I managed a bit more of a lie-in this morning, but there was
no rest for the wicked, and we were soon out, heading for the intimidating
presence of Mont Ventoux.
On the way however, we stopped off at a bit of open farmland
near the village, where we had no trouble seeing the hoped –for Rock Sparrow,
as a pair prospected holes in the top-structure of a telegraph pole. Lifer number eight of the trip!
Also in this area were plenty of Corn Bunting and a
Red-backed Shrike. We watched the holes
in a nearby dead trunk in the hope a Wryneck was nesting there, but no luck.
Onto Ventoux itself, and the view was wonderful.
The same couldn’t be said for the weather, as although it
was dry, it was blowing an absolute gale! You could barely stand up! We wondered whether this walk along the road
at the base of the ski-lifts was all going to be a bit hopeless.
Luckily though, the birds did start to slowly appear, and it
wasn’t long before Andrew had spotted the special bird of the area, the Citril
Finch. I missed them though.
We then made our way down into a sheltered area of pine forest,
where it was more comfortable for us, and seemingly, more comfortable for the
birds, as they seemed to be everywhere!
Not only did I see the Citril Finch well, but there were Crossbill all
over the place, and a number of Short-toed Treecreeper called, and were
eventually seen. Also things like
Redstart and Nuthatch around, plus my only Dunnock and Wren of the week!
As we ascended back to the road, we were visited by a pair
of Crested Tit.
We continued along the road towards a viewpoint, and were
rewarded with a load more sightings of the Citril Finch, though whenever they showed in the open, they were distant.
There were a number of interesting flowers about, such as
this Hepatica.
We soon decided it was sensible to turn back, as the path we
were on was getting more and more exposed to the wind!
A number of Firecrest were heard on the way back, but only
one was briefly seen.
We were all thankful to get back into the shelter of the
bus!
We drove higher up, and got right to the summit and the
ski-centre. No wildlife to see up here
of course, but on the way driving slowly back down the other side, we were
hoping for Rock Thrush, but the wind was a great hindrance, and it soon became
clear it was not going to happen.
We stopped for lunch at yet another impressive rock-face.
Here, a pair of Peregrine was nesting, and one of the birds
was flying around, on our arrival.
All week, our lunch was a fantastic buffet of salads, with
bread and cheese. Plus, the very best
locations were picked to have it!
We moved on to another Golden Eagle nest nearby. Once again, we were treated to a great
spectacle, as the female bird flew over to our side of the valley, only to be
mobbed by a Kestrel. It then retreated
slowly and drifted up high.
The male was then seen attending the nest, though we were
unable to see its contents.
On the short drive to some more farmland habitat, we had a
Hoopoe fly along beside the van! Oddly,
the only one seen all week.
We drove slowly along the narrow roads with the windows open
to see what we could find. A Quail
called from a cereal field, and we were treated to another Montagu’s Harrier
flypast.
We eventually found the main target of this excursion, as a
Southern Grey Shrike sat on some wires, showing off its pinkish chest.
After it had flown off, we drove further on, and found a pair hunting in
a Lavender field.
We had almost reached home, when I suddenly spotted two birds
of prey hunting over a field, as we whizzed past at speed. I judged their size as fairly large, one
greyer than the other, holding their pointed wings in a high V, and interpreted
this as being a male and female Montagu’s Harrier, and called it. I was totally wrong, but I was at least right
to bring it to people’s attention! They
were a pair of Red-footed Falcon, a scarce passage migrant in the area, usually
as a fly-over.
They both went on to give us quite a show of tandem
hovering, and perching on nearby trees and wires. Andrew was chuffed! He put the sighting on the local rare bird
news network, and I understand a number of people were rather jealous! They weren’t around the next day.
In the evening, I was doing my bird list out on the veranda,
when two Bee-eater flew over. Not bad
this. Plus, we had The Camargue to look
forward to the next day!
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