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This diversity results in nearly 200 nesting species which are to be found in the county.   Combined with the fact that the Aude is the migration capital of France as a corridor is created between the Mediterranean sea and the Pyrenean mountains, it is thus a very exciting area to come to for bird watching.    Some 27000 raptors were recorded at Gruissan in the post nuptial migration.

Jonathan is a keen birdwatcher, and serves on the steering comittee of the L.P.O. Aude.  He is happy to share his local knowledge of where to go and what to see; and if available is willing to act as a guide, for a very reasonable rate.   Please contact him directly to discuss your needs and wishes to have a successful bird watching holiday, even if you are a beginner.   He can supply a good quality telescope and binoculars for your own use.   Other professional guides from the L.P.O. may be hired.

Nearly every season has something to offer, with obviously spring migration, the breeding season and autumn migration being highlights.   In the wetlands on the coast over 100 species can be located in a few days at the right time of year.

Little Bustard : Outarde canepetière : Tetrax tetrax.

This beautiful bird is a male Little Bustard, of which there is a small but stable population in the Aude.   The time to see them is early in the morning in Springtime on a few select pieces of open land amongst the vines to the east of Carcassonne.   Here the males gather to display with their strange but far-carrying call, extending their wide neck ruffs as they do it; and the females to be impressed by the beauty and the spectacle of the males jumping as they call,  occaisionally flying low and forcefully over the fields, alone or in small groups.

Nests on the ground in covering vegetation.

Declining in numbers.

Easy to see displaying in the Aude - you just have to get up early! - at the right time of year.

A rare speciality.   In the Aude we have, normally, 3 nesting couples of Egyptian Vulture; 2007 was a successful year with 2 chicks fledged and leaving on migration, 2008 less so with only 1 juvenile flying off to winter in Africa.   Fortunately the species is subject of an European  conservation program and thus feeding staions have been established in various key sites, the nearest being about 20 kilometers from Limoux.    Much more beautiful in the air than it would seem from this picture, it is pretty easy to see this small but  extraodinary vulture on regular days of the week in the breeding season as one of the breeding couple comes to collect food for the chick back in the nest.

Nests in cavities in cliff faces.

Very rare.

Easy to see in the Aude.

As a result of the closing down of open field dumping of the fatalities from intensive pig production in Spain, there has been movement of these enormous (wingspan up to 2.60 meters) back into France in search of food.   Profiting from meat put down for the Egyptian Vulture, it is not unusual to see dozens of these Griffon Vultures coming down to feed at the feeding stations.   In good conditions it is estimated that they can observe each other from a distance of 35 kilometers, and it is remarkable just how quickly a circling bird targetting in on a possible food source will draw in others to share the feast.   Non-migrating, there are only a few weeks of the winter during which it is not easy to locate these birds.

The nearest breeding colony to the Aude is about 80 kilometers away in Spain.

Becoming a common sight in the mountains.

I have put the raven just after the vultures as they serve a key role in enabling the feeding programs to be successful. Virtually always the vultures will not come down to feed on the stations if the Ravens have not already done so; because of their awareness and intelligence the ravens act as advanced lookouts for any danger that might be associated with the area.

This most beautiful and impressive of vultures has not as yet successfully nested in the Aude but a young couple attempted in the 2009-10 season, and we have great hopes for the future. They may occaisionally be seen prospecting above the valleys of the high Pyrenees mountains of the department.   Feeding on the marrow of bones, it is known for the extraodinary behaviour of dropping suitable bones from a height on to rocks in order to break them open.   The L.P.O. is engaged in a new (since 2008) feeding program for the Gypaète, putting out bones in the winter months at selected sites in the Aude.

Possibly breeding in the Aude for the first time in recent history in 2009, and they do breed in the next department of the Ariege.

Very rare, and very difficult to see without a great deal of patience and luck.

The largest Old World Vulture, simply enormous.   More lively than Griffon Vultures, it tends to be solitary and very rare in our department, just a handful (but increasing) sightings a year.

For the first year, 2009 has seen a Black vulture visiting the feeding station at Bugarach in winter - a good sign.

Extremely diificult to see.

The Golden eagle is well represented in the Aude in the more mountainous regions.   In this image a first winter juvenile (note the large white wing patches) is being harassed by a raven.

Quite a high pitched call for such a large and impressive raptor.

Nests in trees or rock faces.

Fairly easily seen.

The Short-toed eagle is 'our' eagle, and a common sight in the Aude.   Extrodinarily skilled hoverers, they seem to hardly need to move their wings whilst staring down with their large darker heads looking for the reptiles that are their habitual prey.    Often seen with a wriggling snake hanging from their talons.   Pale or very light underneath, thus their French name.   Here from March to October, they winter in Africa.

image: Romane Riols

Nests in trees.

Fairly common, easily found.

This smallish eagle, similar size and shape as a Buzzard, can be confusing to identify because it has 2 morphs, light and dark.   Breeding in forests its' nests can be very hard to find.   2 light patches on the leading edge of the wings where they join the body are typical. Interestingly enough we have 3 (perhaps 4) nesting sites within 10 kilometers of Limoux.

image: Romane Riols

Nests in trees.

Fairly common, but can be hard to see. A typically call that is commonly heard throughout the nesting season.

A medium sized eagle, highly endangered, thus protected.   Currently just one nesting couple in the Aude.   Given to spectacular hunting dives.

Position of nesting site restricted knowledge.

This stunningly beautiful bird is well known for its dramatic dives into water to fish.   they can turn up nearly anywhere on their migration (one once stopped very briefly in a tree on the river just upstream from the Maison de Lali), to rest and eat for energy for their long journeys.   Often seen in the post-nuptial autumn migration on the lakes near Gruissan, in September 2008 at one point there were 13 ospreys down there.

Easy to see at the right time of year.

This magnificent predator is estimate to perform dives or 'stoop' on its prey at astonishing speeds; 250 kilometers an hour are not unrealistic, and the fastest animal alive.   A good number of nesting pairs in the Aude; seen in the hills near Limoux, more often in the mountains, increasingly in cities. There has been one spotted in Carcassonne in recent times, perhaps soon it will take up residence.

Fairly easy to see, but to catch a stoop is harder.

This is a 3 - 4 week old chick from Montagu's Harrier nest photographed during a day of ringing and wing marking undertaken by the L.P.O. in 2008 as part of a census program.  The nests are extremely hard to find as they are often located on the ground in thick prickly undergrowth.   The ringing of the 2 to 4 chicks from each nest takes about a half an hour, after which the chicks were returned to the nest and the parents quickly came back.

This impressive small raptor is the object of a conservation and breeding scheme mounted by the LPO Aude in partnership with Spanish conservationists; search for the following link http://crecerellette.lpo.fr/life/life.html for more information.

Easily seen at the right time of year.

An evening roost  of Lesser Kestrels on an electricity pylon; sometimes more than 200 maybe seen on the same pylon.

The largest owl, an apex predator.   Very impressive, a joy to see and hear.   Most often located by its territorial call, heard just before sunset from December to February.   It nests in cavities in cliffs; in recent years there have been 22 couples located in the hill range just east of Gruissan known as La Clape.   There is a calling male within 4 kilometers of Limoux in 2009.

Nests early in the year.   A good target bird during the winter season.    Some nesting sites near to Limoux.

The Wallcreeper is hard to find, a small grey bird creeping around on a grey cliff-face background.    Then, suddenly, you catch a flash of the most ecclesiatical of crimsons as it flies off to another feeding spot.  With luck you can find them in the gorge that is just above Minerve, one of the prettiest villages of France. and the Aude region.   In the breeding season they fly higher into the mountains above 1000 meters to reproduce.

Pretty hard to spot, as they are small and insignificant until they open their extraodinary scarlet wings.

Rare, and difficult to see.

 The Golden Oriole is much more common than many people would think.   It seems nearly impossible, but these bright yellow (in the males) birds are suprisingly hard to see.   More likely you will hear them, with their lovely fluting nearly lyrical song.   Found in and around Limoux, and generally throughout the lower lands of the area, from the month of May through to August, when they leave to winter in Africa.

You will hear them, and also be amazed when you catch a glimpse of them as the males fly high from one clump of trees to another.

Shy, but with persistence can be fairly easily found.

The song bird of romantic poetry.    Much more often heard than seen, the Nightingale is surprisingly discreet when you are searching for him just a few meters away from where he has to be.   I have sometimes shocked english visitors by commenting that there are just too many singing away and drowning out the less audible birds.   It is true, however, that their songs are very complex - there are estimates that there can be more than 400 variations.   Can sing both day and night.

Found within a few hundred meters of the Maison de Lali

This beautifully coloured bird is the essence of the Mediteranean.   They are common breeders in the Aude, and nesting sites are located just a few kilometers from Limoux.   Their call, as they fly by in small flocks, is unmistakable.

Nesting in holes in sand banks.

Easy to see

The dominant blue plumage of this Jackdaw sized bird makes it stand out.  Often seen perched on telephone wires like its cousin the Bee-eater.   There is a LPO. program of installation of nesting boxes for the Roller down in the coastal plains to the east of Narbonne, but occaisionally seen much further inland during the movements of migration.

Usually nests in a tree-hole.

Fairly easy to find in right places.

Such a striking bird, usually seen feeding on the ground searching for insects.   At the end of the 2008 breeding season a family of four stayed for several days on the river bank near the Maison de Lali.   Characteristic call, giving its name.

With luck a pleasure to watch, not particularly shy.

Nesting in holes in the river bank, this electric bird is often found just in front of La Maison de Lali.   Rarely leaving the river, it is mostly seen in a blue streak flying low and fast from one perch to another; it can also hover and then dive to take fish.   It has a high pitched peircing zii call, uttered in flight.

Nests in holes in the river bank.

Not difficult to find.   In good years seen daily at Limoux.

Another river bird nesting in the very near vicinity of La Maison de Lali, just up stream near the dam.   A fascinating little bird to watch as it disappears into the fast flowing but shallow stream to feed off the aquatic inveterbrates, will do this throughout the coldest weather.

Nests in secret spots on walls by the river.

Seen daily at Limoux.

Although a common bird, it is included here becuse it is also often present just outside La Maison de Lali, as it hunts for insects over the river.

A very rare shrike, hardly present in France at all, less than 30 couples, but we are lucky to have several breeding pairs nearby on the coastal plains.   A bird closely monitored by the staff of the L.P.O. de l'Aude.

Not too difficult to see if you know where to go.

This very handsome (in this case a male) bird gains its French name by its habit of empaling its prey - insects, lizards - on thorns or barbed wire in a larder.   Found out on the hills around Limoux.

Not difficult to see.

A little larger than the Red-backed shrike, but with a more southernly range.

Winters in tropical Africa.

Not difficult to find.

Well camouflaged but with a typical song that enables detection.   Takes over an existing hole to nest in, there was one this year in a telegraph pole near Bugarach suprisingly low down to the ground, another sang for 3 mornings just upstream from the Maison de Lali but evidently decided that there was no breeding future in Limoux.

Not very easy to find unless you hear it calling.

This large and impressive rail lives in the reed beds in the coastal wetlands of the Aude, and is a fairly recent coloniser into the region.   Quite shy, often hidden amongst the reed beds, it resembles a colourful and impressive moorhen.

Maybe seen with persisitence.

I remember being amazed at its elegance - and the length of its legs! when I first one.   A lovely bird.   The adult will draw attention to itself by approaching fairly near if its chicks are in the vicinity.   maybe seen in the coastal wetlands of the Aude.

Easy to see.

This emblematic bird, symbol of the RSPB and one of the great success stories of bird conservation in the U.K., aptly matches its French name of elegance.   Found down in the coastal wetlands, it is always inspiring to see.

Found with a little persistence.

To be seen mixed in with the large flocks of Grey Heron down in the coastal wetlands, and sometimes further inland on the lakes.    A little smaller than the Grey, it is notable for the variation of subtle colourting in its plumage. i cama across one a few kilometers from Limoux in the Spring of 2010.

Not difficult to find.

The bill clapping of the White stork is a strangely appealing sound, as they display from their untidy stick nests perched in platforms especially erected, or other suitable supports.   Often nesting in colonies. In the exceptional yaer of 2009 about 6000 passed through the Aude on the post nuptial migration.

Large, impressive and can't be missed.

In early morning in spring the males can be heard 'booming'.  However this is such a secretive bird that the LPO can only only class it as a probable nesting species.

You have to be extremely lucky to see this enigmatic bird.

The Dartford warbler is one of the 13 bird species targeted in the LIFE Consivacor program, which is located in the eastern corbieres region of the Aude.

The Night Heron  (this photo is of a juvenile) is a colony breeder on a nearby lake. It can be see active during the day, at dawn or dusk. An impressive bird, about half the size of a Grey heron, a little smaller than a Bittern. The adults are beautifully marked, mainly grey with a black hood and back.