On arriving at Barfleur on the Normandy coast in mid-June it was grey and murky with temperatures in the low teens ... a Corn Bunting sang doggedly and a Common Whitethroat managed some phrases ... on the high tide a couple of breeding plumage Dunlins probed along the tide wrack along with about ten Tundra-type Ringed Plovers ...
The coastline generally offered lean pickings although the fishing harbour was attracting a hundred or two large white-headed gulls ... these were almost entirely Herring Gulls but among them, a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull ...
... whereas most of the gulls were intent on probing among the seaweed and scattered dead fish ...
... the Yellow-legged Gull spent its time either walking around or standing still ... it joined an adult Herring Gull for a while ...
... and also a first-summer Great Black-backed Gull ...
... but was largely solitary ...
... until flying off on its own ...
The ferry crossing was quiet ... only one or two Fulmars, Kittiwakes and a few Gannets passing by ... although one stayed with the ship for a few minutes ...
... and within a mile or so of the English coast a small party of Manx Shearwaters flew across the bow ...
Then back on home soil ...
The lasting impression of the trip was one of having had quite a comprehensive experience of the many species that occur in southern Europe and that we encounter only rarely ( if at all ) in Britain ... Bonelli's Warblers, Rollers, Crested Larks ... and so on ... no new species for me but an in-depth look at some lovely birds ...
While looking through the gulls at Barfleur, where there were four species of large white-headed gull ( Great and Lesser Black-backed where present also ) I pondered on the situation on the Mediterranean coast with its one species ... it was great seeing Yellow-legged Gulls and having good views of different age groups but there was only that one species ....
No comments:
Post a Comment