I’m playing catch-up a bit with blogging as we’ve been away galavanting again!
Our most recent trip was a 3-weeker in Normandy and Brittany (with a little bit of Sussex, Devon and Wiltshire at either end) in our home on wheels.
While the trip wasn’t planned as anything other than a sightseeing (and eating and drinking!) tour it did have it’s natural history moments. In the interest of brevity this is a list of the notable birds and a little detail:
Middle-spotted Woodpoecker - seen a couple of times in the Foret de Roumare, just southwest of Rouen. Including some great views in the carpark where we stayed.
Booted Eagle - just one seen while on the peninsular south of Vannes
Honey Buzzard - an obvious migrant low along the coast at Brillac south of Vannes
Short-toed Treecreeper - common in nearly every wooded area we visited.
Crested Tit - relatively common in woodland with pines
Firecrest - exceptionally numerous in all wooded areas, far more so than Goldcrest
Dartford Warbler - 1 near Rochefort-en-Terre
Spotted Flycatcher - 2 Foret de Roumare
Cattle Egret - c30 near Caen
Peregrine - 1 Le Mont St Michel
Black Redstart - seen in Rouen, Le Mont St Michel and Fougeres
Ring-necked Parakeet - recorded at St Malo
Pied Flycatcher - 1 migrant at Ile Vierge on the Crozon Peninsular, Brittany
Hawfinch - recorded at Rochefort-en-Terre
Crossbill - 2 Foret de Roumare
Red-billed Chough - c20 Camaret-sur-Mer, Crozon Peninsular, Brittany
Zitting Cisticola - 1 northern arm of Crozon Peninsular, Brittany
Tawny Owl - calling at most woodland places we stopped overnight
Cetti’s Warbler - 2 at Trebeurden on the Cote du Granite Rose
Cirl Bunting - 1 singing male at Traon Erch near Roscoff
Mediterranean Gull - 1 at Trebeurden on the Cote du Granite Rose
Sabine’s Gull - 1 from ferry when nearing Plymouth
Balearic Shearwater - several from Roscoff to Plymouth ferry
Other than that we saw Wall Lizard, Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Wild Boar, c40 Common Dolphins from the Roscoff to Plymouth ferry and some interesting butterflies. These included Long-tailed Blue, Geranium Bronze, Southern Small White, Wall Brown, Brown Argus, Clouded Yellow, Grayling and Painted Lady. Other good insects were the (worryingly) numerous Asian Black Hornet, Hornet Robberfly, Hottentot Villa Bee-fly, French Stick Insect (in the loo at Brillac!), the red and black Firebug-lookalike Melanocoryphus albomaculatus, European Paper Wasp and Violet Ground Beetle.
Notable fungi included Tiger Sawgill, False Yellow Bolete, Lilac Oysterling, Purple Stocking Webcap, Cauliflower Fungus, Red-belted Bracket, Grisette, Cep, Bay Bolete and to top it all off the much sought after Lions Mane (aka Bearded Tooth) at the Foret du Huelgoat.
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