France June 2002

Saturday 1^st June 2002

Quedgeley, Glos to Caumont, France

Together with Bridgette, Michael and Lisa we set off for Caumont in Northern France via the Channel Tunnel. We would be sharing a large gîte with my Dad and my sister and family. The journey to the Chunnel was uneventful and the only birds of note were a Buzzard over the M4 at J13 and a Common Tern over a lake by the Services at Reading.

My first bird in France was a Mute Swan on one of the new man-made lakes near Calais. Kestrels were more abundant on the run down to Caumont than they had been on the English leg of the journey. The best bird of the whole journey was a female Marsh Harrier hunting over fields when we left the A16 at J25. A White Wagtail as we neared Caumont was my first of the year having seen none in England this spring.

In the evening after we had settled in I took a walk through the village and up a lane onto some high crop fields. In the lane a female Blackcap was feeding two juveniles and another pair were close by. A little way on a warbler was singing out of sight and I had to trawl my memory banks to place it. It was a Melodious Warbler, I had last heard one in France in 1999, eventually it came into view and I knew that I was right. It was a large warbler with pale green upperparts and pale yellow underparts and a large prominent bill. It sang with a wide gape and was reminiscent of Marsh Warbler’s song in some ways.  It had a remarkable range of mimicry in its song and included snatches of Kestrel, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lapwing and Whitethroat. As I walked up onto the fields I saw a Grey Partridge running up the path ahead of me. I noticed a large raptor flying towards me; it was a female Hen Harrier, my first of the year. It came within 50 yards of me before it saw me and it veered off down the slope over the corn where it was mobbed by Carrion Crows. As I returned to the gîte I saw a distant Turtle Dove on telegraph wires. The local environs certainly held promise.

Sunday 2^nd June 2002

Caumont and Hardelot Plage, France

I got up very early and set off on a long walk around the fields and woods surrounding the village. In the lane this morning there were two singing Melodious Warblers trying to outdo one another. The crop fields were alive with farmland birds. It was enough to make you weep, there were lots of Skylarks, Corn Buntings, Yellowhammers, Grey Partridges, Turtle Doves and Yellow Wagtails to name but a few. I saw more Yellow Wagtails (a pair and three other males) in one field in ten minutes than I have seen all spring in Britain. Not such intensive farming practices may be a reason. It's nice to see hedgerows dividing fields, flowers amongst the corn and natural margins. I also watched a Fox hunting in textbook pouncing style and saw a Brown Hare and a few Rabbits.

On the edge of a small wood as I returned to the village for breakfast I found a Spotted Flycatcher gathering nest material, my first of the spring.

As it was a lovely day, and given the vagaries of the spring weather in Northern Europe, we decided to make today a beach day, just in case. In the event it was a wise decision. We went to a favourite beach of ours at Hardelot Plage. After a picnic and a few games I was allowed to slip away into the dunes for an hour. The area was alive with bird song even in the heat of the day. A Crested Lark perched on a house roof occasionally song-flighting above the dunes giving its melancholy song. Lots of warblers were in evidence with Willow Warblers, Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroat being seen. Three Nightingales sang from deep cover but did not show but a Melodious Warbler did eventually. A pair of White Wagtails fed around the stream and a super male Stonechat was territorially aggressive.

A stop at a Garden Centre (yes, we do that in France too!) at Etaples on the way home was good for me because while I waited in the car a pair of Serins gave excellent views, and were a year tick.

Monday 3^rd June 2002

Caumont, Le Crotoy and Marquenterre, France

I walked out of the village in a different direction today past fields lined with poplar trees. The habitat looked very good for Golden Oriole but I didn't see one all week. I did find a new Melodious Warbler singing in a small scrubby area. A Tree Sparrow in an orchard was a French tick. I also saw a White Wagtail, a female Sparrowhawk and three Brown Hares (including a young juvenile) but that was about it before the distant rolling thunder swept through with quite a heavy shower. When I got back to the gîte a pair of White Wagtails were outside and a pair of Black Redstarts were in the garden opposite.

We decided to head for the coast for Le Crotoy given that the weather had turned British. There was a coastal railway here that my sister wanted to investigate. I on the other hand was keener to investigate the nearby flashes at La Bassée where I had been successful in the past. It turned out that the railway only ran on Wednesday afternoons in June so that failed miserably. A male Serin sang from a bush in a park by the railway though.

We drove along to the flashes at La Bassée just a couple of minutes out of town. The Black-headed Gull colony was in full swing but generally there was less about otherwise. Apart from common species the only birds of note were three adult Cattle Egrets in breeding plumage amongst a group of horses, occasionally hitching a ride. A Corn Bunting was sat on a fence as we returned to the town. We had a walk around Le Crotoy but it seems that France is shut on Mondays we had a job to buy so much as an ice-cream. Nothing was opening until two or three in the afternoon. There were six Little Egrets giving very close views in the harbour and six Oystercatchers on the beach. We stopped at Marquenterre on the way home (we decided on an early return because everything seemed shut) to see if there were any storks about. There weren't but another six Little Egrets flew over and two Nightingales sang from cover.

In the evening Bridgette and I took a walk around the village. A pair of Grey Wagtails had bred at the stream and were attending a noisy juvenile.

Tuesday 4^th June 2002

Caumont, Calais and Boulogne, France

Today was a lazy day after a very late night when nobody could seem to decide what to do so we went our separate ways. Shopping seemed to be on the agenda. I was out in the garden early and watched a female Blackbird feeding a well grown juvenile. The Black Redstarts in the opposite garden had also bred. I saw the female with a juvenile on the roof. A White Wagtail was also around. After breakfast we headed off to Cite Europe at Calais where Michael and I hit the computer, toy and sports shops whilst Bridgette and Lisa looked at girlie stuff. We saw a Kestrel with vole prey as we left and a Lapwing displaying in the middle of this urban sprawl. We met up for lunch and then went to Boulogne. Here we had a walk on the beach and I got five Mediterranean Gulls (4 first-winters and a second-winter) and an adult and a juvenile Kittiwake. After a nice ice-cream and showing Lisa, a first time visitor, the Telly Tubby House outside Nausicaa we headed home seeing a Buzzard on the way.

In the late evening I walked up through the crop fields, hoping for an owl, but seeing only a Turtle Dove, a White Wagtail, a pair of Grey Partridges and two Brown Hares.

Wednesday 5^th June 2002

Boulogne and Ambleteuse, France

This was going to be one of those write-off days, the forecast was awful, and it wasn't wrong. So there was only one thing to do, although the word shopping did come up again, we went to Nausicaa in Boulogne. Nausicaa is a wonderful sea life centre, which has the added advantage of being undercover. We had an excellent day, very interesting with plenty to see. Lisa especially enjoyed it, as she hadn't been before. This was our third visit but there were some new exhibits. When we came out we managed a family football game on the beach, which unsurprisingly saw the adults drawing 15-all with the kids. Most of us came out nursing lumps especially with my sister Carol's Chopper Harris tactics. We did stop at an old stamping ground, Ambleteuse, on the way home but it started raining again and all I saw was a wind-blown Turtle Dove. The motorway was flooded on our journey back south and it was almost dark at five in the afternoon. It was a fairly hairy journey.

Thursday 6^th June 2002

Forêt de Hesdin and Bagatelle, Berck, France

I got up early and drove out to the Forêt de Hesdin where last August I had seen many Reeve's Pheasants and I hoped to catch up with them again. In August however there were lots of juveniles about and they were all over the place. In June it was a different story, I searched for ages without sight or sound until eventually I flushed one from under my feet. It was a male and I'm not sure who was the most startled, me or the bird. It was a male and it flew up into a nearby tree and glared at me. I guessed it might have been on or near a nest so I quickly withdrew. I didn't see any others.

In the clearing by where I had parked I found a displaying Tree Pipit, my second French tick of the week, and three Nuthatches. I also saw both male and female Roe Deer here.

I returned home early for breakfast seeing a Green Woodpecker and a Buzzard as I drove into Caumont.

We had decided on a fun day at the Bagatelle theme park at Berck. On the way there I saw a pair of Grey Partridges at Mouriez and another female Marsh Harrier at Le Mouflet, my fourth of the spring. We had a top day at Bagatelle, for unlike last August when we came, it was not too hot, French children were in school and the queues were minimal. Therefore we went on everything about five times each, sometimes just staying on a ride repeatedly. There were also lots of birds around the park including a singing Blackcap and a White Wagtail.

Friday 7^th June 2002

Caumont, Dennebrœucq and Rommelaire, France

I took a drive round the local area first thing today but areas that looked promising on the map were generally inaccessible for one reason or another. I stopped at a couple of places but generally saw little of note. Coming back into the village a Green Woodpecker flew in front of the car and I saw a couple of Turtle Doves. There was also a Marsh Tit in the small wood on the village outskirts. Today the male Black Redstart was showing well after breakfast. We had decided to go to the small amusement park at Dennebrœucq, which was a favourite with Sian and Jared especially. For me it was notable for the fact that there was a pair of Grey Wagtails on the river feeding a juvenile, a female Black Redstart was in the car park and the news came through that England had beaten Argentina 1-0.

Bridgette and I were getting bored so we decided to leave the rest there and take a drive to Rommelaire for an hour or so. Unfortunately I underestimated how far it was and we got caught up in the rush hour at Arques (of Crystal fame). The crystal factory is about the size of Heathrow and going through the middle of it in rush hour was terrible planning. By the time we got to Rommelaire it was time to turn around and go back. However we had a quick walk and the whole area looked like it would be good for birding but you would need at least half a day to even begin to cover it. There were good numbers of Swifts here, they seemed to be scarce everywhere else, the situation seems to be similar at home this year. I also saw a distant harrier sp., which was probably female Marsh.

Saturday 8^th June 2002

Caumont, France to Quedgeley, Glos

I got up early and took a final turn around the crop fields before we headed for home. A juvenile Black Redstart was outside the gîte first thing. I saw all the regulars as well as a Turtle Dove, a Melodious Warbler, two Corn Buntings, three Grey Partridges, a male Yellow Wagtail and 15 Swifts (the first of week over the village).

On the journey back to the Chunnel the only notable bird was another Turtle Dove at Tingry. These lovely doves are everywhere in Northern France but just don't seem to be crossing the Channel in good numbers anymore. The last bird in France before we plunged underground was a Carrion Crow.

On the English side the journey was most memorable for my first Red Kite of the year, being mobbed by corvids over the Newbury junction (J13) of the M4. We also saw a fly-over Great Spotted Woodpecker at Virginia Water and Buzzards at Leighterton and Bagpath. An enjoyable week without much birding at all but still a respectable holiday list assembled and batteries recharged.

© Mike King 2002

The Gloster Birder www.birder.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk