Vulture & Eagle Feast.

Yesterday, 3rd June 2016, we had a veritable 'feast' of vultures and eagles in the mountains above Tarascon, Ariege.  First came the Griffons, as a single, a pair and finally a group of 4.  Then a Booted Eagle circled for a number minutes followed quickly by a very rare sighting of a Black Vulture.

The Black Vulture is normally found in Spain and around the Cévennes region of France.  This may be a transiting bird between the French & Spanish breeding areas or could possibly be a new resident.  We shall investigate further.

Around the same time as this sighting, we saw a Booted Eagle and soon afterwards a Short-toed Eagle.  Just before 4pm, when we were considering finishing, a pair of Golden Eagles circled for a number of minutes above our heads.  Finally, after many long-distance observations, a Bearded Vulture was spotted close-by, fying against the forest background and then suddenly arriving on our Col for a magnificent fly-by (1st photo). What a 'finale' to a 'feast' of magnificent birds!