A couple of corrections to my last post: the wryneck doesn't seem to have moved on as I've seen presumably the same bird in the same sunflowers on several occasions now including today. Also l checked the records regarding bluethroat sightings and the one that I saw this week is the fourth and not the second one this year.
Curiously, the other wryneck which I saw at Lac de Chaban was also still there when I visited today. It seems,therefore, that many passage birds make extended stopovers during migration. This is upheld by the wheatears and whinchats which have been hanging around the same two fields for over a week now. The wheatear count today was a remarkable 22 although the whinchats had gone down to 8.
Other notable birds I've seen over the last few days are a male marsh harrier near the local eoliens, four greenshanks and two green sandpipers at the lakes today along with four black-headed gulls, and a pair of tawny owls in my garden.
Thursday 7 September 2017
Monday 4 September 2017
Bluethroat
The small sunflower field which I referred to in my last post still held a dozen or s migrating whinchats yesterday but the wryneck seemed to have moved on. An equally delightful bird had replaced it though, a male bluethroat. This is only the second one that I have encountered in Charente though they nest in Charente Maritime and I think it's only the second individual reported in Charente this year.
The sunflowers also held at least one willow warbler, a few stonechats and around 40 linnets.
Another pied flycatcher was in my garden but this one was strangely silent.
The hedges at the bio farm have not yet produced much this autumn but a couple of male common redstarts and a whinchats were there yesterday.
The sunflowers also held at least one willow warbler, a few stonechats and around 40 linnets.
Another pied flycatcher was in my garden but this one was strangely silent.
The hedges at the bio farm have not yet produced much this autumn but a couple of male common redstarts and a whinchats were there yesterday.
Saturday 2 September 2017
Wrynecks et al and Return Migration
It seems that the doldrums are behind us and movement is under way.
Wrynecks and black terns have been the highlights of the last few days for me but there have also been wheatears, whinchats and osprey.
The nearby plains contain many large fields of sunflowers but migrating birds for some reason have favoured just one small, detached triangle bordering the Artenac to La Tâche road. Seven whinchats were perched prettily on top of the plants there earlier in the week and that number rose to thirteen yesterday. Along with them were several stonechats, a small flock of linnets and a couple of willow warblers.
I've also managed to find two wheatears on the plains this week but they were making use of the open ground of course. On the earlier occasion mentioned above I was fortunate to flush a group of four woodlark from the path before they took refuge in the sunflowers.
Wrynecks have eluded me for several years in Charente but two turned up on consecutive days this week. One was a very obliging individual which sat still for some ten minutes on the top of a sunflower amid the whinchats, the other was more skulking and in a bush near the dam at Lac de Chaban.
I had taken a trip to the latter to look for migrating black terns and was rewarded with good views of three of these delicate birds dipping into the water. On two occasions while watching them an osprey passed over carrying a small fish. The only wader that I saw there was a common sandpiper but there have been reports of green and wood sandpiper and ruff from that location and the neighbouring Lac Lavaud.
Small flocks of yellow wagtails have also been on the Lairière plains and a hobby was flying around there earlier this week. Large numbers of swallows and some house martins have been moving south although at least a hundred of the latter were still flying around the church square in Chasseneuil on Monday and some were still visiting nests.
The annual passage of pied flycatchers seems well underway as they have been reported from various locations including one in my garden.
Today I may go looking for the elusive little bustard as there were reports of small flocks on the plains west of here yesterday.
The weather is still curiously unsettled with some hot spells, cool snaps and the occasional welcome shower.
Wrynecks and black terns have been the highlights of the last few days for me but there have also been wheatears, whinchats and osprey.
The nearby plains contain many large fields of sunflowers but migrating birds for some reason have favoured just one small, detached triangle bordering the Artenac to La Tâche road. Seven whinchats were perched prettily on top of the plants there earlier in the week and that number rose to thirteen yesterday. Along with them were several stonechats, a small flock of linnets and a couple of willow warblers.
I've also managed to find two wheatears on the plains this week but they were making use of the open ground of course. On the earlier occasion mentioned above I was fortunate to flush a group of four woodlark from the path before they took refuge in the sunflowers.
Wrynecks have eluded me for several years in Charente but two turned up on consecutive days this week. One was a very obliging individual which sat still for some ten minutes on the top of a sunflower amid the whinchats, the other was more skulking and in a bush near the dam at Lac de Chaban.
I had taken a trip to the latter to look for migrating black terns and was rewarded with good views of three of these delicate birds dipping into the water. On two occasions while watching them an osprey passed over carrying a small fish. The only wader that I saw there was a common sandpiper but there have been reports of green and wood sandpiper and ruff from that location and the neighbouring Lac Lavaud.
Small flocks of yellow wagtails have also been on the Lairière plains and a hobby was flying around there earlier this week. Large numbers of swallows and some house martins have been moving south although at least a hundred of the latter were still flying around the church square in Chasseneuil on Monday and some were still visiting nests.
The annual passage of pied flycatchers seems well underway as they have been reported from various locations including one in my garden.
Today I may go looking for the elusive little bustard as there were reports of small flocks on the plains west of here yesterday.
The weather is still curiously unsettled with some hot spells, cool snaps and the occasional welcome shower.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)