Vive la France i say, no photo's from me unfortunately i lost my camera battery in all the excitement, however Andy and Phil have loads of video footage which im hoping to see soon
No photos please I am jealous enough as it is, take my hat off to you mate, cracking piece of birding, and I am sure a British wallcreeper will cost us all a dam site more than £40. A medal should be awarded for birding above and beyond the county limits. Keep birding. or as the french say "Vive l'observation des oiseaux!"
Any photo's to follow?, and I'm not bovvered 'cause we've got much better at Elton; not!( although a pair of about to nest firecrests isn't bad ) Cheers Ian
Twitched the Wallcreeper yesterday with Phil Rhodes, Andy Makin and a guy from Sheffield and what an incredible bird, words can not describe how good this bird was. No doubt the best bird I have ever seen. It was that good.
How easy is the Eurotunnel drive on drive off straight on to motorway and at Boulogne within 20 minutes, heres how the day turned out.
Hardelot Forest 8.40-10.30
Failed on Black Woodpecker, which have recently colonised this area, sub zero temperatures didnt help, although woodpeckers were vocal we failed to connect with this elusive species. However we did see-
Short Toed Treecreeper Crested Tit 6+ Green Woodpeckers G S Woodpeckers Marsh Tits, Siskins, Redwings plus loads of Reeves Pheasants perched up in trees trying to frighten us. Not sure what the status of this species is.
Wimereux 10.50-2.30
As the tide dropped we began our search for the Wallcreeper, 4 of us and a few French birders, before we had even descended the steps to the beach I picked up the Wallcreeper looking down from the cliff top on the south side of the headland, it showed well for about 20 mins but then dropped down to the bottom of the cliff. So we hurried down to the beach which was rather slippy, Andy Makin fell over and got covered in mud, the guy from Sheffield slipped and damaged his Leica, me and Phil unscathed. We were now joined by another 15 british birders fresh off the ferry and some dutch birders which swelled the numbers to a modest 30+. After a good hour of viewing the bird it took flight and flew around the headland and north towards the fulmar colony it must have flown over 800 meters in one go. Now walking was easier on the sand itself so off we went in pursuit. It didnt take long to relocate the bird as the cliffs in this part were only 50 foot high. Here we watched the bird again for over an hour giving a stunning performance of wall creeping, hanging upside down feeding constantly picking insects and spiders from crevices with ease and even drinking from the melting icicles!! It was a sublime bird which showed incredibly well apart from briefly hiding from us in a hole in the cliff but soon came out, at one point it was 6 foot above the beach and it was watched from just 50 feet away! It was at this point former gm birder David Lowe turned up to enjoy the show, small world it is. The difficult decision was made and after 3 hours with the Wallcreeper still busily feeding away, we decided to move on.
Also along the beach/cliffs we observed several Mediterranean and Yellow Legged Gulls, 6+ Black Redstarts including a nice adult male chasing the Wallcreeper.
Boulogne Harbour 2.40-4.40
A short drive to the nearby Boulogne Harbour provided some good relaxed birding in the pleasant afternoon sunshine as we were still thawing out from the forest; here we observed the following-
Glaucous Gull -1st winter Mediterranean Gull 46 (30 adults, rest 1st & 2nd winters) Yellow Legged Gull 6+ Little Gull 2 Kittiwake 100+ G C Grebes 250+ Red Necked Grebe 1 Slavonian Grebe 2
Met some local birders who informed us there were divers and scaup flock round the corner but we ran out of time, but its a cracking area and well worth another visit sometime. They kindly advised us in their best english that Black Woodpeckers are not easy to see, which we had already worked out for ourselves.
Incredible trip, thanks to Phil Rhodes for talking me into it and Andy Makin for his great company. Do not be put off by the distance/location of this bird as the chances of seeing a Wallcreeper perform like it does is a once in a life time occurrence.
It would appear that GM birders have conquered France spent 3 hours with the wallcreeeper, now have 46 med gulls in boulogne harbour, what a day trip, looking forward to the report and photos. keep birding
It is very tempting, but still going to await that British one Good luck to all GM birders who go and as rob says make sure you pack your wellies, dont want you getting wet feet. keep birding.
By the way, am I the only one amused by BirdGuides warning to look at low tide only? Fills me with visions of birders up to their ears in incoming tides...
Phil Rhodes rang me tonight and is attempting to fill a car for the journey to pay homage for this superb bird. They are leaving around midnight tommorrow (Saturday 16th), then using the Eurostar to arrive in France around 7am. They will be returning back home the same day.
Anyone interested should contact Phil ASAP on 0751428843
Have thought long and hard about it and weighed up all the pros and cons but at the end of the day it is not in good old Great Britain, and its my dream to see one here right next to a Siberian Rubythroat cost of a a twitch like that is not bad and cheaper than the scillies but if they have one in France then we can have one here,
May I remind you of the great event of 1872 WALLCREEPER IN LANCS Sabden just below Pendle Hill, believe you me if one was there today I would park me van on top of pendle Hill and scope it from there. 1872 we deserve another one in Lancs, theres only Pete Berry who saw that one keep birding
Presume "out of Country birds" are allowed? For anyone adventurous or mad enough to go for the Wallcreeper thats been present near Callais.. Just had the following email from a birding friend of mine who lives down south who went last weekend and saw it...
"Just been for the Wallcreeper,I booked via Speed Ferries who sail c4 times a day from Dover to Boulogne. However, the ferry broke and they could not confirm getting us back at all on Sunday (we stayed overnight Saturday as I went with my girlfriend) so we then had to drive back to Calais (only c30 mins) and book a P+O ferry at short notice. Cost should have been £49 round trip for 2 people incl. vehicle but in the end cost us £25 out and £75 back for the P+O booking at short notice. P+O and France Ferries both go every hour so if you can get a reasonable deal via the net in advance I would go to Calais and drive. Ensure you time your arrival with low tide, (although 3 hours either side will be fine for access- any higher and you cannot see the cliffs from the beach which is 100% necessary.) It's easy to find the site as follows:
A sedate 30 minutes drive from Calais to the site nearly all on motorway direct from the ferry terminal - follow signs for Boulogne.
Take the turn off signposted 'Wimereux Sud and Boulgne centre' and head for Wimereux. After 2-3 km you reach a roundabout on the cliff. Turn R and park after 200 metres. Walk down path and steps to reach old ruined fort. Walk through the ruins and down stone steps to beach. Take Care! The bottom of the steps and a lot of the stone is very very slippery - wellies recommended.
There are two areas of cliff where the bird will be found. They are 1. 150-200 metres S of the old fort towards Boulogne, and 2. 600-800 metres N of the old fort towards Wimereux. They are the only two areas of dry, honey coloured cliff face, the rest being wet and grey or blackish. The distance isn't great, but the underfoot being so slippery triples the time it takes to get from one site to the other.
We saw the bird at both sites very easy where it showed down to 20 metres and it performed beautifully for prolonged periods. Also there; Black Redstarts, Stonechat, Rock Pipits, several Med Gulls."
If only it had flown another 20+ miles, so close but yet so far. Seen ferry prices as cheap as £35 return per vehicle, its cheaper than twitching the Scillies and its do able in a day.. Mr Heaton fullfill your dream and take the wife and kids for the weekend
( although a pair of about to nest firecrests isn't bad ) 