Languedoc-Roussillon
Southern France
30.5.
– 8.6. 2002
Trip report by Z.J. Grabowski
Introduction and itinerary
It was a
trip organized by the Ornithologischer Beobachterring Saar – a local
birdwatcher organization from Saarland / Germany. There were 11 participants
(in 5 cars) not only birders but also some all-round nature friends with main
interests in botanic. I think the both
fractions were able to derive some advantage from this situation. I have
learned for example some interesting
plant species which I did not know before. Nevertheless the main goal of our
trip was birding.
Guenter,
who was the leader of the trip, and Christoph has visited the most of the
places from our itinerary before and we have an excellent guide Willy who lives
also in Saarland/Germany but owns a summer-house in the area in the beautiful
Cirque de Navacelles and knows a lot about the birdlife of
Languedoc-Rousillion.
Under these
circumstances it was guaranteed that a trip was perfectly planned and that we
will see the most of targeted species. We saw indeed almost all target birds
(included Lesser-Grey-Shrike, Black-eared Wheatear, Golden Eagle and Rock
Thrush) but not Stone Curlew, Little
Bustard, Rock Sparrow (due to the bad weather as we visited Causse de Méjean)
and Great-spotted-Cuckoo (for which there are not particular spots to tick).
Although we
have birded a lot it was not an extreme rush and tick trip because we have a
lot of time so everyone could also
relax a bit and almost every day we have a nice and long picnic outdoors at
mid-day.
Our main
destination was Causse de Blandas ( Causse means a limestone plateau) which is a part of greater Causse de Larzac
on the south edge of the Massif Central, about 60 km north of Montpellier and
90 km west of Nimes. We birded most
time this area inclusive the Cirque de Navacelles a 300 m deep canyon of the
Vis River. We made one-day trip to the Cevennes ( Vulture reintroduction
station Belvedere des Vautours in the Gorges de la Jont and Causse de Méjean) and also to the Mediterranean coast (
Leucate, Etang de Lapalme, Etang de Pissévaches and lower Aude Valley).
We made
also short visit to the Herault Valley near Ganges.
Driving in
the gorges is not very easy because of narrow, steep and winding roads but
there is fortunately not much traffic. On the plateaus driving is easy and you
can in practice stop everywhere to watch.
In my
opinion the Causses (especially Blandas) are the perfect place for relaxed
birding, the population density is about 1,5 inhabitants / square km (!!!!), so
there are much more birds as people over there…
We did not
meet any birders during our trip.
For birders
who have not a lot of time and want to see even more species it could be better
to go for 4-5 days to Camargue, Crau and Alpilles, then spend 2 days in the
Causses and 1 day on the Languedoc
Mediterranean coast visiting the lower Aube Valley and Leucate. In my opinion
it would be enough to see the most of local specialities (see my trip report
from Camargue, Crau and Alpilles ).
We were accommodated
in the heart of the Causse de Blandas in the Auberge de la Jurade (€ 34 pro
Person in single room with breakfast and dinner)- Isabelle and Luc Bernier –30120 Rogues – Telephone +33 4 67 81 53
17.
left: La Jurade right: typical landscape of Causse de Blandas
30.5.2002
Travel
from Saarland to our destination
(St.Avold-Metz-Nancy-Dijon-Lyon-Nimes-Sauve-Ganges-Gorniès- la Jurade)
8:30 – 17:15 about 900 km. After arrival some
birding on the Causse de Blandas in the vicinity of la Jurade.
31.5.2002 Causse de Blandas – Cirque de Navacelles –
Blandas – la Rigalderie with a car
01.6.2002
Causse de
Blandas - Cirque de Navacelles – walking tour, afternoon
Rogues-Montdardier-Navas-Perrarines-Blandas – with a car
02.6.2002
Causse de
Blandas – Ganges – Herault Valley near Brissac - St.Laurent le Minier – St.Bresson – le Vigan – Montdardier – with
a car
03.06.2002
la Jurade –
St.Marice Navacelles- Soubes- Lodeve- Clermont l’Herault-Pézenas- Bézieres
–Narbonne -Cap Leucate – Etang de Lapalme – Narbonne Plage – Etang de
Pissévaches – lower Aude Valley (Fleury
, Lespignan)– Bezieres - la Jurade round trip with a car about 400 km
04.06.2002
Causse de
Blandas : La Jurade – Montdardier – Blandas – Bois de Fontaret – Bois de
Calo Rouge –
Vissec – with a car
05.06.2002
la
Jurade –St.Maurice Navacelles – Soubes- Lodeve - Millau - Aquessac–le Rozier -
Gorges de la Jonte – Belvedere des
Vautours –la Parade - Causse de
Mejean (Drigas, Hures)– Meyrueis- Mont
Aigoual – Esperou - le Vigan – la Jurade – round trip with a car about
250 km
06.06.2002
La
Jurade – terrible weather !! only 8°-10° C, rain and strong wind
07.06.2002
La
Jurade – Cirque de Navacelles – Moulins de la Foux – Navacelles – with a car to
Navacelles and then walking tour about 15 km
08.06.2002
travelling home – return the same way as on May the 30th 8:45 – 17:00
Daily reports
Note: I did
not write down all commoner species on all places so these reports are not
exhaustive. I am sorry for the poor
quality of the photos…
First day – 30.06.2002
After we have
arrived as the second car of the fifth at 17:15 the first bad news. The chalets
where Lothar and me should be accommodated were not ready so we should sleep
two nights 3 km away from the rest of our group in a pension in the village
Rogues. So far so good… Waiting for the rest of our group I made a short walk
around La Jurade which produced one soaring Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus
gallicus), a group of six Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) , calling Cuckoo
(Cuculus canorus), one flying Stock Dove (Columba oenas), two calling Wrynecks
(Jynx torquila) and a lot of passerines including some “nice” species as Woodlark
(Lullula arborea)-really very abundant, Orphean Warbler (Sylvia
hortensis)- this time only heard but the species is abundant and not difficult
to watch, a lot of Melodious Warblers (Hippolais polyglotta), two
singing males of Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana), a pair of Red-backed
Shrike (Lanius collurio), many singing Corn Buntings (Emberiza
calandra) – I think the most common bird in this part of the Causse de Blandas,
one singing male of Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus), two Woodchat
Shrikes (Lanius senator), singing Subalpine Warblers (Sylvia
cantillans)- only heard and last but not least one Southern-Great-Grey
Shrike (Lanius meridionalis).Other species spotted were: Nightingale
(Luscinia megarhynchos)-very common, Stonechat (Saxicola rubetra), Serin
(Serinus serinus), Linnet (Accanthis cannabina), House Sparrow
(Passer domesticus), Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), Golden Finch
(Carduelis carduelis)- very common, Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), Blackbird
(Turdus merula) and Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla).
Later in
the evening in the park surrounding the pension in Rogues (I did not remember
its name)where Lothar and me were accommodated for two nights I have added some
Swifts (Apus apus), Swallows (Hirundo rustica), Black
Redstarts (Phoenicurus ochruros), Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) and a
group of Long-tailed Tits (Aegithalos caudatus). On the slope behind the
house I get a cracking view of Ortolan Bunting-male at only 20 meters.
About
midnight I heard the monotonous calls of the Scops Owl (Otus scops). The
weather was very fine that day – sunny and warm (25°C).
Second
day – 31.05.2002
After I
woke up early at 5:30 and went outdoors about 6:00 the first bird I have heard
was a Hoopoe (Upupa epops). In the garden there were species seen
yesterday plus a singing Short-toed Treecreeper (Certhia brachydactyla).
We went then to bird a bit the Causse in the vicinity of la Jurade adding Great Tit (Parus major), Tree
Pipit (Anthus trivialis), Raven (Corvus corax)- only heard, calling Quail
(Coturnix coturnix), Skylark (Alauda arvensis), Tawny Pipits
(Anthus campestris)- pretty abundant. I got very good views on Orphean Warbler,
Woodchat Shrike and Southern-Great-Grey-Shrike. The most of species mentioned
yesterday were also present (i.e. Chough, Ortolan Bunting, Wryneck etc.) Then
short before 8:00 Lothar and me had to get back to Rogues to have a breakfast
(very inconvenient) which even for French conditions was very modest (cup of
coffee, some bread, three sorts of marmalade and honey-that was all). Later in
la Jurade breakfasts were better with tea, cocoa, yoghurt,juices and fruits in
addition to the obligatory marmalades. After the “breakfast” we went to la
Jurade to go together with a group to explore the Causse de Blandas. During our
absence some members of the group spotted Red-rumped Swallow (Hirundo
daurica)- the only of our trip - near la Jurade.
The weather was very fine again and the
temperatures reached about 30° C later at afternoon. Our “guide” Willy came to la Jurade reporting to have spotted one
Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica hispanica) about 4 km from la Jurade
on the way to Navacelles. About 9:30 we headed to the vicinity of the village
Blandas having Rock Thrush (Monticola saxalitis) as our main target.
We stopped
at the place where Willy saw the Black-eared Wheatear (this species is very
rare on the Causse) but only Lothar managed to see briefly one flying distant
unidentified Wheatear. Woodchat Shrikes and singing Woodlarks, Tawny Pipits,
Orphean Warblers and Ortolan and Corn Buntings could be seen and heard during the stop. On the road lied
one dead Eyed Lizard (Lacerta lepida) with a small young snake near its head –
probably the lizard had predate this snake before being killed by a passing
car.
We passed
Blandas and went direction Alzon having
heard in the small wood the first Bonelli’s
Warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli) of
our trip, later at a short stop we saw one soaring Short-toed Eagle.
Other raptors seen on our way being Common
Buzzard (Buteo buteo) and Kestrel (Falco tinnuncullus). Then we
arrived in the rocky area near la
Rigalderie where the Rock Thrushes could be seen. After short search one
distant bird was spotted on the top of the rock. With telescope the view was
not bad at all and we could watch this Rock Thrush (male) during our
picnic foraging and displaying in the air.
Orphean
Warblers, Whitethroats (Sylvia communis), Greenfinch (Carduelis
chloris), Cirl Bunting were the other species seen and heard there. Short
before we left two Short-toed Eagle
appeared flying very low and allowing
some very good views before they disappeared circling high in the sky.
Short-toed Eagle (Circaetus
gallicus) a quite common view at Causse de Blandas
We headed
to Navacelles making a stop at Relay du Cirque de Navacelles where you can take
some views of the canyon from above. Some Choughs and Crag Martins
(Ptyonoprogne rupestris) have enriched the wonderful landscape.
at Relay du Cirque de Navacelles
Then we
drove 300 m down to the village of Navacelles on the bottom of the gorge. Cold beer in the picturesque located Willy’s
house was very welcomed refreshment. In
Navacelles we could add Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Spotted
Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) and Dipper (Cinclus ciclus) near the
waterfall. Willy had a breeding Blue Rock Thrushes (Monticola solitarius) on
his house almost every year but unfortunately this year the birds chose their
nesting place on other house in the village (we saw this bird some days later).
There were also a lot of butterflies sitting on the banks of the Vis River,
trouts could also be seen in the clear water.
As we got
back to la Jurade I managed to have a good views of one female of Subalpine
Warbler. Night again in Rogues but not any
Scops Owl calling.
Third
day – 1.06.2002
Before the
breakfast Lothar and me went to the place where the Black-eared Wheater was
seen by Willy yesterday. Our search was fruitless but we managed to see a
Hoopoe and some usual species.
After the
“breakfast” (do you remember?) we
checked out of the pension in Rogues because our chalets should be ready for
the next night.
The weather
was very fine again so a walking tour through the Causse to the edge of Cirque
de Navacelles was planned. Before we went I had some very good views of
Subalpine Warblers finding three territories near the Auberge. We took the path
to the north west and short after crawled under the fence which surrounded a
big pasture with lot of scrub where some cattle (included dangerous bulls!!)
were expected to be. These pastures are very vast with very few cattle or sheep grazing on them so the probability
to meet some angry bulls was very low. Nevertheless we have found some cow-pats, fortunately some days old and a
little thrill of horror has accompanied
us during the walk ;-)
One of the
first birds we saw were Alpine Swifts (Apus melba), the first ones of
our trip. Hoopoe, some Warblers (Melodious, Subalpine, Orphean) and again one
Short-toed Eagle have followed. After
about 40 minutes march across country we reached the edge of the Cirque and the
views deep inside the gorge were really gorgeous !!!
gorgeous views into a gorge of Vis
Soon one Blue Rock Thrush was
discovered on the ridge allowing some good but distant views. Crag Martins,
Alpine Swifts and Choughs were in the air. While some of us were searching (and
finding) for interesting plants I have scanned the cliffs of the canyon finding
our trip’s first immature Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) without doubt
the highlight of the day. The eagle flew past allowing thrilling but quite
distant views.
On our way
back to the Jurade we passed a huge field of poppies with one Woodchat Shrike
perched on the surrounding fence, which was a very aesthetic view.
At
afternoon some of us went to explore the Causse again this time with cars. The
first stop near Rogues produced one Hobby (Falco subbuteo), one 2nd year male of Montagu’s Harrier
(Circus pygargus) and one Southern-Great-Grey Shrike again. We went to
Montdardier where in the quite small meadow near football-ground a singing Fan-tailed
Warbler (Cisticola juncidis) was found by Guenter two days ago as he went
to Montdardier to buy some bread for the group. Fan-tailed Warbler is of course
nothing special in Southern Europe but this one really was… Due to literature
about the Avifauna of the region this species was not recorded as breeding on
the Causse de Blandas. Two sightings of a singing male during the breading
season give at least a sign for probably breeding. After arrived on this spot
we heard and saw this “little guy” immediately.
Later we
crossed the Causse going in the direction Blandas through Navas and
Perrarines seeing some Red-backed and Woodchat Shrikes accompanying by
the songs of Woodlarks, Tawny Pipits and Ortolan, Corn and Cirl Buntings as
usual. We added Mistle Thrushes (Turdus viscivorus), Yellowhammer (Emberiza
citrinella) and Magpie (Pica pica) to our trip list and watched a family
of Southern-Great-Grey Shrikes between Navas and Perrarines . Two Short-toed
Eagles and two Hoopoes were also
noticed. Elsewhere I saw also a Carrion Crow (Corvus corone corone). On
the Causse de Blandas if you see some black birds flying past check them with
your bins, they are probably Choughs and not Carrion Crows!
In Blandas
we wanted to add some wetland species to our list and went to the small pond
near the village. We did not find any Coots, Moorhens or Ducks but some Collared
Doves (Streptopelia turtur) and to our surprise we heard calls of the Scops
Owl. Guenter tried to lure the owl imitating its calls, the bird responded but
did not leave its hide in the foliage. Some time earlier as we were looking
round the dolmen near Perrarines we added
one Black Kite (Milvus migrans) to our list.
Fourth
day – 2.06.2002
Birdwise rather dull day but weather was still very
fine. After breakfast we went down to Ganges wanting to visit a local market
and buy some local food and vegetables. There was only a flea-market in this
small city but I was happy to stock up my cigarettes ration in the
“Tabac-Shop”. Attraction for Oldtimer fans was a Citroen 2 CV-Parade with about
30 2 CV’s and some old Ami 6 and Dyane Citroens. It had a little ornithological
aspect because 2 CV is called “Ente” in Germany and Ente means … Duck.
Then we
went to the Herault Valley direction Brissac
having a rest near a Snack-bar with Rent-a-Boat station at the bank of
the river. There were only some usual species in the Valley, but we added Grey
Herons (Ardea cinerea) and House Martins (Delichon urbica) to our
list. The only more interesting species there being Crag Martin and Black Kite.
Lothar and
me decided to go back to la Jurade as the rest of the group went to see Grotte
des Demoiselles a cave in the vicinity of St.Bauzille-de Putois.
Going to la
Jurade we decided to take the way through St.Laurent but the shorter way (on
the map) turned out to be the longer because due to the local Car-Rallye the
road from St.Laurent to Mantardier was closed. We should made detour of almost
20 km on a narrow, steep and winding roads, first going to le Vigan and then
back to Montardier. Nevertheless a short stop on a mountain slopes near
St.Bresson produced Bonelli’s Warblers and very good view of Subalpine
Warbler’s male (and a big snake which disappeared under the rocks before being
identified). Between St. Bresson and le Vigan we have added Chiffchaff
(Phylloscopus collybita) to our trip list. Back home Lothar has felt a little
sick and stayed in his room. I went out with my video camera to film Woodchat
Shrikes. I managed to film them however the light was not perfect and the
quality of the film is very poor…The most interesting view I had this evening
was a flock of 22 Choughs.
very
poor shots of Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) L
Fifth day - 3.06.2002
After
yesterday was rather frustrating my motivation level was very high this morning
because a trip to the coast was planned with many new species expected.
We did not
eat breakfast at la Jurade this day just to reach early our meeting point at
the light-house of Cap Leucate (190 km distance). We have reached Leucate
before 9:00 and the first scoped bird was a Spotless Starling (Sturnus
unicolor) singing on the external aerial. Apart of this place a Spotless
Starling can be found only on the Iberian Peninsula, in Corsica, Sardinia and
Sicily. In the air we saw some Yellow-legged
Gulls (Larus michahelis). At 9:00 we went to the meeting point. The rocky
plateau behind the light-house was very productive. It was easy to find some Black-eared
Wheatears (Oenanthe hispanica hispanica) both males and females dark and
light throated. Other new species for this trip was Spectacled Warbler
(Sylvia conspicillata) pretty abundant in the low bushes. I have some very good
views of this species and also of Sardinian Warbler (Sylvia
melanoleuca)- also new species for this trip. Other birds seen there being:
Tawny Pipits, Kestrel, Linnet, Stonechat, Swallow, Spotless Starlings, Swifts
and a lot of Yellow-legged Gulls.
Very tricky
were abundant Larks which seemed to be “Crekla Larks” (Galerida cristata
or theklae)… I know it was not a
professional attitude but no one of us was ambitious enough to identify
at least one bird…Nevertheless these Larks were something different from the
common Crested Lark, above all the habitat was not typical for Crested.
light-house and stony plateau at Leucate
Instead of chasing after the Larks I preferred
to contemplate the beautiful Black-eared Wheatears and to scan the plateau for
the Great-spotted Cuckoo … the latest effort was pitifully fruitless…
Then we go
to see some wetland species at Etang and Saline de Lapalme between Leucate and
Port-la-Nouvelle.
If you are
visiting Camargue during your trip and have only little time for Leucate and
lower Aude Valley it is not necessary to go to this place (neither to Etang de
Pissévaches ). All species seen there are present in Camargue in better
numbers. At Lapalme we added Little
Egret (Egretta garzetta), about 100 Greater Flamingos
(Phoenicopterus rubber), Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna), Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos),Avocets (Recurvirostra avoceta), Black-winged
Stilts (Himantopus himantopus), Kentish Plovers (Charadrius
alexandrinus), Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus), Little Terns
(Sterna albifrons), Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava
iberiae) and Crested Larks (Galerida cristata)- in typical habitat - to
our trip list. Yellow-legged Gulls were also present and we heard also one
singing Fan-tailed Warbler.
Then we
went back to the Motorway A 9 and drove to Narbonne Plage and further to Etang
de Pissévaches where we had a picnic. At Pissévaches we could add Purple
Herons (Ardea purpurea), Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus), late
3 moulding Curlew Sandpipers
(Calidris ferruginea), some Redshanks (Tringa totanus), one late Greenshank
(Tringa nebularia), lot of Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and one flying Bee-eater
(Merops apiaster) to our list.
The species
which we saw at Lapalme were also present, Little Terns in great numbers. Two
Hoopoes had been also spotted.
Then we
went to Fleury through Moyau and la Pagéze and had our first Rollers
(Coracias graculus) and Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) of the
trip.
After we made some shopping in Salles d’Aude we went to the Aude Valley searching for a highlight of the trip the Lesser-Grey Shrike (Lanius minor). This Shrike species still quite abundant in South-East Europe became very rare in South-West Europe and some of the populations are already extinct. The lower Aude Valley still have a little population of this endangered species. Before we managed to find 3 Lesser-Grey Shrikes we saw a pair of Rollers and 3 Bee-eaters and added Cetti’s Warbler (Cetia cetti) to our trip list. We got really good views of the Lesser-Grey and also of Ortolan Bunting and Woodchat Shrike there. Calling Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) was first of the trip. Other species seen there were: Kestrel, Marsh Harrier, Skylark, Nightingale, Stonechat, Magpie, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Corn and Cirl Bunting.
Unfortunately we did not find one of the target species – Rock Sparrow (some of us have heard calls which sounded like Rock Sparrow’s and have seen some distant flying birds which could be RS’s but it was not enough for me to put this species on the trip list) but the day was really successful.
Sixth day, 4.06.2002
The weather turned to be quite bad. Colder (15° - 18°C) and rainy with only a few sunny moments. Nevertheless after breakfast we went with our cars to make a tour on the Causse de Blandas again. My goal was to take some good views of Bonelli’s Warblers which we have heard quite often in the last days. First we visited small Mediterranean-Pine forests Bois de Fontaret and Bois de Calo Rouge which produced Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) , Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus), Crested (Parus cristatus) and Coal (Parus ater) Tits all new for our trip. I got also my very good views of Bonelli’s Warblers. Elsewhere between Blandas and Vissec we added Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus) and Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) male to our trip list. As usual we contacted some southern species like Short-toed Eagle, Crag Martin, Orphean and Subalpine Warblers, Woodchat and Southern Great Grey Shrikes, Cirl and Ortolan Buntings.
Seventh day, 5.06.2002
Though the weather was really bad again we decided to fulfil our plans and went to the Parc National de Cevennes and to Causse de Mejean with our target birds Griffon Vulture, Black Vulture and Little Bustard, Stone Curlew and Rock Sparrow respectively. Our first stop was on the Belvedere des Vautours in Gorges de la Jonte not far away from Millau. There is a Vulture reintroduction station there and it was easy to see about 30 Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) and 4 Black Vultures (Aegypius monachus) perched on the rocks and soaring in the sky. The scope views of both species were very satisfactory. Griffon Vultures were disappeared as breeding species in the Grands Causses in 1945 due to shortage of food and human persecution (poisoning and shooting). Since 1968 reintroduction took place and now there is a population of 250 birds with about 75 pairs breeding (1999). The Vultures can not obviously survive without human help and are regularly provided with carcass on some chosen feeding places. These places are situated far away from the human habitations. There is a big exposition in the station dedicated to Vultures and the nature of the Grands Causses. Some remote controlled cameras are placed at the feeding places and on the rocks of Gorges de la Jonte and we could see on a big screen some exciting scenes from the live of Vultures. The operator have zoomed for us also one beautiful Blue Rock Thrush.
left: view from Belvedere des Vautours right: silhouettes of Vultures on a distant rock
Something different is the (re?)introduction of Black Vultures. It is not sure that this species was present there in the ancient times – there are some records in the old literature but they are not considered as very reliable. Nevertheless since 1992 an introduction program is running and today there is a population of 25 Black Vultures, including 5 breeding pairs living in the Cevennes National Park. Good question: are they really tickable? ;-)
From the viewing - terrace of the station we have good scope views of perched Short-toed Eagle and Peregrine. Other species spotted there being Honey Buzzard, Chough, Jackdaw, Raven, Crag Martin, Chiff-chaff, Bonelli’s Warbler and Firecrest.
After a short coffee break we took a very steep and narrow road to climb from the gorge on the plateau of Causse de Mejean. The weather was cold and very windy so the birding conditions were really bad . We drove all small roads between Drigas and Hures searching in vain for Little Bustards, Stone Curlews and Rock Sparrows… The only new species for the trip was Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe). Nevertheless we got some nice views of flying Griffon Vultures and one male of Rock Thrush was an aesthetical highlight. Other interesting species spotted there were Ravens, Choughs, Wood Larks, Corn Buntings and one female of Montagu’s Harrier. We heard also a few Quails calling and Orphean and Bonelli’s Warblers singing. All in all rather disappointing…
On our way home we took the picturesque road on the slopes of Mont Aigual where we heard Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin), new for our trip list.
Eighth day, 6.06.2002
Yesterday the weather was really fine compared with this day. Only about 8° C almost continuously rain and very strong wind. I decided to stay at la Jurade and relax a bit making notices from the trip and studying some literature. In my notebook there are only 9 species recorded this day… the best of them being a very good viewed male of Cirl Bunting… A day to forget.
Ninth day, 7.06.2002
… clear
blue sky and beautiful sun on our last day in Languedoc-Rousillon . We decided
to go to Navacelles and to make there a walking tour of about 15 km to the
picturesque mills (Moulins de la Foux) . It was very nice day with lot of
marvellous views of the landscape but we have seen some birds too J. Little
Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor), Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) and
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) were new to our trip list. We had very nice views of nesting Crag
Martins, Subalpine , Bonelli’s and Melodious Warblers gave the acoustic
background and Woodchat Shrike and Blue Rock Thrush gave something for the
eyes…
In the evening
we had really cracking scope views of an adult Golden Eagle and finally added a
pair of Rock Buntings (Emberiza cia) to our trip list.
left: the picturesque village of
Navacelles right: very impressive!
Mill on the wild waters of Vis
FULL COMMENTED SPECIES LIST
(under construction)