Boulogne and back

ianball · Post by **ianball** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:06 pm

Just returned from a few days visiting my best friend in Kent and managed to pop over to France for the day and visited a few sites near Boulogne. Also managed to see the Melodious Warbler near Birmingham on the way down and Red Footed Falcon near Stoke on the way back. 43 Red Kites on the M40 near London were also nice.

In France we visited a lovely wetland habitat. Key birds were - Bluethroat, Fan-tailed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Black-Winged Stilt, Quail, Cattle Egret, Cetti's Warbler, Short-Toed Treecreeper, Great White Egret, Mediterranean Gull and White Stork. This was followed by a nearby woodland with displaying Honey Buzzard and a wonderful selection of butterflies. Purple Emperor and Silver-Washed Fritillary stood out. Dragonflies were also numerous with Black Tailed and Keeled Skimmer everywhere, many Southern Hawker, and I was very pleased to find a Red Veined Darter. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was also great.

A few pictures below which have lost a bit of quality due to being compressed but show some of the birds seen on my travels.

ianball · Post by **ianball** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:08 pm

A few of the Egrets seen and a Stilt...

Post by **Neil Southworth** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:16 pm

Which wetland was it, Ian?

ianball · Post by **ianball** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:31 pm

It's about 30 minutes south of Boulogne called Sailly Bray. There's a little network of roads and tracks that criss-cross the marsh which you pick and choose from.