Canal du Midi Part 3

On the way back from an early visit to the market at Narbonne with some local honey, I encountered a chap fishing in the Canal de la Robine for zander with a spinner.

Today's run to Beziers involved various detours, one of which was self-inflicted as I took a wrong turning. A planned one took me past an old abbey which I wasn't much impressed with but I did see a lesser kestrel (apparently they nest on the abbey) hovering nicely above some scrub on the way, before it moved off to become a silhouette on the horizon.  It's frankly astounding to think that this was the only bird of prey the whole week. I checked the abbey for ravens but only saw crows and jackdaws, just like home.  One or two other birds were seen briefly but, as on other days, were quick to take flight.

Finally rejoining the Canal du Midi at Capestang, the weather was windy and the scenery much of a muchness.  There were no butterflies I hadn't already seen though this clouded yellow (below) is pretty interesting in comparison to the paler version seen on the first day.  Stopping at one point to feed the tiddlers with breadcrumbs, a couple of dragonflies turned up and I was particularly impressed by one that turned out to be a violet dropwing.

Clouded Yellow

Violet Dropwing

The last stretch to Beziers was quite tiring and the excellent ice cream sundae I found at one of the canalside harbours held my attention more than any further wildlife events.

Canal du Midi near Beziers

The last day of cycling was a tour almost to the canal estuary, and then through marshland areas near the western tip of the Camargue.  Flamingos and all kinds of birdlife were promised in the tour guide, but the extremely dry weather meant that results were massively disappointing.  After some lovely scenery along the canal (and a few mallards) the nearby marais de l'Estagnol was pretty much a misnomer as it had pretty much completely dried up and there was little to see beyond a couple of white horses.

Mallow Skipper

The area is a mixture of marshes and prosperous-looking seaside resorts.  Turning onto a cycle track near Portiragnes Plage, I did see something interesting - a mallow skipper, the only skipper I encountered on the whole trip, flying around some plants at the edge of a reed bed.

Grey Heron

The track eventually led up the side of the Lac de la Grande Maire, a massive inland lake which also proved to be totally dried out for a good part of its length. At the wider end there were a few gulls and I thought I might have spotted a couple of purple heron on the far side.  But they turned out to be (rather large) juvenile grey heron.

This was nothing like the experience I had cycling down the Navigation Channel during my holiday based in Arles in 2013. However that was in June rather than September.

In retrospect, I wish I hadn't spent time scouring the supposed marshes and headed straight for the conservation area at Les Orpellieres.  Here there was a good spread of vegetation and signs of butterflies and birds to add to the little egret I spotted in passing through.  It looked a great place to wander around on foot and the bottom end of the Orb river is also attractive.  There were several sizeable fish just beneath the surface and several fishermen trying their luck.

Unfortunately I was by then somewhat behind schedule and needed something to eat before heading back to Beziers to return the cycle I had hired.

Black Redstart

I spent an extra day in Beziers which turned out to be pretty rainy.  During a brief visit to the Parc des Poetes, I noticed a flock of sparrows working the trees that didn't seem quite the same as usual.  Wondering if they were spanish sparrows, I returned in the evening with camera but of course they were no longer around.  However there were some black redstarts messing around on the paths, and unlike the other small birds I encountered, they weren't particularly shy. They were also a good deal lighter in colour than examples I have seen in Germany