Du Bassin d'Arcachon aux Pyrénées

   The title means “From the Arcachon Basin to the Pyrennes”

   This morning we woke up to the best hotel breakfast we have had on this trip. There was a beautiful assortment of cured sausages, an assortment of terrific French cheeses and different kinds of delicious French breads, but there was also fruit cups, three types of yogurt, fresh pancakes and poached eggs. Have your choice.

   After scarfing down breakfast, we trimmed our sails and turned toward the "Reserve Ornithologique du Teich", a swampy reserve for birds in Arcachon, France. But, as we were driving down the road, what did we see? A large tidal morass with lots of birds and a nice walking path through it and around it. The name of the city was La Teste du Buch ("buk"). We stopped, parked and walked around the bog.

   As we were obviously studying the birds with binoculars and bird guide, lots of other people walked past us chatting, jogging and otherwise exercising on the path. One girl even came up to us and introduced her dog. The French love their dogs. One fellow here even took his little dog into the restaurant.

   There were several highlights inside this chatty bog. One tern that we have never seen before was the Little Tern (Sterna Albifrons), about half the size of the Common Tern (Sterna Hirundo).

   We had made it half way around the bog and all of a sudden, a plump dark brown bird ran across the road, right to left. Robert saw it. Berry did not see it. It was a handsome Water Rail (Rallus Aquaticus). Robert was strangely excited to identify this bird. This had to do with the fact that Berry did not see it, because, you see, on a previous vacation we made in New Hampshire, US several years ago, during which Berry saw a Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis Canadensis), a bird that can only be found in the northeastern United States. Robert did not see the Spruce Grouse. So, now we are even.

   Not all of the birds were picking at bugs in the mud flats or splashing in the water, many were in the trees along the edges of the swamp. And right before we left the bog, there was a little Aquatic Warbler (Acrocehalus Paludicola). He was flitting quickly around the reeds and peeked several times through the sedge grass on the side of the path. We used the definite yellow supercilium to be diagnostic.

   We finally finished our marathon walk through the first bog. Then, we got in the car and continued on our way to Reserve Ornithologique du Teich. There were hundreds of people hanging around the entrance. The price to get in was 8 euros per person. It was worth it. This is one of the best ornithological parks that we have ever visited. It is enough to say that this place is huge and there is a lot more area inside the park that is kept human-free. There are twenty blinds and miles of walking pathes. We stared at birds in small pools and in a small lake. There were five nests made by nesting White Storks (Ciconia Ciconia). There were twelve Mute Swans (Cygnus Olor). The small gray water birds numbered in the hundreds. One highlight here was a Golden Plover (Pluvialis Apricaria). There were so many different situations that I cannot describe them all here. This was a great site. If you are ever in Arcachon, France and love birds, bring water and wear your walking shows.

   In France there are several kinds of Sparrows which favor each other. At the Reserve, we finally identified a Spanish Sparrow (Passer Hispaniolensis). The male Spanish Sparrow is similar to the House Sparrow in plumage, but differs in that its underparts are heavily streaked with black, has a chestnut rather than gray crown, and has white rather than gray cheeks. The female is effectively inseparable from house sparrow in its plumage.

   There was a large hairy Capybara (Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris) in the park. It is the largest rodent in the world. We saw one swimming freely inside the reserve. In the United States, they are considered to be pests and are shot without thought.

   It took us quite a time to walk completely around the Reserve. As we were coming to the end, we spotted a pair of Shelducks (Tadorna Tadorna). This is a medium sized duck with boldly patterned plumage. They were hanging out with the Swans.

   By this point, in the day we were very hot and tired from all the walking we had done. We got in the saddle and immediately drove to Pau, France. On the way to Pau, we saw a three wheeled French motorcycle on the expressway, with two wheels in the front. It looked unstable around corners.

   For dinner we went to Le Bayard. The first waitress spoke no English and Berry spoke no French, so the menu made Robert very busy. Robert had the Salad Bayard with Buttercrunch lettuce, apple pieces, goat cheese and large pieces of prosciutto. Robert and Berry both had the Cod. Berry had a Flan Caramel. Robert tapped the surface of his Crème Brûlée with his spoon. We had a lot of fun today and it was very productive. Immediately after dinner, we obtained a hotel room at the Hôtel Parc Beaumont and rested. Tomorrow, we will venture further into the Pyrenees mountains.

Robert and Berry

Photos courtesy of wikipedia, rfowler, and lbenedetti