Lac du Der and Foret D'Orient (1 Viewer)

I'm looking to visit Lac du Der and Foret d'Orient in February. The trip is mainly for the cranes, however there are a lot of species in the area that would be nice to see. That includes WT Eagle, Black/Grey/Middle and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, wildfowl, etc..

I've been trawling the web and have come up with surprisingly little. I would much appreciate info on the best place to watch the cranes and details/locations on where to best look for the other specialities.

We've only got a couple of days, so the more we are able to target, the better it would be.

Are there any websites with current observations ?
And finally can someone recommend a decent B&B or hotel.

Any help with the above would be much appreciated.

This thread has one or two links that might help:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=184079

David

I've not been there myself, but the best website for current observations in the Champagne-Ardenne Région is: http://www.faune-champagne-ardenne.org.
You can filter observations by Département, so you'd need Département 10 for Lac d'Orient sightings.

There is information about the area here: http://www.champagne-ardenne-tourism.co.uk/faun/fauna-flora/ornithology-birdwatching-sites.aspx

Recent crane counts are available here:

http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grus-grus/index.htm#

I visited the Foret d'orient briefly last summer - not really the best time for birds in this area although I managed black storks and red-necked grebe. There was a nature reserve visitor centre between the two main lakes and a tower hide at the north-east end of the Lac d'orient. For the forest there was an extensive network of tracks, but the woodland covers a very large area.

Hi GMS,

Its an area I would like to visit, whilst researching for a trip which never quite worked out I found the following which might be of use to you:

http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grues/ferme_aux_grues.htm

If your French is as bad as mine, copy the text into google translate...

It would be great if you put a report on of how you get on, maybe in the next couple of months I'll get there too.

Happy birding, Paul

Great - thanks very much for all the info. I'll report back how we got on. Crane numbers down from 40000+ to less than 20000 over the last couple of weeks. In the meantime if anyone has some more info please keep it coming.

There's a few Bean Geese, a couple of hundred White Fronts, Bewick's and Whooper Swans there at the moment, plus a Ferug Duck has been seen recently too. There has been 1 adult White-taiiled Eagle seen in the last few days too.

Another good spot, a bit further north if you get chance, is Etang de Belval next to the village of Belval en Argonne, recently 2 talon grappling White-tailed Eagles there, mostly mid to late pm is the best time for them it would seem. I've never been there in the winter, but in spring, it's a cracking place.

I think you'll struggle to get Grey-headed Woodpecker to be honest. Their range is contracting to the east and they are getting harder and harder. I live in Verdun, and I would have to travel a good hour east or South east to get them. I have never seen or heard one locally.

On Monday there was a Rock Bunting seen well out of range not far from the town of Bar le Duc, but there was no sign of it yesterday.

Bonne chance,

Jonathan

Back from our weekend trip to Lac du Der/Foret d'Orient. We had a couple of days of excellent birding. The highlight was 8000+ Cranes coming into roost in the evening. We watched from just North of Chantecoq. The biggest numbers came in from the South that day, so the best views would have been had from between Chantecoq and Giffaumont-Champaubert. Still, an amazing spectacle. Most of the birds started arriving from 17:40 onwards.

Other highlights were
2 White-tailed Eagles (from the Eglise de Champaubert)
Red-necked Grebe (from the Eglise de Champaubert)
Dipper on the river 'La Blaise'
Lesser Spotted WP (Presqu'ile de Nemours)
Middle Spotted WP (Presqu'ile de Nemours, La Cornee du Der (x2), observation tower at Anse de oiseaux, Lac D'Orient), Foret Domaniale du Temple at the Salamander Trail
Bewick's Swan 80 at Sainte-Marie-du-Lac-Nuisement, 40+ on Lac D'Orient near Mesnil-Saint-Père
RC Pochard (various places on Lac du Der/Amance/Temple)
Ferruginous Duck (Lac Amance)
Black-necked Grebe 5 (Lac Amance)
White-fronted Geese 40+ (Chantecoq)
Smew 15 (Bassin Nord)
Red-throated Diver (Giffaumont-Champaubert, Mesnil-Saint-Père)
Goosander 200
Great-White Egret 150+

There were large numbers of common wildfowl throughout and it was nice to see good numbers of Hawfinch and Water Pipit, plus Willow Tits, Ruff etc.

Recent observations: http://www.faune-champagne-ardenne.org
Search department 10 for observations around Lac d'Orient/Temple/Amance, 51 and 52 for Lac du Der

Useful website with maps: http://www.wildfuture.co.uk/index.php/champagne-lakes-a-forests; also see links provided in previous posts.

We stayed in the Campanile in St. Dizier.

Unfortunately we missed out on Grey Woodpecker (several observations around Lac d'Orient in the days before we visited) and Black Woodpecker. Nonetheless it was an excellent weekend of birding with quality and quantity.

Thanks all for your helpful input.

Winter birding

I'm contemplating a winter visit to this area, primarily for the WT Eagles but also for the swans, geese, ducks, Grey-headed Woodpecker and Hawfinch. Can any one advise when is the best time of year to visit to maximise my chances of these species? Also is there a better time to go for the weather? I don't mind it being cold (unless the lakes freeze over) but snow, fog or persistent rain would be a problem.
Many thanks.
Dave