where to go? Provence? (1 Viewer)

Hello just wondering if anyone could help me.

Me and a mate want to go birding somewhere in europe, we hope to get a few species never seen before, birds like bluethroat, roller, bee eater,etc would be nice but not essensial, we was thinking about provence in france is that a good idea?

If anyone has been before or knows a little about south france please let me know the best places to go and what time of the year is best for a good selection of rarer birds.

Also if anyone has been to anywhere in europe and would like to say what you saw could sway me, please tell me the best location and date thank you

It's worth having a look at the individual regional forums on here, as they could give you some ideas.

As for Provence, it's a beautiful place to visit for all sorts of reasons, and it does have very good birding. I admit my last visits there were 6 or 7 years ago before I really got into birding, but even then, there are some great habitats.

The Camargue, for example, is an amazing wetlands region as it's the river delta for the Rhone river. It's famous for its flamingos, but there are also many other interesting species - egrets, various heron species, a good range of raptors, bee-eaters, etc.

Further inland, there is typical Mediterranean farmland, lots of olive groves and vineyards, with a wealth of passerines and a whole different group of birds of prey.

And further still, you can get into some quite high mountains, such as Mont Ventoux, or - for me one of the highlights - the Alpilles chain (not high, but stunning, and with towns like Les Baux being a good place for wallcreepers.

Other places you might consider are various parts of coastal Spain. The only part I know well is the Costa Blanca, which despite its reputation for partying Brits, has some wonderful places for birding, again with a mix of habitats, from wetland and marsh, salt flats and coast, up to high mountains.

Thank you very much, thats a great help.