Hello,
I'm on my first trip to the Pyrenees and I have benefitted greatly from all the wisdom in this forum, especially @rosbifs. Thank you.
I put my observations on ebird (not yet Faune France), but I wanted to add some details here for anyone else hunting wallcreepers in the future.
I hiked a 20 km loop today from Pont d'espagne up through the Vallée du Marcadau and then up to a few high altitude lakes (Pourtet, Nère, etc). It was a beautiful hike. On my way up to the lakes I stopped to rest on the steep uphill climb, and I scanned the cliffs for wallcreepers, I almost immediately saw 4 birds chasing each other up and down the cliff face (at approx 42.84311 -0.18332) Bright purple flashes everywhere. I was very lucky, but unfortunately I did not have my zoom lens. I watched the wallcreepers for a few minutes and then looked up and saw a lammergeier and griffon circling just above me. It's a pretty special place.
It's probably not the easiest place to find a wallcreeper to be fair--that hike was tough, but the hard work added to the fun. The trail is on the IGNrando map. Its the only trail near those coordinates.
I'm typically someone who goes to the exact place someone else saw a bird that I'd like to see. Sometimes that works, but often it means you make an extra long drive or go somewhere you'd rather not go, and you might not see the bird anyway. I think the more enjoyable approach may be to just go to a place where the habitat is right and try your luck. (Obvs this doesn't work if you're twitching a Baltimore Oriole in Wales or something).
So if you're staying near Cauterets and want to take a beautiful hike in the mountains, and also see some birds, you might be able to see a wallcreeper in the cliffs above the Vallée du Marcadau, the habitat is right. But I wouldn't make a special trip you can see them in dozens of other places around here.
Side note: I had a lot of fun and saw some great birds at the Pibeste nature reserve (griffons, red kites, booted eagles, pied fly catchers etc.) and the Col de Soulor (although I think I'm a bit late for prime raptor migration).
-Peter
I'm on my first trip to the Pyrenees and I have benefitted greatly from all the wisdom in this forum, especially @rosbifs. Thank you.
I put my observations on ebird (not yet Faune France), but I wanted to add some details here for anyone else hunting wallcreepers in the future.
I hiked a 20 km loop today from Pont d'espagne up through the Vallée du Marcadau and then up to a few high altitude lakes (Pourtet, Nère, etc). It was a beautiful hike. On my way up to the lakes I stopped to rest on the steep uphill climb, and I scanned the cliffs for wallcreepers, I almost immediately saw 4 birds chasing each other up and down the cliff face (at approx 42.84311 -0.18332) Bright purple flashes everywhere. I was very lucky, but unfortunately I did not have my zoom lens. I watched the wallcreepers for a few minutes and then looked up and saw a lammergeier and griffon circling just above me. It's a pretty special place.
It's probably not the easiest place to find a wallcreeper to be fair--that hike was tough, but the hard work added to the fun. The trail is on the IGNrando map. Its the only trail near those coordinates.
I'm typically someone who goes to the exact place someone else saw a bird that I'd like to see. Sometimes that works, but often it means you make an extra long drive or go somewhere you'd rather not go, and you might not see the bird anyway. I think the more enjoyable approach may be to just go to a place where the habitat is right and try your luck. (Obvs this doesn't work if you're twitching a Baltimore Oriole in Wales or something).
So if you're staying near Cauterets and want to take a beautiful hike in the mountains, and also see some birds, you might be able to see a wallcreeper in the cliffs above the Vallée du Marcadau, the habitat is right. But I wouldn't make a special trip you can see them in dozens of other places around here.
Side note: I had a lot of fun and saw some great birds at the Pibeste nature reserve (griffons, red kites, booted eagles, pied fly catchers etc.) and the Col de Soulor (although I think I'm a bit late for prime raptor migration).
-Peter