French Trip - Day 1 - 14/5/13

A great trip with Mick Davis to south France with the hope of catching up on some montane species. A couple of days was spent near the Camargue also, but the main focus were the Pyrenees and Alps seeing an impressive 161 bird species. The trip was pretty successful, although the weather did play a part. Out of my 18 target bird species, only 10 were seen, but again you can't do much when the weather is poor. However there were some nice conditions. There will be a trip report soon if anyone is interested.

We drove straight into the Pyrenees and up the Col du Tourmalet, but only getting a certain way as it was still closed off. Another Col was tried before settling down in Lourdies-Ichere where we spent the night in a car park.

Col du Tourmalet
Griffon Vulture - 10
Alpine Chough - 20
Red-billed Chough - 2
White-winged Snowfinch - 2
Crag Martin - 5
Ring Ouzel - 2

Pays du Lourdes
Burnt tip Orchid - 30

Col d'aubisque
Golden Eagle - 1
Crested Tit - 2

 Alpine Chough

 Water Pipit

 Snowfinch

 Ring Ouzel

a very rare sighting, though I can confirm this is Mick up a mountain!!!