France
Birds Photographed Here
Today was the second day of driving through France, and we did a long stopover for lunch and birdwatching at Lake d’Orient, near Troyes in the Grand Est…
Not a frequent sight: Barn Swallow resting on a perch rather than whizzing around the sky.
Long time – no Bee-eater. This photo series was taken on our first day in Camargue back in August. When I was making the photo, I thought I…
We noticed this Black Redstart while walking around Le Mont-St-Michel at low tide. There were a few around, and I took a number of shots – but like…
When we noticed these birds flying high overhead, we first thought they must be some kind of bird of prey. Then we realised how huge they really were…
Back to the archive, since I’ve run out of recent photos. This one comes from Camargue again — one of the hotter days of the summer in our…
Another photo made at the birdwatcher’s dream house. It was snapped from the first-floor window and, since the house is on a bit of a slope, this gave…
We are staying in a birdwatcher’s dream home in Normandy. There is a pair of Wrens living inside the thatched roof, and the ancient apple tree in the…
This photo, also made at the place we stayed in Normandy, was taken in the back garden, which has an enormous, very, very old apple tree. It was…
Last photo from our visit to Camargue in August: Cattle Egret and a pony. Cattle Egrets do usually hang around cattle; it’s somewhat rarer to see them actually…
There was no opportunity for an outing this weekend, so I am going back to older photos. I have a few like this one – a snap of…
As promised earlier, I have a good set of Chiffchaff photos to help us through the gloomier part of the year.
Collared Doves are not exactly rare – we see them in the UK as well – but we saw great numbers of them in rural areas of France….
Some might remember how I was complaining about the small sizes of observation holes in the hides of Parc du Marquenterre. Obvious benefit of those, though, is that…
At first we thought this was a flycatcher, because of its head colouring and behaviour. However, upon closer inspection – it is a Crested Tit. A first for…
Today’s email is #150, and I have another rare bird fitting the occasion: a Common Cuckoo. Last few days left when we are birdwatching locally, and we decided…
A very rare bird I was writing about a few days ago – which got superseded by the Flamingos – was the European Roller. This is another bird…
Another photo of a unique bird on a conifer tree, snapped in the sunset light. And again, it is slightly off the quality I would prefer to publish…
Keeping up with the very rare birds – here is the Glossy Ibis. In fact, we stumbled upon a whole group – at least five – feeding in…
There is always a gull to photograph when you are near the sea, but it is not often you get a backdrop like the spire of Le Mont-Saint-Michel’s…
Today’s outing was to a disused gravel pit in search of waders. It was a very serene walk, but we did not manage to see anything very exciting…
A photo from yesterday, shot during an afternoon stroll in Pont-Audemer – the closest town to where we are staying. It sits on the River Risle, hence the…
Last day in Normandy, so we decided to revisit our favourite site where we have seen so many interesting birds. I managed at least four decent bird photos,…
Today’s photo, even though a bit old—back from summer ’24 — is still of decent quality. Since then, I have changed the default aperture I shoot at, the…
We have arrived at our destination in Normandy, where the birdwatching scene is somewhat different but still enjoyable. While driving around on errands, I have noticed that every…
We saw Kingfisher twice yesterday, and at the very beginning of our walk in La tourbière d’Heurteauville (literally, the peat bog of Heurteauville), we saw a Kingfisher again…
I wanted to share another photo made at Parc du Marquenterre from a very close distance, thanks to the very inconspicuous hides. This is the closest I’ve ever…
Over the next week or so we are going to do slightly larger outings, and the first was to the Seine Estuary reserves near the Pont de Normandie….
Another photo from Parc du Marquenterre – our last birdwatching stop in France before returning home. As mentioned earlier – lots of interesting bird photographs – and I…
Not the best background on this photo, but I think it’s my best Marsh Harrier in flight.
I got really lucky with this shot!I was just walking by the lake, not even paying attention to the swans, when they suddenly started their mating dance. I…
Today was a rolling outing day – we covered two sites, each requiring a bit of a drive between points of interest. My main hope was to snap…
As some might have noticed – I am cycling through the two days in the Camargue. Another highlight from day one was this bird, for which I found…
Rotation of photos has made it to the first day of our visit to the Camargue. After Flamingos, the European Roller, and the Purple Gallinule, it is this…
This little Robin needs no introduction. An interesting note on this photo is that I shot it at an unusually long (for me) shutter speed – 1/200 sec…
Another photo from Parc du Marquenterre – this one was snapped in an open area rather than a hide. The duck in the background is suspected to be…
Run out of photos to publish and back in time we go to warm August in France: Parc du Marquenterre full of strange birds. Higher shutter speed while…
Second photo from the treasure trove is another bird that was hopping around in the grass – a Wheatear. Not the best quality photo – but it is…
Without realising it, I sent the 183rd bird email yesterday, which puts today’s firmly past the six-month mark since this newsletter started. Today’s bird was snapped on our…
Bird numbers peaked in the Grand Est region, and in southern France I did not manage to snap a single bird during a 1.5-hour evening outing. I am…
I have accidentally found a treasure trove: a full day’s worth of unsorted photos from Le Mont-St-Michel. I will be sorting, editing, and publishing these over the next…
Back to older photos we go, and where better than Camargue? Another Zitting Cisticola today, and above we have a close-up of this nice little bird. The same…