Frejus (1 Viewer)

I am going to the Eurocamp site at Frejus on 23rd July for a fortnight. Birding opportunities may be few and far between, but, if anyone can recommend sites within an hour of Frejus, I'd be interested to hear about them. Appreciate the Camargue and Crau are 'doable' but I may not get that much of a window, so, would prefer more local advice if possible?

MTIA

Pat

Hi Pat
We stayed near St. Raphael not too long ago, unfortunately nearly all my records and 'where to watch birds ' books are packed up in boxes and I do not have access to them.
However I do have a general trip log which mentions several places.
The Caussols area and near a village of Les Deux Nid was a good place for Griffon Vultures, Rock Thrush, Buntings for example, if you google Caussols you will find it. The Bakery there is in fact a great Bar/Café /Restaurant where you can have a beer whilst watching the Vultures and other birds of prey.
Col de Babou and Col du Mistral are similar places we had Bee-Eaters, Hoopoes, Golden Orioles on the camp site and Scops Owls were seen and heard every night. There are vast areas of forest and scrubland near the coast which is open with good access. I am sorry that I cannot provide you with more details but just remember that we had a good trip and saw most of the usual suspects that you would hope to get on that part of the med.
We did go to La Crau and the Camargue but it was a bit of a drag, are you driving down or flying into Nice?
(If you are going to Nice you can normally see the Silverbills by the Retail centre)

best regards
Merlin

The salins at Hyeres should be reasonably good at this time of year. Plenty of Flamingos, good chance of Slender-billed Gulls and passage waders should just be starting to move through in reasonable numbers, Marsh Sands, Wood Sands etc.

Check this site out too for latest details, depending on how good your french is:

http://www.faune-paca.org/

The D12 between Pierrefeu du Var and Hyeres is good for Rollers and Short-toed Eagle. Heading north towards pierrefeu, cross the roundabout with the D29 and after look out for a turning on the left with a black and white square sign for D'Addario Woodwinds, Quitiviers on google maps. 50/100 metres further on, there is a rough field on the right with wires running across it. I have seen Roller here on the same wires the last two years.

There is an aerodrome also just north of pierrefeu that you can drive around the perimetre of that holds some Little Bustards, I didn't see any in June but did have Crested Lark perched on the perimetre fence. It's a military base so I was very wary of getting my telescope out. But there are several records of Little Bustard from here on Faune PACA so birders must visit the area regularly.

Brilliant info gents. Very much appreciated. I will post my sightings here when I get back. Cheers!

Hi Pat

I stayed at Draguinan back in 09, and found Hyeres very rewarding as Jonathan suggests, we had a great day at the Gorge du Verdon, seeing Griffon vultures, plus the Gorge is well worth seeing anyway.

Torview said:

Hi Pat

I stayed at Draguinan back in 09, and found Hyeres very rewarding as Jonathan suggests, we had a great day at the Gorge du Verdon, seeing Griffon vultures, plus the Gorge is well worth seeing anyway.

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I second that, hire a boat and see Griffons and Crag Martins.

Looking on Faune PACA, the Slender-billed Gull colony at Hyeres is doing well this year. Last year they abandoned and were difficult to see, this year quite easy.

Check out the LPO pages for Hyeres too, there are guided walks onto the 2 different salins that are well worth doing.