Non-Europeans what European bird would you like to see? (3 Viewers)

[opisska]

Well you have picked a nice selection of species with very prominent sounds: Wryneck, Oriole, Green Woodpecker, Hoopoe, Cuckoo - these are super easy to learn, because those are some of the most outstanding sounds in Europe. Both Long-tailed Tit and Firecrest are much more difficult, at least to me, because they make high-pitched sounds (that I do not hear well), but you can just remember to get alert if you hear very high calls, there are not too many other species doing them!

 

[hookem2010]

I'm getting really excited, so hopefully this trip actually happens. I've planned so many hypothetical trips, only to not have them come to fruition. I had pretty deeply studied up on birds of the Greek Islands for this fall only to scratch the trip soon after planning it. The 15 month-old has been a real trooper on domestic trips though, so I'm more confident we can make this one happen. All the more important to learn the sounds when you're toting a little one around!

 

[hookem2010]

As I continue hijacking this thread, can anywhere recommend a food field guide for France?

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

As I continue hijacking this thread, can anywhere recommend a food field guide for France?

Is there a typo here?

 

[hookem2010]

Hahaha, yes! A GOOD bird field guide would be great. I'm betting finding food in bordeaux and Paris will not be too difficult.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Collins Field Guide is far and away the best European field guide.

 

[THE_FERN]

betting finding food in bordeaux and Paris will not be too difficult.

...Good food on the other hand...

 

[opisska]

If a Brit considers even French food bad, how do they even survive?

 

[Bewick]

...Good food on the other hand...

French food is great- some of the best food I’ve ever had. Possibly because it’s homemade French food, but if you get authentic French cuisine you’ll be far from disappointed. Great pastries, dried meats, amazing duck, lamb and beef dishes and much more. Also if you are a fan of meat pastes then France have some of the best on earth.

There are some gems of restaurants hidden in the small villages that are found throughout France, though the prices can be quite demanding. Paris and Bordeaux are barely french anymore, it would probably be quite hard to find good and authentic French restaurants. Much like the UK, you have to leave the major cities to properly experience all the country has to offer- though imo there’s no comparing french cuisine to English cuisine.

 

[THE_FERN]

If a Brit considers even French food bad, how do they even survive?

In most of the places in Paris etc you need to know where to go to get good food. They are adept at catering for tourists with inflated prices and (at least sometimes) poorer quality. Now if you know where to go it's different of course (but then it's the same in London).

 

[Strontium Dog]

I'm in the very early stages of planning a potential trip to France (Paris, Bordeaux, Pyrenees), so I've been looking at species present in April and have a new list.
1) Bearded vulture- hopeful to track one down if we make it to the mountains. Egyptian vulture and griffon would be great as well. Y'all have much cooler vultures than we do, outside of condor.
2) Eurasian hoopoe- nothing like it in the states
3) Eurasian green woodpecker- woodpeckers are cool birds. Black and great spotted would also be excellent. Wryneck would be awesome if I was lucky.
4) Red kite- really handsome raptor
5) Long-tailed tit- cute little thing
6) Firecrest- similar to our golden-crowned kinglet, but more vibrant
7) Common cuckoo- just a classic bird
8) White stork- we've only got wood stork here, which I've only ever seen at great distance once
9) Eurasian golden oriole- striking bird
10) Black-tailed godwit- godwits are among the best shorebirds, imo

Hopefully this trip becomes a reality. I think I would make a concerted effort to ditch my family for a morning to go to Teich near Bordeaux. The rest of the time I'll just have to trick them into going to birdy places that happen to have cultural or touristic significance. Recommendations near Bordeaux and Paris would be great! I see there is already a thread on the Pyrenees.
I apologize for my always long-winded posts, but a possible first trip across the Atlantic is exciting!

Hoopoe was the European bird I most wanted to see since I was a kid, we don't get many of them in the UK. They are spectacular birds.

I have three birds in my life that I have "heard only", and two of them are on your list (cuckoo and green woodpecker).

 

[hookem2010]

Which non-natives are considered established and countable over there? I know we have a fairly well-defined list in the states, but I don't know if y'all have an equivalent sort of thing.

 

[opisska]

The problem is that we are many countries and each country keeps the list separately. There has been an attempt to make a unified list - http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/AERC WPlist July 2015.pdf - but it's now simply outdated. Nevertheless, it gives good first starting point to see what's where (it's a list of everything, but it has Cat. C birds noted when relevant).

 

[david kelly]

Which non-natives are considered established and countable over there? I know we have a fairly well-defined list in the states, but I don't know if y'all have an equivalent sort of thing.

For the UK established non-natives are placed on Category C of the British List.

https://bou.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/BOU_British_List_10th-and-55th_IOC12_2_Cat-F-1.pdf

David

 

[opisska]

Also a fun thing to add: if you want to follow the local customs (or rather the local committee decision), you will often find vast differences between neighboring countries - birds that count in one place and don't count once they fly across a road.