CORSICA

14–17 April 2012

Day 1 Scheduled afternoon flight from London direct to Figari in the south of the island. We will immediately transfer to our hotel in Corte in the centre of the island for a three-night stay, a journey of about two and a half hours.

Day 2 This morning, we will make an early start to look for our first target bird, Corsican Nuthatch. As we are already high up in the mountains we won't have far to travel, and hopefully we will soon be watching this delightful little bird feeding and possibly prospecting nest holes in the endemic Corsican Pines. Whilst Corsican Nuthatches are very selective about their habitat the other endemic species, Corsican Finch, is more widespread. Unlike its cousin, Citril Finch, found above the tree line in the mountains of mainland Europe, Corsican Finch is found in a wide variety of habitats and at this time of year they will already be paired and the males displaying. We will spend the whole day in the mountains seeking out these two endemics and during our time almost certainly encounter the highly localised Marmora's Warbler. Since Balearic Warbler was split off from Marmora's Warbler, Corsica has proved to be the easiest place to see this species. Other birds we may encounter include Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Blue Rock-thrush, Yellow-billed Chough and Cirl Bunting. Dinner will be taken at a restaurant in Corte.

Day 3 Today we will head down to the east coast where we will explore several totally different habitats ranging from vineyards to coastal scrub and lagoons. Species we may encounter during the day include Purple Heron, Western Marsh-harrier, Zitting Cisticola, Dartford, Melodious, Sardinian and Subalpine Warblers, Firecrest, Spotless Starling, Hooded Crow, Spanish and 'Italian' Sparrows, Rock Petronia and European Serin. One of the special birds of the area is the introduced California Quail. Although well established, nowhere is it common so we will hope to have luck on our side. In the afternoon we will visit a headland to do some seawatching. Both Audouin's and Yellow-legged Gulls should be present but our main targets are Cory's and Yelkouan Shearwaters as well as the Mediterranean race of European Shag. Around the cliffs, both Alpine and Pallid Swifts and Eurasian Crag-martin can be found. In the evening after dinner, we visit several local sites to listen for European Scops-owl and hopefully see one.

Day 4 After an early morning visit to the mountains to look for Corsican Nuthatch and Corsican Finch again and a late breakfast, we will pack up and slowly head south to Figari. We will have most of the day to revisit previous sites and look for new birds. Migrants passing through and arriving to breed may include Common Quail, European Bee-eater, Eurasian Hoopoe, Tawny Pipit, Common Nightingales, Red-backed and Woodchat Shrikes and Corn Bunting.

General Information The pace of this tour is moderate with only a reasonable degree of fitness required as walks will only be a couple of miles each day. The weather can be highly variable so appropriate clothing and footwear is required. Visas are not required for EU citizens.

Group Size Minimum number for tour to go ahead: 6 with 2 leaders; maximum group size 11.