Camargue, france - short trip advice (1 Viewer)

Hi

i hope this is in the right section, only recently discovered this forum, which im loving but im still getting to grips with plethora of different areas to post in

as part of a french driving holiday coming up in a couple of weeks, we are visiting the Carmague and i will have 2 full days to completely immerse myslef in the famous wetlands. as we are staying right out in the camargue itslef, i intend to spend as much of both days out and about as possible

ive been reading alot of excellent reports on the region, and i am building up a list of spots that are popular for spending an hour or two at, with the scope.

three places i think are a must do are;

- the viewing platform ontop of the old pump station on D37 road

- slowly travel up the unsealed road heading north east, off of the the D85A, near the Mas de Cacharel equestrian centre

- Mas de le capeliere area, including the reserve on the D36B


Does anyone have any experience with any of these sites i mentioned, or advice on where else is good to plonk oneself for an hour or two with the bins/scope and a packed lunch? or perhaps are there any particular roads that are worth treading lightly along?

i should have access to a car, but at very least my other half has agreed to pick me up/drop me off to different spots as required.

thanks!

the area is huge and viewing/access can be difficult which makes things quite daunting.

however, check out
http://www.faune-paca.org/
and
http://www.ornithomedia.com/observations.html

marais de mas Agon comes up every year. I would head along the raod from st maries de al mer - i think you can only walk, cycle or use a 'small' car.

I have only ever been dissappointed with the actual reserve....

rosbifs said:

I have only ever been dissappointed with the actual reserve....

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thank you for your reply,

do you mean the 'parc ornotholigique de point de gau'? i have also heard mixed reviews of this place, so i was going to avoid it.

I would be interested in any info you discover as I'm off to the Camargue in the Autumn.

Mono

Mono said:

I would be interested in any info you discover as I'm off to the Camargue in the Autumn.

Mono

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absoloutly, i definalty intend to do a write up and share my experience

Pris Ris Scott said:

thank you for your reply,

do you mean the 'parc ornotholigique de point de gau'? i have also heard mixed reviews of this place, so i was going to avoid it.

Click to expand...

Yes I think that is it - on the left on the road down to saintes maries de la mer.

The road I would recommend is east of SMdlMer and goes along the coast - need a scope. (I mentioned it above but wasn't too clear)

Sounds obvious but if you get into the reeds learn the calls - you don't actually see a lot!!

When are you going? Coming up to Red Footed Falcon, Eleanoras Falcon (maybe a fraction early), White Winged Black Tern period.

thanks for the clarification on the raod :t:

rosbifs said:

When are you going? Coming up to Red Footed Falcon, Eleanoras Falcon (maybe a fraction early), White Winged Black Tern period.

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i'll be there around the 16th May

red footed falcon would be a dream tick, my book told me they only migrate through the area, so i wasnt going to hold my breath for them as im not the 'luckiest' of birders.

whilst im generally happy to see what i see, i am secrelty hoping to see two particular birds: B.C.Night Heron, and Black Winged Stilt.

Fingers crossed.

Mid May is pretty much peak time for the RFFalcon although they seem to be concentrated around St Martin De Crau.
Definately(in the loosest sense) WWBlack Terns a possibility. Broad Billed Sand aswell...

Black Winged Stilts should be relatively easy but can't remember where the main Night Heron colony is - can't think they were the hardest 'herons' to get - that award went to the Squacco...

Been a couple of times to a reeded area by quite a big hump backed bridge (think it was a dead end) - can't remember the name or find it on the map. It used to be well known for Little Bittern. If someone knows the name or has directions (I would like to know) would be a good place to go!

i really appreciate all this, thanks :t:

whilst reading up on where B.C.Night Herons have been found, i have seen the words 'Mas de Fielouse' being mentioned a couple of times, and off the back of snooping around there with google maps i have found a raised platform on the 'Route de Fielous a sambuc' road. Ive added that to my list of spots to head to.

The Camargue is so well birded and the 'stakeouts' are very well known. There are a number of guidebooks to the area eg gosney. Two days really isn't much time to give this area. I once did a blitz 2 day tour of the area but I knew where to go for the target species (from previous trips). The link below gives a pretty good idea where you can find many species. BTW I noticed that no one had reported lesser grey shrike and there used to be a good spot for that just north of the airfield at the little bustard area at Crau.

http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?src=...r=2010&eYear=2015&continue.x=29&continue.y=13