birding...

2002 [July] - Vincent van der Spek

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Photo-rich report...

2002 [May] - Honeyguides

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2003 [June] - Honeyguides - Camargue

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2003 [March] - Rupert Higgins

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The following are a few notes on a ten day trip to southern France. With a toddler on board proper attention couldn`t be given to birding, and we also fitted in a few cultural attractions, so we dipped on some fairly obvious species like little bustard, pin-tailed sandgrouse, white-tailed eagle and eagle owl. More attention was given to the two species I needed - wallcreeper and greater spotted eagle...

2004 [January] - Geoff Dicker - Camargue, the Crau, and the Alpilles

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Provence is fast becoming a favourite winter-break destination for British birdwatchers, because of the presence of certain specialist species, Greater Spotted Eagle, Long-Legged Buzzard, Wallcreeper, Alpine Accentor and now Pine Bunting, which are either difficult to see in their breeding areas or require longer distance travel...

2004 [January] - Jez Robson - Provence

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In recent years the south of France has presented an appealing prospect to keen Eurobirders. With the publication of Lancashire birder Chris Batty`s trip report to the area in 2003 and with flights from Stansted to Montpelier retailing at 1p (each way), I hastily organised a team comprising Malcom Goodman, Alan Clewes, Phil Davison and Matt Mulvey in order to see a mouth watering selection of birds...

2004 [March] - Mark How

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Members of the Bishops Stortford Birdwatching Group, flew with Ryanair from Stansted to Nimes (Garons) for £49 return and stayed in an ETAP (basic) hotel in the Fourchon district of Arles, this is an easy 15 min walk into the centre of town...

2004 [October] - Ron & Val Moat

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After reading a few trip reports for the Camargue notably Geoff Dickers report Jan 04, we decided to try the Camargue in early October knowing we were too late for many of the summer visitors and too early for the winter specialities listed in the report. We knew we should be happy seeing large numbers of Greater Flamingos, having only seen flocks of at maximum a couple of hundred, usually at a great distance in Portugal, Spain (Coto Donana) and the Balearics (Mallorca), and then wherever you go bird watching there is always the unexpected...

2006 [June] – Nick Mason – France – The Camargue and the Cevenne

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Marshes surrounded by reedbed were viewable on both sides of the road. Squacco Heron, Whiskered Tern, and Cattle Egret gave good views, with Black Kite and Marsh Harrier quartering overhead. Only the mosquitoes drove us back into the car!

2006 [March] - Mike Robinson

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A team of three spent a week in Provence based at La Barben east of Salen seeking the winter specialities of the area whilst still finding time for sampling the local food & culture. A gentle approach was taken but still most key birds seen; however no doubt a slightly more dedicated effort would have yielded more...

2007 [June] - Séamus Feeney

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...Here was my 1st. tick of the trip a Stone Curlew flushed from almost under my feet the site also held a few Cetti’s Warblers lots of House Sparrows (these were to be my constant companions throughout the trip.) and White Wagtails...

2007 [May] - The Camargue - Honeyguide

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2008 [February] - Mark Finn

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This tour was arranged as a private trip for clients from West Sussex and France. Although slightly later in departure we managed to find most of the regions specialities including Little Bustard, Calandra Lark, Wallcreeper, Citril Finch, wintering wildfowl and birds of high-alpine habitats. A few surprise birds were observed notably large flocks of Black-necked Grebes and Mediterranean Gulls near Berre and in the town itself a wide range of shorebirds. In woodland above Carpentras an amazing sight of four Black Woodpeckers in a single tree...

2008 [March] - Chris Hall

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...Constantly clinging to its vertical world, it is surely the most aptly named of all birds. En route back to ‘base’, a stop at a site for Eagle Owl produces Crested Tit, and as dusk approaches, we faintly hear the deep booming ‘song’ of ‘Le Grand-duc’ but he declines to show ce soir...

2008 [May] - Stephen Burch - Camargue, Les Alpilles, La Crau

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This is a report on a visit to the Camargue area of France in early May 2008. Unlike some other recent birding add-ons to business trips, for this holiday I was accompanied by my semi-birder wife. Hence this was by no means a 100% full-on birding trip. Nevertheless, a fair amount of birding was done, including one early morning start to La Crau...

2009 [March] - Stephen Burch - Camargue, Les Alpilles, La Crau

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This is a report on a short, 3 day visit to the Camargue area of France in Feb/March 2009. Its main aim was to try to connect with some of the lifers that we missed on a trip to the same area last year in May...

2009 [September] - Mike Read

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There were a few birds about as we taxied into the terminal building but similar species were seen once we had met up with the other members of the group. Species noted at this location were House Sparrow, Magpie, Barn Swallows, many Yellow- legged Gulls and about 20 Cattle Egrets. These last two species were especially seen when loud bangs were used to scare birds away from the runway area at the airport...

2011 [May] - The Camargue - Honeyguide

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… a rice paddy where lots of black-winged stilts were courting, feeding, squabbling and nesting. A nightingale was singing, we could hear a distant turtle dove, the soft call of bee-eaters filled the air and we watched the aerial ballet as they fed.