Wallcreeper

the main aim of our trip was to try and photograph Wallcreeper; unfortunately there only seemed to be one bird at Les Baux and with little time available we could not risk cold searching for another one elsewhere; this bird was less than predictable being at the top of the cliff one minute and at the bottom the next then on boulders 400m away 5 minutes later; a frustrating two days but I suppose a reason to try again another time; at one point it flew past us at 4m range and then flew around inside a small cave giving amazing views before teasingly flying off round the cliff edge; the two almost flight shots show just how often a passerine opens its wings in flight and how often it has them shut;

Yellow-legs

gulls that is---we did see the wintering Terek Sandpiper but the images are rather less than average!

Blue Rock and Crau birds

I can never seem to get close to a Blue Rock Thrush! a distant flock of Little Bustards and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse fleeing in the face of an approaching deluge of rain in a gale

Black-necked Grebes

a very common wintering bird on the Med and the etangs

pink sheep

some flaming interaction

Egrets

dull weather on Little Egrets

high ISO circus

this Hen Harrier was taken from the moving car near Mas D'Agon in appalling light at 800 ISO, 40D + 300 2.8 + 1.4 converter---

Alpine Accentors

Les Baux must be just about the easiest place to see these super fat dunnocks at close range; getting them to pose in the right places takes more time; the blue sky is real and just as taken

Les Baux oddments

Sardinian Warblers would have needed more time, Serins were scatty and the Griffon was a bit unusual

Black Redstart

a confiding bird at Les Baux---the adult male had moved on!

damp Provence

five days in Provence; 2 dull, cloudy, 1600ISO windy, lots of shooting (Song Thrushes, Fieldfares just about anything which moved) one day of torrential rain and gales and 2 sunny days following a small grey, red and black bird around a cliff face! at least the accentors are tame!

BHG

a local shortage of subjects--need the practice for next weekend

Snow Bunt

from the pattern of the primary coverts and the restricted amount of white in the secondaries plus general plumage tones all of these three local birds would appear to be first-winter females and probably of the race P n insulae

almost sunny and snow bunts too

with the slight prospect of better light I set off to look for the patch snow buntings this am; 6 searches of the favoured habitat later and I was about to give up when they, as usual, miraculously appeared in the same spot they were four days previous