Tuesday, The Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Posted on June 21, 2016 by frank

Today we birded the Camargue, a huge coastal preserve on the Mediterranean in southeastern France. It is like Brigantine on steroids. Marshes, salt-pans, brush, ponds, woods, etc. I have no idea how large it is, but is somewhere around 20 x 25 miles.

There were a lot of birds. Some of them, we couldn’t identify until we got back to the hotel and studied the photos!

The highlights were the Flamingos (of course), but also the Bee-eaters, and Short-toed Eagle. We discovered the eagle was banded when we saw the photos. The Bee-eaters, unfortunately stayed just far enough away that the photos were not sharp — but certainly enjoyable.

We will be birding more of this area tomorrow.

The trip list is 70 with 53 lifers.

Here is a gallery of some of today’s birds.

Zitting’s Cisticola (Fan-tailed Warbler), Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Yellow Wagtail, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Yellow-legged Gull, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

White Stork, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Turtle Dove, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Stonechat, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Short-toed Eagle (with leg band), Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Sardinian Warbler, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Lizard, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Little Egret, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Eurasian Jackdaw, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Glossy Ibis, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Greater Flamingo, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Cattle Egret, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Black-winged Stilt, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Black-headed Gull, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Bee-eaters, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Avocet, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Monday, June 20, 2016

Posted on June 20, 2016 by frank

We spent most of today traveling (7 hours) from Cugy to Arles, France.

We got in a little birding in Switzerland and added Wren (our Winter Wren) to our list.

As we neared our hotel near Arles, Barb spotted some Cattle Egrets and, shortly thereafter, a European Roller.

European Roller, Arles, France, June 20, 2016

That was our only lifer for today.

We will be birding the Camargue — a large coastal preserve — the next few days. The most notable bird that breeds here is Flamingo! Plus, we should see some shorebirds, gulls, terns, waders, etc. (At least they won’t be hiding in the trees…)

41 lifers so far.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Posted on June 19, 2016 by frank

We started down memory lane today by driving over to Cugy (where Barb had lived for 5 months). Remarkably, we found her old apartment building — although with some changes (I thought we had brought along photos of it from 1963, but apparently not, so we will post comparison photos when we get home).

Barb’s apartment building, Cugy, June 19, 2016

Okay, enough of non-birding!

We headed up to a nature preserve called Chavornay — a wetland, fields, and marsh. Just before we got there, we found a Eurasian Collared-Dove.

Eurasian Collared-Dove, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

At the first pond, a Purple Heron was preening.

Purple Heron, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

From the observation blind, we saw Coots, Tufted Ducks, and this Great Cormorant.

Great Cormorant, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

Another Purple Heron flew by.

Purple Heron, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

Also there, a Reed Warbler posed.

Reed Warbler, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

I decided to walk down to check a nearby channel. Although I didn’t find any new birds, I did find Deer tracks — the closest we have come so far to seeing any wild mammals here.

Deer track, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

And another frog (at all of the wetlands we have visited so far, the frogs and toads are in full chorus).

Frog, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

While I was doing that, Barb started walking back to the car. In a field of Swiss Chard (!), she found a Yellow Wagtail, which conveniently reappeared when I caught up.

Yellow Wagtail, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

We next headed for the Vallee de Joux. As we pulled into the first wetland parking area, a Hobby flew in and raced back and forth over the stream and marsh for several minutes.

Hobby, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

Out on the lake were many Coots, Great Crested Grebes, and Black-headed Gulls. We drove down the lakeside, but didn’t find anything new. But as we pulled into a parking lot to turn around, a small bird flitted into a tree in front of us. It was a Redstart.

Redstart, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

Although Tufted Ducks are common here, most of the ones we have seen have been distant. So a closer one on a pond was nice.

Tufted Duck, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

While driving back to the hotel, we spotted a Common Buzzard.

Common Buzzard, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

In Pennsylvania, when a farmer is out mowing the hay, he is followed by a swarm of swallows. Here, he is followed by kites!

Kites, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

Kites (Red on right), near Cugy, June 19, 2016

Black Kite, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

The triplist is 52, with 40 lifers.

We head to France and the Camargue (a large coastal preserve) tomorrow.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Posted on June 18, 2016 by frank

We started the day outside our hotel in Twann and added Serin to our list.

Serin, Twann, June 18, 2016

And had nesting Barn Swallows.

Barn Swallow, Twann, June 18, 2016

We headed west to the Fanel and Chablais de Cudrefin preserve and found the La Sauge Nature Center there instead (I told you the book was out-of-date). However, this was a terrific spot. We spent most of the morning there. It had woods, ponds, brushy areas and blinds at the ponds. Here are some of the birds we got there.

House Sparrow (they’re native here!), La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Mute Swan (they’re native here!), La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Great Tit, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Graylag Goose, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Gray Heron, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Common Kingfisher, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Female Blackcap, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Squacco Heron, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Wood Pigeon, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

White Wagtail, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

The Fanel area is adjacent to the Nature Center, but required a long walk. So Barb continued to bird the nature center while I walked down to the Fanel Preserve. My first encounter was a Cormorant rookery.

Great Cormorants, Fanel, June 18, 2016

A little farther down, I spotted some Red-crested Pochards.

Red-crested Pochard, Fanel, June 18, 2016

Down near the observation tower, a Nightingale flew up from the pathway and landed on a post.

Nightingale, Fanel, June 18, 2016

I added Black-crowned Night-Heron and Little Egret to the list and saw some terns way out, but couldn’t identify them. The common corvid the past three days has been Carrion Crow, but they have proved difficult to get close to for photo ops — until today. On the walk back, three of a flock of four crows flew off, but one stayed and didn’t care that I was there!

Carrion Crow, Fanel, June 18, 2016

We headed further west to the Auried at Kleinbosingen — a nature preserve of ponds, fields, marsh and woods. Although we saw Little Grebes at La Sauge, this one here was more cooperative.

Little Grebe, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

It was also a good place to look for raptors. As mentioned in a previous post, pulling ff the roads here is almost impossible, so most of the hawks we have seen have been fly-bys. By the way, Red Kites are everywhere and half-a-dozen or more at times. At this location we saw Red and Black kites and Common Buzzard.

Common Buzzard, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

Black Kite, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

We also had a lot of frogs an toads.

Frog (species?), Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

Our triplist stands at only 44, but 33 lifers!

We are spending the next two nights in a hotel near Cugy, which is the village that barb lived in 53 years ago. So we will be exploring that a little bit in addition to our birding.

Zurich – Thursday and Friday, June 16-17, 2016

Posted on June 17, 2016 by frank

In September 1962, Barb traveled to Europe and didn’t return until December 1964. She lived and worked in Switzerland, Austria (Innsbruck Winter Olympics!), Germany, and Luxembourg. The longest period of time in one place was Lausanne, Switzerland (Nov 62 – Feb 64), which is in western Switzerland, not far from Geneva. She has always wanted to return to reminisce and see what it looks like now.

So we have planned this trip as a birding trip with a pause in the middle down memory lane. We will be starting in Zurich, bird our way across northern Switzerland to Lausanne, look for her old stomping grounds, then on to the Camargure in southeastern France, bird our way back to Switzerland, across the southern half and back to Zurich.

The trip will be two weeks, and practically every bird we see will be new!

So here goes…

After an 8-hour flight from Newark, we arrive in Zurich around noon. Although we tried to sleep on the flight, we got very little. I had planned to visit three sites this afternoon, but skipped the last one, as we were worn out.

This first impression of this part of Switzerland is how much it looks like Pennsylvania — wooded hillsides and agricultural valleys! A slightly different mix of tree species (more conifers), but superficially the same. Also, the roads here are not birder-friendly — they are narrow and have no shoulders, so pulling off to look at a good (or great) bird is usually not an option. Although we are getting raptors, crows, etc. as we drive along, most of the birding is being done at “sites” from the Where to watch birds in Switzerland book (which is out-of-date).

Since it is the breeding season, seeing woodland birds was difficult at best. They were singing up a storm, but not knowing the songs (even though we tried to prep ourselves) made it very frustrating. Anyone who ever worked on a breeding Bird Atlas is familiar with this problem.

In spite of this, we saw a lot of birds (not enough!). We picked up a bunch of lifers the past two days and saw some AOU birds in a new light (Fieldfare, for instance).

We were totally wiped out last night (and the internet service at our hotel was laughable), so we did not get to the blog until now. Even tonight, it is almost 11 pm as I am writing this (6 hours ahead of EDT, by the way).

We will list our lifers and birdlist on another day as we reduce our itinerary (we bit off more than we could chew the first two days).

In the meantime, here is a gallery of photos so far (in no particular order).

White Wagtail, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Tufted Duck, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

White Stork, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Great Crested Grebe, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Gray Herons, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Fieldfare, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

European Coot, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Red Kite, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Middle Spotted Woodpecker, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

European Greenfinch, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Eurasian Kestrel, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Common Swift, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

Chaffinch, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

European Blackbird, near Zurich, Switzerland, June 16, 2016

More tomorrow.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Posted on May 31, 2016 by frank

Not a lifer, but close…redux

Temp in the 40s, overcast, light rain in the afternoon, Wind SSE 10-20

Still no Hawfinches or Bramblings.

At Sweeper Cove, a Horned Puffin was gracious enough to pose.

Horned Puffin, Sweeper Cove, May 29, 2016

As I was taking this photo, we got a call from Paul and Don that they had a Far Eastern Curlew and a Whimbrel at Landing Lights Beach! We flew up there, and saw Don up on the sand dune. I scrambled up to see the birds, snapped a few photos, and then scrambled down to go farther up the dune to get closer, as they were heading up the beach.

In the meantime, Barb drove up to the top of the next hill in hopes of reaching Bill and Chris on the radio. It turned out to be not necessary, as over the hill came Paul, trailed by Bill and Chris. They climbed the dune and got terrific looks at the birds and then Don and I helped Barb up the dune so she could get a look (This wasn’t a lifer, but close!)

The birds flew a couple of times, but always returned to the beach. In flight, we could see the white up the back of the Whimbrel, making it the “Siberian” sub-species. That is the only sub-species that we have seen out here.

Here is a photo gallery.

“Siberian” Whimbrel, Landing Lights Beach, May 29, 2016

“Siberian” Whimbrel and Far Eastern Curlew, Landing Lights Beach, May 29, 2016

“Siberian” Whimbrel, Far Eastern Curlew, and Glaucous-winged Gull Landing Lights Beach, May 29, 2016

Far Eastern Curlew, Landing Lights Beach, May 29, 2016

Happy curlew-watchers! Chris, Frank, Barb, Don, Paul, and Bill.

We had seen a Far Eastern Curlew on our first trip to Adak in May 2005, but that one was far out on the Clam Lagoon flats and only stayed 15 minutes or so. This one was much nicer. It was a lifer (or ABA Lifer) for everyone else.

The boat from Attu was due in around noon, so we anxiously waited for their arrival, hoping the birds would remain. They arrived at Sweeper Cove, climbed into several vehicles and headed for Landing Lights Beach. They parked part-way up the dune, clambered up, but did not spot them. In the meantime, we drove ahead, planning to scan for the Temminck’s Stint up at Clam Lagoon. However, we stopped at the Navfac Creek viewpoint (which is the north end of Landing Lights Beach) and there were the curlews! We radioed the other groups and they arrived and all had good looks. As far as we can tell, it was a lifer for most (if not all) of the other birders!

We continued up to Clam Lagoon, but could not find the stint. However, the Red Phalarope was still there, giving everyone great views.

Trip Summary

We ended with a trip list of 66, two above average.

We added two birds to our Adak List — Surf Scoter and Red Phalarope

No lifers, but several Semi-lifers — Far Eastern Curlew, Temminck’s Stint, Red Phalarope

Notable records — Western Sandpiper (only 2nd or 3rd spring record), Red Phalarope (not rare, but very uncommon on land), Least Sandpiper (only our 3rd record), Wood Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Brambling, and Hawfinch.

Birds we missed — Smew and Black-crowned Night-Heron (both seen just before we arrived), Peregrine Falcon, Redpoll, Ruff, Yellow-billed Loon, Wandering Tattler.

For the first time in years, all of our return flights left and arrived early or on-time!

We will be back in September…

Saturday, May 28, 2018

Posted on May 29, 2016 by frank

Temp in the 40s, mostly cloudy, light variable wind changing to SSE 10-15 in the afternoon

There have been no sightings of Bramblings for several days, and only one report of Hawfinch yesterday morning. After not seeing any for several days, we saw a pair of Tufted Ducks on the Airport Ponds today.

We did not see any new birds today. The Horned Grebe is still here as are a few Pacific Loons.

The Aleutian and Arctic Terns are becoming more active and close.

Aleutian Terns coming in to bathe at Lake Shirley, May 28, 2016

After two trips to Clam Lagoon, we spotted the Red Phalarope and Temminck’s Stint again. Yesterday, Bill and Chris did not get the most satisfying looks at the stint, so it was nice when it flew from farther out on the mudflats to the edge of the flats right below where we were standing on the road. They both got great views.

Temminck’s Stint, Clam Lagoon, May 28, 2016

At the Palisades, a Pacific Wren was singing away.

Pacific Wren, Palisades Overlook, May 28, 2016

The Attu boat is coming in tomorrow and several of the birders on board need the stint, so we hope it sticks around.

Our trip list stands at 64.

We leave tomorrow at 6 pm Adak time and expect to arrive home around 6 pm Eastern time Monday. So this will be our last post until Tuesday when we will wrap up this trip.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Posted on May 28, 2016 by frank

Not a lifer, but close…

Temp in the 40s, overcast, occasional very light drizzle, Wind light SSE

No sign of the Hawfinch today, but the other birders were looking again as I write this. No Tufted Ducks today.

At Sweeper Cove, Ancient Murrelets are often easy to see and pose for photos (These are the kind of birds we like — easy to identify!).

Ancient Murrelet, Sweeper Cove, May 27, 2016

We found nothing new on Sweeper Creek, so we headed up to Clam Lagoon. At the viewpoint of Kuluk Bay near the Navdac Creek, we finally added Horned Grebe to our trip list. We were worried that this would be our first May trip without one.

We didn’t see anything new on the Clam Lagoon flats, so I decided to walk out the peninsula.

Just a short way out, a small shorebird flushed in front of me and flew back behind me, between me and Barb, who was watching from the truck. I could quickly see that it was a “peep”, had light legs, and was not a Least Sandpiper. This left two possibilities — Long-toed Stint and Temminck’s Stint. Since we needed Long-toed, we tried to make it into one. However, no matter how we tried to fit a square peg into a round hole, we couldn’t. Paul and Don arrived shortly, and later Bill and Chris. Chris, having spent some time in China, confidently identified it as a Temminck’s — of which he had seen plenty.

So — not a lifer, but since the only other one we had previously seen was in classic fall juvenile plumage — all gray — this was a semi-lifer for us.

Temminck’s Stint, Clam Lagoon, May 27, 2016

By the way, the Red Phalarope was still there, also.

We continued around Clam Lagoon. At the East Ponds (next to the Seawall), a Common eider posed nicely.

Common Eider, East Ponds, May 27, 2016

At the Seawall, there were four Pacific Loons today (Paul and Don counted at least 8), but no Arctic Loon.

Pacific Loons, Seawall, May 27, 2016

There were the usual assortment of scaup and mergansers on Lake Shirley, as well as this Mallard shepherding her flock.

Mallard w/young, Lake Shirley, May 27, 2016

Speaking of shepherding her flock, a few days after we arrived, there was a Northern Pintail with seven ducklings in the pond across from the Clam Lagoon West Lookout. Each day as we went by, the number dwindled until today when there were none. By the way, I posted a photo of probably this same female with young on my blog back on May 17, 2013.

As I was writing this, Chris called to tell us he saw a small gull on Clam Lagoon that could have been a Bonaparte’s or Black-headed. Although we have Black-headed on our Adak list, we don’t have it yet for this trip, and Bonaparte’s would be a new Adak bird for us.

So we headed back up there. When we got there Paul and Don were already looking at it with their scopes — it was a long way out. It was a Black-headed in winter plumage. We had one like this last year. The distance was too far and the lighting so poor that we decided to try tomorrow for photos — if it sticks around.

That brings this trip list to 64. One above average.

A day-and-half to go…

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Posted on May 27, 2016 by frank

Temp in the 40s, mostly cloudy, occasional rain/drizzle, Wind SSE 10-30 falling to 10-15 in the afternoon.

No new birds.

Two Hawfinches still here.

Hawfinch, near Seal Drive Feeder, May 26, 2016

No Brambling sightings in the past two days. The Red Phalarope is still hanging out at Clam Lagoon. It does not appear to be injured, as it flies around quite well. Although not a lifer, this was certainly the closest look at a breeding-plumage female Red Phalarope that most of the birders here had ever seen — sometimes as close as 20 feet!

Also, we saw the Arctic Loon again today — now with three Pacifics. We had one Ruddy Turnstone at the Landing Lights.

Today was flight day. The groups from Fairbanks and Minnesota flew out this evening. They were a delight to bird with.

Paul Budde arrived to spend a few days birding the island before going out on the Adak Pelagic trip. So now there are us, Bill and Cathy Mauck, Chris Feeney, Don Harrington, and Paul.

Speaking of the airport…

Up-to-date parking facilities at he Adak Airport!

Up-to-date parking facilities at the Adak Airport!

Here is the mandatory annual rainbow shot.

Rainbow, May 26, 2016

The trip list stands at 61.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Posted on May 26, 2016 by frank

Not NA rare, but Adak rare…

Temp in the 40s, overcast with some (very little) sun in the afternoon, rain and drizzle most of the day, Winds S 20-30.

The overnight storm brought a few birds today.

The weather conditions at the feeders today were not very conducive for observations, so we did not see any Hawfinch or Brambling today. There were still four Tufted Ducks at the Airport Ponds.

We headed north, and when we got to the Clam Lagoon South Lookout, we spotted a small shorebird scurrying out on the flats. Our first impression when viewed through the scope was a Western Sandpiper. But it was a little too far out to be sure. So Frank walked out to get a better look (ie. photos). It was a Western Sandpiper. Although we have seen Western Sandpipers on all of our September trips, this was our first spring record. And, in fact, Birds of the Aleutians cites only one other spring record for Adak !

Western Sandpiper, Clam Lagoon, May 25, 2016

We continued around Clam Lagoon and, near Candlestick Bridge, there was a large number of gulls feeding together. So far this trip, the tides (both high and low) have been very low, so the flats have not been replenished with sea life since we got here. Today the tide covered much of the flats, creating more feeding opportunities for the birdlife — as seen by this picture.

Glaucous-winged Gulls, Clam Lagoon, May 25, 2016

At the Seawall, we spotted three loons — two Pacific and an Arctic. We called JJ’s group (who we had just passed) and they came and saw them, as eventually did the other birding groups on the island as well. The Arctic was our first for this trip.

As we came back around to the western side of the lagoon, we ran into the group from Minnesota, who told us we just drove past a Red Phalarope! We hopped out of the car, looked behind us at the edge of the road and there was a Red Phalarope. We were so focused on the other group as we approached them that we weren’t looking for birds! This was a new bird for our overall Adak list, giving us a total of 140.

Red Phalarope, Clam Lagoon, May 25, 2016

We headed to town, checked the feeders – still too windy – and went back up to Clam Lagoon. Everyone was there, having just walked out to see the Western Sandpiper. After they left, we stayed awhile to see what else might fall out of the sky. Unfortunately, the only bird of note was a lone Cackling Goose flying by.

Aleutian Cackling Goose, Clam Lagoon, May 25, 2016

Our trip list is 61.

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