'Kid in a Sweetshop'- Birding the Pyrenees (Part II- Birds, Beasts and Norovirus)

Having visited the Spanish side of things, we headed on from our stint in Jaca (a stage fininsh in the Vuelta for those interested!) to the Col du Portalet. I am infantile in the extreme and therefore referred to it as the Col du Portaloo but the birding was anything but crap! Upon arrival we were greeted by the sight and sound of a singing male Rock Thrush, the flypast of a Golden Eagle and this...

...the Alpine Marmot, a staple of mountainous regions in Europe. They're big flightless mammals that live in holes and graze the Pyrenean meadows found on the slopes of the peaks. These are some of the richest grasslands i've ever seen, fueled by a mix of intense rain and the overbearing southern European sun. They're the best habitats I can think of for butterflies and other insects, so let's kick things off with a Blue (Silver Studded?)...

...and this butterfly, not a clue as to what he is but he's a right pretty individual...!

...but some dog took a shine to us and every time I went for a landed butterfly the creature put it. So we left the Col du Portalet and took off up to the Haute Pyrenees. A stop at the Col du Aspin en-route to Argeles-Gazost yielded Red-Billed Chough...

...and the road down the rarer and shyer Alpine Chough...

...as we arrived it soon became clear that the cultivated landscape around Argeles wasn't going to be quite the hunting ground Jaca was. Still, as we headed up the Col du Tourmalet ahead of the Tour (yes I did the world-famous col with a 400mm lens!) I spotted some lovely butterflies, including this Frit...

...the eyes have it! But we also have a new national hero in a certain Mr Wiggins, and we had the privilege of seeing him in the flesh (and lycra)...

...next day the plan was to return to Tourmalet to look for Snowfinch, but a dodgy rattly car and some thick cloud cover stopped anything coming of that. So here's one from last August (same location)...



...so we went through to St Lart-Soulan, a place I know well. Sure enough, a walk up to a hanging valley yielded Whinchat...

...and a rather elusive family of Red Back Shrikes, the only RBS that's still welcome in the UK...!

...and some stunningly tame Corn Buntings. Pity about the light...

...and this, erm, creature. Look, I thought it was a butterfly but checking the antennae they're not bobbled and that's the fattest butterfly i've ever seen...!



...alas although I had another day in this stunning area I contracted a viral infection and spent a day (and the journey home!) glued to the toilet, to put it delicately. Not pleasant. Still, the holiday was ace, with a Tour win, new species, some stunning insects and the food wasn't too bad either! I love the pyrenees and hope to make it three times in three years in this stunning landscape. Perhaps i'll try to bait for vultures. Or try harder for stuff like Chough. I don't know. But what I do know is whatever I do it'd be time well spent. However, i've just come back from a music festival and am absolutely knackered and probably smell faintly of sweat and urine, so that's over and out for now!

Isle of May- Jewel of the forth

This autumn I took a new departure, migration watching on an island. I've never been one for super mega rarities, if its got feathers I'll try to get a snap of it! Don't care if its a yellow, red and blue warbler thats breeds on the moon and somehow got to the UK. However, since I was watching out for migrants that were rare I was kind of hoping for some sort 'mega'. On this front I was bitterly dissapointed. The rarest thing we had was a Wood Warbler. However, what an island that place is! Being less than 3 miles from bass rock, the place is constantly passed by Gannets, sometimes very close in...

As well as Fulmars, which even at this late stage in the year (early september) were breeding...

'The May' also has its own breed of rabbits, as years of not being predated has left them all manner of colours and shapes, although black rabbits seem more timmid, prehaps they know they're more obvious...?

Seals are common on and around the island, they breed here in the winter months (about now, in fact)...

As we were in the 'flux' period on the island, there were both summer and winter visitors about, this Purple Sandpiper being one of the latter...

and this cracking female winter is its summery counterpart, on its way south...

Of course some birds just want to be photographed, this Gannet sitting on the path was one of those. What a poser...

And of course there was that merlin from my first post. What a bird, an absolute stunner...!

I'd urge anyone with a spare week to visit this truly incredible place. Late September is best for migrants, but spring-summer is brilliant for breeding seabirds (puffins, guillemots, razorbill, etc.).