Enfin L'Atlantique

Robert's title means "Finally the Atlantic" referring to a traffic jam we were in.

   After a pleasant visit with our friends last night, we left Mons, Belgium today headed for the ocean. On the way, we stopped at a swamp named Escautpont. We drove carefully around the Canal Du Jard, then got out and walked down a well maintained path. When we first got out of the car, an elderly, grizzled old man drove up on a motor scooter and asked what we were doing. Robert told him that we were looking at birds. He seemed OK with that and went on his way.

   Deep inside the swamp, the tress and bushes reverberated with the sound of singing birds. We were able to see three new life birds and a European deer called (Cerf Elaphe). The first life bird was the Great Tit (Parus Major). This bird is small enough to fit in your pocket. Green, blue and black.

   Later down the path we heard a bird, but could not find him. Robert whistled the song we heard and a Robin (Erithacus Rubella) suddenly popped out into a branch so that we could see him. It was great. The European Robin is not the same as the American Robin. In fact they are members of two totally different bird families.

   The last Life Bird we saw this morning was a Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia Atricapilla). It is usually known simply as the Blackcap. It is a common and widespread warbler. It has olive-gray upperparts and pale gray underparts. He was hiding in a blackberry bush. As we walked by, I saw him flitting around inside the bush.

   We left the swamp and decided to use the expressway to go on to the coast for lunch. That turned out to be a mistake. There was a wreck with an overturned truck on the road and we sat in a bouchon for over an hour. Fortunately, we did not run out of gas while sitting in the giant traffic jam. We finally got moving again and drove to Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France and ate lunch at a Welsh restaurant.

   Robert and I walked to the docks in the harbor and saw three different kinds of gulls. It was windy and we got cold so we went back to the car and drove up the coast. We were able to see the Cliffs of Dover across the English Channel from the highway in France. I chided Robert for his having turned off the main road and went winding through an agricultural area, when suddenly I spotted a family of five Common Pheasants (Phasianus Colchicus). Another Life Bird.

   We got a hotel room in Wimereux and after we got settled in our room, we went to eat dinner. Robert had Lotte lard au jus creme de Lautrec ( Monkfish wrapped in bacon with garlic cream sauce ). I had Lasagnes au Saumon ( salmon lasagna ). We walked down to the ocean after eating and came back to our room and crashed.

Berry

Pictures courtesy of wikipedia