Another Ouessant trip report... October 16th - 22nd (1 Viewer)

[Mark Lew1s]

October 16th

After missing a couple of years due to COVID, and after writing this years trip off after thinking I’d left it too late to organise something, it felt really good to be heading back over to this special island. Even with family in tow, thoughts of grabbed opportunities to dip my toe into the East meets West rarity pool had me as excited as I’ve ever been.

Our trip began with the ferry crossing, from Brest to Ouessant, stopping at Le Conquet and Molene on the way. It would be misleading to call it a vintage crossing, but it was very enjoyable all the same. Mediterranean gulls were all over the place, and a couple of Manx and Balearic Shearwaters jazzed things up a little. Both Guillemot and Razorbill were noted frequently, but the most notable birds were passerines. Getting the odd Meadow Pipit over the boat on these crossings is nothing unusual, but a Grey Wagtail was a bit different, and a couple of flocks of Siskin looked a little out of place as they zoomed over the waves.


Once onto the island we headed for our house, before doing loads of shopping and then leaving it in the house while we went out for lunch. This years house had loads of potential, with a little wooded gully to one side, and close to several of the better spots around Lampaul, the islands only town. A ten minute session at the window overlooking the garden backed up the potential, with Goldcrest and Firecrest both putting in an appearance in the wind and rain. On the way into town for lunch, Chiffchaffs were obviously, more Firecrests called, and Chaffinches went overhead. Down in the dark, muddy valley that runs east from Lampaul, Robins sang and two Yellow-browed warblers were being very vocal. Nice to get them so early on in the week.

After lunch I headed north from the house towards Pennorz, ultimately hoping to get to Plage Yusin. However, the rain had really got going and it swung between unpleasant to unbirdable. During the unpleasant moments, there were plenty of birds to see. Firecrests again, Marsh Harrier and Dartford Warbler at Pennorz, and two more Yellow-browed warblers were in a little wooded spot just by the ‘Maison du Colours’. I was only under the bushes to get some shelter, so it was great to hear one calling behind me while watching another one checking me out. A Blackcap put in a brief appearance and another tight flock of Siskins bounded through before I decided that there were better things to be doing with my holidays than standing under a bunch of trees that seemed to be concentrating the water onto me more than anything else. So I went in and had a beer instead.


Once it stopped I had a brief half hour before teatime so went down towards Prad Meur in the gloom before dusk. There were plenty of vocal Chiffchaffs and Firecrests, some Goldcrests and a couple of Cetti’s Warblers celebrated the rain stopping with the odd bout of song. A pair of Kestrels hung around, Water Rails squealed from the depths of the stang, and Song thrushes flew over. I looked forward to a calmer day and a little more time in the morning.

 

[opisska]

So you are now on Ouessant and on the first day, you looked neither for the Red-eyed Vireo, nor for the Northern Harrier? That is quite some restraint

 

[dantheman]

So you are now on Ouessant and on the first day, you looked neither for the Red-eyed Vireo, nor for the Northern Harrier? That is quite some restraint

Not everyone out there is a rabid twitcher ...

 

[opisska]

The fraction is much higher among people who are on Ouessant in the middle of October though But he found  four YBWs in half a day, so it seems he might not actually need others to find things for him!

 

[Mark Lew1s]

So you are now on Ouessant and on the first day, you looked neither for the Red-eyed Vireo, nor for the Northern Harrier? That is quite some restraint

Ha! Not really restraint - it’s just not my cup of tea. I’d rather find my own three star rarity than twitch someone else’s five star bird. That said, I’ve twitched a few bits that I’ve been close to this week - and so far failed to find very much at all….

 

[Mark Lew1s]

October 17th

What a difference. Today dawned clear and calm and it remained glorious all day long. Perhaps a little too glorious for my pastey face but what are holidays for if not a little excess here and there.

In the morning I headed out towards Plage Yusin, retracing my steps from the day before. As I made my way through the northern suburbs of Lampaul it was clear that there were still a lot of birds around: Chiffchaffs and Firecrests were everywhere, and so were Cetti’s warblers. I think it was 2016 when I saw my first Cetti’s here - they are very recent colonists - but they seem to have exploded in the couple of years that I couldn’t make it out here. At first they were restricted to the bigger stangs in the middle of the island, but now they sing from every little bit of suitable habitat, and some places that are probably less than suitable too.

Once I made it out to more open country I began to pick up a little more stuff on the move. First were 4 Stock doves zooming eastward across the island at Kerhanchas, and 2 Fieldfare headed in the same direction over Stang Yusin. It’s likely that these were grounded birds as the days vismig didn’t really kick off till later. Another grounded migrant in Stang Yusin was an island (and I think a whole of France) tick for me - A Woodcock. Probably not the most exciting island tick but they all count. Also plenty of Dartford warbler action here, with a few calling birds and even one singing in the morning sun. Lovely stuff. The little beach at Yusin had a couple of Common sandpiper, Turnstone and a Ringed plover, and it was here that I started to notice movements of finches - mostly little groups of Siskin but with a few Chaffinch moving too. I went home via Aod Meur where there were yet more Firecrests, Chiffchaffs, and Robins galore, and there were bucketloads of Meadow Pipits and a few Stonechats on the more open ground.

After lunch I left Lampaul via Prad Meur and the reservoirs. More of the same here. Firecrests, Chiffchaffs, Robins, but with additional Swallows, a Brambling passing overhead, and a brief encounter with a badly lit chiffchaff that had to be a Siberian Chiffchaff, but it was not a great view, unfortunately. There were the usual Mallards and Gulls on the reservoirs but a flyby Stock Dove was a little less usual.

From here I headed towards Stang Porz Guen, where I spent a good couple of hours. Firstly, I spent quite a long time slowly approaching a very noisy group of Yellow-browed warblers. I ended up getting pretty close and they were really making a racket, and I was really enjoying the idea that I was recording it all - and then it dawned on me that it was a ringers tape - something I confirmed when listening to my recording later on. Slightly deflating. Slightly more deflating was missing a Radde’s warbler even though I was only 5 minutes walk away, although I think it was only seen by the finders. A distant calling Great-spotted woodpecker, only my third on the island, didn’t really cut the mustard as compensation! Luckily for me, the Isabelline Shrike that had been seen a few days earlier was refound nearby and I ended up getting great views of this bird - my first anywhere.


Throughout the afternoon my phone had been going sightly mad with reports of the Northern Harrier that had been around since last week. I’d kept an eye to the sky all afternoon, but it wasn’t until I had got back to Kerhuel, on the south side of Lampaul, that I saw a ringtail Hen Harrier type. It looked pretty dark above and orange below but it was much too far to be sure that it was this first record for France. From tracing subsequent sightings I’m pretty sure that it was the bird I saw, but I’d just have to keep my fingers crossed for another go at it. Also at Kerhuel there was a vocal Willow warbler, a couple of Blackcaps, and a mixed group of Chaffinch and Brambling went over.


And then it was family time - but of course the birding doesn’t stop when you’re still outside. At the beach at Corz I got great views of the resident Hooded crow, and on the way back to the house I had good views of presumably the same Great spotted woodpecker in Lampaul on the way home.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

October 18th

Quite a remarkable day. From the moment that I set out at firstish light, it was clear that there was going to be a lot of vismig going on. As I headed north from Lampaul, intent on doing a similar loop to the day before, flock after flock of Chaffinch went over, all heading in from the north west, punctuated by little groups of Siskin and Song thrush doing the same. Redwings, Grey wagtails and Bramblings called overhead every now and again, and I knew that if I kept my ears to the sky eventually I’d get some interesting birds. The route I took isn’t really relevant - nowhere stood out and most places had the usual Chiffchaff, Firecrest and Cetti’s warbler combo. It was all about the birds in the sky and they didn’t take long to deliver. First up was a Ring Ouzel that plunged into a garden, with Mistle thrush and Stock dove passing over nearby too. Not too long after that a Redpoll (presumably Lesser - it was tiny) went over. This is quite a good bird for the island, only my second and something that gets put out on the local Whatsapp group. Hardly the exciting bird I was after, but context is important!

After a lull - which really means that the stream of Chaffinch and Siskin didn’t have much else with it, things livelied up again as I got back towards Lampaul later in the morning. A Woodlark passed over with a Swallow, and shortly after, a Serin moved through. Both of these are pretty rare here, with just a handful of records most years, which made it all quite exciting and all of this with a relatively calm and sunny backdrop. Absolute bliss.

Lunch was taken picnic style with the family, on the benches above the stunning beach at Plage Corz. Here the Chaffinches kept coming, still heading in from the north west. We were joined by the local celebrity Hooded crow, and I heard my first Choughs of the trip too.

After lunch I was given yet more freedom and I headed to the west end of the island. My walk out there was a little quiet - more Chough, more Chaff, and of course, the odd Chiff, and it wasn’t until I got to Cost Ar Reun that things started to hot up again. I wandered past a couple looking intently into a bush, who told me that they had been watching a Red-breasted Flycatcher. Shortly after, I was too, if only for a few seconds - but I was glad to hear it call a few times and snap at some passing insects. Heading further west towards the little church, a raptor rose in front of me and I knew it was a Hen Harrier of sorts. I blasted off a load of photos as it was basically a silhouette, hoping to pick up some ID features and was delighted when the back of the camera revealed the dark head, unstreaked orange body and extra-barred primaries of the Northern harrier. Excellent, and with Whinchat, Spotted flycatcher, Blackcap, Firecrests, and more for company too.

It was then that I got a message about an Isabelline wheatear that was not too far away. Off I went, only to arrive at a very unfocussed twitch about 15 minutes later, having passed another Whinchat and my first Black redstart of the trip at Kun. I didn’t fancy spending too much time hanging around not looking at the bird so headed back to Kun for a little sit down - my feet were beginning to feel the 35+ kms of the last few days. While I rested my feet another Woodlark went over, only to be bested shortly after by a Hawfinch doing the same. Dartford warblers sung in the gorse and Chiffchaffs, Blackcap, crests, and Long-tailed tits moved through the cover, while Chaffinch flocks still moved through.

Sensing that I could use family time as an excuse to take my boots off, I headed back towards Lampaul. A WhatsApp message alerted me to a goose that was moving along the north coast of the island, and while some discussion pinged back and forth as to whether it was a Greylag or a Pinkfoot, I enjoyed views of a Greylag goose zooming over the island and no doubt wondering what on earth it was doing there. An island tick, no less. In Lampaul, a smashing adult male
Black redstart posed on a rooftop, and unsurprisingly, chaffinches were audible as I entered the house where we were based.

I couldn’t tell you how may Chaffinch I saw but I’d say it was comfortably 5000 - with maybe 500 siskin, 200 Song thrush, 50 Brambling, 20 redwing, 4 Stock dove, 2 Mistle thrush, 15 grey wagtail, as well as all of the other stuff I mentioned passing over. Really exciting and rather mind boggling stuff, especially when you consider the journeys that these birds will have taken. Here’s hoping for more tomorrow….

 

[Mark Lew1s]

October 19th

An odd day, with birding thwarted by some world class dithering from the family and a migraine to top it all off. As such, effort was low and rewards were more sparse than in previous days, but looking back it was still a very enjoyable day out.

In the morning we walked together across the island to the lovely little port at Arland, where enjoyed a picnic and other beachy related things. The walk across was quiet, at least by the standards set by the day before. Still, there were loads of Chaffinch on the go and the odd little group of Siskin. Redwings, Brambling and Song Thrush were again moving through, but perhaps most interesting from a vismig point of view were increased numbers of Skylark and groups of 12 and 14 Stock Dove. At Arland itself, I added Sparrowhawk to the trip list, with Shags and the odd shearwater offshore, and good numbers of crests in the wooded valley.


When the rest of the gang headed in for a post picnic nap I pottered about some sites near Lampaul and managed a few interesting bits and bobs. At Prad Meur I had a Yellow-browed warbler and a lot of Firecrests (side note - I suspect there are probably well over 500 Firecrest on the island) among the Robins, Chiffchaffs, and now obligatory Cetti’s warblers. Kerhuel produced a Black redstart and presumably the same Willow warbler as earlier in the week, and as I was passing there I thought I’d detour by 100 yards or so to see if the Caspian gull that had been seen earlier was still around. I couldn’t see the bird from earlier, but one gull struck me as being interesting and was clearly a Yellow-legged/Caspian type. I thought elements of the plumage looked better for Caspian (for example the scapulars especially, in both pattern and plumage tone) but the structure was pretty awful for one, so I fired a few pics off for some more informed opinion. When confused by a gull, it’s pretty gratifying when gull experts don’t agree on what your gull is - but eventually the consensus seemed to swing in favour of Yellow-legged gull rather than a Caspian x Herring hybrid. Not a common bird here so a nice one to get. While looking at my pics a Tree pipit went over, as did another bird that called once and sounded like one of the large pipits. Alas, my recorder didn’t get any of it so one for the ‘might have been’ bucket. Another flyby, trailing a little group of Mallard, turned out to be something I could identify. A Pintail, my first on the island and quite a nice little surprise. I knew one had been around but I hadn’t seen it on the reservoirs when I went past so presumed it had cleared off.

Back then for more family time, but not before noting a nice Pied (i.e. yarelli) wagtail among the whites on the Lampaul rooftops. Another uncommon bird, that could only excite the Ouessant purist!

 

[Mark Lew1s]

October 20th

Another tremendous day of birding. I headed out west first thing, to bird some of my favourite little corners of the west end that I’d not yet visited this week such as Pern, Kun and Cost ar Reun. As soon as I got out of town it was clear that it was going to be another day with skies full of migrating birds. Chaffinch numbers remained high, but this morning, it was Fieldfares that stole the show, with over 300 seen before I’d even got to my first stop. Redwing, Siskin, and Snipe were also all on the go.


My first stop was Cost ar Reun. A (or maybe even two) Red-eyed vireo had been seen here on and off over the week. Apart from the calling Firecrests, the first bird I was aware of here was a Lesser whitethroat (quite rare here - enough for the Whatsapp group) that flitted over the path, but I also had my eye on a couple of birders who were intently watching something in one of the bushes. I walked past them at first, needing to use the bushes for something else, but then curiosity got the better of me and I went back round to see what they were looking at. I was pretty pleased to see a Red-eyed vireo pop out in front of me before I’d even managed to ask what they were watching! A great bird to catch up with. Golden plover, Marsh harrier and Stock dove went overhead. It’s been the best year for Stock dove that I can remember - I always enjoy seeing this underrated species, especially on migration.

From Cost ar Reun I headed towards Pointe de Pern. Still the birds poured overhead. Hundred strong flocks of Fieldfare, lots of Chaffinch, and tight groups of Starlings whizzing by, with Song thrush, Redwing and Reed bunting all mixed in. A Merlin was making the most of this bounty, a few more Stock doves went through, and a Black redstart foraged among the Meadow pipits, flitting up and down from the massive boulders onto the short cropped grass. Perhaps the biggest surprise here was a Woodlark passing with a flock of Siskins. I wonder where their journeys began. And will end?

At the Creach lighthouse another Black redstart fed on the walls, and then I headed towards Kun while waiting for the family to arrive with a picnic. Kun had Whinchat, Dartford warbler and maybe the same Merlin, and then the time arrived to sit among the rocks and eat some sandwiches. Not a sign for the birding to stop though - and in fact potentially the day peaked here. Finch flocks continued to bound over, but two egrets passing distantly by grabbed my attention. Through the bins they looked large and a lot like Great white egrets, but with nothing to compare them to size wise, I wasn’t 100% convinced. A few record shots later confirmed lovely long legs and bills, so I was happy that these were my fist ever Ouessant Great white egrets. While looking at my pictures I heard Snow bunting and eventually picked up three birds perched up on the rocks, and then I started to pay a little more attention to what was going on offshore. A Balearic shearwater passed by close in, but I could also see some very distant large shearwaters passing by. No chance of identifying them at that range only with bins, but they felt like greats, so I wondered over to ask a group who were seawatching if they were getting mostly Greats a long way offshore. From their vantage point I could see many more birds, including a few locks of maybe 60 birds - and they were all Great shearwaters. I really wished I had my scope with me - it would have quite spectacular to see more than my lifetimes worth of Great Shearwaters properly!


After returning to the house with the gang I headed out for a much quieter afternoon session - although there were still plenty of thrushes on the wing overhead. At the reservoirs I had a couple of Kingfisher, presumably the Pintail from the other day was lurking in the weeds, as was a Moorhen. I walked along the reservoirs and then followed the path along the wooded valley to the east, sporadically ducking into the cover to see what I could dig out. Perhaps because it was mid afternoon it felt very quiet, with only Chiffchaffs and Firecrests noted. Where the valley met the road across the island the vista opened up and the habitat changed a bit, with loads of Sloe bushes complete with thrushes in attendance, including a juv Ring ouzel. A ‘Hen Harrier type’ darted through too, although much too quickly to be identified. Luckily I caught up with presumably the same bird ten minutes later and it was nice to confirm a Hen harrier, along with distant Marsh harriers, Kestrels and a Sparrowhawk all around the airfield. With that, I trudged back home noting a couple more Stock doves and three different Black-redstarts in town. All tremendous fun.

Tomorrow an Atlantic depression hits. What will it bring? Apart from wind…View attachment 1476043View attachment 1476044View attachment 1476045View attachment DSC_5911.jpegView attachment DSC_5931.jpegView attachment DSC_5917.jpeg

 

[Mark Lew1s]

October 21st

Horrible. Wet, windy, and perfect for a family day. As such, I didn’t get any birding done in the morning, but this is Ouessant, and if you can’t find the good birds, sometimes they find you.

A family tradition on these trips is to have a lunch in the Duchesse Anne, a nice hotel on a hill overlooking the Bay of Lampaul. The stormier it is, the better, and so it came to pass that we were sat in the restaurant overlooking the bay at lunchtime. Some Chaffinches were feeding on the grass outside, and I had half an eye on them hoping that something more interesting than the resident sparrows might join them. Nothing came down to the grass but momentarily I was thrown by the black shape weaving around over the tables and chairs outside. Then the brain engaged and I realised it was a Leach’s petrel! It was off as soon as it arrived, and I ran outside to try and get another view. In doing so I bumped into one of the other birders who happened to be at the hotel who had also seen it. He was as surprised as me - and it seems, many of the islands other birders were too, as several came to see it when it was eventually relocated in the bay. I’ve found and seen rarer birds on Ouessant, and no doubt I will again, but the astonishing sight and surprise of a Leach’s petrel dancing over chaffinches and between tables will be very hard to top as one of my favourite memories of the island. What a place.

After lunch, I headed down towards Porz Doun, another favourite spot, where the beach gathers seaweed and the birds that like to feed on it. Here, a Little stint pottered around with some Ringed plovers on the grass, while the beach was covered in gulls. Mostly Herring, Lesser and Great blackbacks, but with the odd Mediterranean gull, and best of all, a monstrous brute of a Caspian gull. Dodging between the rocks were plenty of Rock pipits, my first Wheatear of the trip (very odd that it has taken this long) and a lovely confiding Snow bunting.


From here I made my way across the open grass hoping to find an interesting pipit but managed nothing more than the usual Choughs. I also tried a lying down, bins only seawatch but it was so windy I couldn’t keep my field of view steady, so I ambled homeward, noting Firecrests, Fieldfares and Stock doves en route. Not a bad day, considering the relative lack of ‘effort’…

 

[Mark Lew1s]

October 22nd


The last day. Never a great one for birds, as there are family traditions to adhere to, packing to do, a house to clean etc. still, It’s Ouessant, and there are birds to be had. While the rest of the gang fine tuned their engines in preparation for the rest of the day, I walked out to the north of Lampaul towards Plage Yusin. Again.


This morning it was pretty quiet, with little vismig evident, and not too much on show on the ground either. Still, the ch-chacks of Fieldfares could be heard frequently, and there were Firecrests in most bits of Firecrest habitat. They were joined by the odd Goldcrest and Chiffchaff, and a (the?) Great-spotted woodpecker bounced across my field of view at Pennorz. At Keranchas, I came across a flock of Greenfinch - new for the trip list and perhaps migrants, as I hadn’t noticed them here over the past few days. Further round at Yusin I flushed a sylvia warbler which despite its heft, I felt ought to be a Subalpine warbler due to the time of year but when it eventually showed again was only a Whitethroat, unfortunately. I headed back via the spot where an Arctic warbler had been seen on and off over the last few days but in spite of wheedling out at least ten Firecrests, I couldn’t find the pouillot boreal…


And that was that, for the birding - but this is Ouessant. A Greenshank was heard flying over the house while we were packing and cleaning, and of course there were chaffinches, firecrests and thrushes audible almost constantly.


Eventually, we headed off to the ferry. A Common tern flew onto the trip list while we waited to depart, and as usual, there was some anticipation for the crossing. I saw a Manx shearwater (but missed a Great on the other side of the boat), but comfortably the best bird was a dark juvenile Long-tailed skua that flew by at close range, prompting about 30 birders to swing their big lenses into action. Photos conformed the ID (which wasn’t really necessary but it’s always nice to see these things frozen in action to review the features). From their on it was mostly Gannets, Shags and Mediterranean gulls, but there was a brief moment of excitement when a big duck and a small duck flew past together. A Mallard and a Teal, which proved to be the last new bird, leaving me on 105 species for the trip.

So, in summary a brilliant week with some fantastic vismig, more migrating birds than I’ve seen in a long time and of course some very nice rarities to mop up as I was getting around. Lots of bits of island quality and even some gull related fun. Not what I was expecting but it’s all birding. If I have any ‘regret’, it’s not finding anything rare - but that’s how it goes, I guess.

For those interested, other rare birds on the island that I didn’t see were: Black-faced bunting, Arctic warbler, Isabelline wheatear, and a few other lesser things like little bunting, Blyth’s reed warbler and a ‘subalpine’ warbler.

 

[Richard Prior]

A great account of your Ouessant week Mark, showing us all that the best birding is not chasing others' finds all the time!

 

[MKinHK]

Great stuff Mark - always one of my favourite reports of the year.

Surprised to learn that Cetti's warbler became established so much later in Oessant than in the UK, and amazed at the number of Firecrests.

And I love the idea of a leach's Petrel coming for lunch - far more chivied than bouncing around in some chunder bucket to see them!

Cheers
Mike

 

[buck mulligan]

Thanks for this

Buck