Saturday 2 September 2017

Wrynecks et al and Return Migration

It seems that the doldrums are behind us and movement is under way.
Wrynecks and black terns have been the highlights of the last few days for me but there have also been wheatears, whinchats and osprey.
The nearby plains contain many large fields of sunflowers but migrating birds for some reason have favoured just one small, detached triangle bordering the Artenac to La Tâche road. Seven whinchats were perched prettily on top of the plants there earlier in the week and that number rose to thirteen yesterday. Along with them were several stonechats, a small flock of linnets and a couple of willow warblers.
I've also managed to find two wheatears on the plains this week but they were making use of the open ground of course. On the earlier occasion mentioned above I was fortunate to flush a group of four woodlark from the path before they took refuge in the sunflowers.
Wrynecks have eluded me for several years in Charente but two turned up on consecutive days this week. One was a very obliging individual which sat still for some ten minutes on the top of a sunflower amid the whinchats, the other was more skulking and in a bush near the dam at Lac de Chaban.
I had taken a trip to the latter to look for migrating black terns and was rewarded with good views of three of these delicate birds dipping into the water. On two occasions while watching them an osprey passed over carrying a small fish. The only wader that I saw there was a common sandpiper but there have been reports of green and wood sandpiper and ruff from that location and the neighbouring Lac Lavaud.
Small flocks of yellow wagtails have also been on the Lairière plains and a hobby was flying around there earlier this week. Large numbers of swallows and some  house martins have been moving south although at least a hundred of the latter were still flying around the church square in Chasseneuil on Monday and some were still visiting nests.
The annual passage of pied flycatchers seems well underway as they have been reported from various locations including one in my garden.
Today I may go looking for the elusive little bustard as there were reports of small flocks on the plains west of here yesterday.
The weather is still curiously unsettled with some hot spells, cool snaps and the occasional welcome shower.

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