As long as we’re in the South of France, searching for birds and beauty in the winter, let us consider the lovely, tiny, common, yet elusive wall creeper (Tichodromo muriana)
It looks like this:
[Image courtesy of Wikipedia]
It’s only 6 inches long, mostly grey, and prefers walls and cliffs, likewise gray. In a word, it will be hard to see until it flashes those crimson wings. It has been sited on cathedrals all over south-eastern France, from Clermont-Ferrand south. However, Les Baux de Provence, just north of the Camargue, is well-known among European birders as a place to see wintering wall creepers. Les Baux is the southern tip of the less-well-known (compared to Provence, et al.) countryside between Clermont-Ferrand and Les Baux. It is reminiscent of the white towns of Andalusia, especially the clifftop town of Ronda.
The town is inundated with tourists (about 2.5 million/year) (probably mostly in summer) who enjoy the view from the actual Les Baux, a 1,300 foot high white-walled rock formation. On its top are the ruins of a medieval fortress, a museum, and restored 19th century village. Van Gogh painted here, so artists and devotees make pilgrimages here to see the world he saw – definitely a worthy quest.
As long as you’re in Les Baux, you might as well look for Eagle Owls and Bonelli’s Eagles and other birds of the south of France – with your new bird book(s). And then proceed to the Camargue (reachable the same day), check in at “our” hotel, and continue the adventure.