Bassin d’Arcachon a bird watching paradise

The Bassin d'Arcachon, affectionately known by the locals as "le Bassin", is situated south of Bordeaux, in the département of the Gironde on the Atlantic Southwest coast of France.

  At the high tide, the Bassin is a mass of 150km² of water, but as the tide ebbs, the water level reduces to 40km²  laying bare a vast feeding station for the thousands of birds that over Winter and the many others that breed here throughout the summer.
It is also hugely important for migrating birds, so much so that there are only a few days of the year when no passage migrant can be seen.
Great birdwatching opportunities exist all around "le Bassin," none perhaps better than at Le Teich and its Parc Ornithilogic.
Here are some of those birds taken during a couple of recent visits.

We should have called this post Bills and Reflections!

Snipe (Common) Gallinago gallinago.

Great Egret, Casmerodius albus.

Little Egret, Egretta garzetta.

The previous photo shows the Little Egret treading the water, nearly dancing to disturb the hidden invertebrates, and then it seems frozen in concentration whilst awaiting the results.

A sleeping Avocet (Pied) Recurvirostra avosetta.

Enjoying the sunshine, a Long-tailed Tit, Aegithalos caudatus.

(Northern) Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus.

A Mute Swan, Cygnus olor, getting airborne.

Early morning sunlight reflects across this Great Egret.

Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus.

Kingfisher (Common) Alcedo at this.

This one is a Female, identified by the red base on the bill.

Always alert to the danger of predators.

In a quiet and dark corner, Little Egret takes a bath.

Subsequently, it appears to stand on water.

Elsewhere, this Little Egret is very busy searching for a meal.

A juvenile Spoonbill (European) Platalea leucorodia, prepares for landing.

Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea.

The tide is out, and so is this Water Rail, Rallus aquaticus.

It's a great place to Birdwatch, especially when the sun is shining, which is often!

Hawfinch, (Coccothraustes Coccothraustes) I share a moment with these top birds

  The Hawfinch is a large, charismatic, but shy bird. This elusive bird spends much of its time high in the treetops of broad-leafed woodland, avoiding the open ground.

With its large and mighty bill, its large head and neck are adapted to accommodate the muscle that helps generate a staggering 45kg of force. This muscle is used for cracking open Cherry and Olive stones to extract the inner seed, all the more impressive from a bird weighing in at a mere 2oz.

Generally, it is a nonmigratory bird, although Northern birds move South of their breeding range. It is the wintertime that we see them in large flocks foraging on open farmland and perhaps mixed with flocks of mixed passerines, Chaffinches, Bramblings Greenfinches, etc., who have also moved south in search of food.
     

The Male, with its coloured Winter bill, changes to a blue Black colour in Summer.

Here, the Female is duller in colour and has a grey patch on the wing.

In the breeding season, part of the Male mating ritual is to raise its head and chest feathers; the head feathers also rise when alert to disturbance or danger.

Standing tall in the Winter treetop.

A Female looks down on a Blue Tit.

Here, we can see the Iridescent blue flight feathers; once again, he will drop his wings at the breeding time, displaying this beautiful colour to his new partner.

Except for the nesting period, Hawfinches are particularly pugnacious birds. Because their winter feeding takes place on the ground, they also give each other space. While carrying out this study, I observed a small flock of six birds having their feeding station invaded by a flock of eight birds.
What followed was quite incredible. One female bird tried for forty minutes to remove all the newcomers.

Interestingly, bill kissing is part of the mating ritual; it can begin as early as mid-February, so I was initially unsure what was happening here!

It is said that aggressive and defensive posturing is associated with the possession of perching space and food. This is heightened as the days start to lengthen. However close we are to St Valentine's Day, this is combative aggression, not affection!

The following day, still in the presence of the fourteen Hawfinches, I found "Bruiser" his bill had suffered some damage from the affray!

If a Hawfinch is disturbed, it flies up through the tree, perching high in the tree canopy and descends branch by branch, keeping an eye on the surroundings.

This happens when this Male finds another male bird on its stamping ground.

110 lbs of pressure on that bill.

Inside, the bills are jagged to help hold the fruit stones.

The clash is over quickly.

They just need their own space! To perch and preen.

What a top bird!

End of year visit to the Réserve Ornithologique du Teich.

As we have said, this is a great place to spend time. Despite the morning fog, we set off for a day of birdwatching.

http://www.reserve-ornithologique-du-teich.com

Grey Heron, demonstrating its agility in the low morning light.

Lovely shimmering light on this statuesque Little Egret.

Sometimes, it is better to take a broader photograph rather than compressing a subject. I just love the way this Kingfisher mirrors the winter hue.

Another very fast-moving and brightly coloured bird is a Northern Shoveller.

A Great White Egret finds itself a lunch!

Unfortunately, a lone juvenile Ruff makes a fleeting visit just as I bite into a sandwich!

(Common) Snipe, enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

This Little Egret is treading the mud to raise critters.

A male Pintail Duck watches over the sleeping female.

Dunlin and Grey plovers return to the park, and the tide has reached its high point in the surrounding Arcachon Bassin.

"I know! They are Mallard ducks, but I love the Winter infusion of colour."

Happy Days!