On Friday June 26th we headed to the higher Pyrenees driving to altitudes in excess of 5500 feet and briefly crossing into France. The first part of the day yielded a Rock Bunting which was much more beautiful than its name suggested, and we eventually got to an area where we could see just how 'real' the mountains were. The area reminded me of the Rockies.
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| Rock Bunting |
We spent some time in an area where many Eurasian Griffon Vultures were flying, and with many Yellowhammer, Northern Wheatears and Water Pipits. Eventually we found a Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush flying around some distant rocks.
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| Eurasian Griffon |
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| Northern Wheatear | | |
We then headed to an area with a very cooperative Ring Ousel, and then after lunch we headed into France hoping to find Alpine Accentor at a ski resort just over the border into France. We dipped on this bird, presumably they had headed to higher ground as the snow melted.
We drove back the way we came enjoying many of the same birds, and finally got close views of Alpine Choughs, birds that had been less visible than their noisy Red-billed cousins.
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| Yellow-billed Chough |
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| Pyrenean Rock Lizard | |
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