Yesterday's drive was one I have made quite a few times and takes you through some of Corsica's most spectacular scenery. The views of Mte Cinto and Mte Renoso at around 2,650 metres are breath-taking and it is necessary to make this journey, in order to reach the forests of Corsican Pines and hence the endemic Corsican Nuthatch. In the relatively low part of the gorge, while admiring the river shown above, I picked out two eagles circling around the peaks. They were adult Golden Eagles. Obviously at great height, I still took a fair number of images for the record! Kestrel(?) harassing a Golden Eagle. Eventually, the narrow twisting road reaches Haut-Asco, a winter ski-station....... ........ with Corsican Pines!
I began by taking a narrow mountain path, signposted - Mte Cinto. I hoped I wouldn't have to ascend too far!! I heard the high-pitched call of a nuthatch within thirty minutes, I knew approximately where it was but the pines are densely packed together and seeing it was proving very difficult. It also seemed to be moving quickly through the trees between calls. I became aware of another sound rather like a rasping Jay. There were quite a few Jays in the forest, calling loudly, but this call wasn't far away, it should sound louder. A movement on a branch some fifteen metres away revealed my long awaited Corsican Nuthatch. The sound I heard came from the Nuthatch, I've heard the trilling call before but not this Jay-like sound. I am surprised how small the Corsican Nuthatch is compared to the plumper European species and the distinct eye stripes can be seen easily at a distance. My sighting lasted a couple of seconds and it was on the move again. The whole time I was following the nuthatch, it preferred the young pines and must have been moving along the horizontal branches, where it probably feeds on insects. Sadly, there are no photos - I spent the rest of the day working back down the gorge in an attempt to find another nuthatch. On this trip, I didn't find Corsican Finch, or Citril Finch as it was, when I last saw them. Neither did I see Alpine Choughs which I've had before, but I did hear some Corsican Crossbills in the very tall mature pines. Comments are closed.
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