Birdwatching in Normandy (1 Viewer)

[JonathanHousden]

Having found limited information here on birdwatching sites in Normandy and what I might see there, I thought I'd share my experiences now I'm back. Being stuck for transport, I didn't get far from Le Molay near Bayeux.
The forest of Cerisy was nearby and I hoped to find continental woodpeckers there. A French friend - more hunter than birdwatcher - told me there were only three kinds of woodpecker in the area which was a dissapointment, but it made it even better to find he was wrong.
The forest covers over 5000 acres, so in four days I only covered parts of it. On my first day I heard a strange call which on day two I finally traced to a middle spotted woodpecker. I later got cracking views of three in one tree, so there seemed to be several around.
I had a fleeting glimpse of a black woodpecker and subsequently heard it call once, but then started to wonder whether I had imagined it as I waited in the same area for over an hour with no sign. I later caught up with two in a different part of the forest and they were very obliging.
Other birds of interest in the forest were the short-toed treecreeper and the crested tit. Seems strange that there are so many crested tits there but ours are confined to Scotland. What's that about?
The forest is also a good place for deer. I bumped into somebody who was trying to photograph the deer. He showed me an album with pictures he had taken. Strangely he also told me there were three kinds of woodpecker there - a black one, a green one and one other. Unfortunately I speak almost no French so I couldn't argue about that.
In my four days in the forest I didn't see any other birdwatchers which surprised me.
I managed two day trips onto the nearby marshes including Le Pont Douve visitor centre near Carentan. Each time we saw white storks. When we went to the reserve we found it was only open on Sundays at the moment which was dissapointing, but pleading our case to the only person there he allowed us on. There were around a dozen male garganey on the main pool with several females. Lots of marsh harrier and buzzard, and a booming bittern suggest this place could turn up some good birds. There were several fan-tailed warblers which I wasn't expecting. We also saw a nice male hen harrier on the marshes and caught up with some summer migrants such as yellow wagtail and sedge warbler.
There were some good birds around the place I stayed including the three species of british woodpecker, black redstarts and a white stork which flew over while we ate lunch. In total I caught up with six species I've not seen in England including a cirl bunting on the outskirts of Balleroy.I was hoping to find serin, but that eluded me. As I have plans to return it would be good if anybody has suggestions for other places in the area, or suggestions for other continental specialities I should be looking out for.
Cheers. Jon.

 

[jforgham]

Hi Jon,
Not too much documentation regarding birding in this region. I visit the area at least once a year and always have some success by just being there. Last year I camped at Cancale, not far from St Malo and had good seabird passage on the coastal path along with plenty of Dartford warbler. Further east from Normandy (useful if you're ferrying to Bolougne or Calais) is a run down coastal resort called Ault. Good range of salt marsh , lagoons and dunes there that I suspect will hold plenty of winter duck and passage migrants. I visited in August and got a reasonable list in the hour I was there.
If you're near Cherbourg ferry then heading west, through the superbly named Ureville- Naqueville, you come to Cap de la something or other. Good for moorland birds here plus sea watching. As you say, forest always good esp around Ploermel, but this is heading into Brittany. Also around here good salt marsh and brackish lagoons worth checking for stork, gulls, herons and duck on the coast road from Ploemeur to Carnac. Good map will guide you here.
Finally the reed beds around Mont St Michel can be useful for owls and regular reedbed sp. Also, coast road off the E401 to Cancale gives good views of a range of habitats (marsh, lagoon, deciduous forest, sea watching) Plenty ot keep you occupied. Transport a must however.
Hope this gives you a few tips. Thanks for your report, not often one turns up from this part of the world.
regards,
Jono

 

[Paul Collins]

No, I'd agree with not much documentation. I have a holiday home in Normandy, and do most of my birdwatching in my garden and local area. I could recommend areas around Livarot for serin, red-backed shrike, spotted flycatcher, and other nice migrants in the summer. I often get such surprises in the summer in my garden, especially in May to June. There are 80 pairs of white storks, some which you can see near the Eurotunnel. It can be quite hard to find good birds, but worth a search anyway.

 

[manvulture]

Birding Normandy

I visited Pont D Ouve in august 2006 and found some excellent species including spotted crake, great white egret , garganey, spoonbill and
breeding savi's warbler.
The day after I left a white rumped sandpiper was found there.

MV