Ornithology

[Guest Simon Bull]

My wife is coning with me for a week on the Western Front at Easter. She is quite interested in the battlefields, but her passion is birdwatching. We will not have time to visit any specific sites for birding, but I wondered if any Pals who are interested in birds had had been to battlefield sites which they regarded as particularly good for seeing birds and/or had seen birds which do not occur in Britain whilst on the battlefields.

Simon Bull

[burlington]

Simon

I would be interested in the answers you get; my wife & I are in exactly the same position except that our joint visit won't take place until she retires next year.

[KIRKY]

Hi when we went to The Somme mid March we nearly crashed the car when we saw a huge bird of prey eating a rat on the edge of the road. We asked an expert what it was and he said it was a Buzzard, it was a beautiful bird.

also saw many hawks etc in the fields but the big one was a spectacular sight.

Tony

[Jonathan Saunders]

There was an owl roosting at Thiepval Memorial at dawn last 1 July - I presumed from size it was a Tawny Owl. Also there are always plenty of Buzzards patrolling the Somme but mainly birds in this area are of the same woodland variety as UK.

[Greenwoodman]

The Somme estuary is excellent!

[Jason Robins]

Simon,

It does depend on the time of year you visit as to the type of birdlife you'll encounter. For example during the spring/summer months the countryside seems to be awash with the sound of Skylarks which are an absolute delight. A favourite spot of mine for a 'brew up' is along the track from Bois Francais to Citadel cemetary where there is often little to be heard apart from the larks overhead. Whereas during the autumn there are more game birds such as partridge to be seen. For this reason steer well clear of birdfeeders and areas supporting gamebirds to avoid upsetting gamekeepers - shooting is a huge sport in this area of France.

However due to the open style farming in the area there is very little cover around (hedges, copses, scrub) to support abundant wildlife so you could consider a trip into the Somme Valley (French sector 1916, British 1918) where there are vast expanses of water supporting the river/canal and hence large amounts of waterbirds. It is actually really picturesque and often overlooked by visitors - try places lake Curlu and Clery sur la Somme and then drive along the Valley towards Peronne or back up towards Corbie/Amiens. I've found one or two nice cafes in that area too along with less frequently visited cemetaries. Also on the way back to the ferry head towards Abbeville via Amiens which should take you to the Somme estuary where again there are lots of opportunities to look for wading birds etc. The local Picardy tourist board seek to promote large sections of the non battlefield areas for tourism and should help with more information.

As an aside I'm currently in training for the London Marathon and did some early moning runs in the lanes around the Somme during late february - at 7 am on a misty morning 5 deer came skipping by me as I jogged near Adanac cemetary - not sure who was more surprised to see the other but it was a really special few minutes.

Trust this helps

Regards

Jason

[paul guthrie]

Yes the Somme is quite nice. What's the village across the river from Curlu? There is a way to walk across from there but do not remember how.

[chrislock]

Have just returned from the Somme and what a surprise! Over aperiod of 5 days, we heard the most wonderful skylarks, do they ever sing! It,s as if they had a message! Being a professional falconer, I am naturaly into raptors, or birds of prey. Because of the amount of red leg partridges about, a good head of common buzzards abound! kestrels, sparrow hawks, look out for these around Newfoundland Park, we saw a pair displaying and calling above the Site. Just goe,s to show, manage the land correctly and the wildlife will be there! Mad march hares aplenty too! chris.

[NIGEL]

Just been reading about all the wild birds seen over the old battlefields and just an observation i have is the common magpie, blackheaded seagull and crow.

I keep sheep on the west coast of ireland and the above birds will be found in france and belgium

if a lamb is left for a short while or a sheep gets into trouble these birds spot this from miles away swoop down and their beaks are highly adapted for the task ahead----

1st the eyes -------they will peck them out even while the animal is thrashing about in agony this doesnt deter them

2nd and soft tissue -----inside the mouth and try to get at the brains through the ear again while the animal thrashes about in agony

3rd the guts ---they put their beaks up the backsides of the animal and pull its intestines out which you find trailing on the ground

after that enter the gut and anything they can swallow by then the animal is dead but what a death

just imagine what would have happened to a poor soldier caught on the wire or lying there unnoticed and wounded unable to move i wonder how many ended up food for these 3 types of lovely bird

but thats nature------in reality very brutal

[ianw]

I can't say I enjoyed reading your post , Nigel , but interesting nonetheless.