We went cycling in the Camargue (from les Stes. Maries de la Mer) again and were delighted to encounter a bird that we had never seen before, the Eurasian spoonbill. Nearby water gates were open, and a variety of birds seized the opportunity to feed on whatever might be flowing into the ponds.
 |
| Spoonbill is in the center |
 |
| Spoonbill in rear, with bill in water |
 |
Spoonbill on left (viewing its bill from the side),
egret on right with shorter bill |
Spoonbills feed quite differently from egrets, sweeping their bills from side to side in the water. This is what I first noticed, as seen above.
In addition, we saw a grey heron, lots of little egrets, and a few avocets.
 |
| Grey heron |
 |
| Little egret |
The tallest building in Stes. Maries de la Mer is the church, and we can see it from miles away as we cycle toward the town. It's an interesting building for several reasons, one of which is that for a small fee, you can climb up to the roof of the building and enjoy the view from up there. I didn't climb this year, but I have in the past.
 |
| The church |
 |
| Tourists up on the church roof top |
And no trip to Stes. Maries de la Mer is complete without running into a promenade of chevals blancs, the white horses native to this area.
No comments:
Post a Comment