France: Birding à la Française

France is best known for its food and wine, but it also has wonderful birds! Our tour will mix these ingredients; binoculars will never be very far from the corkscrew, and you will be reading your field guide with a mouthful of local cheese.

Our idea is simple. We’ll visit some of the best birding spots in southern France and the island of Corsica, while taking time to taste local cheeses, wines, and regional food specialities. Your French leaders, who are both determined gourmets and cool birders, will take you to memorable places in search of birds and excellent local food: In the French Alps, we’ll enjoy local cheese and ‘caillette’ (local ‘pâté’ of pork and spinach) after looking at displaying Black Grouse; in the Camargue, we’ll taste the local telline (a type of clam) or bull cheeks after watching colorful European Bee-Eaters and European Greater Flamingos; in the Crau, part of the Natural Regional Park of Les Alpilles, we’ll celebrate our observations of rare Lesser Kestrels and Little Bustards with a tasting of local organic wines; and in Corsica we’ll look for the endemic Nuthatch and Corsican Finch, and track down the equally endemic beer and sausage.

If you enjoy birding in gorgeous landscapes, and if your ideal picnic is a basket of local ham, cheese, and red wine, this tour might be for you.