travelogue-ketki

french reviere:
I have been lucky enough to enjoy my hobby of BIRDING -not only in India but also abroad.
I joined my husband(on his business trip) to the south of France. With the help of delhibirds and Mr jugal Tiwari-I could narrow down birding spot-reserve nationale -CAMARGUE.
2 sites in this area- LA CAPELIERE,SALIN DE BADON, AND PARC ORNITHOLOGIQUE DE PONT DE GAU.
THESE ARE RAMSAR SITES.
There is a very well organised system. Maps are given ,with lovely trails routes and observatory points. Every obervatory point had huge telescopes which you could use free of cost. AT EACH POINT there was a write up (in french) of which birds you have to look out for in that area.
These are the few photos of the birds which i SAW there.
pheasant -game bird of france

robins -in display, blackbird, blackcap


blackheaded gulls -not in breeding plumage

now to get you a series of flamingoes we saw them at all three parks. loads of people had gathered to see this migatory bird from africa- you guessed right-greater flamingoes-phoenicopterus ruber. There was a small batch of juvenilles all together as well.
flamingoes were seen on route to la capeliere. Here few shots for you to enjoy.
For me Sewri in Mumbai has always been a haven when more than 4000 birds come in winter.
there were 3 scared Ibis which also were migratory but the PARC manager said they caused a lot destruction by eating chicks of birds which are locally breeding e.g egrets

sacred ibis-In India we do not see this species .
But the lifer bird for me was the red crested pochard. This species is seen in India in the north but never in Mumbai.It had the most amazing red colour and for me it was a feast to my eyes . A bird I will dream of for a long time .
They were lots of ducks- ruddy shelducks,mallards,common pochard,common coots etc
enjoy the Tufted duck and red crested pochard


On our return we saw a lovely bird near the beach -meditterean sea - this was the lapwing.

LAPWING
there were so many wild white horses. The country best breeds are seen in area.

La capeliere is very close to spain and so there were black bull breeding farms as well.
Finally when I was leaving my hotel at SAINTES MARIES DE LA MER
a small bird -new for my eyes came to say goodbye
black redstart
with very lovely memories my trip came to an end. BEST DIWALI GIFT I GOT FROM MY HUSBAND- UNFORGETABLE MEMORIES.