French Pyrenees - Ossau Valley / Laruns (1 Viewer)

We're staying near Laruns for a week from 18th August.

Would be very interested if anyone can recommend good places for birding. We're quite happy to hike a few hours, less keen on long drives.

Also, any ideas what species we might encounter?

thanks!

Two definates for your trip

Col Soulor - migration at the moment. Daily birds present - Lammergeier, Golden Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Booted Eagle, Short Toed Eagle. Passage Honey buzzard, Black Kite, Storks, Harriers (mainly Monties - 1 or 2 per day). Best times seems to be 11.00 -14.00. We had an Eleanoras falcon a couple of weeks ago, Black Vulture and they had Spanish Imperial Eagle on the 15th...

Walking around here could produce Rock Thrush (ask the volunteers where cap d'aout is), Rock bunting maybe a latish Red Backed Shrike (plateau below the col). Alpine and Red Billed Chough...Keep eyes on cliffs around the tunnels between Aubisque and Soulor...

Col Portalet
Good spot for Lammy. Rock Thrush in area, Ortolan???? Might get Snowfinch but I think Candanchu is more reliable.

Long shots
Pas D'Aspe - nr candanchu - Wallcreeper bred, might be around. Don't know specific sites.
Woods arounds Laruns and Arudy - hold White backed Woody - rocking and horse but will be nice walks through the woods. Head for the beech trees, biggest oldest, wettest and steepest woods you can find...

That's absolutely brilliant, thank you.

Do you have any idea if walking up into the mountains around Lac D'Artouste (take the train and then hike) and/or Pic Du Midi D'ossau are good places from a bird watching point of view?

Sorry can't help with more specifics for that area.

I would have thought birds up there in the mountains, if they reflect here, would be the Vultures Griffon, Lammy (fairly spread out at the moment so could be anywhere), Golden Eagle, Short Toed Eagle, Booted ? don't know for that valley. Common birds BLackcap, water Pipit, Wheatear (only common), Linnet... Higher altitudes Treecreeper, lower - around Laruns Short Toed Tree. Common Redstart just started to move through but Black Redstart everywhere. Might get Ring Ouzel...

The woods should hold Black Woodpecker (beech and conifer), nearer the border Sharpei Green (likes more wooded areas than Green), lower altitudes Middle Spot (chestnut). Not really the season for these though.

Somewhere in that valley is a 'falaise vautour' (vulture cliff) and should get Egyptian there.

Wow

One hour at the col du soulor and saw

Griffon. Vultures +++
Black kites
Montages harriers
Flock of bee eaters
Egyptian Vultures
Honey buzzard
Booted eagle
Short toed eagle

Thanks to the local experts for pointing things out and the translation

Glad you had a good day out! You can follow their daily info on
http://www.trektellen.org/count/view/1735/20170822