Well, we have taken advantage of easyJets' kind offer to fly us to Corsica for £25-00 and, allowing for an interrogation by Manchester airport's security over a minute amount of lens cleaning fluid, we landed happily on Corsica mid-morning yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather is not brilliant at the moment with thick cloud covering the island and heavy showers at times. Hopefully this is going to start clearing tomorrow. Within a short distance of the airport, I was encouraged by the sight of my first Bee-eaters for this year. This morning, my first trip was to the Forest of Bonifato which lies behind Calvi airport and into the foothills of the mountains. This is a very pleasant walk in stunning mountain scenery and I was really 'testing the water' to see what I might encounter in mid May. It is ten years since I visited Corsica frequently and thankfully, it was just as I remembered. The track leading off from the car park. It was raining quite heavily on arriving and whilst sitting it out in the car, the last thing I expected to see was a Northern Wheatear, sheltering under a nearby car. Also in the surrounding bushes were several Spotted Flycatchers. In Corsica, the spotted fly is virtually 'spotless' and a very plain looking bird. Along the track, there wasn't a great deal of bird song. A couple of Blackcaps were heard as was a Sardinian Warbler. Blue and Coal Tit were seen, along with a Goldcrest. I turned my attention to the sky, not expecting anything to be flying this morning with low cloud cover. A couple of Ravens honked as they crossed the valley and I then noticed a large raptor at height, coming from the left side mountains. I identified it straightaway as a Golden Eagle, it flapped its wings occasionally between soaring with wings held upwards. The light was abysmal and only on the computer can I see the lack of any significant white on the wings, leading me to think this is an adult bird. The gold head can just be seen on this picture! With few birds showing, a temperature of only 8C in the rain, I decided to abandon the forests for another day and head back towards the coast in the direction of Galeria. Before Galeria, a fast flowing river passes under the 'five arches' bridge and in this area, a good number of hirundines were gathering. Feeding along the river were some Crag Martins which gave superb views as they passed low over the water. Occasionally the white undertail spots could be seen. The Crag Martins were accompanied by several Swallows and a single House Martin. Higher up, a small flock of Common Swifts passed over and I had a very brief 'rear' view of just one Alpine Swift. Crag Martins feeding here. Alpine Swift - honest! A meadow at the side of five arches bridge had a large flock of Goldfinches and Serins feeding in the grass. A few trees held more Spotted Flycatchers and I was really pleased to see two Red-backed Shrikes, a bird I haven't seen for a couple of years. Also in this meadow were two Spotless Starling, a Stonechat, a Woodlark and a distant Yellow Wagtail of some sub-species, with a very dark head. Half way home - looking towards the bay of Calvi.
Also seen today were my first two Turtle Doves, in a long, long time! Comments are closed.
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