Crossing from Poole to Cherbourg on 17th May, four chilly hours on deck brought only a handful of adult Gannets and a single Manx Shearwater.
An evening saunter around the village of Fresnay sur Sarthe ... a party of of six Swifts were my first of the year while one or two Black Redstarts sang tauntingly from the rooftops and chimneys of the narrow streets ...
Heading on south the next day ... destination La Brenne. Leaving Mezieres, we stopped by the first Etangs and found around thirty marsh terns hawking for insects ... they were all Whiskered Terns ...
...
... as we watched their elegant yet erratic manoeuvres, a Night Heron flew close by ... and Cattle Egrets commuted to and from the breeding colony ...
A Black Kite came winging its way over the reedbed and circled obligingly over a line of trees bordering the marsh ...
At Etang Masse a Purple Heron was feeding close in front of the hide ...
... and a pair of Black-necked Grebes dived and skulked in the reeds behind ...
The campsite at Rosnay was a songfest of Golden Orioles and Nightingales with neither giving more than fleeting flight views ...
An evening walk along the lane ... and the first of what would be many Melodious Warblers sang from a bush before characteristically dropping into dense cover ... a Stonechat of the continental race Saxicola torquata rubicola perched nicely in view ...
The next morning was fresh, bright and the little roads that criss-cross the area were wonderfully quiet ... a Hoopoe flitted from the shadows and at Gabriere another Melodious Warbler sang ...
... before relocating to another post ...
... although it was never happy to have a Great Tit as company ...
... so relocated again ...
The reedbed at Etang du Gabriau was full of singing Reed Warblers ...
A Great White Egret flew over and a Zitting Cisticola started its repetative song that was so often difficult to locate ...
Approaching the Ricot hide and the guttural song of Great Reed Warbler started up ... it sang from several locations in the dense scrub and tall reeds but never showed ... a Bittern flew over ...
In the afternoon heat a Red-backed Shrike perched on low bushes near Etang Beauregard and three Bee-eaters announced their presence as they flew high over ...
The large white-headed gull of the area was Yellow-legged Gull ... Black-headed Gulls were breeding ...
The Etang de la mer Rouge seemed initially unproductive but a pair of Black Kites circled distantly and a Kingfisher flashed by ... Spotted Flycatchers 'zee'd from high up in the tall trees
At Etang de l'Hardouine a tight group of six Red-crested Pochards 'paraded' on the water ... but where were the females ?
A female Marsh Harrier quartered the reedbed at Etang Purais while Whiskered Terns hawked ...
... and Pochard were scattered across the water ...
... along with another two Red-crested Pochard ...
Then back to the Ricot hide, the site of the elusive Great Reed Warbler ... after hearing more song, the bird gave some fleeting views in the bushes bordering the reedbed ... it then flew to the reedbed ...
after several minutes of peering fruitlessly into the gently swaying reeds, the bird came up and sang from a prominent reed ...
... patience can reward !
The nearby woodland produced Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker and unexpectedly a singing Bonelli's Warbler that showed briefly but eluded the camera as I hacked through the woodland and acquired only a tick (the paratitic sort ) for my pains ... a Tree Pipit sang ...
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