Corsica – Nuthatch, Finch and much more

19 May – 24 May 2012

Price per person: £620
Deposit per person: £200
Suggested Flights The low cost airline Easyjet runs a daily service to Olbia in northern Sardinia from London Gatwick and the tour is arranged around these flights.
Other options are Easyjet flights to Ajaccio and Bastia or Ryanair flights to Alghero (Sardinia) and Figari.

Corsica is a real gem of the western Mediterranean. It enjoys a wonderful mix of scenery and habitats from towering chalk coastal cliffs, rich Mediterranean scrubland, upland pine forests, coastal lagoons and of course spectacular jagged mountains.

Our tours starts in northern Sardinia from where we'll take a short ferry ride into the French territory of Corsica where most of our time will be spent.

Seabirds from the ferry are usually very entertaining but of course our main target birds on Corsica will be its endemic species Corsican Nuthatch and Corsican Finch as well as the much sought after Moltoni's Warbler and Marmora's Warbler. In addition we'll also spend some time searching for the now established population of California Quail.

Other birds we can expect on what will be a memorable trip should include Scopoli's Shearwater, Yelkouan Shearwater, Red-crested Pochard, Dartford Warbler, Hobby, Red Kite, Honey Buzzard, European Bee-eater, Italian Sparrow, Cirl Bunting, 'corsicana' Crossbill, Serin, Crag Martin, Alpine Swift, Pallid Swift, Red-backed Shrike, 'badius' Woodchat Shrike, Alpine Chough, Audouin's Gull, Greater Flamingo, and with luck even a Lammergeier. En-route we will also pause to appreciate any of the butterflies and orchids which Corsica is also renowned for.

Day 1

Our tour starts at Olbia airport in the north east of Sardinia where flights land mid afternoon. Having secured our transport and said our hellos we will spend the small amount of remaining time with some local birding on Sardinia. Here we can expect a good introduction to Mediterranean birding with a particular effort being made to locate a Woodchat Shrike of the local race 'badius' which is often muted as a potential split. We will then head to our overnight accommodation.

Night on Sardinia.

Day 2

This morning will see us head for the small ferry port of Santa Teresa Gallura where we will make the 50 minute ferry crossing to Bonifacio at the southern end of Corsica. Seabirds are usually in plentiful supply and some good views of both Scopoli's and Yelkouan Shearwaters can be expected. Our last trip also yielded Mediterranean Storm Petrel which may well be a distinct species. After lunch the afternoon will be spent exploring the coastal and inland scrub around the Bonifacio area for Marmora's Wabler, Moltoni's Warbler any grounded migrants plus species such as Woodlark, Nightingale and Tawny Pipit. Raptor passage can also be good over the area.

Night at Frassiccia on Corsica.

Day 3

An early start today as we head the short distance from out digs to the east coast. Here we'll search for California Quail in the coastal scrub and nearby vineyards before taking a late breakfast. We'll then strike westwards into the heart of the interior and onwards in to the mountains. Here we have a number of sites where we'll look for what many will regard as the highlights of the trip – the delightful Corsican Nuthatch and the distinctive Corsican Finch which has now been officially split from Citril Finch. The habitat up here in the forested mountains cannot fail to impress and for anyone who has already been to the Alps or the Pyrenees the similarities will be obvious. Other relatively regular birds of the highlands include Spotted Flycatcher, Firecrest, Blackcap, Treecreeper, Long-tailed Tit (of the race irbii) and Raven.

Night at Frassiccia on Corsica.

Day 4

For a complete change of scenery today we'll be heading to the coast to explore some of the lagoons (known as etangs) that run along a large stretch of the east coast of the island. We will concentrate on Etang de Beguglia in particular as it has a great reputation for migrant waders and is also renowned for Audouin's Gull whilst Greater Flamingo, Red-crested Pochard, Zitting Cisticola and Tree Sparrow should also be seen. We will also return for California Quail first thing in the morning if we weren't lucky yesterday!

Night at Frassiccia on Corsica.

Day 5

Our last full day birding has been deliberately left flexible to allow us time to revisit any of the sites we have already particularly enjoyed or indeed to try new sites depending on what we've already seen or want to see again!

Night at Frassiccia on Corsica.

Day 6

Today we will take the return ferry from Bonifacio back to Sardinia and onward to the airport for early afternoon flights home.