France - The Auvergne

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1 Naturetrek Tour Dossier 2010 Outline itinerary Day 1 Day 2/3 Day 4/7 Day 8 Fly from Stansted to Limoges and transfer to Salers Daily programme of natural history walks and excursions from our base in Salers Daily programme of natural history walks and excursions from our base at Le Grllon Fly London Stansted near Puy Mary Dates Sunday 13th June Sunday 20th June Tuesday 14th September Tuesday 21st September Cost 1,095 Single room supplement 150 Grading Grade B. Day walks only Focus Plants, birds, mammals and butterflies Apollo Butterfly Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) E: info@naturetrek.co.uk W:

2 Tour Dossier NB. Please note that the itinerary below offers our planned programme of excursions. However, adverse weather & other local considerations can necessitate some re-ordering of the programme during the course of the tour, though this will always be done to maximise best use of the time and weather conditions available. Occasionally we may reverse the itinerary below, staying first at Lac Chambon before finishing at Salers. Introduction The Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d Auvergne, is part of the Massif Central at the very heart of the country, and is the largest nature park in mainland France. It is a vast remote upland area of ancient rounded volcanic peaks (called Puys), with steep U-shaped glaciated valleys radiating out from them. Connecting the two main mountain ranges of the Cantal in the south, and the Massif du Sancy range in the north there is also an extensive high plateau dotted with lakes and boggy depressions. There are also large areas of coniferous and deciduous forest, dramatic river gorges, lush alpine pasture, spectacular rock formations, and rolling country with flowery meadows and beautiful villages. This diversity of habitat naturally encourages a bounty of nature, with a staggering number of different plant, bird, butterfly, and animal species making their home here. In order to limit daily travelling times, maximize our time in the field, and at the same time visit as many different habitats as possible we will be staying in two different hotels. The first in the Cantal is in the beautiful village of Salers, with its impressive buildings made of dark basalt stone, before we move further north beside Lake Chambon, within sight of Puy Sancy, at 1,886 metres the highest peak in the range. From these bases, we will explore the surrounding countryside, taking a picnic lunch every day looking for plants, birds, butterflies, animals, and anything else of interest. Day 1 We depart this morning from London s Stansted airport bound for Limoges. There we will meet our locally based tour leader, Mark Galliott, and drive eastwards towards the encroaching bulk of the mountains. We will stop en-route at a good spot for lunch, and then continue on to the hotel at Salers, our base for the first three days. After admiring the wonderful views over the surrounding countryside, and been allocated our rooms, we may, depending on time, take a short walk in the close vicinity of the village. Afterwards we will enjoy our first traditional French country dinner in the panoramic restaurant, keeping perhaps an eye open for a Red Kite gliding down the valley below us. Day 2 For our first full day in the field, we start by driving up the scenic Mars valley with the high peaks of the Monts de Cantal closing in all around us. At one time, these mountains formed a single enormous volcano, the largest in Europe, but heavy erosion has gradually transformed its slopes giving us the rounded peaks of the Puys that we see today. Deep valleys radiate out from the old centre in a star shaped pattern, while the basalt flows have Naturetrek August 09 1

3 Tour Dossier France - The Auvergne created rich pastures full of colourful wild flowers such as Wood Crane s-bill, Wild Bistort, Winged Broom, Mountain Pansy (a lovely blue here), and Aconite-leaved Buttercup. We will stop near the village of le Falgoux for a short circular walk through Beech woodland, with many rocky crags, which are home to Black Redstart, Rock Bunting, Crag Martin, Peregrine Falcon, and perhaps we may even get a fleeting view of the rare Wall Creeper, which nests here some years. After lunch, we will continue driving up the valley to park at the Pas de Peyrol, with the bulk of Puy Mary towering away above. The vegetation here is now very much of an alpine nature, with on the damp cliffs below the peak, a superb assemblage of plants that are restricted to high altitude, including Alpine Bistort, Spring Gentian, Alpine Pasque Flower, Rock Campion, Leafy Lousewort, and four Saxifrages-Starry, Meadow, Roundleaved and Livelong, the latter with magnificent tall flowering stems. We should also keep an eye open for our first butterflies, Apollo, Scotch Argus, Piedmont and Sudecan Ringlets all being high mountain specialities. Day 3 Today, we have a slightly longer drive through wonderful scenery, stopping as the fancy takes us to scan the skies for a sight of some of the many birds of prey that make these mountains their home. Red and Black Kite, Goshawk, Honey and Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrow Hawk, Booted and Short-toed Eagle all range widely here and are likely to be seen almost anywhere. Our destination for this morning is an area of marshy pasture and shallow lakes called the Narse de Lascols, a paradise for birds especially during the spring and autumn migration periods. There is also a good list of nesting species including Spotted Crake, Hobby, Great Grey Shrike, Lapwing, Garganey, Teal, and both Montagu s & Hen Harriers, while we can also perhaps get to grips with identifying some of the many dragonfly species. As to be expected water loving plants are abundant with Marsh Cinquefoil, Bogbean, Large Marsh Orchid, Water Avens, Brook Thistle, Floating Water Plantain, and many different sedges present. After lunch, we take the short drive to the Prat de Bouc, another migration hot spot for the birders, where in the autumn at the right time hundreds of birds of prey can be seen heading southwards in a single day. It is also a good spot to park for easy access to the Plumb du Cantal (at 1855 metres the second highest peak in the park), with more superb mountain grassland containing plants such as Alpine Sow-thistle, Yellow Gentian, Alpine Bistort, Alpine Mouse-ear and the very rare Hare-grass-Bupleureum longifolium. Whinchat, Wheatear, Water Pipit, Ring Ouzel and Citril Finch, are all likely birds, while Chamois and the re-introduced Mouflon are both sometimes seen grazing on the more inaccessible slopes. Day 4 This morning we will leave Salers, and make our way leisurely to the Hôtel le Grillon (a cricket) overlooking the picturesque Lac de Chambon, our resting place for the remainder of the week. We will get there by means of a very scenic route through magnificent unspoilt scenery, stopping at perhaps two different spots en-route. Many French rivers have their source in the mountains of the Auverge, before flowing in all directions of the compass towards the sea. Where these flow through the hard granite rock there have been dramatic narrow 2 Naturetrek August 09

4 Tour Dossier gorges created, often cloaked with either dense deciduous or coniferous forest. One of these is the Rhue gorge, a tributary of the well-known River Dordogne, and by means of a circular route, we will explore the forest and riverbanks here. This is good Woodpecker country with Great-spotted, Lesser-spotted, Grey-headed, and Black all present in small numbers, other birds likely to be seen being Crossbill, Crested Tit, Siskin, and both Shorttoed & Eurasian Tree Creeper, while Dipper and Grey wagtail are common along the river. This is also the preferred habitat for Booted Eagle and Goshawk, although other raptors may also be encountered. Typical plants of the woodland include May Lily, Wood Calamint, Welsh Poppy, and the rare yellow thistle-cirsium erisithales, with Red Squirrel, Pine Martin, Wild Boar, and Roe Deer representing the mammals. Our other expected excursion today will be to La Godivelle, a very good example of a tourbiére or peat bog formed next to a lake in one of the depressions created by glacial scouring. Here there is a specialised bog flora including Bog Andromeda, Butterwort, Sundew, Cranberry, and in late summer both Marsh Gentian and in a rare southern outpost, the Siberian-Ligularia sibirica. Nineteen species of dragonfly have been recorded here, and it is a good place to compare the two resident breeding Harriers, namely Hen and Montagu s. Day 5 Today, we have a very short drive, to spend the whole day exploring the Reserve Naturelle de la vallée de Chaudefour. This beautifully photogenic valley, in the shadow of Puy Sancy, was designated a nature reserve in 1991 and has a superb mix of different habitats; including damp riverine meadows, beech woodland, scrubland, rocky crags, dry grassland, and lush alpine pasture. It is very diverse in plants, birds, insects, and mammal species of different ecological requirements, all in a relatively small area, and therefore a fantastic place to leisurely identify, photograph, and record many of these delights. Plant highlights are Pyrenean Squill, Whorled Solomon s Seal, Arnica, Monkshood, Wolf s-bane, Martagon Lily, and on the higher slopes sheets of white Poet s Eye Narcissi and yellow Wild Daffodil. Feasting upon the nectar of these are many colourful butterflies, including Apollo, Clouded Apollo, Camberwell Beauty, both Scarce & Common Swallowtail, High Brown, Niobe and other Fritillaries, Clouded Yellow, and many different Blues, while other insects are also well represented by numerous grasshoppers, crickets, and Preying Mantis. The magnificent rocky crags here are another haunt of the elusive Wall Creeper, with Ring Ouzel, Crag Martin, Alpine Swift, Raven, Red-backed & Woodchat Shrike, Montagu s Harrier amongst many other species. In view of its status as a reserve, the chasse or hunt are not permitted, which obviously encourages the presence of the larger mammals, so this is a good spot to see Roe & Red Deer, Wild Boar, Mouflon, Chamois and Red Squirrel. Day 6 Up to now, the underlying rock has been of either acid granites & schists, or volcanic basalts & lavas, so today we head for a small area of limestone plateau overlooking the industrial capital of this region, Clermont-Ferrand. It is a region of cultivated vines and arable fields, interspersed with areas of dry stony grassland, a very different habitat to anything we have seen so far this week. Naturetrek August 09 3

5 Tour Dossier France - The Auvergne It has in general a warmer microclimate than the surrounding area, and in consequence is a remarkable northern refuge for many plants, birds, and insects which one would normally see much further south in France. Orchids are common with Lady, Bee, Fly, Lizard, Man, Pyramidal, and both Early & Late Spider, all present, while other interesting plants include Montpellier Milk Vetch, White Rock Rose, Etruscan Honeysuckle, Narbonne Flax, Acanthus-leaved Carline Thistle, Wall Germander and the beautiful pink flowered Convolvulus cantabrica. The avifauna is also somewhat different with Hoopoe, Scops Owl, Rock Sparrow, Tree Pipit, Nightjar, Red-backed Shrike, Orphean, Bonelli s & Melodious Warbler, while there are normally a few nesting pairs of the scarce Ortolan Bunting. Butterflies are also numerous with Large, Mazarine, & Adonis Blues, various Fritillaries & Skippers and many grasshoppers and crickets including the magnificent Wartbiter. In the afternoon, we will make our way back to the hotel via the impressive twin rocks of Roche Sanadoire and Tuiliére, the latter with spectacular basalt columns very much in the manner of the Giant s Causeway of Northern Ireland. This is yet another possible site for the Wall Creeper, and we must of course, also cast our gaze skywards for further sightings of birds of prey. Any remaining time will be spent exploring the pine woods surrounding the nearby Lac de Guéry. Day 7 Our last full day in the field will see us drive the short distance to the ski resort of Mont Dore, where we will take the télépherique or cable car to the summit of Puy Sancy itself. Besides enjoying the fabulous views, this will enable us to get close to the top very quickly, giving us plenty of time to leisurely descend by means of a scenic route, all the while marvelling at the richness of the wildlife. Although there has been much erosion by all the thousands of visitor s boots over time and the inevitable ski routes, there is still a great deal of pristine alpine grassland and rock remaining up here. Specialist birds of these high peaks are Alpine Accentor, Rock Thrush, Snow Finch, Citril Finch, as well as commoner species such as Wheatear, Water Pipit, Rock Bunting and Whinchat. Raptors are numerous soaring on the thermals; any of the species already mentioned are likely, with the addition of Golden Eagle, which in recent years seems to be slowly colonising this area from the Alps to the east. Mouflon and Chamois are often seen at a distance, while the farreaching high-pitched whistle of Alpine Marmots is frequently heard. If we are careful, these delightful creatures can also be observed at quite close quarters, basking outside their burrows, before retreating back down them in alarm. Once again, the grassland is a blaze of colour from the many flowers including Alpine Aster, Alpine Avens, Spring Gentian, Rock Jasmine, Dwarf Willow, an endemic subspecies of Dwarf Sheep s-bit Scabious, Musky Saxifrage, and at the snow line the exquisite little blue Snowbells. Also, if the drifts of Poet s-eye Narcissi and Wild Daffodils were past their best earlier in the Chaudefour valley, they are sure to be in flower in all their glory somewhere on these slopes. Day 8 Regretfully we must leave our hotel this morning for the drive to Limoges, where we will board our flight home to Stansted. 4 Naturetrek August 09

6 Tour Dossier Tour Grading In order to limit daily travelling times, maximize our time in the field, and at the same time visit as many different habitats as possible we will be staying in two different hotels. From them we will go on daily excursions using our minibus where necessary, to explore the mountains, valleys, upland plateau, meadows, lakes, gorges and other habitats of this wonderful region of rural France. We will explore by means of short to medium walks of no more then nine kilometres. These will be of a leisurely nature, with plenty of stops to examine and study the many plants, insects, birds, and animals that we will encounter on our way. Inevitably, considering that this is a mountainous region, some of the paths will be fairly steep, but at our pace they should present no problem for a reasonably competent walker. Weather Flights Mid June is the peak flowering time for many of the plants in these mountains, whilst butterflies will be numerous and the birds breeding season will also in full swing. The weather as with all mountain ranges can be very variable even at the height of summer, with long clear hot spells interspersed with violent thunderstorms with cloud and mist. Therefore, it is recommended to bring a good range of clothing and appropriate footwear! Although we won t enjoy the same diversity of flowers in September, we hope to enjoy some visible bird migration, depending on the weather and other local conditions, as well as some good walks, other birds and butterflies. Flights Although our advertised departure point is Stansted this is not set in stone. In 2009, for example, we had half the party going from Southampton and half from Luton. If you do have a preference please state this upon booking. Food and accommodation All food and accommodation is included in the price of this holiday. How to book your place In order to book a place on this holiday, you will need to read our main Naturetrek brochure and complete and return the enclosed booking form together with a deposit of 20% of the holiday cost. If you do not have a copy of this brochure, please call us now on Naturetrek August 09 5