Birdwatching Trip Report / Rapport Ornithologique de Voyage

Côtes-d’Armor, Brittany / Bretagne, France

3-10 April / Avril 2010

by Andrew R. Williams

www.tauntonwildlife.com

Introduction

This is a very brief report to supplement others I have written regarding birdwatching in Brittany. This trip was a family holiday and so little specific birdwatching opportunities arose. A trip to the large gannet colony at Île-Rouzic was a highlight and I managed one visit to the Marais de Quellen. All the other birds were seen in general touring of the area. Northern Brittany is a great place for a family holiday and, if anyone in the family is a birder, it provides the opportunity to see easily several species which are difficult or impossible to see in the UK, such as Zitting Cisticola, Crested Tit and Serin. In addition, there’s always the possibility of bumping into something a little unusual, like these 15 Red-breasted Merganser at Trégastel-Plage.

Accomodation

We stayed in a large 8+ person house on Île-Grande, west of Perros-Guirec in Côtes-d’Armor. The house had large grounds with established pine trees which held several Crested Tit which were seen every day. Serin also sang every day in the garden, along with Mistle Thrush and several other common species.

Sites Visited

I had intended to head off to the Forêt de Lorge which would have given me the chance to pick up Black Woodpecker but, with a trip in summer lined up to Loire-Atlantique, I decided to leave that species until then.

On Wednesday 7 April, I took a boat trip from Plage de Trestraou, Perros-Guirec to visit the bird reserve of Les Sept-Îles.

The excursion was run by Vedettes des Sept-Îles who are based at the Gare Maritime, Perros-Guirec from where tickets can be purchased. For information on schedules, visit the website via the link below. The excursion, which lasted just under 2 hours, cost €16. The schedule usually has four trips a day using two vessels, however on the day we went, the morning trip did not run. This was unfortunate since both the light and sea conditions were significantly better in the morning. However, I totally recommend the trip for excellent close views of Gannets, auks and Grey Seals. The Gannets were nest-building and mating at the time of our trip. The first 4 images below are width-uncropped.

Links

Map to show location of Marais de Quellen

Systematic list of bird species seen / Liste systématique des oiseaux vu

	English name	Nom français	Scientific name	Notes
1	Little Grebe	Grèbe castagneux	Tachybaptus ruficollis	One in the marina at Perros-Guirec on 6/4/10
2	Northern Fulmar	Fulmar boréal	Fulmarus glacialis	Two from the Sept-Îles boat trip, 7/4/10
3	Manx Shearwater	Puffin des Anglais	Puffinus puffinus	Two from the return ferry, English Channel, 10/4/10
4	Northern Gannet	Fou de Bassan	Morus bassanus	In addition to the large breeding colony on Île-Rouzic, omnipresent from all coastal viewpoints and the ferry
5	Great Cormorant	Grand Cormoran	Phalacrocorax carbo	Frequent
6	Shag	Cormoran huppé	Phalacrocorax aristotelis	Frequent; breeding on Sept-Îles
7	Little Egret	Aigrette garzette	Egretta garzetta	Frequent
8	Grey Heron	Héron cendré	Ardea cinerea	Occasional
9	Mute Swan	Cygne tuberculé	Cygnus olor	Occasional
10	Brent Goose	Bernache cravant	Branta bernicla	About 20 at Perros-Guirec near marina
11	Shelduck	Tadorne de Belon	Tadorna tadorna	Occasional
12	Mallard	Canard colvert	Anas platyrhynchos	Occasional
13	Red-breasted Merganser	Harle huppé	Mergus serrator	Group of 15 males and females at Trégastel-Plage on 5/4/10
14	Sparrowhawk	Épervier d’Europe	Accipiter nisus	Occasional on Île-Grande; one at Roscoff
15	Common Buzzard	Buse variable	Buteo buteo	Occasional
16	Common Kestrel	Falcon crécerelle	Falco tinnunculus	One seen on Île-Grande on 4/4/10
17	Water Rail	Râle d’eau	Rallus aquaticus	One at Marais de Quellen on 9/4/10
18	Moorhen	Gallinule poule-d’eau	Gallinula chloropus	Two on the mill pond at Penvern; also at Marais de Quellen
19	Redshank	Chevalier gambette	Tringa totanus	One on Île-Grande
20	Turnstone	Tournepierre à collier	Arenaria interpres	Groups of 20 or so at Perros-Guirec marina and also at Roscoff harbour
21	Oystercatcher	Huitrier pie	Haematopus ostralegus	Frequent
22	Great Skua	Grand Labbe	Catharacta skua	Two from the return ferry
23	Kittiwake	Mouette tridactile	Rissa tridactyla	One on the sea between Sept-Îles and Ploumanac’h
24	Common Gull	Goéland cendré	Larus canus	One at Île-Grande on 5/4/10
25	Herring Gull	Goéland argenté	Larus argentatus	Common
26	Great Black-backed Gull	Goéland marin	Larus marinus	Frequent
27	Lesser Black-backed Gull	Goéland brun	Larus fuscus	Frequent
28	Guillemot	Guillemot de troin	Uria aalge	Two from the Sept-Îles boat trip; several from the ferry near Plymouth
29	Razorbill	Pingouin torda	Alca torda	Several from the Sept-Îles boat trip
30	Puffin	Macareux moine	Fratercula arctica	Five near Île-Rouzic
31	Wood Pigeon	Pigeon ramier	Columba palumbus	Common
32	Collared Dove	Tourturelle turque	Streptopelia decaocto	Common
33	Tawny Owl	Chouette hulotte	Strix aluco	One on Île-Grande
34	Green Woodpecker	Pic vert	Picus viridis	One on Île-Grande
35	Sand Martin	Hirondelle de ravage	Riparia riparia	Marais de Quellen and Île-Grande
36	House Martin	Hirondelle de fenêtre	Delichon urbica	Marais de Quellen and passage over beaches
37	Barn Swallow	Hirondelle rustique	Hirundo rustica	Frequent passage and breeding on Île-Grande
38	Meadow Pipit	Pipit farlouse	Anthus pratensis	Several on Île-Grande
39	Rock Pipit	Pipit maritime	Anthus petrosus	Several at Roscoff
40	Water Pipit	Pipit spioncelle	Anthus spinoletta	One on Île-Grande on 4/4/10
41	White Wagtail	Bergeronnette grise	Motacilla alba	Common
42	Wren	Troglodyte mignon	Troglodytes troglodytes	Common
43	Dunnock	Accenteur mouchet	Prunella modularis	Common
44	Robin	Rougegorge familier	Erithacus rubecula	Common
45	Stonechat	Tarier pâtre	Saxicola torquata	Frequent around coastal scrub
46	Northern Wheatear	Traquet motteux	Oenathe oenanthe	Four along the marsh on the southwest side of Île-Grande on 4/4/10
47	Blackbird	Merle noir	Turdus merula	Common
48	Song Thrush	Grive musicienne	Turdus philomelos	Breeding near the garden of the gîte
49	Mistle Thrush	Grive draine	Turdus viscivora	Breeding in the garden of the gîte
50	Zitting Cisticola	Cisticole des joncs	Cisticola juncidis	Singles in song flight around the coasts of Île-Grande and at Marais de Quellen
51	Cetti’s Warbler	Bouscarle de Cetti	Cettia cetti	One near the LPO station on Île-Grande; also common at Marais de Quellen
52	Reed Warbler	Rousserolle effarvatte	Acrocephalus scirpaceus	One at Marais de Quellen
53	Lesser Whitethroat	Fauvette babillarde	Sylvia curruca	One singing in the garden of the gîte
54	Blackcap	Fauvette à tête noir	Sylvia atricapilla	Breeding in the garden of the gîte
55	Willow Warbler	Pouillot fitis	Phylloscopus trochilus	One at Marais de Quellen
56	Chiffchaff	Pouillot véloce	Phylloscopus colybita	Frequent; singing male in the garden of the gîte
57	Goldcrest	Roitelet huppé	Regulus regulus	Occasional – one in the garden of the gîte
58	Spotted Flycatcher	Gobemouche gris	Muscicapa striata	One flycatching over the millpond by the pizzeria in Penvern
59	Long-tailed Tit	Mésange à longue queue	Aegithalos caudatus	Frequent
60	Crested Tit	Mésange huppée	Parus cristatus	Frequent – anywhere with large pines; at least 5 birds in the gîte garden, including breeding pair; one in pines above the toilets on Ploumanac’h beach
61	Coal Tit	Mésange noir	Parus ater	Occasional – generally seemed to be replaced by Crested Tit
62	Blue Tit	Mésange bleue	Parus caeruleus	Common
63	Great Tit	Mésange charbonnière	Parus major	Common
64	Jay	Geai des chênes	Garrulus glandarius	Common; group of 7 at Marais de Quellen
65	Magpie	Pie bavarde	Pica pica	Frequent
66	Jackdaw	Choucas des tours	Corvus mondedula	Local – only seen in Roscoff
67	Carrion Crow	Corneille noir	Corvus corone	Common
68	Starling	Étourneaux sansonnet	Sturnus vulgaris	Frequent
69	House Sparrow	Moineau domestique	Passer domesticus	Common
70	Chaffinch	Pinson des arbres	Fringilla coelebs	Common
71	Serin	Serin	Serinus serinus	Common – could be hear singing everywhere we went
72	Greenfinch	Verdier d’Europe	Carduelis chloris	Frequent – especially in the NE part of Île-Grande
73	Goldfinch	Chardonneret elegant	Carduelis carduelis	Common
74	Linnet	Linotte mélodieuse	Carduelis cannabina	Common around coasts

Turnstone, Perros-Guirec

Brent Goose, Perros-Guirec

Chiffchaff, Île-Grande

Male Linnet, Ploumanac'h

Fulmar, Les Sept-Îles

Great Skua, English Channel

Sunset Gannets, English Channel