Anser Birding Trip to the Champagne Lakes, Champagne-Ardennes, France
November 22-26
2005.
Participants
Martin McGill Leader
and Organiser, Jeremy Squire co-leader,
Bettie Sloane, Paul Walkden, Denise Howe, Jill Sharland, ,Peter
Watson and Bob Radford.
Background
Anser
has visited this area before and the main aim of the trip was to watch the
wintering and passage Common Crane flock. Several members of the group were
seasoned Crane watchers both in Nebraska, USA and Europe. These birds provided
us with great entertainment and memories. The lakes were as usual for the time
of year fairly dry with large areas of mud exposed. Wildfowl added to the
interest but the woodlands yielded some of the most sought after species. We
visited Lac du Der Chantecoq, Lac du Temple and Lac du Orient. The smaller Étang
des Landres and Étang du Grand Coulon were also birded.
Tuesday 22nd November 2005
We started our travel
day which began with an early start for all. The foggy conditions did not help
us but we were soon aboard and on our way. The ferry left at 11:15am and we bid
farewell to the white cliffs of Dover and headed for France. The whole group met
on deck to watch out for seabirds.
The crossing produced
most of the common seabirds. Over 2500 Gannets were
logged along with 20 Fulmars, 70 Guillemots,
20 auk sp, two adult Little
Gulls, 250 Kittiwakes and an adult Mediterranean
Gull as we entered Calais. We disembarked and made our way to the
Champagne-Ardennes region.
En route we noted two
ringtail Hen Harriers, a late Wheatear
and many other common roadside species. We arrived at the Hotel le Cheval Blanc
at 7pm French time tired and hungry so a quick turnaround saw us sitting to
dinner. Cranes could be heard outside roosting on
Lac du Der which was a nice introduction to the species. The next few days would
be filled with this graceful bird.
Everyone was tired and
went to bed early for the next days birding.
Wednesday
23rd November 2005
We rose early to
witness Cranes leaving the roost site. A very short
drive to the Digue wall where we parked and strolled over the bank to the shore.
Soon after getting into position we could make out the shapes of the Cranes
as they became vocal. Species of wildfowl could be picked out along the shore
and in the deeps. Mallard, Gadwall,
Teal and Shoveler were
the commonest with thousands of Cormorants and Great
Crested Grebes also on show. A Redpoll flew
over and a few other common species were noted. We returned to the hotel for
breakfast after watching the Cranes leave for their
breakfast. It was interesting to note that the Cranes
would often divert their flight line if they spotted the group even though we
were not silhouetted.
After breakfast we
returned to Lac du Der.
Port
Giffaumont
A Great
White Egret flew overhead. A pair of Shelducks,
Curlew, and a small flock of Dunlin,
adult Yellow-legged Gull, a single Oystercatcher
and a female Goosander was picked out among the
throngs of common water birds.
Stade
Nautique
This narrow bay with
peninsula held three Great White Egrets, three Water
Pipits, 20 White Wagtails which were a nice
comparison to the Pied Wagtail seen next to the bus
the day earlier in Dover. A couple of distant Goldeneye
and raft of diving duck attracted us to the end of the track. A Green
Woodpecker was seen by MJM. The point looked over the whole area and six
adult Bewick’s Swans were feeding in the
shallows.
Presqu’ile
de Champaubert
We parked near the Eglise
and saw what proved a real rarity until the Saturday morning, another
birdwatcher! This viewpoint provided further views over the dam and lagoon. A Little
Grebe fed among the diving duck and grebe but nothing new was discovered.
On return to home I discovered that a Pink-footed Goose was seen in this area
the day after which is a scarce bird in these parts. We returned to Braucourt
where we enjoyed a warming involuntary prolonged lunch.
Presqu’ile
de Nemours
After driving around
the eastern part of the lake we arrived at this wooded peninsula where Denise
found a Common Sandpiper along the flowing stream.
An adult and second winter Yellow-legged Gull, Grey
Herons, Great White Egrets and many other
common birds which also included a few Little Grebes
fed alongside.
Some disturbance by
walkers caused most of the group to miss a party of Goldeneye.
We transferred to another large section of wood nearby and quickly found a Middle
Spotted Woodpecker. This bird proved elusive and disappeared. A sunny
corner held a feeding Chiffchaff and a male Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker was found in the canopy.
Presqu’ile
de Larzicourt
A coach party of
children arrived at this site so we decided not to search for woodland species.
The lagoon here held a Kingfisher and Green
Sandpiper along the ditch which leads out into the lake. Another group of
Bewick’s Swan were seen with nine adults and
seven cygnets. A couple of Goldeneye played hide
and seek, a Black-necked Grebe was discovered
alongside a Little Grebe.
Maison
de l’Oiseau et du Poisson
The sacrificial maize
crop was a magnet to 70 Chaffinches, 250 House
Sparrows, 20 Tree Sparrows and at least four
Bramblings. It was lovely to see passerines doing
so well from this source of food.
Site
de Chantecoq
We parked here to view
the Cranes coming into roost. On arrival a party of
16 Tundra Bean Geese flew over. Out on the lake a
mixed aged and sex group of 25 Goosanders looked
great as they fished. The males looked pink/peachy in the fading light. Three
distant European White-fronted Geese fed among the
many Greylags and a party of c20 sleeping Pintails
were seen. The bulk of the Cranes arrived to the
north of us but we had a few hundred fly in over our chosen spot. This brought
the day to a close.
Thursday
24th November 2005
Another early start to
view Cranes leaving the roost before breakfast.
Unfortunately despite getting closer to where the Cranes
flew in we did not see the big flock leaving. Only 300 were logged going out to
the fields for the day. It was becoming clear that the numbers were dropping
around the lake perhaps due to the cold front that recently arrived. A few Bramblings
wheezed overhead, single Redpoll and Siskin
were also heard.
A flock of 53 European White-fronted
Geese could be seen very distantly with the Greylag
Geese.
Presqu’ile
de Larzicourt
After breakfast we
returned to the woods here and located a couple of Great Spotted
Woodpecker. A male Middle Spotted Woodpecker replaced
one of the Great Spotted Woodpecker and fed in the
open for five to ten minutes in an oak tree. Marsh Tit
was seen along with the common tits, Nuthatch and Jays.
A single Hawfinch fed with party of Goldfinches
and Greenfinches. Two Red
Squirrels were noted and were the cause of the finches flushing; one of
them was a dark phase similar to the type you see in Eastern Europe.
We moved around to a
better position where a party of 6-8 Hawfinches
played hide and seek. Many of the passerines were happily feeding on fat balls,
nuts and seeds, the French also appear to be garden bird lovers.
In the bay a pair of Bewick’s
Swans fed with a Green Sandpiper and three Great
White Egrets for company. We moved to Arrigny for coffee break in the café.
Plage
de Nuisement
More wildfowl to be
seen but the main interest was from a single willow and patch of reeds. Reed
Bunting and Yellowhammer flew out and into
this small patch. MJM heard some tapping and was looking to see where it was
coming from when Jill found the culprit. A female Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker appeared in her bins as she watched the Yellowhammer.
It dropped back into the reeds being seen feeding along the lakeside of the bed
before popping up into the willow again. It flew off over the car park and was
not seen again. Leaving this area we stopped to scope a flock of Skylarks
and Yellowhammers on the fields.
St
Remy en Bouzement
A search for Northern
Grey Shrike was fruitless but a covey of nine Grey
Partridges was some compensation. A very pale Buzzard
complete with white rump and tail gave us a start but turned out to be a Common
Buzzard which are very common in the area. A male Hen
Harrier hunted over the fields where Cranes
fed and a male Stonechat was seen next to the bus.
We drove to Montier en
Der for coffee, (plus free cigarette smoke, no news laws in France as yet) cake
and the Intermarche.
We returned to the
Maison de l’ Oiseau et du Poisson and walked along the track to the Étang des
Landres.
Étang
des Landres
Brambling
and Tree Sparrow were seen again in the Maize
field. The hide revealed a large flock of egretta
and ardea which set the Anser staff to work. Some of the group including
Jeremy admired a Water Rail outside which was harassed
by a Rat, another was heard from inside.
The draining lake held
a total of 153 Great White Egrets and 74 Grey
Herons which were counted by Bob. MJM noted what appeared to be a Grey
Heron x Great White Egret hybrid along with a Little
Egret. The Little Egret moved into the open
and turned out to be an apparent hybrid Little x Great White
Egret hybrid.
While all this was
going on Jill announced that she had an Ibis! Sure enough a Glossy
Ibis was feeding amongst the frenzy. This is a scarce bird in this part
of France but increasing. The western population is booming and spreading so we
may even see them breeding in Britain one day. A party of five Pintails
fed in the shallows with a concentrated flock of Black-headed
Gulls.
We left and went back
to the wood where at least six Goldcrests were
active; a Green Woodpecker was seen briefly and
heard. A woodpecker called again which Denise recognised as Black
Woodpecker and it called a few times more. We tried to whistle it out and
it eventually gave us a fly past, a male Black Woodpecker.
As we started our way
back to the car Jeremy, Jill and Denise all got onto a Firecrest
as the light faded. The rest were
unfortunate to only get poor views as it disappeared into the bushes. We waited
for further views and MJM saw two Firecrest going
to roost in the wood.
Friday
25th November 2005
Lac
du Temple
A female Hen
Harrier, Green Woodpecker and Cranes
were all seen on the way to this lake. Jeremy led the group to view the main
body of water where Bob located a stunning male Black
Redstart. There was little else new to the trip and we all left to move
to the next lake. MJM and Paul saw male Merlin whilst they were away visiting a
local village.
Lac
du Orient
We stopped at the
visitor centre and had coffee and used the facilities and then discovered it was
shut! Ah well, too late we had sorted ourselves out and the door was open. A few
Marsh Tits fed in the canopy along with the
numerous Nuthatches. On the Lac we scanned through
the thousands of water birds when JJS locate a female Velvet
Scoter. It dived among the Coot and
eventually flew off showing its white wing patches. The cold wind did it’s
best to stop us but we all checked the birds thoroughly before retreating to a
sheltered spot. A Green Woodpecker fed among the
willows and a tit flock revealed a tame Willow Tit which
showed for all. Another stop produced another Middle
Spotted Woodpecker.
Coffee and baguettes in
a local village and back to birding the forest. Another Middle
Spotted Woodpecker was seen with a few other woodland birds but no
Crested Tits or further Firecrest sightings in what is normally a good area for
them.
Radonvilliers
As we left the village
a Red Kite lazily floated over the fields and
dropped into crops.
Brienne
de la Chateau to Montier en Der
A juvenile Hen
Harrier was spotted by Paul quartering the fields so we stopped and
enjoyed it for a while. A Peregrine was also seen
hunting Lapwing over some distant farmland.
Étang
du Landres
A re-visit produced the
Glossy Ibis again and fewer herons. On the walk
through the wood and couple of brief Middle Spotted
Woodpeckers were seen and some of the group saw a flying Black
Woodpecker. We rescued a trapped Kingfisher
from a covered culvert which had been attracted by the millions of small fish
dying in the drained stream. A tame Musk Rat (Le
Ragondin) showed under our noses. On walking back the woodland and scrub was not
as productive as the previous day.
We finished off the day
with a sunset and Cranes flying in to roost over
the Digue wall near to Giffaumont-Champaubert. A Peregrine
was also present on the mudflats.
Saturday
26th November 2005
We left Lac du Der as Cranes
flew out for the day. A Peregrine and single Hen
Harrier was noted from the A26. The drive back was eventful due to the
snow storm but this had a negative effect on the Crested Larks at our chosen
service area. The Grey Partridge coveys were very easy to see as they stood out
in the snow. We reached the Calais Port and boarded the ferry.
The crossing was
similar to first leg with Arctic Skua and Little
Auk being the only additions to the list. Back in the UK a skein of Canada
Geese flew over the Kent motorway and we travelled back home.
A total of 125 species
were seen over the five days by the group.
Martin McGill