British Isles Birding

FRANCE 21^st – 22^nd January 2006 and 18^th – 19^th February 2006

 

Trip participants: Richard Bonser, Alan Clewes, Andy Clifton and Mark Lopez on 21^st – 22^nd January and then Richard Bonser (and his girlfriend) 18^th – 19^th February.

 

Target species: Sacred Ibis, Red-billed Leiothrix, Reeve’s Pheasant and woodpeckers

 

As you can probably see from the target species above, this weekend trip was for those with a rather acquired taste. Nevertheless, there have been very few trip reports that touch upon Category C species (and most may argue quite rightly so!) on the continent and therefore the least this brief summary may do is document the good birding that can be had within a weekend across The English Channel. We boarded a mid evening departure on the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais (paying £116 for a car and 4 people, equating to £29 each) on Friday 20^th January and then travelled overnight (6 hour drive) from Calais to Le Croisic west of Nantes (paying circa 25 euros in tolls on the way). We used the AA Road Atlas France 2006 to aid us in our navigation between sites.

 

 

21^st January 2006

Le Croisic, Loire-Atlantique

The coastal area and vast expanse of saltpans around the villages of Le Croisic and Le Pouliguen, Loire-Atlantique seemed to be an excellent place for birding, but unfortunately due to time constraints we were only able to spend the first hour and a half of light here. In addition to c.25 Sacred Ibises (see below), other species noted included Serin, Black-necked Grebe, Brent Goose, Common Sandpiper and innumerable Little Egrets.

 

In total, we noted c.25 Sacred Ibises near these two coastal villages (Le Croisic and Le Pouliguen). We found the best area for the Ibises being a couple of saltpans just east of the harbour at Le Croisic and immediately north of the minor road (that the N171 turns into just east of Le Croisic town) - at least 8 birds were present here early morning. Other 1's and 2's were dotted around the large expanse of saltpans north-west of Le Pouliguen and 14 flew over the N171 between Le Pouliguen and La Baule-Escoublac. I'm certain that with a little more time, plenty more would have been seen.

 

The drive from Le Croisic to the north-western outskirts of Paris at Fremainville was remarkably quick, taking only 5 hours (with a further 15 euros or so of tolls). The remainder of the day was spent at the Foret Regionale de Galluis enjoying another exotic as well as decent woodland birding.

 

Foret Regionale de Galluis, Fremainville, Yvelines

A small pocket of woodland immediately north-east of the village of Fremainville harbours a self-sustaining population of Red-billed Leiothrix, and although this species can be slightly elusive it was relatively easy to see here. A road loops north-east from the village of Fremainville to the D43 and the grassy car park that you need is located on the north side of this minor road opposite a rather large barn with a corrugated iron roof. An information board ‘Foret Regionale de Galluis’ will ensure that you are in the right place.

 

From the car park, you will see a straight track heading away from you into the wood. Just before the red barrier (within a hundred or so yards of the car park), there is a muddy track on the right that leads to a small pond – one Red-billed Leiothrix was noted here. However, by far the most productive site for the Leiothrix was c.100 yards into the wood directly left of this barrier in the dense scrub just where the ground goes upslope (where at least 3 individuals were noted). A couple of hours birding the wood produced several interesting species including lots of Marsh Tits, a couple of Crested Tits, Short-toed Treecreeper, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker as well as Red Squirrel. On the arable land by the D43 just east of the wood, a ringtail Hen Harrier was noted early afternoon.

 

After a relatively easy drive around the west side of Paris (and being thoroughly unimpressed by the distant views of the Eiffel Tower), we arrived in just under two hours at Fontainebleau. We found accommodation at the aptly named ‘Ibis Hotel’ in the middle of this picturesque town, where a room for two people cost 73 euros. Plenty of restaurants in this rather posh French town mean that finding a place to eat and drink is no problem whatsoever.

 

22^nd January 2006

Le Buisson de Massoury, Sivry-Courtry, Seine-et-Marne

Located to the north of Fontainebleau and to the south-east of Melun is a site which has recently been productive (Batty et al 7^th Jan 2006) for Reeve’s Pheasant.  From the village of Sivry-Courtry head south towards Chartrettes and Bois-le-Roi and very shortly after the village, turn right onto the D115 (as opposed to heading on along the D134). This large wood is private and it seems imperative that you must view only from the footpaths for two reasons – firstly the area is private and secondly any movements made into the wood seem to make the pheasants more skittish. First light appears to be the best chance of pheasants due to the fact that as the morning progressed, more disturbance was noted in the area (including hunters).

 

Anyway, on our visit we did not succeed in seeing any Reeve’s Pheasant (nor any Common Pheasants) although birds were plentiful with excellent views of a Middle Spotted Woodpecker here as well as a decent flock of Lesser Redpolls, many Marsh Tits, a couple of Short-toed Treecreepers and decent numbers of Bramblings and Siskins. After speaking to the resident gamekeeper, who reiterated that the area was private, he suggested that the best site for Reeve’s Pheasant historically was from the track on the other side of the road. At this point, the French for Reeve’s Pheasant (faison de vénéré) became very useful. With it now being mid morning, we wondered across the road and spent the next hour unsuccessfully looking for pheasants along the tracks here, although a further Middle Spotted Woodpecker, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and a couple of Crested Tits certainly enlivened proceedings.

 

Talking to a couple of hunters (who had thankfully been unsuccessful), they suggested another site for Reeve’s Pheasant – on the other side of the village of Sivry-Courtry along the D115 – though a search here provided us with several Common Pheasants but no Reeve’s. We left this site wondering whether they understood that we were specifically looking for ‘faison de vénéré’! A decent ringtail Hen Harrier was noted over the adjacent arable land and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was also noted.

 

South of Fontainebleau

Due to limited time, we quickly searched some sites to the south of the town of Fontainebleau to try and locate Black Woodpecker. This proved unsuccessful but I must stress we literally had only a couple of hours to play with. One area that we searched was the area to the east of the car park at the Gorges de Franchard (Gosney Northern France, page 14 site 5) and although we didn’t find any Black Woodpeckers, a vocal Middle Spotted Woodpecker was a bonus as were the odd Crested Tit. We also had a look around the fenced clearing (Gosney Northern France, page 14 site 6) just off the N152 about 1km north of the aqueduct but didn’t see too much – and, likewise, a walk into the cleared area and adjacent woodland behind the cottage (Gosney Northern France, page 14 site 4) failed to produce anything of note.

 

After a fairly unsuccessful day, though realising the real ease of such a trip to this area again, we headed north and through Paris to the Eurotunnel at Calais for our mid evening departure (tolls between Fontainebleau and Calais equated to about 15 euros).

 

Fontainebleau area revisited 18^th – 19^th February 2006

With a failed attempt for Reeve’s Pheasant the previous month, and the fact that the Fontainebleau area is as close to my home in London as Anglesey, I decided to revisit this area with my girlfriend at a far more relaxed pace than the previous month – taking in the town and its chateau as well as the birding sites that I had explored the previous month.

 

Le Buisson de Massoury, Sivry-Courtry, Seine-et-Marne

I arrived at the site in the middle of the night (after getting a late evening Eurotunnel) and got out of my car at 7.10am (it was dark). I then walked the 100 yards or so and stood just to the right of the track and viewed from the red farm machinery – do not walk any further than this as you may disturb the birds. At dawn there was a male Common Pheasant on the track (the straight track that runs directly into the woods in front of you) and, after about 10 minutes, a female Reeve’s Pheasant came out and started feeding at the front of the track. This bird must have been visible for at least 10 minutes and, then, just before 8am, a male Reeve’s Pheasant appeared from the vegetation on the left but seemed reluctant to actually start feeding in the open – after 30 seconds or so it scurried back into the undergrowth. I left the site just after 8am.

 

South of Fontainebleau

Compared to my previous visit, the weather on this occasion was miserable with heavy downpours and a brisk wind. Luckily, however, the weather improved for a couple of hours mid morning on 19^th February and with this I decided to explore the fenced clearing (Gosney Northern France, page 14 site 6) just off the N152 about 1km north of the aqueduct. Very soon after I had left my car to walk around this area, I heard a Black Woodpecker calling at mid distance. After a little bit of searching, I was able to locate a pair of this impressive species calling continually and showing well in the large trees at the north end of the clearing by the bench. Other than this, the rest of the weekend was a washout and, despite trying other sites, the best birds I could find were the ever numerous Marsh Tits and a couple of Short-toed Treecreepers.

 

Acknowledgments: I must thank Pierre-Andre Crochet, Alain Fosse and Jean-Philippe Siblet for providing detailed information on certain species in addition to Chris Batty, Chris Bell and Andrew Holden who helped significantly with precise details and maps for this brief trip.