If you would like to join me for my Feathers on Friday meme, please put the link to your blog post in the comments and I’ll add the link to my post.
I was going through my photos from my Europe trip last January and found this one of a Great Spotted Woodpecker I particularly like. I took this photo in Bourron-Marlotte, France,
More Feathers on Friday Posts:
Kathie’s Birds
4forfeathers
If you would like to join me for my Feathers on Friday meme, please put the link to your blog post in the comments and I’ll add the link to my post.
On Tuesday, my dad and brother found a Ring-necked Pheasant near our house. They came back to get me, and I was able to get some decent shots.
A male Ring-necked Pheasant,
More Feathers on Friday Posts:
If you would like to join me for my Feathers on Friday meme, please put the link to your blog post in the comments and I’ll add the link to my post.
Mallards and a Black-headed Gull at the Fontainebleau gardens in France, January 2015,
More Feathers on Friday Posts:
If you would like to join me for my Feathers on Friday meme, please put the link to your blog post in the comments and I’ll add the link to my post.
My lifer — European Golden Plovers in France,
More Feathers on Friday Posts:
One of the things that sets France apart from North America is how little towns and cities run into one another. You’ll be driving through one town, but by then you’ll see a sign for the next town, but you’re already in it — there is often no clear distinction between the towns.
One of these little towns is Samoreau, near Fontainebleau. On January 17th, my father and my youngest brother discovered Samoreau’s Parc St. Aubin along the Seine river, while my mother and I caught up on emails at a nearby McDonald’s (it’s very handy for travellers that McDonald’s offers free WiFi).
After we finished at McDonald’s, they picked us up and we drove back to the park. From the parking lot I could see the pond, with six Mute Swans along the bank.
There are walking paths all around the pond, so I set off to see what I could see. Unfortunately, it was another very rainy day so I didn’t bother taking my camera out.
I saw Tufted Ducks, Common Pochards, Eurasian Moorhens, Eurasian Coots, and Black-headed Gulls on the water; and Eurasian Blue Tits, Eurasian Treecreepers, a Eurasian Wren European Robins, and Eurasian Blackbirds in the bushes. I also saw what I thought was a Eurasian Green Woodpecker feeding on the ground, but the bird flew away before I could get a good look.
I didn’t make it all around the pond as we had to get going. On the way back to the car, a bird flew overhead and landed in some trees along the river. I looked through my binoculars and saw a Eurasian Jay — a lifer!
I saw 23 species* while birding around the pond; you can view my eBird checklist from my first visit to Parc St. Aubin, here.
The next day, I went back to Parc St. Aubin for more birding. The sun was shining and there seemed to be a good number of birds around. My father dropped me off at the parking lot, and this time I had time to walk around the whole pond. Below are some of the pictures I took.
Male and female Tufted Ducks,
European Robins have the most beautiful songs,
There were quite a few Common Pochards on the pond,
A pair of Mallards — I’m not sure if the bird on the right is partially leucistic or domestic,
In the birch trees along the pond were Eurasian Siskins feeding on catkins — another lifer for me. I wasn’t able to get a photo of the siskins as they were in the shadows.
An adult Common Blackbird,
Canada Geese,
A Great Cormorant,
Black-headed Gulls are the most common gull species in France,
Black-Headed Gulls in winter plumage,
A Eurasian Coot,
While walking back to the car, a woodpecker flew up from a tree. It landed in a backyard and I could clearly see it was a European Green Woodpecker.
Here’s my eBird checklist from my second trip to Parc St. Aubin.
Just like la Plaine de Sorques, if you’re visiting the Fontainebleau area, taking some time to visit Parc St. Aubin is well worthwhile. You will likely see Tufted Ducks and European Robins, and maybe a Eurasian Jay and a Eurasian Green Woodpecker or two.
It’s a very peaceful, beautiful place and well used with many people walking the trails, though no any obvious birders.
The view from the south side of the pond,
* I wasn’t certain with my identification of the Eurasian Green Woodpecker from January 17th, since as I didn’t get a clear view. But after seeing another Eurasian Green Woodpecker on the 18th and confirming the ID, I added the woodpecker to my first checklist.
If you would like to join me for my Feathers on Friday meme, please put the link to your blog post in the comments and I’ll add the link to my post.
A pair of Mallards along the Eure River in Chartres, France,
More Feathers on Friday Posts:
Prairie Birder 