I had an enjoyable 2 weeks in the Vendee at a caravan park in St Jean De Monts with the extended family. Much fun by the pool, but I managed an early morning bird watch every morning. The records are from the area between St Jean De Monts and Beuvoir Sur Mer, including pine forest, sea watching and the large areas of salt marsh so there were a number of habitats leading to 85 species in total. They are not in date order here but I will give counts of significant birds.
Mute Swan Shelduck Mallard Shoveler Tufted Duck 1x Sooty Shearwater (sea watching up coast from st Jean De Monts) 4x Balearic Shearwater (sea watching up coast from st Jean De Monts) Gannet Cormorant grey Heron Little Egret Cattle Egret 3x Sacred Ibis (just outside Beuvoir Sur Mer. apparently there is now an introduced population breeding in the area) Marsh Harrier 3x Montagu's Harrier (2 at Beuvoir Sur Mer 1m 1 f and 1f at st Jean De Monts) Common Scoter Sparrowhawk Buzzard 1x Corncrake (got up at 6am one morning and heard it briefly so rose early again and heard it for half an hour) Moorhen Coot Black Winged Stilt Avocet Lapwing 3x Kentish Plover (up coast from st Jean De Monts) Greenshank Redshank 2x Whimbrel Sanderling Common Snipe Black Headed Gull Common Gull Herring Gull Lesser Black Backed Gull Great Black Backed Gull Little Tern Whiskered Tern (a number of juveniles fishing around Beuvoir Sur Mer) Common Tern Sandwich Tern Woodpigeon Turtle Dove (a good number seen which was a joy as they are so rare now in Britain) Collared Dove Feral Pigeon Tawny Owl Kingfisher 1x Hoopoe Great Spotted Woodpecker Green Woodpecker Kestrel Hobby Jay Magpie Jackdaw Carrion Crow Swallow Sand Martin House Martin Crested Tit (a good population in the pine forest at St Jean De Monts) Great Tit Blue Tit Long Tailed Tit Short Toed Treecreeper (difficult but the call suggested short toed) Wren Firecrest (a rather subdued looking juvenile that took a while to work out) Cetti's Warbler (probably the best view I have ever had in full view at 3 foot away) Sedge Warbler Reed Warbler Willow Warbler Chiffchaff Zitting Cisticola (large amounts of them in the many areas of hedgerow and un-cultivated ground) Robin Black Redstart Stonechat Blackbird Mistle Thrush Starling Dunnock Blue Headed Wagtail (large numbers of juveniles with some adults of flava type at Beuvoir Sur Mer) White Wagtail Chaffinch greenfinch Goldfinch Linnet Serin House Sparrow
A belated report of some of the interesting areas and birds seen during a three week camping holiday in the Vendee - not worth a trip report but since there's not much info on birding in France:
Ile de Noirmoutier - Réserve Naturelle de Mullembourg - a short walk out of the main town on the island, along the river gives salt pans on one side and the estuary on the other. Birds seen included Kingfisher, Little Egrets, Black Winged Stilts, Avocet, Shelduck, Common and Sandwich Terns, Spotted Redshank, Redshank, Buzzard, Common Sandpiper and Mediterranean Gulls. To the north of the Island there is a large agricultural area which gave Turtle Doves and a ringtail Harrier.
La Tranche Sur Mer - got the ferry from here to St Martin - hoping for some pelagic action! Family of Black Redstarts feeding in the pine scrub behind the ferry car park and Mediterranean Gulls and the odd Tern from the boat.
Avrille - in the countryside around Avrille I saw plenty of Turtle Doves and had a fleeting view of a Hoopoe - plus lots of warblers - a possible Melodious being notable and a Pied Flycatcher on the campsite.
Marans - in the lower countryside around Marans there are plenty of ditches and canals and its a really good area for White Stork, Common Crane, Cattle Egret, Purple Heron, Little Egret and Harriers. Probably the most prolific area we visited.
