The Grey Wagtail attacks!

Spring has finally arrived with a rush. Less than a week ago, buds could be seen as a promise of more to come and now it seems that everything is in full leaf.

The garden is full of bird song, though now the birds are usually hidden behind the foliage. I'm reminded of the anonymous poet who, reacting to Rachel Carson's famous book about the decline of bird numbers, "Silent Spring", penned the never to be forgotten lines:

"Spring is sprung, the grass is ris

I wonders where the boidies is?"

Under Attack!

Jo first saw a yellow bird attacking the windows of our spare room, easily identified as a Grey Wagtail. It's apparently not uncommon for very territorial birds such as Grey Wagtails and Robins to attack their reflection in the glass.

We're beginning to fel a bit persecuted; having vanquished his "rival" in the spare room window, he then flies round the corner of the house and attacks his "rival" in the kitchen window before flying off over the end of the garden and down, we assume, to the river.

Competition

For most of the winter we've watched the antics of a pair of Yellow Necked Fieldmice nesting in the top of one of the pillars of our verandah. They have now moved out to the bank, leaving what must be a des res. It has been investigated by Blue & Great Tits, but most recently was the cause of a dispute between two Redstarts. First we've seen in the garden so we were delighted to see them.

Barbeque for two.

Some years ago, friends with a summer house in the vilage gave us a cast-iron barbeque, rather like a small pot-bellied stove. Last year it stood outside the kitchen door with a geranium pot inside. Jo tends to put plastic basins on the top.

About a week ago, we noticed Great Tits going in and out and when carefully lifting the plastic bowls, found a beautiful mossy nest. Today Jo forgot they were there and lifted the basins, much to the surprise of a resident Great Tit sitting on 8 eggs!

The bird, of course, flew off, but I can say that happily she is going in and out of the nest again.

Arrivals.

House Martins have been back in the village for over a week now, walking in the hills last Saturday with a friend we heard our first Cookoo, Swifts were evident at Reilhanette when we lunched there on Sunday and yesterday I heard the unmistakeable trilling of Bee-eaters.

Anniversary in the Camargue

Yesterday, April 1st, was our wedding anniversary (43 years) so we decided to go out for the day. We set off just after 9 am with our friend Ian for Saintes Maries de la Mer, the self -styled Capital of the Camargue!

It's a drive of about 1hour & 45 minutes for us so we arrived in time for coffee followed by lunch outside on the terrace overlooking the sea. On the way back we stopped at the ornithological park, but decided not to go round on this occasion but did stop & go round the Camargue museum.

It was not specifically a bird-watching trip, but we had our binoculars and the result was very satisfying!

Many White Egrets on the way down amongst the white horses and black bulls. On the way back we saw a White Stork, fairly high in the sky and looking as if he had just arrived and a couple of Great White Egrets.

Jo then saw a Short-toed Eagle, we passed quite a few Avocets feeding in the flooded fields(lovely birds - really must spend more time in the Camargue watching them) and huge numbers of Flamingos, both in the lake by the ornithological centre and flying, a Black Kite and numbers of Swallows.

Coming back we took a route to avoid the rush hour in Avignon which took us through Chateaurenard for the first time. As is so often the case, we found a good size town under a beautiful castle. An interesting end to a very good day!