Things to remember:
- Last night's stopover was a massive mozzie-fest. There were unfeasibly dense clouds of them at every window as darkness fell so I had to rely on the internal fan for a bit of overnight cooling. It worked well enough and the blighters didn't get me. I also seemingly inadvertently created a bit of a micro ecosystem, as I could see bats feeding on the mosquitos that were trying to feed on me right until it was totally dark.
- I got up at 5.30am, had some breakfast, and then headed out on the bike in my final quest for collared pratincole. I rode a bit, stopped, looked around with the bins and endlessly repeated this cycle. Though pratincoles eluded me this caper was no chore. Cycling around a deserted Camargue surrounded by thousands of - what are by UK norms - utterly exotic birds is in no way a bad way to spend an early Saturday morning.
- It got better. At about 8.30am and after around 25 miles on the bike, would you believe it! I joyously found myself amongst about two dozen collared pratincoles leisurely and elegantly feeding right next to the roadside. I stopped and watched them for as long as was possible: notwithstanding undoing all of my good work from last night and losing at least two litres of blood to parasitic insects. These birds are incredibly rare and elusive in Europe and I defer to the privilege of witnessing them. At one point during the viewing experience I even had both pratincole and roller in the same binocular image. I mean ... come on!
- What to add? Post awesome-experience I crashed back to earth by getting cleaned up and organised, quitting the Camargue, and taking on provisions at an Aldi in Arles. It was like going through a worm hole.
- After my Aldi-related crash I struck north and following a few workmanlike hours now find myself at a spot I / we've lunched at before that's right next to the Rhône. Though it's not quite the experience I was enjoying at exactly the same time as this time last week with wild boar and stone curlew in the same scope-image in Sardinia, it's still pretty cool. I've enjoyed watching huge barges and cruise ships plying the Rhône (pic) and have even added a new-to-the-trip bird in the form of Alpine swift.
- The only thing to add is that today I saw pratincole!
Post composed at 22:00 on Saturday 6th June from my intended overnighting spot N 45.17562°, E 04.81642° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:45.17562%2C04.81642
