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Pont du Gard F R A N C E Bearded Reedling ITINERARY Day 1 We take a flight from London to Marseille. It is a 90-minute drive to the hotel on the outskirts of Beaucaire, where we stay for five nights. Days 2 to 5 We first visit Les Alpilles, a range of limestone hills, to the north of the Camargue. We will scan the cliff faces for one of the many Wallcreepers that winter here. The hills also hold populations of Bonelli’s Eagle, Dartford and Sardinian Warblers, Woodlark and Cirl Bunting. Common Buzzard and Common Raven are a regular sight overhead, and Blue Rock Thrush will be singing if the weather is fine. Small numbers of Alpine Accentor also winter here on areas of limestone pavement. If we are successful with the Wallcreeper, we shall visit the village of Les Baux and explore the narrow streets (deserted at this time of year) and walk to the lookout with views across to the Camargue and La Crau. In the evening we will listen for the deep call of the magnificent Eurasian Eagle Owl, which is very vocal at this time of year establishing its territory. If we are unsuccessful at finding the Wallcreeper at the first attempt, we will return here on more than one occasion. Mont Ventoux is an extension of the Basse Alpes and a popular destination for skiing at this time of year. We drive along cleared roads to Chalet Reynard, where we can warm ourselves with coffee or hot chocolate. Here we hope to find flocks of Citril Finches feeding in cleared areas. If the weather is fine we may see Golden Eagles soaring over the mountain and Northern Goshawks hunting over the forests. At lower elevations we search the coniferous forests for Crested Tit, Common Crossbill and Firecrest, while the vineyards should produce Woodlark and Brambling. The magnificent Pont du Gard is well worth a visit and we can marvel at the amazing skill of the Romans as they built this bridge. It has a fall of just over two centimetres across the whole bridge span to keep the water running in the aqueduct. We can scan the bushes and trees for Firecrests and Short-toed Treecreepers and look for the flocks of Common Rock Sparrows that have made this bridge their breeding site and a winter roost. The wetlands of the Camargue will be full of wildfowl. The main species will be Common Teal, with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Tufted Duck and Pochard. On certain lagoons we can look for Bewick’s Swan and Red-crested Pochard. These large numbers of waterfowl attract predators, and each year a few eagles come to winter – normally it will be a Greater Spotted Eagle (or two) and in other years it may be a White-tailed. Western Marsh and Hen Harriers, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon are also present. The reed beds have resident Cetti’s Warbler, while Eurasian Penduline Tits winter here in small numbers, and some may even stay to breed. The industrial saltpans hold Greater Flamingo and small numbers of waders: Pied Avocet, Dunlin, Grey Plover and Little Stint will all be present. La Crau is a unique stone desert, in fact a glacial outwash plain, and it has a small population of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, which will be feeding in loose flocks at this time of year. If the weather is fine they will be forming pairs, and calling noisily in flight. Little Bustards feed in the long grass, and occasionally we can find Rock Buntings in the bushy areas. Red Kites are now a fairly common sight and Iberian Grey Shrike are occasionally found. Nearby are small lagoons containing large numbers of gulls, Great Cormorant and grebes. Day 6 After breakfast we still have time to do some birding in Les Alpilles and we can check on a roosting site for Eurasian Eagle Owls and a nesting area for Bonelli’s Eagles. We then catch our return flight from Marseille to London. Outline Itinerary Day 1 Fly to Marseille and transfer to Beaucaire Days 2-5 Beaucaire Day 6 Depart Marseille Party Size Maximum of 14 clients (two leaders with more than seven clients). Accommodation Comfortable accommodation in twin/double and single rooms, with private facilities. Transport By minibuses driven by the leaders. Includes All flights, meals, accommodation, transport, entry fees, services of the leaders, VAT, airport taxes and tips. Gradings Good 100 Cool Low Normal Relaxed Good Easy Scheduled Alpine Accentor To make a booking please call Ornitholidays on 01794 519445 127
F R A N C E France – The Camargue, the Cévennes & Causses at Leisure Birds & Butterflies Sunday 25 May – Sunday 01 June 2014 Principal Leader: David Walsh 2014 Cost: £1,799 single room supplement £150 FRANCE Paris Le Pont or over 40 years we have been taking birdwatchers to the Camargue in southern France, the delta of the Rhone. de Montvert FIt is famous not only for its black bulls and white horses but for its superb birdlife, most notably the large Beaucaire population of Greater Flamingos. Our excellent knowledge of the accessible marshes, lakes and reedbeds should Montpellier help us find an assortment of herons, with all the European species breeding here, as well as colourful favourites such as European Bee-eater and European Roller. Just across the Grand Rhone lie the semi-desert plain of La Crau and the picturesque limestone hills of Les Alpilles with a very different range of birds from the Camargue including Lesser Kestrel, Little Bustard and Short-toed Eagle as well as a variety of other wildlife. For the second part of our holiday we visit the Cévennes and Causses, areas we have also visited on many occasions. The Cévennes Mountains form the watershed between the river systems of the Rhone and Soane in the east, and the Garonne and the Loire in the west, and we explore hill, valley and woodland areas which harbour species such as Citril Finch, Ortolan Bunting and Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush. A little further west, the Causses (from the French chaux, meaning limestone), were formed in the Jurassic period, and are karst plateaux with an impressive array of raptors including re-introduced Eurasian Griffon Vultures. For plants and butterflies the Cévennes and Causses is probably one of the best regions of France, with over a quarter of the total species for the country occurring here, including numerous orchids. Throughout our trip we will ensure the style is relaxed so that there is plenty of time to enjoy the splendid variety of wildlife and scenery; we use two well-chosen hotels with birding on the doorstep and excellent cuisine. ITINERARY Days 1 to 4 We take a scheduled flight from London to Montpellier and transfer to Hotel Robinson in Beaucaire, our base for four nights; we have been visiting this hotel for over 30 years! The food is exceptional, wine being included with the meals. With pine forest behind the hotel and riverine woodland in front, European Roller, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Cirl Bunting, Sardinian, Cetti’s and Melodious Warblers, Common Nightingale, Common Redstart and Red Squirrel are amongst the possibilities as we stroll from our rooms. Although in a short visit we cannot hope to see all of the Camargue, we shall visit a sufficiently wide range of habitats to give a real taster of this famous area. The vast reedbeds and shallow lakes are home to Western Marsh Harrier, Blackcrowned Night Heron, Purple and Squacco Herons, Great Egret, Red-crested Pochard, Savi’s and Great Reed Warblers and Bearded Reedling, and the new visitor centre at Scamandre provides an ideal base from which to explore before enjoying one of our sumptuous hotel picnics! The flooded rice fields near Mas d’Agon attract groups of Glossy Ibis as well as Mediterranean Gulls, Black-winged Stilts and both Gull-billed and Whiskered Terns. The spectacular flocks of Common Swifts sometimes number several thousand, inevitably attracting the attention of the local Eurasian Hobbies! Nearby, if we are lucky, we may find a colony of Collared Pratincoles on the barren fields or a Great Spotted Cuckoo in a roadside copse. On the semi-saline Etang de Vaccarès which forms the geographical centre of the Camargue we can enjoy close views of its iconic bird, the Greater Flamingo: thousands occur in this area. As we head further south towards the Mediterranean Sea, the lakes and saltpans may produce Slender-billed Greater Flamingos 128 For a previous tour report or further information please call: 01794 519445
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ORNITHOLIDAYS 2014 49 Our Forty-Nin
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49 Our Forty-Ninth Year ORNITHOLIDA
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I S O R N I T H O L I D AY S R I G
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L AT E 2 0 1 3 T O U R S Summary of
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T O U R G R A D I N G Tour Grading
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G R E E N TA X E S A N D C A R B O
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Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA
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U S A - U TA H & A R I Z O N A USA
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U S A - U TA H & W YO M I N G USA -
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U S A - N E W E N G L A N D USA - N
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U S A - F LO R I D A USA - Florida
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U S A - H A W A I I USA - Hawaii Ii
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M E X I C O Mexico Western Mexican
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C O S TA R I C A Costa Rica Classic
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C U B A Cuba Endemic Birds & Winter
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T R I N I D A D & T O B A G O Trini
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S T LU C I A St Lucia at Leisure Pi
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G U YA N A Guyana Rainforests, Wate
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C O LO M B I A Colombia Birding’s
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B R A Z I L Brazil Atlantic Forest
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B R A Z I L Brazil - Photographic T
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E C U A D O R Ecuador Tumbesian & A
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Waterhole at Etosha, Namibia
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S O U T H A F R I C A South Africa
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S O U T H A F R I C A & B O T S W A
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TA N Z A N I A Tanzania - Photograp
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G H A N A Ghana In search of Picath
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E T H I O P I A Ethiopia Undiscover
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U G A N D A Uganda Birds & Primates
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N A M I B I A Namibia Etosha & the
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T H E G A M B I A The Gambia A Tast
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E GY P T Egypt Birds & History Frid
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M O R O C C O Morocco High Atlas &
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M O R O C C O Morocco Atlantic Coas
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Sing-sing with Huli, Papua New Guin
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J O R D A N Jordan Birds & History
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K U W A I T Kuwait Birding in the G
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I N D I A India - Goa Birds, Beache
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S R I L A N K A Sri Lanka Teardrop
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Page 83 and 84: B H U TA N Bhutan Birds & Buddhism
Page 85 and 86: N E PA L Nepal Chitwan, Koshi & Phu
Page 87 and 88: V I E T N A M Vietnam Land of the D
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Page 95 and 96: Boating on the Danube Delta, Romani
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Page 127 and 128: I TA LY Italy at Leisure Birds & Wi
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Page 157 and 158: C A L E N D A R Calendar 2014 JANUA
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Page 164: ORNITHOLIDAYS 29 Straight Mile Roms
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