Birdwatching Trip Report from Corsica and Sardinia

CONTENTS

General Information
References
Itinerary (summary)
Daily Log
Systematic List of Birds

GENERAL INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

Vital & Riet van Gorp, my lady friend Willemien van Ginneken and I visited the islands of Corsica and Sardinia from 16th – 27th May 2007. Corsica, is a great destination for those wishing to combine some of the most stunning scenery that Europe has to offer with some of its most sought-after birds

It is not the sheer number of bird species that draws a birder's attention to Corsica. It is rather species poor, but it is blessed with many interesting endemic subspecies and two of the very few true European endemics, the Corsican Nuthatch and Corsican Finch.

The prime target of this trip was to find the two endemics as well as Marmora's Warbler and Lammergeier.

The Corsican Nuthatch is widespread on inland ridges with the greatest densities present in unspoilt mature endemic Corsican pine forest above 750 metres. Some of the best places are Col de Bavella, Col de Sorba, Vizzavona and Vallée d’Asco. Citril Finch can be found at all these places and Marmora’s Warbler is found in the maquis. The best place to see the Lammergeier is at Gorge de Restonica or Vallée d’Asco.

We also spent two days in the northwest area of the Italian Island of Sardinia.

FLIGHT

Initial research on the internet made us realise that in order to fly direct to Corsica from Amsterdam or Brussels, it seemed that we would have to book a rather expensive Air France flight. As a consequence, knowing its close proximity to Sardinia and the fact that there are decently priced Ryanair flights (€ 72 per person) to this island, we decided to fly to Alghero and then get a ferry from Santa Teresa di Gallura, Sardinia to Bonifacio, Corsica. However to fly to Sardinia we had to drive to the airport Frankfurt Hahn in Germany, a three hours drive from our place.

ACCOMMODATION

We had not booked any accommodation prior to our trip and on both islands found it painless to find reasonably priced motels/hotels.

Corsica:

We stayed the 16th May at Hotel Da Mama in Porto Vecchio. This was a reasonable hotel and we had to pay € 60 for a double room, including breakfast.

The 17th, 18th, 19th and 24th May we stayed at Motel Da Mama in Porto Vecchio and we had to pay € 50 for a double room.

In Aléria we stayed at Hotel Les Orangers and the price there was also € 50 for a double room, including breakfast.

In the Corte area we stayed one night at Hotel Le Torrent. Here we had to pay € 48 for a double room.

We spent two nights at Motel A Vigna in Corte (€ 55 for a double room). Motel a Vigna is ideally placed on the outside of Corte and from here we explored the surrounding mountains for birds.

Sardinia:

In Sardinia we stayed two nights at Hotel Sher Dan halfway between Porto Torres and Sassari. We had to pay € 65, -- for a double room including breakfast.

CAR & FERRY
Car hire was booked through Hertz and this was relatively inexpensive (Fort Fusion, € 389 for the whole trip) and there appeared to be no restrictions on taking the car over from Sardinia to Corsica.

The ferry from Santa Teresa di Gallura (Sardinia) to Bonifacio (Corsica) cost € 154 for a car and four people return.

WEATHER

The weather during our stay was mostly good. It was sunny and warm with from time to time overcast conditions.

EQUIPMENT

A telescope is useful at lakes and very useful for viewing canopy species especially from roadsides.

COMMON BIRDSPECIES

The following list of birds we saw frequently and if you spend any sort of time in the right habitats you will too:

Red Kite, Yellow-legged Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, House Martin, Eurasian Blackbird, Blackcap, European Robin, Common Nightingale, Great Tit, Eurasian Jay, Hooded Crow, Spotless Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Goldfinch, European Serin, Cirl Bunting.

REFERENCES

BOOKS

James F. Clements. Birds of the World. A Check List.
La Ligue Française pour la Protection de Oiseaux. Where to watch birds in France.
Nigel Wheatley. Where to watch birds in Europe & Russia.
Heinzel, Fitter and Parslow. Birds of Britain and Europe with the Middle East and North Africa.
Lars Jonsson. Birds of Europe.

REPORTS

Richard Bonser. Corsica & Sardinia 29th April – 2nd May 2006.
Travelling Naturalist. Corsica 17th – 24th April 2005.

SOFTWARE

BIRDBASE & BIRDAREA

I use this software to keep track of the birds I have seen and to make lists of any country, labelling endemics and birds previously seen in that country, outside it, or both. BirdArea can produce checklists of the birds of any country of Clements’ world birds.

DAILY LOG

Tuesday May 15

At 15.30 we left Chaam by car and 3½ hours later we were in Hahn (Germany). We checked into the family-run Land Hotel, where we had an excellent diner.

Wednesday May 16

We left our car at the hotel and the owner of the hotel brought us to the nearby airport Frankfurt Hahn.

Leaving a rather wet and dreary Germany behind, we were whisked in just 1½ hours to a warm and sunny Alghero airport on Sardinia, where we collected our hire car. Many House Martins, Italian Sparrows and Spotless Starlings greeted us at the airport.

Our first full day in the field involved a slow and leisurely drive in northern Sardinia to Santa Teresa di Gallura.

The drive though the mountains to Santa Teresa was extremely tedious, as the roads were winding, with very few opportunities to overtake or go fast. However this provided us with an excellent introduction to Sardinia’s commoner birds. En route we saw amongst others Eurasian Kestrel, Common Nightingales singing from the thickets, Coal Tit, Great Tit, European Serin, European Goldfinch, Cirl Bunting and Corn Bunting.

The birding highlight from this journey was a Red-backed Shrike.

Around midday we arrived at Santa Teresa di Gallura where we had lunch. By the harbour we found Spanish Sparrows and many Yellow-legged Gulls. In the late afternoon we boarded our Moby ferry.

Due to the very strong wind we had to stay inside the ferry and could not go outside to look for the seabirds.

In less than an hour the ferry docked at Bonifacio, a magnificent Genoese walled city spectacularly positioned on a headland bounded by cliffs above a sheltered inlet.

We spent some time in the town and in the harbour we had good views of a single Audouin’s Gull.

Hereafter we headed northwards to Porto Vecchio where we checked into Hotel Da Mama.

Thursday May 17

It was now time to roll out the endemics, so we headed hopefully into the mountains near Zonza and began our quest. On our drive into the mountains, we were immediately struck by the amount of butterflies on the island. Vital, since a few years also an expert on European butterflies, identified most of these wonderful creatures.

We made many stops along the aromatic maquis and carefully scrutiny of the Sylvia warblers yielded not only a few Sardinian Warblers, but also a Subalpine Warbler.

Common Ravens drifted overhead and we did get some spectacular views of European Honey-Buzzard, a few Red Kites and Eurasian Hobby.

Higher into the mountains we watched Eurasian Crag-Martins overhead, saw a Rock Petronia and then suddenly we saw our first endemic species, an immaculate, brown-backed ♂ Corsican Finch and a ♀.

We got excellent close views of these birds feeding at the side of the road. We spent a few hours in the pine forests near Zonza, but we failed to find the Corsican Nuthatch.

We spent the night at Motel Da Mama, ideally situated a few kilometres outside Porto Vecchio.

Drinking a beer on the terrace of the motel we heard at least 3 European Scops-Owls.

Friday May 18

Next day I was ill and I had to stay all day in bed. It was the first time since my 1987 Turkey trip that I missed a birding day and I had not even eaten ice! The others left me and I lay there sweating and sulking.

In the late afternoon they returned to the motel and as it turned out I had not missed many good birds.

They had spent all day along the coast visiting a few lakes and not seeing much.

Saturday May 19

Today we made another attempt to find the Corsican Nuthatch, a species that, judging by past trip reports, wasn’t going to be particularly easy. The whole of the day could be pretty much dedicated to finding this species, if necessary, and it seemed it might be. We headed right to Col de Bavella and spent all day in the pine forests. We searched all day for the Nuthatch, but to no avail.

Amongst the birds seen were Black Kite, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Wood Lark, Grey Wagtail, Firecrest, Eurasian Treecreeper, Yellow-billed Chough and Red Crossbill. We also saw an adult Golden Eagle mobbed by Ravens right over our heads. A little bit disappointed we returned to Porto Vecchio.

Sunday May 20

Next morning we spent some time near Porto Vecchio. We walked out along the beach and followed the coastal path into the maquis scrub (Mediterranean heath). We were rewarded with good views of 3 Sardinian Warblers and 2 Marmora’s Warblers. We then headed north up the relatively flat and uninspiring coast of the island. Heading on we made stops at various wetlands including Etang de Palu and Etang d’Urbino.

On both lakes were hardly any birds, although we did see European Shag, Great Egret, Little Egret, Western Marsh-Harrier and a few Dunlins.

The bushes alongside held a few Cetti’s Warblers, Common Nightingales, European Stonechat, Blackcaps, Greenfinches and Corn Buntings. We also visited the huge Etang de Biguglia and this lake was sadly rather birdless too and although we logged a few Little Egrets, Common Shelduck and Eurasian Reed-Warbler, the overall lack of birds, especially in the reed beds, was frankly disappointing!

We finished the day by heading back to the small town of Aléria. Highlight of the day was an Eleonora’s Falcon on top of a telephone pole along the road.

In Aléria we checked into Hotel Les Orangers.

Monday May 21

We then continued our journey by heading to the historic town of Corte, Corsica’s ancient capital.

From Corte we went up the N193 and headed to the Forêt de Vizzavona. At Venaco we saw a large group of Pallid Swifts, always a difficult species to identify.

At Vizzavona Vital and I made a stroll through the fantastic pine forest, soon hearing distant Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Firecrests, Mistle Thrushes and Coal Tits, but try as we might we did not hear or see the Corsican Nuthatch. We had lunch at the Vizzavona railway station.

A change of location was required, and after a short drive to the Col de Sorba, we got out of our Ford Fusion and were almost immediately face to face with a fine ♂ Corsican Nuthatch.

We could now relax with all the endemics under the belt. In the late afternoon we drove back to Corte and checked into Hotel Le Torrent.

Tuesday May 22
This morning we decided to head for the Asco Valley, as the weather was fine and sunny. From Corte we went up the N193 to just beyond Ponte Leccia, where we turned left into the Asco Valley.

We headed up the spectacular valley and its narrow gorge. At the top of the gorge we had good telescope views of a male Blue Rock-Thrush. As we gained height we came across a few Eurasian Crag-Martins. Our destination was the car park in the conifer forest at Vallée d'Asco.

We arrived at the car park and managed to work our way to the old pines just north of the car park, behind some chalets. Here we met a few English birders, desperately seeking for the Corsican Nuthatch.

After a short while we located a few Corsican Finches, which gave excellent views. We tried to find the nuthatch, but we had no luck. While Vital was searching for a new butterfly, I scanned the surrounding snow-capped peaks of this impressive valley. This technique soon paid off as I spotted an impressive Lammergeier, a bird I had seen many years ago in Spain, Turkey and China.

As the light faded we returned to Corte, where we booked two rooms into Motel A Vigna.

Behind our hotel a European Scops-Owl was calling and a bit of birdwatching from the back of our motel produced a European Wryneck.

Wednesday May 23

Another warm and sunny day. While having breakfast behind the motel the Eurasian Wryneck was calling. Today we visited the nearby fantastic Gorge de la Restonica, in the heart of the Corsican National Park. This was a long, narrow and spectacular valley, with numerous walking opportunities.

Soon we saw pure looking Rock Pigeons, a few Grey Wagtails and our first White-capped Dippers of the trip.

In the woodland along the gorge we had excellent views of Common Wood-Pigeon, Firecrest, Mistle Thrush and Coal Tit. Overhead we had Red Kites, Eurasian Buzzards and Yellow-billed Choughs.

In the late afternoon we returned to Corte and headed to the nearby Verghello Valley. Here we found a few new orchids, but no ‘new’ birds. An evening walk by the motel produced Eurasian Turtle-Dove, Common Cuckoo, Common Nightingale and European Goldfinch.

Thursday May 24

We spent all morning in the Verghello Valley. The species we saw were the same species we had seen the previous days. Hereafter we left the mountains and headed back to Aléria and then southwards to Porto Vecchio, with the idea of checking out the other lakes along the coast. We stopped at a few lakes, but soon discovered that naturist colonies are very popular on the eastern coast of Corsica.

We again booked rooms at Motel Da Mama near Port Vecchio. Hereafter Vital and I made stroll in the woodland opposite the motel. Birds of note here were European Scops-Owl, European Bee-eater, Wood Lark, Cetti’s Warbler and Cirl Bunting.

Friday May 25
Next morning we spent some time in the Porto Vecchio area. Again was the aromatic maquis our destination and here we soon were watching a few Sardinian Warblers and we managed a few brief views of Marmora’s Warbler. Hereafter we headed to Bonafacio, just in time for lunch, which was punctuated by 4 European Honey-Buzzards migrating northward overhead and 3 Alpine Swifts.

The first quarter of the crossing seemed a bit dead as far as birds were concerned, but after a while we saw a few Cory’s (Scopoli’s) Shearwaters and 2 Levantine Shearwaters.

Back in Sardinia we disembarked at Santa Teresa Gallura and drove west along the coast. In the late afternoon we arrived in Porto Torres, where we checked into Hotel Sher Dan.

Saturday May 26

Today we spent all day in Asuni. First we visited Stintino, a small village along the coast. The salines just south of Stintino were teeming with birds. Amongst the birds seen here were Little Grebe, Purple Heron, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Gull-billed Tern, Common Tern and Little Tern. Common Quail, Calandra Lark Sky Lark were present in the fields near the salines

We then drove on till we reached a large lake – Stagno di Platamona. There were a few Yellow-legged Gulls on it and a few Mallards and Great Crested Grebes, but not much else. A few Western Marsh-Harriers hunted over the reeds, while overhead a group of 8 European Honey-Buzzards migrated northwards.

In the adjacent coniferous forest we had good views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and some European Serins. Hereafter we headed to Lago di Baratz, famous for being the only natural fresh water lake in all of Sardinia. We spent some time along this lake, where we did see amongst others Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Great Egret, Eurasian Teal, Black-headed Gull and Alpine Swift.

We then drove to Porto Torres, where we had an excellent dinner in the centre of the town.

Sunday May 27
Next morning we drove to the airport at Alghero. After a short Ryanair flight we arrived in a windy and rainy Hahn. We picked up our car and in the late afternoon we were back in Holland. The entire trip went very smoothly with excellent weather and no car troubles. It was also a fairly successful trip. We had good views of the endemics and near-endemics. I finished this trip with 4 lifers. The final total for the trip was 106 species of birds.

If you need any help or further information, contact me at the following address and I'll try and help if I can!

Chaam, 2 August 2007,

Jan Vermeulen
Bredaseweg 14
4861 AH Chaam
The Netherlands
Telephone: (031) – 161 – 491327
E-mail: jem.vermeulen@wxs.nl
Web: http://home.planet.nl/~verme860

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