A slow jaunt through France ... south to the Spanish border ... with Western Subalpine Warblers, Crag Martins & Blue Rock Thrushes ... Part 3

Part 3   The Pyrenean foothills and the extreme southerly point of the French coast

Crag Martin is one of the species that I had been keeping an eye open for but not yet encountered on this trip ... a cultural interlude put that to rights ...

But first ... on departing the Gruissan area we spent a few days in the cork oak woodland near Llauro ... Black Redstarts gave some better views than the earlier birds that had perched up on high ...

... but the Bonelli's Warblers that were singing from the low oaks were just as reluctant to show themselves as before ...

... equally shy in this same habitat was Crested Tit ...

... early mornings had Woodlark singing from the tops of spindly conifers before they started performing their high up song flights that made them tricky to locate ...

The song of Western Subalpine Warbler was an immediate alert to their presence as they worked their way through the foliage ...

... a few Dartford Warblers flitted through and Serins, Nightingales and Cirl Buntings provided a soundscape ... a lovely Golden Oriole flew over and lingered briefly on the edge of some woodland ...

Then heading further south we went up the Tech valley and to the Spanish border at Col d'Ares ... it had a northern European feel with Tree Pipit and Redstart although a distant Griffon Vulture put paid to that illusion ...

We stayed for a while lower down in the valley at Arles-sur-Tech in the company of Firecrests foraging the bushes of the campsite ... and decided to pay a visit to the lovely Abbey that brightens up this rather dour little town ... a beautiful tranquil building complete with cloisters that had breeding Crag Martins ... well worth the 3 Euros ...

... following a late afternoon thunderstorm a Griffon Vulture escaped the mountain cloud by circling a low ridge ...

Returning to the coast we investigated the rocky coastline near Collioure ...

here the Sardinian Warblers were much more showy as they perched on the low clifftop bushes ...

... Melodious Warblers were also more visible in this habitat ...

... and Nightingales that had earlier on sung only from deep cover perched out in the open ...

... and showed close by along the track ...

... a Hoopoe was also a little more obliging ...

But one species in particular comes to mind on Mediterranean rocky coastlines ... and a pair of Blue Rock Thrushes appeared on cue ... the male sang from an exposed promontory ...

... and the female appeared ...

... with the male joining her on an old fortification ...

A slow jaunt through France ... with a growing southern feel ... wary warblers and gorgeous gulls ... Part 2

Part 2  From La Brenne to the Mediterranean

The little old town of Gruissan near to Narbonne has been a favourite birding location for over a decade now.
It's always satisfying to 'pull one back' and and have some success with a species that earlier on had frustrated ... and so it was with Zitting Cisticola which had given tantalisingly brief flight views in La Brenne ... as we walked along the section of the Canal de la Reunion that runs into Gruissan Etang, one perched up on a stem before continuing its deeply undulating sone flight ...

But before arriving at the Mediterranean it was time for a short stopover at a campsite in lovely woodland at Sept-Fons ... there were Hoopoes and Turtle Doves singing ... a surprising Raven called and Western Bonelli's Warblers were singing and calling all around ...

The Bonelli's behaved completely differently from our British breeding species of Phylloscopus warbler and sang from concealed positions in the canopy as they kept a watchful eye ...

En route to the Languedoc coast a Montagu's Harrier floated by as we headed on down the motorway and now this was definitely the land of the Serin ... their calls and song being embedded in the fabric of the landscape ...

... and likewise the regular Sylvia warbler was Sardinian ...

... with that striking red eye-ring and orbital ring ...

With the main raptor migration period at an end Marsh Harrier was the main raptor present ...

The occasional feeding party of Bee-eater passed high overhead ...

The little fishing harbour at Gruissan was a magnet for gulls and gave a nice opportunity to watch some Yellow-legged Gulls with smart adults ...

... some 2nd-Summers ...

... and also some 1st-Summer birds ...

In the areas of scattered trees a few Cirl Buntings sang ...

... and Crested Larks were in the drier areas ... the calls of the Yellow Wagtails were strikingly more robust than those of our British Motacilla flava flavissima ... with white throats and rather weak supercillia they have been described as being crosses between the Iberian/NW Africa race and the Italian race  M.f.iberiae x cinereocapilla ...

Hoopoes occasionally flopped by ...

The old saltpans at Gruissan were less productive than in the main migration window although large numbers of Flamingoes were present ...

... and many were immature birds ...

... a single 1st-S Little Gull fed quietly on a distant pool ...

... and a few pairs of Black-winged Stilts occupied the more vegetated pools ...

... while Kentish Plover favoured the stony shores ...

... and this flock of Avocets were presumable non-breeding birds ...

Two very vocal fledgling Shelducks looked rather vulnerable on the Canal de la Reunion as their parents flew round in wide arcs ...

The extensive reedbeds near the canal La Robine had many singing Great Reed Warblers and on the pools were Great White Egrets ...

... and Little Egrets ...

... with the occasional White Stork and a few Black Kites circling and from the reedbeds came the songs of Reed Warblers and Cetti's Warblers that gave typically brief views ... a couple of Mediterranean Gulls flew over, calling as they went ... and Little Terns always announcing their presence with their sharp calls ...

A little to the north of Narbonne the tree-lined Canal du Midi wends its way through lovely countryside with vineyards, small blocks of woodland, scattered trees and bushes ... the volume of birdsong was noticeably richer than on the coastal strip with Nightingales and Golden Orioles dominant ... this is the terrain of Rollers ... we followed the canal east from Argeliers and found Rollers perched, along with Golden Orioles, on bushes and the support posts of the vineyards ...

... flying occasionally to another location ...