Birding in France IV
3 - 9 April 2026
In order to visit family, we decided to go to France, for a short week in early April 2026, and during this week, I will try see as many interesting bird species as possible. We will be spending most of our time in Brittany, in the North-West of France.
Monday April 6 2026
Today, after a night at my uncle’s place, I woke up to the sound of a Green Woodpecker calling outside my room. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera out the car, it had flown away. The other birds present included Song Thrush, Cetti’s Warbler, and a Serin.
After breakfast, we headed out to the marshes around the house, seeing a few Little Egrets and a Great White Egret on the way. When we reached the marsh, we soon heard many Cetti’s Warblers, singing from the hedges. Soon, we reached a wooded area, where we saw many passerine species, including Short-toed Treecreeper, Hawfinch, many Chaffinches, and some Robins.
Then, while walking through the woods, we flushed a large butterfly that was sunbathing on the path. As it flew off, I saw that it was mostly dark with a pale yellow trailing edge to the wings - it was a Camberwell Beauty, a lifer for me! Also known as the Mourning Cloak, predominantly in North America, this species is only found in Britain on rare occasions, when vagrants turn up in the South-East of England. I managed to relocate it and my mum and I got great views of it as it was absorbing the spring sunlight.
We then had to turn back, but not before seeing a few Blackcaps, and a few Buzzards soaring overhead.
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