Dordogne River Overflows after Drought.

27 April - Hoopoe heard calling for 20 minutes on river bank at about 08:00hrs. Not heard since.

At least one pallid swift overhead. This bird had a broader silhouette and just went around in spirals with no wing flaps for minutes at a time. A different, more disjointed swift like call was also heard so there may have been more than one bird. Since then swifts have been carefully observed but none seem to be Pallid.

1 May Nightingale sang for a few minutes on the river bank as the waters rose. Possibly its nest site had been flooded elsewhere by the rising river. This is the only time we have heard the bird at Le Port. We have only heard five overall. The nearest is on the uncultivated wild area around the old sawmill about 500 meters away.
They seem to be very uncommon this year, a continuing decline from when we first arrived here in 1976 when we counted three birds singing and, we assume, nesting here.

1 May first white wagtails seen on the river. They were drifting down river on small branches borne along by  the very fast current. As they approached the bridge they would fly up and back upstream to find a new piece of wood or branch on which to settle and be carried downstream. There were at least three individuals having fun in this way.

There appear to be at least one pair of greater spotted woodpeckers here this year. These birds can be seen feeding on the ground in the walnut orchard. So four woodpecker species have been seen this year: Green, lesser, middle and greater spotted. The greens need checking to ensure they are not grey headed.