Winter Wallcreeper weekend 2022 Trip report

Another successful weekend looking for Wallcreeper in the Languedoc!

We had a fun weekend at the end of February visiting the spectacular sites that offer the perfect habitat for overwintering Wallcreeper. No matter how much preparation we do, we are always in the lap of the bird and weather gods, but they were all kind to us this year! And what can beat a great group of birders, great weather, delightful accommodation, delicious food and wine, and some really excellent birding!

See and/or download the 2022 trip report and bird list here.

If you are interested in joining the 2023 Wallcreeper trip, please contact us here.

We may extend the 2023 trip and make it a Monday to Friday trip…

Winter Weekend looking for Wallcreeper

Spectacular sites, charming accommodation, great food and wine and an interesting list of target species!

Join us for a fun weekend at the end of February visiting some truly spectacular sites to search for Wallcreeper. No promises, but we have a good track record on this trip and recent records are encouraging! There are plenty of other interesting species to see too, such as Iberian grey shrike and Great spotted cuckoo, Little bustard, Stone curlew and many more…

See full details on the trip page here.

So if you are itching to travel and see some exotic birds, but want to stay fairly close to home and keep your carbon footprint down – come by train and join us for a fun weekend of #lowcarbonbirding !

BL on tour to see Cranes in la Brenne!

A two-day trip to la Brenne regional park to see Common crane

Guide: Tony Williams assisted by Karline Martorell
Participants: 11
Weather conditions: Cool, cloudy with some brighter spells in the afternoon on the first day and relentlessly foggy weather for the second day; temps ranging from 6°C to 10°C+

Highlights of the trip: Spectacular views of thousands of Common crane – feeding on harvested maze fields and flying to and from their roosts.  Walks in the foggy woods to see a very cooperative Middle spotted woodpecker.

Our very first “Birding Languedoc On Tour” trip – with our lovely loyal day trip participants 🙂 We stayed at the Auberge des 2 Pierres in Migné and enjoyed meals at the Le Gab restaurant in La Gabrière – and the great thing about travelling in Autum / Winter is that we had everywhere almost to ourselves!!!

The Brenne regional park is the land of a thousand lakes (man-made but mostly in the Middle Ages) and in November thousands of Common crane stopover on the way to their winter grounds further south – although increasing numbers are stopping the Brenne. It really is a spectacular sight when thousands of these graceful birds move from the harvested maze fields where they feed, to the fields where they gather in a pre-roost, before heading off en masse to their roost!

 

The Lancosme forest has numerous well maintained tracks and if you look carefully at the dead trees you might just find a Middle spotted woodpecker! We did, and it was a lifer for many of us 🙂

You can read and download the detailed trip report and bird list by clicking on the link below.

 

Trip report and bird list November 2021 2-Day trip to la Brenne to see Common crane

Visit our stand at NW Bird Watching Festival 2021

Birding Languedoc is at NW Bird Watching Festival Sat 16th & Sun 17th October @WWTMartinMere.

We would love to see you at the Birding Languedoc stand where you can pick up a copy of our new 2022 tour programme and ask us about which tour might suit you!

We are running several new tours in 2022 including: Spring Birding for Women in late March, Orchids & wild flowers of the Aude – Part 1  in early May and Birds & Butterflies of the Eastern Pyrenees in July.

Tony Williams from the Brenne regional park will also be on the Birding Languedoc stand this year, so you can come and find out about the birds and wildlife in central France.

There are plenty of other reasons to come along to the NW Birding Watching Festival 2021 at WWT Martin Mere on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October 2021 – and not least the spectacular numbers of Pink-footed geese to be seen! But also other talks stands, books, clothes and optics! See the full programme here.

Low carbon exotic birding

All Birding Languedoc tours are now available with a special #lowcarbonbirding discount if you travel by train (it’s really not that difficult or long!). Find out about how easy it is to reach the Languedoc by train and about low carbon birding opportunities elsewhere in France at the  “Low carbon exotic birding in France” talk we will be giving in the Greenwood room at 1pm on both Saturday and Sunday.  So come along and hear all about the wonderful birds and other wildlife you can see around France – and all by train!

So if you are itching to travel and see some exotic birds, but want to stay close to home and keep your carbon footprint down – the Birding Languedoc stand at the NW Bird Watching Festival at WWT Martin Mere is where you need to be!

Aerial displays of terns, swifts and Lesser kestrel

Day trip 29th June 2021 – Réserve national du Bagnas & St Pons de Mauchiens

Guides of the day:Lætitia Marras pour la Réserve du Bagnas and Karline Martorell accompanied by Philippa Benson
Participants: 10
Weather conditions: Sunny with a light breeze, ideal for the end of June, temps ranging from 18°C to 28°C+

Highlights of the day: Aerial displays of terns, swifts and Lesser kestrel provided a grand finale to the Birding Languedoc Spring 2021 season! Excellent views of Purple swamphen and Pallid swift were also very rewarding.

The Réserve nationale du Bagnas is reputed for being a great place to see Purple swamphen and it did not disappoint! We had excellent views of several individuals out in the open and even saw a young one. The terns were another highlight of this vast wetland reserve (only accessible through guided visits), with five species present: Common, Little, Black, Gull-billed and Whiskered tern. A few Pallid swift were spotted amongst the constant ballet of Common swift not far above our heads. And who can resist a “humbug” Great crested grebe chick hitching a lift on a parent seemingly keen to get rid of its young load!
The Lesser kestrels gave us a fantastic display in the afternoon at St Pons de Mauchiens, with close-up views allowing us to see the variety of prey they were bringing to the nest. These stunning birds were then photo bombed by a Short-toed snake eagle sucking up a snake like a piece of spaghetti mid-flight!

What a wonderful finale to a spring season that offered a combination of great birding and great company.
Thank you to all those who joined us, sharing our passion for the wonderful birds and other wildlife of the Languedoc!

You can read and download the detailed trip report and bird list by clicking on the link below.

 

Trip report and bird list 2021.29.06 Réserve nationale du Bagnas & St Pons de Mauchiens

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