Saturday 28^th May (The Eagle has Landed on a Snake)

Mr. Kite looked out of The Joint window into the forests of the Auvergne. Cuckoo’s sang, fir trees swayed and the sun shone on Robins and Black Redstarts.

Soon Mr. Kite was on The Beast and pedaling uphill for miles towards Lascols and Cussac. Overhead Honey Buzzards, Red Kite and Black Kite soared. Now Mr. Kite had a mission and that was to reach the plateau and watch the birds on this marshy area.

To cut a long story short, and to reduce the tedium of the long ascent, Mr. Kite reached les Ternes where he left the main road and cycled west steadily climbing towards the marshy plateau. With a twenty year old map Mr. Kite soon realized his position on the new road and headed for Mallesanges. Just past this hamlet Mr. Kite stopped to watch Whinchat, Wheatear, Meadow Pipits and a Red-backed Shrike.

With a clear blue sky these birds were stunning. Mr. Kite then cycled to Alleuzet turned left and then headed towards Cussac turning right just before the village and cycling towards Lascols.

Now after a fifteen miles bike ride on the beast to a plateau mentioned in a book; ‘Wildlife Travelling Companion France’ by Bob Gibbons and Paul Davies; was it worth it?

Mr. Kite’s simple answer is yes, yes and yes. The first bird he watched was a Short-toed Eagle that dropped onto a snake and then flew around with the dangling reptile. Red Kites, Black Kites, Peregrine Falcons, and the odd Hobby flew by hassled by a Lapwing. Another eagle appeared, probably a Golden Eagle. More Short-toed Eagles hovered and dropped on reptiles. After a few hours Mr. Kite returned via Fressanges, Vernuejot, Costeirac and Neuveglise to Pont de Lanau.

After a great day watching birds Mr. Kite enjoyed a tipple of Kronenbourg. Cheers from a happy Mr. Kite; and as the postcards say, ‘Wish you were here’.