La Ciotat 22-28 March 2021 - Not birding in the south of France

 A week spent in La Ciotat in the south of France was rather busy but still gave a few limited opportunities to see some birds. 

Most stuff was seen from the hotel room balcony in the short period of daylight before work started, the rest was completely incidental.

sinensis Cormorant mellomskarv looking pretty good in the sun

Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke (rather different to the bird recently accepted in Øygarden)

These birds showed rather smaller spots on the primaries and were generally bulkier looking than the Øygarden bird which must have a different origin than the western Mediterranean

Black Redstarts svartrødstjert became more and more obvious as the week progressed, starting with a singing male and a female from the hotel balcony but with several singing males in a small area by the end of the week. Sardinian Warbler svarthodesanger were heard singing on the last couple of days.

Other than that it was Yellow-legged Gulls gulbeinmåke, Goldfinch stillits and White Wagtails linerle that dominated. Offshore a flock of 30 Black-headed Gulls hettemåke together with one Mediterranean Gull svarthavsmåke were seen during a couple of days spent out in the bay.

Best bird from my point of view was a Kingfisher isfugl fishing in the harbour  on 23 March. A migrating Meadow Pipit heipiplerke put in a quayside appearance outside the hotel on 26 March - no doubt on its way further north.

On 24 March I was eating my breakfast on the quayside when I saw a Yellow-legged Gull gulbeinmåke killing and eating a feral pigeon - not something I can remember seeing before. In the video below you can hear me struggling to swallow the croissant I quickly stuffed into my both to free my hands up to grab my camera out of my bag....best to switch off the audio😄

Yellow-legged Gull killing feral pigeon