Finding Birds in Corsica

Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean and one of 18 regions of France. Two-thirds of the island consists of a string of mountains including twenty peaks that exceed 2000m, while in the lowlands there are orchards and wood pasture, along more than 1000 km of coastline including some stunning beaches. For years this island has been a big target for birders because the Corsican Nuthatch Sitta whiteheadi occurs nowhere else, while the Corsican Finch Carduelis corsicana is shared only with adjacent Sardinia.

This new softback guide from Dave Gosney will tempt you to stay longer than the obligatory 24 hours you need in order to find the nuthatch (in fact I saw one probably before my flight had refuelled and returned to the UK). Indeed when you’ve read about Dave’s exploratory trip in April 2022 you’ll want to stay longer. Once you’ve managed to also see Marmora’s Warbler Sylvia sarda and Moltoni’s Warblers Sylvia subalpine (both can be seen elsewhere in the Mediterranean but are easy here) you can go off in search of other species. Dave focuses on eight birding areas. In the northeast, there is Lake Biguglia which covers almost 1800 ha and is surrounded by hotels. The lake has Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus and Audouin’s Gulls Ichthyaetus audouinii, and is the best place on the island to see Purple Heron Ardea purpurea. The marshes of Macinaggio can be a migrant trap being in the northeast corner of the island and together with Barcaggio at the very top of the island, makes this whole area very attractive. At the other end of the island Bonifacio is a major site and your best chance of seeing good numbers of Yelkouan Shearwaters Puffinus yelkouan. Meanwhile, the mountains are home to Lammergeiers Gypaetus barbatus and provide multiple opportunities to see the nuthatch and finch.

As with all of Dave’s books, this is full of meticulously hand-drawn maps so you can find your way to the best viewpoints. GPS coordinates are given so you can easily work out when you are in the right places. Unlike too many guides this one has a map on the inside cover which serves as an index so you can easily find any site in the book. As with other past Gosney guides, there is a free update area on his website giving details of what other birders have found.

As always with such guides, I really wish this had been available when I visited. But can you really justify only going to Corsica once? I think not.