BUBO in CORSICA - part 5

Despite our concerns about a rather wet day, we woke up on Wednesday to bright sunshine. Our plan was to do some lowland birding along the closest bit of coast to where we were staying. This included the town of Aleria, the coastal plains and the numerous lagoons along this stretch. We didn't really have any specific targets, we just planned to mosey around the area, although I was hoping to see some Rock Sparrows which are meant to live in old farm buildings around abouts.

As we drove into Aleria we saw our first Great White Egret of the trip along the river, and we continued on to Aghione Fields where we had quite a few birds the previous evening, to see if it was as good today. It didn't seem so, but that may have been due to disturbance since the farmers were making use of the cool early morning to water their crops and work in the fields. We had another couple of Fan-tailed Warblers but it was mainly the common species present that we'd seen yesterday. We had another decent search for California Quail but it was to no avail. There were quite a few raptors around including Red Kite and Marsh Harrier, and we had our first decent look at a local Buzzard. These are of an endemic island sub-species arrigonii (Corsica and Sardinia) which is meant to be a smaller and darker bird than the nominate. The photo below does indeed show a browner overall tinge to the pale areas of the plumage.

After a short while checking the fields we headed towards the coast and visited the largest of the saltwater lagoons called Etang d'Urbino. We followed what seemed to be the only available road towards the water which led out along the central promontory, to a lovely little collection of fisherman's huts and jetties, and a seafood restaurant sitting out on stilts over the water. These Corsican lagoons are famous for mussels and we spent quite a while around here enjoying the pleasant surroundings and sank a cold drink (although we were not allowed to have any breakfast!).

For the first time on the trip we were able to look at some waterbirds of Corsica. Out on the lagoon we 'scoped up about ten Great Crested Grebes, and watched a few Common Terns fishing. Way out in the distance there were a few egrets along an island's edge, including a Great White Egret or two. The gulls scavenging around the jetties were Yellow-legged Gulls, and a very close Red Kite was probably doing likewise. A single Black-necked Grebe was found out in the middle of the lake but, with no shallow edges to this etang, there was not a great deal extra to be seen. Apart from plenty of Italian Sparrows, the only notable passerines were a Corn Bunting singing from the field behind and a showy male Sardinian Warbler in an overgrown garden. There were lots of lizards feeding amongst the boats in the yard and these were clearly different from the ones we had in the mountains. These were bulkier and less spotty and we worked out that they were Italian Wall Lizards.

We drove back up the road and found a viewpoint which overlooked a shallower arm of the lagoon, albeit rather distant below us, at the bottom of a hill. We could see straight away that there were many more birds here, but with the distance and the shimmer of a heat haze, it was difficult to identify many of the birds present. One species that wasn't difficult to identify was the group of 8 Greater Flamingos striding around in the shallows. I had not seen any (wild) flamingos for ages and so I was very pleased. This reed-fringed corner of the lagoon also held a few Grey Herons and Great White Egrets, plus a single Spoonbill. There was a selection of waders pottering around along the muddy edge, but many of these were impossible to identify. We did pick out about ten Greenshanks, a Lapwing and a Wood Sandpiper, as well as a group of about 20 Ruff flying about. The field between us and the lagoon was severely fenced off so, unfortunately, that's all we came away with.

Alongside the small road leading away from the lagoon we passed a small flock of sheep feeding in a pasture with many Spotless Starlings catching the flies around their feet. This gave us an opportunity to have a good look at them for the first time and also gave us a comparison with Common Starling as there were three late lingering wintering birds present. There was also a Yellow Wagtail feeding in the grass which appeared to be a Blue-headed raced bird.

Spotless Starlings feeding amongst sheep, Etang d'Urbino

Spotless Starling on sheep, Etang d'Urbino

Still thinking about Rock Sparrows, we paid a visit to the old fort overlooking Aleria as it looked ideal for this species. There were lots of sparrows nesting in the holes in the building but unfortunately they were all Italian Sparrows. It was interesting to see the variation in the males - some having a more restricted House Sparrow-like bib whilst others having a blacker, more extensive bib surrounded by dark chevrons. The fort was perched high up on a hill giving great views across the plains.

There was a café by the fort, right on the edge of the hill, with a terrific view across the plain and we decided to stop there as we all needed a crepe. It was a great decision since we soon noticed that the local Red Kite was giving tremendously close views as it hung in the breeze right next to the balcony. We took lots of photos whilst waiting for our food to arrive which, as seems typical in these parts, took an absolute age! However, we did not mind the delay this time, as the raptors were superb. We also saw a Black Kite which suddenly appeared with the Red, perhaps on migration, as well as both Buzzard and Marsh Harrier further off. A Kestrel and a Hobby were noted circling over the rooftops below and a Sparrowhawk whizzed past at speed at a low level. The local Sparrowhawks are another endemic subspecies, wolterstorffi, which is apparently very small and dark. We had a final search for Rock Sparrow but again there was no sign but we did see our first Chiffchaff in a garden. We left the fort to further explore the etangs and plains in the afternoon.

The island of Montecristo from Aleria Fort - (there was definitely just one....)

BUBO in CORSICA - part 4

With the main endemic species UTB - (under the belt) - we were happy to have a more relaxing day today in the mountains. With the forecast of some rain to come, we knew we had to make the most of the alpine areas, as we may struggle for visibility during the rest of the week. The pine forests were not a priority today since we had covered them very well yesterday, so we decided to head to the highest peaks possible, to look for some real alpine birds. There were two or three potential, but elusive, ticks for me above the treeline, although these species are pretty easy in the Alps or Pyrenees so the other guys did not need them. The easiest place to get to these high mountains was the Asco Valley, where the road continues to the Ski Centre just below Corsica's highest peak, Mount Cinto. This valley was a couple of ridges north of Restonica, so it was a little further to drive, but we made good time via the towns of Corte and Ponte Leccia.

The lower section of the Asco Valley was pretty narrow, with the mountains either side squeezing the road into the bottom of a 'V'. This part of the valley appears to be known as Asco Gorge. The road up the valley is quite long and it is always difficult to know exactly where to stop and bird at such sites, especially when the habitat is pretty uniform - unless you have very specific directions. So it was just a case of making the most of any pull-ins. Down in this low part of the valley there was thick maquis and we hoped for maybe more Sylvias. However, all we could find was numerous Blackcaps singing. There were plenty of woodland birds present including some nice Firecrests and Jays. Above the bushes on the rocky overhangs we noticed some Crag Martins swooping into their nest sites. We were very fortunate to catch a brief sight of a fine Golden Eagle drifting across the gorge. We were definitely not expecting a Goldie this far down the valley.

The ridge that the Golden Eagle flew over

Corsican Wall Brown, Asco Gorge - much more orange and less brown colour than ours.

We thought it would be a good idea to get right to the top of the valley as soon as possible making the most of the nice weather, and then we could make our way down as slowly as we wanted in the afternoon. The road up the valley was a little disconcerting at first, being chiselled out of the bottom of the gorge, just above the bubbling river. However, as the valley widened out and the altitude got higher, I clung to the door handle with increasingly whitening fingers - I was not used to this lark! The road was pretty narrow, and 'hair-pinned', with rather hair-raising rocky slopes below and no barriers at all. And then when cows suddenly appeared around blind corners I thought I would lose my mind! Mike was behind the wheel though and, being used to Indian roads, this was a casual Sunday drive to him. Luckily, there was very little traffic, and although I soon got used to the dangerousness of the drive, I did give Mike a firm, thankful pat on the back as we pulled into the Haute Asco ski centre car park.

As we drove up the valley the habitat changed from maquis to pine forest and there was lots of nuthatch habitat round here. A Mistle Thrush was a new bird for the trip by the roadside. As seemed typical in Corsica, the signage was a little on the unhelpful side, so we initially just headed up the ski slope underneath the ski lift to try to get above the trees. However, we had to abandon this route as it was far too 'scrambly', and returned a little lower to search for a proper path. We soon found a picnic site though and, beyond this, located a marked trail heading up through the pine trees.

As we were so high now, there were not as many birds present as in the pine forest a bit lower down but we did have our first Goldcrests in the trees above the trail and a handful of Crossbill were calling at one point. The main species here was Coal Tit and, apart from the odd Chaffinch and Great Tit, it was quite bird-less. The trail was actually quite a tough one, with sudden steep sections, then parts where the path disappeared altogether and it was just a case of scrambling over boulders, following cairns of rocks. It was difficult going - I was definitely feeling my age!

Corsican Crocus, Haute Asco - an endemic species, and the only flower in bloom at these altitudes

BUBO lads taking a rest on the Haute Asco trail

Just as I felt I was reaching my limit on boulder-scrambling the pine trees thinned out and we hit the proper alpine slopes. The habitat here was very rocky with sparse vegetation, apart from by the stream where there was dense willow-like scrub. The main target for me here was Alpine Accentor, which apparently is present in this area, but despite searching we could not find any. Mike and I thought we could hear a Dunnock-like song coming from the top of the valley but upon investigating we couldn't see anything. It was difficult to make out where birds were calling from since a stiff, cool wind was whistling down from over the col, distorting sounds.

We saw very little up here apart from two or three Water Pipits in typical habitat, a few Crag Martins and a handful of tiny dots in the sky that were clearly Alpine Choughs. We heard snatches of an unfamiliar song right up next to the snow line which we were surprised to find came from a male Black Redstart. In fact, when we investigated the dense scrub by the stream we saw that there were a few birds skulking away in there - Wrens, Blackbirds, Blackcaps - not the species we expected by the snow. We walked as high as we thought sensible and had to admit defeat on the accentors, but I found the whole experience of being up in the sky very exhilarating. It had been years since I had been so high up a mountain.

No better drink than Fresh Mountain water

We then had the slog of retracing our steps back down the mountain. It was very difficult to negotiate the large boulders on the so-called path through the pines. When we reached one spot I put my foot on a stone in a narrow gap between rocks, and the stone promptly skidded away from me on pine needles and I fell backwards, cutting my elbow - ouch! As I turned round to look at the others behind me I saw Ian immediately hit the deck too, his leg buckling right under his body - ouch2!! We were worried he'd really hurt his leg and we'd have to fashion a makeshift stretcher from Mike's tripod and a coat. Luckily though, no damage was done. Just where we both fell, I noticed an ancient pine stump looking at us. Corsica was one of the last places in Europe to embrace Christianity, with neolithic paganism surviving quite late in its history. I am pretty sure that this stump, clearly possessed by ancient, evil spirits, was what caused us to fall over.

We eventually made it back to the car after our hike into the hills and we were in urgent need of food and drink. Since the ski centre was all closed up for the summer, we had to drive back down the valley to Asco Village, leaving the Corsican pine forests behind for the last time. The road was just as bad on the way down, and this time we were closer to the edge as the steep drop was on the right hand side! We found a terrifically-located café clinging to the edge of the hillside above the village where we got drinks and snacks, despite the owner finding our presence and business a bit of a nuisance, disturbing her relaxing afternoon.

Up-Cliff to the left, down-cliff to the right

We stopped at a few spots along the road on the way down. Andy and I explored an alpine stream looking for salamanders, newts and frogs, but apart from a very brief view of a tiny newt/salamander, we failed to find anything positive. Another couple of stops lower down in the Asco Gorge and we picked up sightings of Crag Martins, Peregrine, Grey Wagtail and a Blue Rock Thrush.

We had read in the bird guide that the maquis around the "Village de Tortues" (a tortoise sanctuary) was very good, and we had a walk round there as we were leaving the valley. It was indeed a really nice spot with trees, flowers, lizards and insects a-plenty, but we did not find it especially good for birds, although it may have been something to do with the hot sun and the time of day. We saw a lot of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays, and in the skies above we had Red Kites, Buzzards and a nice Alpine Swift, but warblers and the like were not evident.

As we passed the town of Capannace, we stopped by the roadside to look in a field where we had singing Woodlarks and a Hoopoe flying across from some trees.

It was now evening and we made our way back to the campsite. However, we decided that we would drive past our accommodation and head further east, to the coastal town of Aleria for our evening meal. We had spent all our time so far in the hills and mountains and we soon saw the habitat change as we dropped down towards the coastal plain. There was still an hour or so of birding light left in the day, so we drove to some fields near Aghione to see what was there. The only reason that we chose these fields was that in one of the trip reports, they had reported that California Quails were present in that area. The quails are a category C species on the island and there are meant to be a few thousand of them. Not really a priority for the trip, but it was a curio we were interested in seeing.

As we turned down the minor road between the vine fields, one of the first birds we saw was a fine Woodchat Shrike on top of a roadside tree. The Woodchats here are of the race 'badius' or Balearic Woodchat Shrike and have been mooted as a potential split. They lack the large white primary patch of other Woodchat Shrikes (the one below does have a patch but it is very small, maybe because the bird seems to be a first-summer male) and they have a narrower band of black on forehead (which the bird below definitely shows).

'badius' Woodchat Shrike, Aghione fields

We never found any California Quails but we were very impressed by the number of birds present in the fields here, maybe boosted by migrants looking for somewhere to rest before overnight rain arrived. Red Kites, Serins, Cetti's Warblers and Corn Buntings were all present in area and we found two Stone Curlews pottering around in between the vine groves. In a little scrubby corner we located our first Sardinian and Fan-tailed Warblers singing, and we had a flock of c.40 Yellow Wagtails go over, maybe to roost. It was a nice area to bird but soon enough, dark brooding clouds arrived over the mountains from the west and we went off to eat pizzas in Aleria.

The dark, evening skies above Aghione fields

So today was not really a bird day, as can be seen from the lack of bird photos on this page, but I especially enjoyed my first mountain hike for many years. We returned to U Sortipiani well after dark to be greeted by a Blair's Mocha by the outside light of the mobile home. We looked at the weather forecast and saw that rain was definitely forecast tomorrow at some point, so we decided that we would hit the nearby coastal plains and lagoons and play it by ear.

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Mark Lawlor's Nature Blog

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Wednesday 19th April 2017 (a)

BUBO in CORSICA - part 5

Tuesday 18th April 2017

BUBO in CORSICA - part 4

Just A Bird