Megan and I had a relaxing week in Northern France. We
stayed in a mobile home on a campsite at Drancourt, just outside St.
Valery-sur-Somme. It was our fourth visit to an area we have come to know quite well at this time of
year and enjoy visiting. We travelled from Newhaven to Dieppe, a birdless crossing (Fulmar and Gannets) but nice views of the Sussex coast.
Morning and evening walks around the site and
the fields beyond produced three species of harrier, Great White Egret,
juvenile Tawny Pipit (my first here), 3 Crested Tits and 3 Short-toed
Treecreepers. There were fewer migrants than on previous visits with single figures
of Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler and 3 Spotted
Flycatchers. There was no sign of the apparent Rough-legged Buzzard I had seen
on the previous two visits ad Grey Partridges were scarcer, not helped by the
potato crops being harvested, with just three sightings of the same small covey.
Most disappointing were the two or three Tawny Owls that called each night but
remained unseen despite trying two or three times most evenings.
view west towards Brighton |
leaving Newhaven Harbour |
Seaford Head |
Cuckmere Haven |
Seven Sisters |
Crowlink |
Birling and Beachy Head |
Seaford to Beachy |
sister ferry the Seven Sisters heading north to Newhaven, we were on the Cote d'Alabatre |
Drancourt early morning, Crested Tits were sometimes in the conifers on the left |
Green Woodpecker |
fields at Drancourt |
Great White Egret at Drancourt |
Lapwings |
Hen Harrier |
Marsh Harrier |
potato harvesting, a Tawny Pipit had been seen on the narrow path bordering this field on our first evening. It was a big area and could easily have been around all week although we had no further sightings |
We viewed the Baie de Somme at various tides from St. Valery
promenade and Le Hourdel. We preferred the latter but many of the birds n the bay were
too distant from either to identify with any confidence although we did see 50+ Spoonbills, 6
Yellow-legged Gulls and 2000 Oystercatchers. Migrants here were very few and
far between with single Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear and Whinchat.
| ||||||
Baie de Somme at low tide - Megan at Le Hourdel |
Common Seal |
looking northeast to Marquenterre |
old WW2 bunker at La Hourdel |
the cathedral at Amiens |
Great White Egret on Madagascar Pools |
Mouflon behind Marquenterre car park |
Little and Cattle Egret |
Cattle Egret |
White Stork, one of three or four seen at Marquenterre |
Common Crane at Marquenterre |
I had seen one the previous year from outside and was a little surprised one was still here. I shouldn't have been as it had a damaged wing and been on or around the reserve since the 1990s! |
two Caribbean Flamingoes were a surprise |
Spoonbills |
more arriving |
mum being pestered by junior |
while the Mallard sleep on |
Spotted Redshank |
Curlew Sandpipers, 2 of 13 seen |
Green Sandpiper |
rather heavily cropped Temminck's Stint |
with no sightings board I wasn't sure if it was a new arrival |
not something I see very often so very nice either way |
We returned from Dieppe to Newhaven seeing a Black Redstart in the ferry terminal and a single great skua on the crossing.
Dieppe ferry terminal, loading ramp going up |
Dieppe seafront |
Dieppe kite festival |
first views of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head |
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