birding...

Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio ©Gerd Rossen http://www.digital-nature-photography.com/

The region consists of the Departments of: Correze, Creuse & Haute-Vienne. The traditional Provinces of: Limousin, Marche & Berry.

I cannot pretend to know the region well having only had one brief visit to the Creuse area staying at Chatras Farm Cottage [see below] but I can thoroughly recommend it for species which are absent or scarce in the UK.

For the most part the Creuse area is heavily wooded with many lakes and fast rivers making it terrific teritory for arboreal species and the many open areas of farmland, mostly producing cattle, are farmed sympatheitically so abound with butterflies and game such as hares, deer and wild boar.

Woodpeckers are particularly evident with black, grey-headed and middle spotted all present as well as green, lesser & greater-spotted, and short-toed treecreeper & nuthatch. Warblers seem to be everywhere with Melodious perhaps the most common but Western Bonnelli`s and Icterine quite easily found among the blackcaps, chiff-chaffs and more familiar species. Finches are equally common with serin most evident and plenty of hawfinches in the woods giving UK birders a chance to familiarise themselves with the unfamiliar. I saw juveniles for the first time. What is more golden orioles are numerous and thier fluting calls delight everywhere.

What impressed me most was how often one got good close-up views of raptors. My first evening spent sitting out gazing across the fields and woodland produced common buzzard, honey buzzard, black kite, sparrowhawk, and a stunning close up goshawk. Early morning saw a barn owl returning to the barn at Chatras Farm and nearby we heard long-eared owl and had good views of both short-toed and booted eagle.

A couple of days on the farm clocked up 62 species without much effort and this was high summer with no visits to marsh or lakeside... central France is underwatched and not an obvious choice for visiting birders - but it should be!