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