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Corsica, 50 years on (1 Viewer)

"....Vallée de Restonica ... last few kms of the road and cars were now banned ...."

That's a pity, not only good for Lammergeier (yes yes, more common than sparrows in your garden back home 🙂), but superb for butterflies too
Yes, I wonder if there'll be a reduction in people going there as a result. Re. the Lammergeier, the remaining adults have not bred for a couple of years now so some young have been introduced in an attempt to prevent the likely extinction of the species on Corsica.
As for the garden sightings, we 've been back for 9 days now and the score is: Sparrows 0 Lammergeier 1 ;)
 
That road was frickin awful to drive tho, especially with ignorant old French t*ats coming the way! Lammergeier was spotted by the girlf and shown to a birding group, then smashed my phone on a rock photoing the finch 😖🤣 loved Corsica, especially all the 'Corsica is not France' graffiti everywhere 🤣 great for Honey-buzzards too
 
Oi watch it you middle aged Englishman, don’t forget that with my French passport and my er, mature years I qualify as one of those ‘old French t**ts ‘now.
I like to think I’ve transferred some of my excellent driving skills to my new compatriots (excluding my sand driving technique though as you’ll appreciate ;) )
Is that right, only 9 Poms all Spring past Selsey this year?
 
🤣🤣🤣 thank god you've moved yr legendary driving skills away from here mate
9 poms.....I give up after seeing 1, seawatching at selsey is like watching paint dry 🤣🤣
 
8 June

Man on a mission


I left the hotel at 05h50 and 20 minutes later parked up at the Pasciola Fort pull off. The difference in bird activity compared to our previous mid-morning visit was striking, Woodlark singing in the sky and Blackcap and Great Tit joining in from their concealed perches in the roadside trees. Walking down the nearest footpath I immediately heard a vaguely familiar ‘tschrekk’ call, a pair of Stonechat were busy looking after their hidden young. Another 25m and I heard a slightly different contact call low down in the scrub – up popped a smart male Marmora’s Warbler, honestly what had I been fretting about, it’s a piece of cake this warbler searching! A female then flew across the path and the male was carrying food and seemed agitated, I suspect that although remaining on the track I was standing between the male and the nest so I took a few quick photos and left them in peace. The whole area was much more birdy than before and I clocked up nearly 20 species in my hour’s wandering the hillside to the fort and back. In addition to Stonechat, Crag Martin and Linnet were new for the week and I found Corsican Finch in good numbers, and showy to boot! On the way back to the car I paid my respects again to the Marmora’s but keeping further away this time, a second pair were present further down the hillside by the sound of it.

Back at the hotel I felt like having a Champagne Breakfast but indulged myself with an extra coffee by way of celebration as the Weasel did its morning stroll outside. In fact it was the only live wild mammal we saw.
Other non avian bits: Wild Boar were clearly active during the night judging by the ploughed up ground just outside the hotel and we saw a dead young one beside the road one day. We also found some Red Deer footprints in a forest on our last day. I think we saw two different lizard sp, the commoner one was Tyrrhenian Wall Lizard, endemic to Corsica and Sardinia, a dead snake one morning on the road to Corte and two Common Wall Gecko were inside the hotel one evening.

After my early start and our joint fatigue due to the previous day’s ‘hot hike’ a very lazy day ensued, I added Wren to the holiday list and went looking for Dipper on the river flowing below our room, eventually having a swim in the cool water, a strong current meant that my intended short swim from one side to the opposite bank took a bit longer than planned and I ended up 20m further downstream than expected!
 

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Thanks Dalat! Yes, I notice that each Spring more and more birders are up North on Corsica joining the locals, hopefully Val 35 will tell us how many Pallid Harrier went through this year (quite a lot I think!).
Also Great Snipe is almost annual now I think….

Just seeing your report now ! Congrats on seeing all endemics !

This year, Cap Corse was particularly busy with birders in late April/early May (probably the best time to visit as it's when diversity and numbers are at their highest !).
Despite having a "weird" spring migration season this year (low numbers of some species such as Pied Flycatchers, Wood Warblers...), the fact that many birders were out there this spring allowed to find some very good birds such as Aquatic Warbler, Great Snipe, Corncrake (first sighting in Corsica since the XIXth century apparently), Rufous Tailed Rock Thrush (rare outside breeding sites)...The only thing is that you have to be quick because most birds here are just passing by and are difficult to "twitch" even if you are only a short distance away.
Not sure of how many Pallid Harriers were seen this year in Cap Corse, but yes, quite a lot !
Usually the very begining of April (or even late March) is best to see adult males but they occur until early May, yes.

Some spring 2024 Cap Corse highlights ;)

crecerellette.JPGDSCN9376.JPGDSCN9389.JPGDSCN9408.JPGDSCN9277.JPG
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Some excellent pictures there Val, gives a real taste of how exciting migration can be on Corsica!
A few more from my early morning mission, photogenic Corsican Finches, an overworked Woodlark parent and the view from the Pasciola Fort pull-off of Mt. Rotondo (2622m)
 

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9 June

I did a more comprehensive search of the burnt hillside across the road from the hotel and turned up a few birds, but the area will take some time to recover and support more species I suspect. Still, I found a few Blackbird, Moltoni’s Warbler, Chaffinch and a singing Sardinian Warbler hidden in the regrowing scrub. A Woodlark was singing from a wire before flying higher up and a juvenile flushed from the track I was following, kindly perching in a tree so I could admire its speckly upperparts. Nearer the hotel a Grey Heron was on the river and a Serin was display flying while the Wryneck was ‘kling kling klinging’ away. A smart Turtle Dove was pottering on the road at the Hotel entrance and for once tolerated my approach (it must have noticed that I wasn’t carrying a shotgun!).

We spent the morning walking along a deserted forest road a few kms away, not particularly bird rich but nice views of Cirl Bunting as we set off. We found a Mediterranean Flycatcher nest beside the road, Coal, Blue and Long-tailed Tit families and several colourful Tyrrhenian Wall Lizard amongst the attractive wildflowers. Our riverside picnic produced the first Sparrowhawk of the week and a handsome Grey Wagtail. On our winding route back to the hotel along quiet mountain forest roads and through picturesque villages we tried to find Corsican Nuthatch in what looked like suitable habitat but only managed Cuckoo (still singing!), Wren, Robin and Coal Tit. We also added our only Honey Buzzard of the trip as the road descended to the Vecchio valley and our hotel. It was one of those sticky, thunderstorm threatening afternoons so we made the most of the refreshing river temperatures for a final swim before our last evening at E Caselle.

Photos Woodlark juvenile, Grey Heron, Turtle Dove, Cirl Bunting, Med fly nest
 

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More from 9 June including a couple of one of the several Mediterranean Flycatchers around the Hotel grounds, this one came into the nearest tree to our room and posed for a few close up photos, a species full of character. Also a close up of the magnificent bark on the Pine trees, a mystery flower (any answers to its identity appreciated!) and a Tyrrhenian Wall Lizard
 

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Wrapping things up....
10/11 June

Today it was time to say goodbye to e Caselle and make our way South to Ajaccio for our night ferry to Toulon, but first, a final pre-brekky stroll, who knows, maybe a Moltoni’s would perch up and say “cheese” for my camera! They were quite vocal but still as skittish as ever of course, though I managed to work out where the Spotless Starling were nesting and consoled myself with a nice portrait of a food-carrying adult. For the second time during our stay, I heard Red-legged Partridge on the hillside across the river from our room but couldn’t spot them. Rather than take the busy main Bastia to Ajaccio road with its lorries and (especially in June) hordes of motorcycles we followed minor roads all down the centre of the island, passing three mountain passes on the way. The first was the famous Col de Sorba where we had found the Corsican Nuthatch but a brief stop yielded just a Coal Tit. Further on our only Mistle Thrush flew across the road but low cloud for most of the three hour drive till our lunch stop meant we weren’t able to appreciate what is known to be magnificent scenery on the route. Driving demanded concentration, not because of traffic but due to lots of ‘free range’ pigs wandering about. To be fair they had a good road sense, pootling about by the side of the highway most of the time. For some reason, I chose Wild Boar and pasta as my lunch reward at a family run resto in a hillside village :cool: ….

Not having travelled from Ajaccio before I was keen to arrive at the Port well in advance and work out where to go for the ferry later, next time we’ll have a look at the Audouin’s Gull colony near the airport (and check to see if the African Crake from earlier this year is still hiding near there). So it was an ice cream and relaxing early evening by the docks instead, not much birdlife apart from Yellow -legged and the odd Audouin’s Gulls, Italian Sparrow and my last Hooded Crow for a while. Oh, I also added Daffy Duck and Tweety Pie to the trip list (see photo of Looney Tunes liveried Moby Lines ferry)!

The sea was a bit more lively than on the crossing a week earlier but not enough to be uncomfortable, I set my alarm for just before 6am and, wrapped up against the wind, went out on deck to see if I could succeed with a 30 minute ‘pelagic session’. I immediately saw a distant shearwater but too brief a view to put to species, oh dear, out of practice……. Fifteen minutes passed and I was beginning to think that was my lot but lo and behold a mixture of Yelkouan and Scopoli’s Shearwaters appeared, some quite close range too! Common Tern were feeding beside the ferry as we disembarked which was a final bonus to end on (I hadn’t seen any in 2024 up to then, the shame of it!).

So an enjoyable week came to an end, a nice mixture of relaxing, touristy stuff (not too much thankfully!) walking and birding and around 70 species seen, including 5 lifers (one more than I achieved last year in the Caucasus!). We didn’t go looking for the Cat C California Quail (I have my standards don’t you know 😉) but I can’t avoid adding Sacred Ibis to my WP list (never look a gift bird in the beak as the saying doesn’t go!).
Photos of the Spotless Starling, Hooded Crow, 'Wild swimming' spot below our room and Daffy Duck and co.
 

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More from 9 June including a couple of one of the several Mediterranean Flycatchers around the Hotel grounds, this one came into the nearest tree to our room and posed for a few close up photos, a species full of character. Also a close up of the magnificent bark on the Pine trees, a mystery flower (any answers to its identity appreciated!) and a Tyrrhenian Wall Lizard
Love that Wall Lizard!

Chris
 
Wrapping things up....
10/11 June

Today it was time to say goodbye to e Caselle and make our way South to Ajaccio for our night ferry to Toulon, but first, a final pre-brekky stroll, who knows, maybe a Moltoni’s would perch up and say “cheese” for my camera! They were quite vocal but still as skittish as ever of course, though I managed to work out where the Spotless Starling were nesting and consoled myself with a nice portrait of a food-carrying adult. For the second time during our stay, I heard Red-legged Partridge on the hillside across the river from our room but couldn’t spot them. Rather than take the busy main Bastia to Ajaccio road with its lorries and (especially in June) hordes of motorcycles we followed minor roads all down the centre of the island, passing three mountain passes on the way. The first was the famous Col de Sorba where we had found the Corsican Nuthatch but a brief stop yielded just a Coal Tit. Further on our only Mistle Thrush flew across the road but low cloud for most of the three hour drive till our lunch stop meant we weren’t able to appreciate what is known to be magnificent scenery on the route. Driving demanded concentration, not because of traffic but due to lots of ‘free range’ pigs wandering about. To be fair they had a good road sense, pootling about by the side of the highway most of the time. For some reason, I chose Wild Boar and pasta as my lunch reward at a family run resto in a hillside village :cool: ….

Not having travelled from Ajaccio before I was keen to arrive at the Port well in advance and work out where to go for the ferry later, next time we’ll have a look at the Audouin’s Gull colony near the airport (and check to see if the African Crake from earlier this year is still hiding near there). So it was an ice cream and relaxing early evening by the docks instead, not much birdlife apart from Yellow -legged and the odd Audouin’s Gulls, Italian Sparrow and my last Hooded Crow for a while. Oh, I also added Daffy Duck and Tweety Pie to the trip list (see photo of Looney Tunes liveried Moby Lines ferry)!

The sea was a bit more lively than on the crossing a week earlier but not enough to be uncomfortable, I set my alarm for just before 6am and, wrapped up against the wind, went out on deck to see if I could succeed with a 30 minute ‘pelagic session’. I immediately saw a distant shearwater but too brief a view to put to species, oh dear, out of practice……. Fifteen minutes passed and I was beginning to think that was my lot but lo and behold a mixture of Yelkouan and Scopoli’s Shearwaters appeared, some quite close range too! Common Tern were feeding beside the ferry as we disembarked which was a final bonus to end on (I hadn’t seen any in 2024 up to then, the shame of it!).

So an enjoyable week came to an end, a nice mixture of relaxing, touristy stuff (not too much thankfully!) walking and birding and around 70 species seen, including 5 lifers (one more than I achieved last year in the Caucasus!). We didn’t go looking for the Cat C California Quail (I have my standards don’t you know 😉) but I can’t avoid adding Sacred Ibis to my WP list (never look a gift bird in the beak as the saying doesn’t go!).
Photos of the Spotless Starling, Hooded Crow, 'Wild swimming' spot below our room and Daffy Duck and co.

The Audouin's colony is inside a military base so access is impossible...the best spots to see Audouin's Gulls in Ajaccio are the port and the mouth of the Gravona river, south of the airport 😉
 

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