PLEASE NOTE: The May 14, 2027 departure will be running this route in reverse. The tour will begin in Lyon, and end in Bastia. You will still visit all of the sites listed below.

Day 1: The tour begins this evening at our hotel in Bastia with an introductory meeting and dinner together. Night in Bastia.

Day 2-3: Called L’île de beauté (island of beauty), Corsica will surprise you with wonderful landscapes, a fabulous coastline, tremendous mountains, and beautiful native pine tree forests. There are also beech and chestnut forests patrolled by gangs of semi-wild pigs, who serve as the base of the local charcuterie. Chestnuts also play an important role in Corsican food, as they are used in pastry, meat sauces, side dishes, beer, among other things. Our first stop may be to enjoy a view of Spotless Starlings and Hooded Crows, both common on the island, or to patronize a local delicatessen offering amazing wild boar sausage, goat and sheep cheese, chestnut cream, and ‘cédrat’ (local citrus) jam.

During our three days in the island, we’ll spend time in the attractive Asco valley, where we could find Eurasian Crag-Martins, flocks of Goldfinches, Cirl Bunting, and Moltoni’s and Marmora’s Warblers—the latter two both endemic to only a few Mediterranean islands, including Corsica. We’ll be driving through scenic gorges, and along a delightful stream where we hope to find a White-throated Dipper. Our hotel is perched high in the mountains, surrounded by the wonderful scenery of the upper Asco valley. While enjoying a beer or an intense Corsican wine on the hotel terrace we might possibly spot the very rare Lammergeier!

We’ll spend one morning in the magnificent Corsican pine forest of the upper Asco Valley looking for the only species known to be endemic to France (so far—taxonomy is changing quickly), the uncommon Corsican Nuthatch, as well as the near-endemic and lovely Corsican Finch. While looking for these, we have good chance of finding Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Mediterranean (Spotted) Flycatcher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Treecreeper, Raven, Eurasian Blackcap, and a few Red Kites. Corsica is a wonderful place for picnics so expect to savor local meats, cheeses, and chestnut ice-cream. Nights in the Asco Valley.

Day 4: After a last morning birding in the Asco Valley, we will head toward Bastia or Île Rousse (depending of the ferry schedule). We will stop around Lake Biguglia to look for Purple Heron, Greater Flamingo and eventually even the rare Audouin’s Gull. In the evening we will catch the ferry to the Continent. We leave in the evening, but we may still have a chance to spot a few Yelkouan Shearwaters and even the rarer Scopoli’s Shearwater over the water. Night onboard the ferry.

Day 5-7: We’ll have three full days to explore the Camargue, the Crau, and Les Alpilles, some of the best birding areas in France. The Camargue is western Europe’s largest river delta, consisting of a vast plain dotted with large lagoons cut off from the sea by sandbars and encircled by reed-covered marshes, as well as an extensive cultivated area (mostly rice) and pastures grazed by cattle and horses unique the area. These vast wetlands and salt meadows attract a wide variety of birds and are extremely important, at the European scale, to the wintering, migrating, and breeding avifauna. Although our visit comes at the end of the migration period, we’ll have a good chance of finding flocks of Dunlins, Little Stints, and Curlew Sandpipers foraging together, along with breeding Pied Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, and Slender-billed Gulls. The colorful Greater Flamingoes come to breed in the salt marshes, as do Common Shelducks and Kentish Plovers. In the reed-covered marshes, we’ll seek a long list of songbirds, such as Cetti’s, Moustached, and Melodious Warblers, Common and Great Reed Warblers, the beautiful Bearded Reedling, and the handsome local subspecies of Reed Bunting. Up to nine species of heron can be found in a single (lucky) day, including the elegant Purple Heron, the cryptic (when perched) Squacco Heron, and the elusive Little and Eurasian Bitterns. In the agricultural fields, it’s common to find flocks of the stunning Mediterranean Gull and the Glossy Ibis. Populations of these, together with the rare Eurasian Spoonbill, have increased recently following the introduction of crayfish. In dryer habitats, we’ll look for the superb Collared Pratincole, one more of the Camargue’s specialties, and we’ll have many opportunities to admire the sparkling, ubiquitous European Bee-eater. Birds may be a focus here but is also the place to taste the local telline or try some famous bull meat.

Located just to the East of the Camargue, the Crau (pronounced “crow”) is the ancient confluence of the Durance and Rhône rivers and constitutes a vast flat alluvial fan. This is the only place in France, and one of the very last in Europe, where steppe habitat can still be found over a significant area. As such, it promises a fine selection of specialized steppe bird species. We’ll be looking for the charismatic Little Bustard, the vocal Greater Short-toed and Crested Larks, breeding Lesser Kestrels, the unique Eurasian Hoopoe, and the elegant Iberian Gray Shrike. With lots of luck, we may even spot Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, restricted in France to this little steppe territory.

In the background of the Camargue and the Crau are the famous Mediterranean hills of Les Alpilles. This scenic terrain is composed of arid limestone peaks separated by dry valleys and pine forests. Evening birding is a treat here, looking for Red-legged Partridge, the impressive Bonelli’s Eagle, the secretive but noisy Dartford, Western Subalpine and Sardinian Warblers, and the fancy European Roller. The villages of Les Alpilles are also known for excellent organic wines, so we may have no choice but to organize a picnic for dinner, with local wine, cheese, charcuterie, and local fruits. We’ll remain until dusk, enjoying the food and birds, and watching the night sky for a glimpse of a massive Eurasian Eagle-Owl or its dwarf relative, the Eurasian Scops-Owl. Nights in Fontvieille.

Day 8: After our early breakfast, we will head towards the Baronnies, a lovely Mediterranean region of middle elevation mountains (up to 1,600 meters/5,250 feet). Our drive should provide numerous good views of Eurasian Griffon, a spectacular species common to the area. We’ll need extremely good luck to spot the recently reintroduced Cinereous Vulture, or the rare Egyptian Vulture, but we’ll scan the sky all day to increase our chances. On the way, we’ll bird a rich agricultural area, mixing meadows, orchards, and pastures, where we can find a fine variety of birds such as European Turtle-Dove, Eurasian Wryneck, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, European Stonechat, Eurasian Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Western Orphean Warbler and Ortolan and Cirl Buntings. We may even spot Eurasian Hobby, as they sometimes hunt in these semi-open habitats. Night in La Motte-Chalancon.

Day 9: After a morning’s birding around the village of Rémuzat, dominated by an impressive cliff very attractive to Griffons, we’ll continue towards the charming village of La-Chapelle-en-Vercors in the Alps, where we’ll stay two nights. Along the way, we’ll stop to look for passerines such as Western Bonelli’s Warbler, Eurasian Linnet, and Yellowhammer, and we’ll certainly stop to buy some local cheese and enjoy a coffee or pastis in one of the many picturesque villages on our route. After checking-in to our hotel in the little village of La Chapelle-en-Vercors, we’ll spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the Nature Reserve and its birds including Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, Firecrest, Goldcrests, Coal Tit, and perhaps even the beautiful Eurasian Bullfinch. Night in La-Chapelle-en-Vercors.

Day 10: We’ll begin well before sunrise to be in place to witness the remarkable Black Grouse lekking displays. Over the rest of the day, we’ll look for Red Crossbill, Mistle Thrush, Ring Ouzel, displaying Tree Pipits, or the cute Eurasian Nuthatch. We may also encounter the quite vocal Black Woodpecker, the largest European woodpecker.

We’ll take a full day to explore the Nature Reserve and its surroundings. With 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres), this is the largest continental reserve in mainland France. It protects alpine meadows and superb forests where no fewer than 750 species of plants are found, as well as numerous bird species such as Black Grouse, Eurasian Woodcock, the rare Eurasian Pygmy-Owl, Boreal Owl, and the superb Citril Finch. Alpine Chamois and Alpine Marmot also live here, and recently even the rare (and under-appreciated by farmers) Gray Wolf has been seen. Night in La-Chapelle-en-Vercors.

Day 11: Depending on yesterday’s birding success, we may spend this morning in the Haut-Plateaux du Vercors, or start to drive towards Lyon. On the way, we’ll pass through the stunning scenery of the Combe Laval cirque, taking a narrow four-kilometer road along an impressive cliff, where we may spot a few Eurasian Crag-Martin or even a soaring Golden Eagle. The tour concludes at the Lyon airport around 2:00 pm.

2026 Narrative

IN BRIEF: This was another fantastic ‘Birding à la française’ tour! Blessed by beautiful spring weather during most of the tour (we only had a few showers in Corsica, mostly during our drives), we had fantastic encounters including close views on a family of the beautiful Bearded Reedling in Camargue, a prolonged encounter with the very cute Eurasian Pygmy-Owl in the Vercors, great views on the smart Dartford Warbler in the scenic Alpilles, memorable views of 50+ Griffon Vultures soaring close to us in the Barronies, several meeting with the sparkling European Roller, incredible views on Eurasian Eagle-Owl during one of our evening picnics, prolonged views on lovely Eurasian Wryneck near the picturesque village of Sault, several displaying males of Little Bustard in a grassy field near Camargue, a migrating group of four Red-footed Falcons chasing flying insects during one of their stopovers,  flocks of colourful Greater Flamingos, or the display of that stunning Black Grouse in the High-Plateaux reserve in the Vercors. Beside birds, we also had great memories of our splendid picnics during which we tested more than 20 different kinds of cheese, several pâtés, hams, sausages and other sort of charcuterie, always coming with excellent bread and obviously fantastic wines! The stunning flowering alpine meadows, the vast Camargue marshes and the dramatic Asco valley in Corsica were just a few of the many scenic places we travelled through during this tour. For sure, Fabrice and Pierre are already looking for the forthcoming editions of this succulent tour!

An eBird trip report can be seen here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/511737

IN DETAIL: Our tour began in Bastia. We met at our hotel, and after an introductory briefing we went downtown Bastia for a lovely Corsican dinner. While walking to the restaurant in the old port of the town, dozens of Common and Pallid Swifts were calling high in the sky. After enjoying our first dinner and Patrimonio Corsican wine, we were now all ready to start this exciting coming tour!

On our first morning we drove north to the village of Macinaggio, following a beautiful coastline with turquoise water and passing by a few lovely villages. We stopped on the way to admire a beautiful male of Blue Rock Thrush singing on a rocky ridge, while a few Scopoli’s Shearwaters were flying-by at sea. Before arriving Macinaggio, we took a secondary road taking us to some foothill shrubland, finding a lovely male of Marmora’s Warbler who showed very well atop some low shrubs in bloom.

We then drove back to the Macinaggio wetland. At the northern tip of the island, this wetland is a stunning stopover for migrants before their last step to cross the Mediterranean Sea. It was very windy during our visit, but walking along the wet fields, we rapidly found migrating Western Marsh-Harriers, Purple and Squacco Herons, had great views on Moltoni’s Warbler, enjoyed good views on a few Whinchats, Spotless Starlings and Cirl Buntings. We heard high in the sky the characteristic call of a few migrant European Bee-eaters, while a flock of European Turtle-Dove was doing a stopover in a nearby patch of forest.

After a beautiful morning, we had a delicious lunch of local fishes and seafood, and then headed towards the Biguglia Lake for a stop on our way towards the Asco Valley. There we enjoyed fantastic views on our first Red-crested Pochards and Great Crested Grebes, and between a few dozen Yellow-legged Gulls we also spotted a beautiful Audouin’s Gull. We also found a resting Eurasian Thick-knee, a pair of European Stonechat, a few Northern Wheaters, and amongst a few Western Yellow Wagtails we even found four Red-throated Pipits (a rare migrant in France). Fantastic!

We then followed our way towards the Asco valley. Doing a stop by an open field, we had cracking views on a Woodchat Shrike of the insular badius subspecies, as well as on a few Red Kites and a singing Wood Lark. Surrounded by spectacular sceneries, we then arrived at our hotel perched at 5,000 feet in the mountain in the late afternoon. After checking-in and some rest, we were nicely welcomed by a succulent Corsican dinner and excellent Corsican red wine.

We had a full day admiring the ever-changing landscapes of the Asco valley. In the morning, we mostly prospected the beautiful forest of Laricio Pine Tree, where we had unforgettable views on a Corsican Nuthatch, the only bird species endemic to Metropolitan France! In the forest we also had numerous Coal Tits, a few Chaffinches and we even encounter the both lovely Eurasian Treecreeper and Firecrest.

In more open habitat we also found a few Eurasian Crag Martins, beautiful singing males of Cirl Bunting, and were surprised to find no less than three Marmora’s Warblers. We also had fantastic views on a few Corsican Finches, perched atop a Juniper bush long enough so everybody had a great view. And to conclude that wonderful morning, we even had an amazing close view on a pair of Lammergeier, also named Bearded Vulture or the ‘bones-breaker’! This vulture is very rare in Corsica and most of the sightings are actually done in the Asco valley. Beside birds we also discovered an amazing number of beautiful flowers, including the impressive Asphodel fields.

After such a successful morning we had a lunch at the hotel and after a deserved break, we birded back the Asco valley, finding a few Common Ravens, Eurasian Blackcaps, Eurasian Blue-Tits and Long-tailed Tits, heard our first Common Cuckoo. We also found a few of the (mostly) wild type Feral Pigeon, breeding here on inaccessible cliffs.

Before going back to the hotel, we stopped at a bar were Pierre and Fabrice are used to stop for a Pastis, a Cap Corse, or a Pietra (Corsican bear made with chestnut), where beside drinks, we also enjoyed good views on Hooded Crows or Eurasian Jays.

After a beautiful day, it was now time to drive back to the hotel for a sumptuous dinner of Figatelu (a Corsican sausage) and Brocciu (a delicious sheep milk cheese!), served with an excellent ‘Patrimonio’ red wine! What a day!

On our last day in Corsica, we did a last stop in the Asco valley, saying goodbye to Moltoni’s Warblers and the fields of Asphodel in bloom, and enjoying prolonged views on a White-throated Dipper.

We then stopped at the small village of Ponte Leccia to buy some picnic supplies, and followed our way to the coast, to have a delicious lunch at a coastal restaurant. We arrived with plenty of time to bird the surroundings of the restaurant before lunch, finding two Spotted (Mediterranean) Flycatchers, a few Sardinian Warblers, our first Common Nightingale singing loud, and a few Common Sandpipers on the beach. But our best find here were definitely the four Red-footed Falcons doing a stop-over hunting flying insects on their way to Eastern Europe or Russia.

On our way back to Bastia, we stopped again to the Biguglia lake, enjoying more views on Black-winged Stilt, Gray Heron, Cetti’s Warbler, Italian Sparrow, Eurasian Coot and European Bee-eater.

It was now time to board our ferry to sail to Continental France. As we departed, we enjoyed the last views on Corsica in the sunset lights, while having a glass of wine and watching both Scopoli’s and Yelkouan Sherwaters.

After a smooth night and breakfast onboard, we arrived in the early morning in Marseille, and drove straight to the Camargue.

We had three full days to explore the Camargue, Crau and Alpilles, some of the top birding areas in France. Camargue is a huge area mixing saltmarshes, reedbeds, ponds, extensive bulls and horses farming and rice fields, attracting large numbers of numerous bird species. It is a birding paradise, and we all envied Pierre to work here (when he is not guiding for WINGS!). During our three mornings in Camargue, we saw plenty of birds and some of the best sightings included large flocks of Greater Flamingos and Mute Swans, numbers of waterbirds including groups of Common Shelducks, the elegant Pied Avocets and Black-winged Stilts, numerous flocks of Glossy Ibis, close groups of Slender-billed and Mediterranean Gulls, Gull-billed, Common and the minute Little Terns, or the common and cute Western Yellow Wagtails. The colourful Eurasian Bee-eaters are almost everywhere, while no less colourful Common Hoopoe and European Roller are way more scattered. We also had great views on Short-toed Eagle, as well as at Great Reed Warblers, Melodious Warblers, Common Cuckoos and so many more! 

And amongst rarer species, let’s mention a fantastic view of a displaying Spectacled Warbler seen very well atop some short bushes, a stunning group of five Bearded Reedlings seen very close, great views on displaying Little Bustards, Caspian Tern seen twice, good views on Western Swamphen, a few Whiskered Terns, and a fantastic view on two the rare Great Spotted Cuckoo!

And obviously, all mornings in Camargue ended with great food, at typical local restaurants such as Mas Saint-Bertrand near Sambuc where we could taste the delicious bull stew.

During two of our evenings, we explored the Alpilles. This is a beautiful low-elevation limestone range of typical Provence landscape, mostly dedicated to vineyard and olive tree plantations. We spent one of the evenings visiting the vineyard ‘Mas de Gourgonnier’, where we obviously tasted some of their excellent wines. Another day, we walked in shrublands of Green and Kermess Oaks, having great views on Dartford and Western Subalpine Warblers. We also have been very lucky to see a chick of the rare and local Bonelli’s Eagle on its nest! And after a picnic dinner to enjoy the evening lights, we also had fantastic views on an adult Eurasian Eagle-Owl and its two chicks, and a displaying Eurasian Nightjar flying-by in slow-motion.

We also explored the plain of Crau, as this is the only steppe area in France. The accumulation of polished, tan or ochre rocks made by the flat and vast former Durance estuary created this unique habitat, and is now home for very specialized plants, insects and obviously birds. The visit rules of the Nature Reserve made the visit challenging, but walking along one of the tracks crossing the reserve, we got excellent views on Calandra Larks, and also found Lesser Kestrels, Greater Short-toed Lark, and Iberian Gray Shrike. This is also were we had a prolonged and succulent picnic in the beautiful evening light.

After three wonderful days in the Camargue area, it was now time to explore the Baronnies, a beautiful region where agriculture is still quite respectful with environment and made of a mosaic of various crops surrounded by scenic landscapes. 

We started our traveling day towards the scenic drive through the impressive Nesque Canyon, but once we arrived there, we sadly discovered the road was closed for a semi-marathon… We then changed our plan and birded the surroundings of the Sault village. There we happily found several Red-backed Shrikes, had cracking views on Eurasian Wryneck, a few Corn Buntings and Eurasian Skylarks, and even found a pair of the (sometimes) elusive Western Orphean Warbler. We then had a most-appreciated lunch at the picturesque village of Sault, stopped at the remarkable village of Montbrun-les-Bains and followed our way towards Remuzat.

We spent the evening at the Saint-May plateau, above the little village of Remuzat, near a known location where conservationists dispose carcasses for the vultures. 50+ Eurasian Griffons were perched nearby, but only a few were soaring because of the afternoon rains. Becky amazingly spotted two Cinereous Vultures perched atop a distant ridge, and one more of this endangered species soared overhead. Then just before leaving, Pierre spotted an adult Egyptian Vulture flying with a few griffons, what an afternoon! To conclude this lovely day, we all enjoyed a glass of Clairette-de-Die, a local sparkling wine, followed by a succulent dinner at our lovely hotel in La-Motte-Chalancon. And after dinner, we had a short walk looking for the minuscule Eurasian Scops-Owl, hearing a few.

Coming back in the morning to the plateau above Remuzat, we had great views on both Greater Whitethroat and Western Subalpine Warblers, found a beautiful (and rare!) male Ortolan’s Bunting singing atop a small tree, a few Linnet, European Stonechat, a Peregrine Falcon, a pair of Red-billed Chough, a pair of Tawny Pipit, a lovely Short-toed Treecreeper, and even found one more Western Orphean Warbler!.

After a picnic in this lovely spot, we then headed towards our final destination, the Vercors in the Alpes. The landscapes during our drive, of limestone cliffs alternating with patches of forest and respectful agriculture, were absolutely beautiful.

Before checking-in our hotel in La-Chapelle-en-Vercors, we birded the Col-du-Rousset, finding a lovely pair of Golden Eagle, a few more soaring griffons, and heard a Rock Bunting that never showed up.

For our first morning in the Vercors, we explored the nearby ‘Plateau du Vercors’ Nature Reserve. Protecting alpine forests and meadows, this is one of the remotest reserves in Metropolitan France and certainly the largest. The most common species in the high-elevation forests are Coal and Crested Tits, Goldcrest and Firecrest, Mistle Thrush, European Robin, Common Chiffchaff, Eurasian Jay and Common Chaffinch. Besides these common species we also had good views on Willow Tit, on Black Woodpecker and Tree Pipit, and had an incredible view on a Eurasian Pygmy-Owl perched close to us and offered very prolonged views.

Visiting some high elevation meadows, we also found a flock of Yellow-billed Chough, a few Citril Finches, a pair of Water Pipit and a few Northern Wheatears in beautiful breeding plumage!.

To conclude a wonderful tour, we had a memorable farewell dinner at a local well-known restaurant.

But the tour wasn’t over yet, and our very last morning, part of the group decided to visit a Black Grouse lek, actually starting our walk by night, reaching it at dawn after a 1,5 miles hike. Songs of dozens of Mistle Thrushes, Dunnocks, Eurasian Robins and Eurasian Blackbirds accompanied us during the walk. We even heard the rare Boreal Owl (first time on this tour!) and a displaying Eurasian Woodcock. A male Black Grouse was already singing when arriving at the known clearing, but it took us 40 long minutes to finally locate him. We then had fantastic and prolonged scope view of that male displaying atop a pine tree.

It was now time to drive back to the hotel, meet the rest of the group at the breakfast table and start our drive towards Lyon.

Leaving the Vercors plateau we drove through the impressive Combe Laval cirque, where doing a few photo stops, we enjoyed very close views on Alpine and Common Swifts, and Eurasian Crag-Martins mixed with Western House-Martins.

We had a succulent last picnic at the lovely village of Pont-en-Royans, where we also had great views on adults and fledglings Common Merganser, White-throated Dipper and both White and Gray Wagtails, concluding a fantastic tour!

                                                                                                                                                                                 -          Fabrice Schmitt

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