We birded this morning in Ramosch — a small village in the eastern tip of Switzerland.

We finally saw a flock of Tree Sparrows (Red cap, black cheek, white collar, small bib).

We also picked up Common Sandpiper and Gray Wagtail — though no photos of either.

We also saw a male Whinchat.

We then headed through Austria back to northeast Switzerland. We went this way to avoid going over the mountains. Instead we went under them — through four 4-mile tunnels and one 8.6-mile tunnel (and many shorter ones)!

We are spending tonight in St Gallen. Tomorrow morning, we will bird the areas that we did in mid-afternoon on our day of arrival. Then on to the airport and home.

We expect to arrive home around 11:30 pm tomorrow. I have a bunch of Bird Screen orders to fill, PSO duties, and PAMC stuff to attend to before I will finish up the trip blog.

I will be adding a large section of non-birding stuff — from hotels to habitat descriptions, etc. So tune in again in a few days.

The trip list is 97 with 76 lifers.

Only a few photos today.

Whinchat, Ramosch, Switzerland, June 28, 2016

Tree Sparrow (finally!), Ramosch, Switzerland, June 28, 2016

Mallard, St Gallen, Switzerland, June 28, 2016

Eurasian Coot, St Gallen, Switzerland, June 28, 2016

We started the day in Locarno, Switzerland.

Since arriving in Europe, we forgot that there were not just House Sparrows, but also Tree Sparrows (which look similar). We had been ignoring the many “House” Sparrows all along. We finally wizened up and started to pay attention.

The Tree Sparrow is first recognized by a red cap (instead of gray on the House Sparrow). So this morning while birding a local park, we spotted some red-capped “House” Sparrows. Ahah! Well — not so fast.

They turned out to be Italian Sparrows (A cross between House and Spanish sparrows) now considered by some authorities as a separate species. The Italian Sparrow has the red cap, but also has the black chest of a House Sparrow and lacks the black cheek and white collar of the Tree Sparrow.

So we are still looking for Tree Sparrows.

We also added Water Pipit to our trip (and life) list. The Water Pipit was split from what is now known as the American Pipit several years ago.

Tomorrow, we head north towards Zurich.

The trip list is 93 with 73 lifers.

Only two photos today.

Wood Pigeon, Locarno, Switzerland, June 27, 2016

Italian Sparrow (with breakfast), Locarno, Switzerland, June 27, 2016

Today we hunted for our two most-wanted birds — Lammergeier and Wallcreeper..

We went to where a local Swiss birder referred us — Leuk.

We followed the directions to a chasm of shear rock faces over a roaring stream cascading down the mountainside. We stared at the canyon walls for almost two hours, hoping to see a Wallcreeper fly. They are almost impossible to pick out on the rock face.

No luck!

We did see some other new birds — Alpine Chough and Alpine Swift — and got some photos of other birds.

We then took the cable car from Leukenbad up to Gemmi — which had been recommended to us as THE place in Switzerland to see Lammergeier.

As we entered the cable car and looked up at the cables, they disappeared into the clouds — as did we.

It was totally socked in up top, and we only had a few minutes at a time of breaks in the cloud cover below for us to scan. So we dipped out on that one too!

However, we did pick up Alpine Accentor and Snowfinch for the trip.

We are now heading to the eastern tip of Switzerland to finish up before heading back towards Zurich.

The trip list is 91 with 71 lifers.

Here are more photos.

Juvenal Black Redstart, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016

Eurasian Jay, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016

Eurasian Jay, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016

Crag Martin, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016

Alpine Chough, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016 (Barb took this one with her cell phone!)

Alpine Chough, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016

Alpine Accentor, Leuk, Switzerland, June 26, 2016

We birded The Dombes in France today. It is an area just north of Lyon consisting of hundreds of lakes and marshes, which are alternately drained and filled for agricultural purposes, making for a rich variety of wetlands throughout the year, but also making it difficult to know which ones to go to!

In the middle of all of this is the Parc des Oiseaux (Bird Park). We thought it was a nature preserve. It was a zoo — not only figuratively in number of people there, but also literally!

However, the habitat attracts native birds as well, so we decided to take advantage of the photo ops. I tried to take photos only of native birds taking advantage of the zoo’s hospitality — but I am not sure in all cases.

We then visited some of the nearby lakes and found Spoonbills, Lapwings, stilts, and Ruddy Shelducks, as well as our only nuthatch for the trip.

We then drove back to Switzerland, where we plan to try for Wallcreeper and Lammergier tomorrow! Our most-desired birds for the trip.

Tune in tomorrow for the results…

Trip list is 87 with 68 lifers.

Here are some photos.

Wood Pigeon, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Eurasian Spoonbills, Black-winged Stilts, Lapwings, Black-headed Gull, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Shelduck, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Pochard, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Eurasian Nuthatch, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Moorhen (Gallinule?), The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Lapwings, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Gray Heron, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Great Cormorant, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

Black-headed Gull, The Dombes, France, June 25, 2016

No, we didn’t die…

The internet connection at the hotel we stayed in last night kept disconnecting, so I gave up trying to update the blog. Also, our days seem to be getting longer and busier, giving me less time to work on the blog. I will add a lot more when we get home.

In the meantime…

Although we added new birds each day, few were expected species at the locations we went to. Most were birds seen while traveling from one birding “hot spot” to another. Many of the birding sites are not as described in the book.

Be that as it may, we are still seeing birds and hearing a lot more that we cannot identify.

Yesterday, we added Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Thrush. Today, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Crag Martin, Black Redstart, and Whinchat.

Tomorrow is our last day in France — back to Switzerland.

The trip list is 80 with 63 lifers.

Here are some more photos.

Whinchat, France, June 24, 2016

Crag Martins, Doux Valley, France, June 24,2016

Chaffinch, France, June 24, 2016

Common Buzzard being harassed by Eurasian Kestrel, France, June 24, 2016

Linnet, Old Island Marsh, France, June 23, 2016

Black Redstart, Dentelles de Montmirail, France, June 23, 2016

As productive as yesterday was, today was the opposite.

We headed for The Crau, a dry, desert like area just east of the Camargue. We hoped to see Little Owl, Little Bustard, Stone Curlew, Lesser Kestrel, and more.

Not to be…

The temperature was in the 80s, not a cloud in the sky, and no shade.

We arrived at the museum in town to purchase an entrance pass, got a map and headed out to the preserve. Unfortunately, the map did not have a scale on it (all of the maps we have gotten at local preserves, etc. have been very poor), and so what looked like a short stroll around the preserve became a slog of several kilometers!

Barb turned back after we realized how far around it would be, but I slogged on. But I soon realized it was a lot farther than I had figured. So I also turned back.

If it weren’t for Jackdaws, Magpies, and Kites, I wouldn’t have seen anything.

While waiting for me to return, Barb had a Lesser Kestrel. This is THE place in France to see them — the place is managed for them. Well, I have to say their management plan sucks…

After returning to the car, we drove down a short road and did find a Calandra Lark.

We left that section and headed to the nearby landfill (don’t birders go to the neatest places?) to look for Egyptian Vultures which are supposed to summer there. When we got to the landfill, there was absolutely no dumping going on, so there were no birds hanging around — let alone, vultures.

We did however, find a Crested Lark.

Crested Lark, The Crau, France, June 22, 2016

We decided to go over to Berre Lake, which, although highly developed, was supposed to have some bird-friendly areas. By the time we got there, the traffic was horrible, routes that we expected to take were closed for construction, and it certainly had not cooled down. So we headed back.

By the way, France has an interesting definition of two-way road!

The road to our hotel. This is what France calls a two-way road! Note the width of the car hood.

This road is barely wide enough for a car and bicycle to pass each other. If you meet a car coming, someone has to pull into a driveway or off the road to get by. And we thought Swiss roads were birder unfriendly…

With all that said, the trip has been fun so far. Here are a few photos of where we stayed the last two days (and tonight). It is very rural, lots of trees and bushes, but few birds…

It was originally built in the 16th century as a priory. It has 6 acres.

Hotel du Mas de la Chapelle. Our room exterior, June 22, 2016

Hotel du Mas de la Chapelle. Hotel grounds, June 22, 2016

Hotel du Mas de la Chapelle. Our room, June 22, 2016

The trip list is 73 with 56 lifers.

Tomorrow we head north.

Today we birded the Camargue, a huge coastal preserve on the Mediterranean in southeastern France. It is like Brigantine on steroids. Marshes, salt-pans, brush, ponds, woods, etc. I have no idea how large it is, but is somewhere around 20 x 25 miles.

There were a lot of birds. Some of them, we couldn’t identify until we got back to the hotel and studied the photos!

The highlights were the Flamingos (of course), but also the Bee-eaters, and Short-toed Eagle. We discovered the eagle was banded when we saw the photos. The Bee-eaters, unfortunately stayed just far enough away that the photos were not sharp — but certainly enjoyable.

We will be birding more of this area tomorrow.

The trip list is 70 with 53 lifers.

Here is a gallery of some of today’s birds.

Zitting’s Cisticola (Fan-tailed Warbler), Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Yellow Wagtail, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Yellow-legged Gull, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

White Stork, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Turtle Dove, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Stonechat, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Short-toed Eagle (with leg band), Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Sardinian Warbler, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Lizard, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Little Egret, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Eurasian Jackdaw, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Glossy Ibis, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Greater Flamingo, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Cattle Egret, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Black-winged Stilt, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Black-headed Gull, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Bee-eaters, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

Avocet, Camargue, France, June 21, 2016

We spent most of today traveling (7 hours) from Cugy to Arles, France.

We got in a little birding in Switzerland and added Wren (our Winter Wren) to our list.

As we neared our hotel near Arles, Barb spotted some Cattle Egrets and, shortly thereafter, a European Roller.

European Roller, Arles, France, June 20, 2016

That was our only lifer for today.

We will be birding the Camargue — a large coastal preserve — the next few days. The most notable bird that breeds here is Flamingo! Plus, we should see some shorebirds, gulls, terns, waders, etc. (At least they won’t be hiding in the trees…)

41 lifers so far.

We started down memory lane today by driving over to Cugy (where Barb had lived for 5 months). Remarkably, we found her old apartment building — although with some changes (I thought we had brought along photos of it from 1963, but apparently not, so we will post comparison photos when we get home).

Barb’s apartment building, Cugy, June 19, 2016

Barb’s apartment building, Cugy, June 19, 2016

Okay, enough of non-birding!

We headed up to a nature preserve called Chavornay — a wetland, fields, and marsh. Just before we got there, we found a Eurasian Collared-Dove.

Eurasian Collared-Dove, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

At the first pond, a Purple Heron was preening.

Purple Heron, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

From the observation blind, we saw Coots, Tufted Ducks, and this Great Cormorant.

Great Cormorant, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

Another Purple Heron flew by.

Purple Heron, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

Also there, a Reed Warbler posed.

Reed Warbler, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

I decided to walk down to check a nearby channel. Although I didn’t find any new birds, I did find Deer tracks — the closest we have come so far to seeing any wild mammals here.

Deer track, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

And another frog (at all of the wetlands we have visited so far, the frogs and toads are in full chorus).

Frog, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

While I was doing that, Barb started walking back to the car. In a field of Swiss Chard (!), she found a Yellow Wagtail, which conveniently reappeared when I caught up.

Yellow Wagtail, Chavornay, June 19, 2016

We next headed for the Vallee de Joux. As we pulled into the first wetland parking area, a Hobby flew in and raced back and forth over the stream and marsh for several minutes.

Hobby, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

Hobby, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

Out on the lake were many Coots, Great Crested Grebes, and Black-headed Gulls. We drove down the lakeside, but didn’t find anything new. But as we pulled into a parking lot to turn around, a small bird flitted into a tree in front of us. It was a Redstart.

Redstart, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

Although Tufted Ducks are common here, most of the ones we have seen have been distant. So a closer one on a pond was nice.

Tufted Duck, Vallee de Joux, June 19, 2016

While driving back to the hotel, we spotted a Common Buzzard.

Common Buzzard, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

In Pennsylvania, when a farmer is out mowing the hay, he is followed by a swarm of swallows. Here, he is followed by kites!

Kites, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

Kites, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

Kites (Red on right), near Cugy, June 19, 2016

Black Kite, near Cugy, June 19, 2016

The triplist is 52, with 40 lifers.

We head to France and the Camargue (a large coastal preserve) tomorrow.

We started the day outside our hotel in Twann and added Serin to our list.

Serin, Twann, June 18, 2016

And had nesting Barn Swallows.

Barn Swallow, Twann, June 18, 2016

We headed west to the Fanel and Chablais de Cudrefin preserve and found the La Sauge Nature Center there instead (I told you the book was out-of-date). However, this was a terrific spot. We spent most of the morning there. It had woods, ponds, brushy areas and blinds at the ponds. Here are some of the birds we got there.

House Sparrow (they’re native here!), La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Mute Swan (they’re native here!), La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Great Tit, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Graylag Goose, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Gray Heron, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Common Kingfisher, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Female Blackcap, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Squacco Heron, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

Wood Pigeon, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

White Wagtail, La Sauge Nature Center, June 18, 2016

The Fanel area is adjacent to the Nature Center, but required a long walk. So Barb continued to bird the nature center while I walked down to the Fanel Preserve. My first encounter was a Cormorant rookery.

Great Cormorants, Fanel, June 18, 2016

A little farther down, I spotted some Red-crested Pochards.

Red-crested Pochard, Fanel, June 18, 2016

Red-crested Pochard, Fanel, June 18, 2016

Down near the observation tower, a Nightingale flew up from the pathway and landed on a post.

Nightingale, Fanel, June 18, 2016

I added Black-crowned Night-Heron and Little Egret to the list and saw some terns way out, but couldn’t identify them. The common corvid the past three days has been Carrion Crow, but they have proved difficult to get close to for photo ops — until today. On the walk back, three of a flock of four crows flew off, but one stayed and didn’t care that I was there!

Carrion Crow, Fanel, June 18, 2016

We headed further west to the Auried at Kleinbosingen — a nature preserve of ponds, fields, marsh and woods. Although we saw Little Grebes at La Sauge, this one here was more cooperative.

Little Grebe, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

It was also a good place to look for raptors. As mentioned in a previous post, pulling ff the roads here is almost impossible, so most of the hawks we have seen have been fly-bys. By the way, Red Kites are everywhere and half-a-dozen or more at times. At this location we saw Red and Black kites and Common Buzzard.

Common Buzzard, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

Black Kite, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

Black Kite, Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

We also had a lot of frogs an toads.

Frog (species?), Auried at Kleinbosingen, June 18, 2016

Our triplist stands at only 44, but 33 lifers!

We are spending the next two nights in a hotel near Cugy, which is the village that barb lived in 53 years ago. So we will be exploring that a little bit in addition to our birding.