field notes from 02/08/23

Camargue flamingos and horses

· Parc naturel régional de Camargue, France · Warm, 78°F, mistral dying down by morning, occasional gust · Fujifilm X-T5, 150-600mm

Drove down from Avignon. The Camargue salt marshes hold one of Europe’s big flamingo breeding colonies and the drive along the road between Arles and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in June is full of stilts, avocets, and gulls. White Camargue horses at the edge of marsh at sunset is a cliché for a reason.

French road signs for birds are delightful. A ‘Réserve Ornithologique’ is a refuge, but the sign has a little illustrated flamingo on it.

Flamingo in flight over marsh
Coming in low. Pink underwings. Greater Flamingo 400mm, 1/1250s, f/7.1, ISO 640
Flamingos on shallow pond
Flock on a shallow pond. Greater Flamingo 450mm, 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 400
White Camargue horse in water
White horses in the shallows. At the expected place. Camargue horse 500mm, 1/1600s, f/7.1, ISO 1250
Stilt in still water
Never tire of the stilts. Black-winged Stilt 250mm, 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO 200
Avocet sweeping water
Classic sweeping feed. Pied Avocet 500mm, 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 640
Slender-billed gull
Pink-blush breast in good light. Slender-billed Gull 250mm, 1/1250s, f/7.1, ISO 400
Bee-eater on fence
Colony nearby; one on a fence. European Bee-eater 150mm, 1/1250s, f/7.1, ISO 200
Cisticola on reed
'Zit-zit-zit' and visible only briefly. Zitting Cisticola 200mm, 1/1250s, f/7.1, ISO 800
Wide view of Camargue marsh at dusk
Dusk on the marsh. Not much to say. Camargue marsh at sunset 23mm, 1/500s, f/8, ISO 160
Eurasian roller on wire
Not as reliable here but one showed up. Eurasian Roller 200mm, 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 200