher
Little egret
Great white egret
Cormorant
For those who don't know it, The Touvre is an interesting river; it makes a surprising emergence (the second largest in France)from its underground course during which it has collected waters from the Bandiat and the Tardoire and then flows to the Charente at Angouleme. Its steady water temperaure have made it useful to man over the centuries including for the National Foundry which takes advantage of its coolness for producing military grade metals.
The birds are best viewed from the banks at The Sources themselves or a little downstream at Merignac where there is a handy parking area near the bridge.
Grey wagtail and several chiffchaffs were also around during my visit but I'd seen both of these earlier in the month.
A bonus bird on the way back was a male hen harrier near Agris which pushed 2017's total to a slightly more respectable 58.
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