Champagne, May 2013 (1): Lac du Der

 

Presqu'ile de Larzicourt, Lac du Der-Chantecoq

At last...after two years, I managed to squeeze in a few early May days in the south Champagne region. After originally discovering the lakes and forests of this beautiful and often quiet area when passing through in May 2008, I've made a couple of March trips for cranes, late waterfowl and woodpeckers but wanted to experience the early summer period with a bit more time at hand and to get some photos where the trees had leaves!

I made the 11.30am ferry with a couple of minutes to spare and could count the things forgotten on just one hand - not a bad start. The crossing was foggy but smooth and the drive south along the A26 wet but pleasant as always, with Michel Thomas' CDs gently reminding me of forgotten French. The flaw in my plan of not stopping until reaching Champagne was the fact that all the stores were closed by the time I turned off the motorway in Chalons-en-Champagne - not such a good start.

But by 6pm I was lakeside, on the south dyke on the west side of Lac du Der, listening to a Great Reed Warbler perched in the reedbed and watching Common Terns swoop elegantly over some nesting rafts moored beyond. The drizzle was making me re-think my camping strategy, but the sky was still quite bright so I manned up and headed to Camping de la Foret, near the Larzicourt peninsula in the north-west corner of the lake.

The campsite is very pleasant, overlooking the lake to the west and the Bois l'Abbesse woodland to the north and east. The site had a few occupants, mostly motorhomes and in the nice-looking chalets, but there were plenty of pitches to choose from and I opted to overlook an open coupe in the woodland. I just had time before sunset to take a stroll to the nearby shoreline to enjoy the sunset and a singing Nightingale.

After a dinner of cup-a-soup (which luckily Heather had packed me) and chocolate I headed to bed with a resolution to find a shop or bakery at the earliest opportunity. By 6.30am the sun was streaming through the tent and not long after I was exploring the campsite and checking out the woodland birds. A Cuckoo and Blackcap sang constantly close-by and a Golden Oriole's flute-like notes dropped down from the canopy, before I caught a glimpse of yellow as it flitted across the open ground in front of the tent. A female Linnet carrying food to a nest above the chalets and watching a Spotted Flycatcher performing its feeding acrobatics at very close quarters were other highlights.

Breakfast time (but without the breakfast) saw me back on the dyke, this time the northern section, and I noticed just how overflowing the lake was after all the recent rain: the water was lapping well past the marginal scrub and into the grazing meadow. The Longhorn cattle and Polish koniks - small, hardy, semi-feral Polish horses - didn't seem too perturbed when a pair of Little Egrets dropped in at their feet. A Black Kite and Common Buzzard flew over and a Common Whitethroat sang from a nearby hedge. Out on the lake, two Linnets hopped amongst the bushes protruding from the flood but water birds were scarce except for some lonely Great-crested Grebes, Mallards and Mute Swan. As I drove slowly along the dyke, a Lapwing displayed overhead: perhaps the flood had created some good habitat for them.

Polish koniks and Highland cattle

Some greying clouds and a hint of drizzle sent me further south along the western side of the lake to the Nature du Der centre near Site de Chantecoq. In four trips here, I had never seen the centre open to the public and no luck again this time. But several Yellow Wagtails were flitting from field to fence post along the rear of the buildings with one of their White relatives and a Corn Bunting was jangling in amongst them.

The short walk around nearby Site de Chantecoq is worthwhile at this time of year, taking in the big observation hide, a small spit out into the lake and a wet meadow with orchids. It was a Thursday lunchtime and the car park area was very busy, although no-one seemed to stay very long. Most people were looking up at a Black Kite drifting over, but I was more entertained by House Sparrows and a Linnet that were bathing on the flooded boat slip.


Hunger moved me in the direction of the Station Nautique near Giffaumont Champaubert, where I could grab some lunch, but it was very busy indeed so instead I pressed on to Eclaron on the north-east side of the lake where there is a good grocery store. In keeping with my luck so far, it was shut for lunch. However, the posh bakery was open so I bought what was possibly the best pain au chocolate ever and headed back down the lake's eastern shore to Braucourt and turned up the lane to one of my favourite spots at Presqu'ile de Champaubert.

It was also very busy here, but as ever the north-west path to the church was drawing most of the crowds and I slipped away north-east into the lovely damp meadows of Meadow Foxtail with Common-spotted Orchids, Bugle, Cuckooflower and Meadow Buttercup. An Orange Tip butterfly fluttered between the Cuckooflower. Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Garden Warbler showed and sang from the pockets of dense trees. Heading back towards the church in a roundabout way, I came to the adjacent willow scrub and a little patience paid off when a Tree Sparrow turned up with amongst some of his House Sparrow cousins.

Common-spotted Orchids and an Orange Tip butterfly on Cuckooflower

With 5pm showing, my thoughts were turning to food again and - at last - I found the store in Eclaron open. Feeling even better about life, I headed back along the north side of the lake towards the tent, taking in a diversion from the village of Sainte-Liviere down to La Breche, which is the breach made in the old dyke of the smaller Champaubert reservoir when it was expanded to create Der-Chantecoq). It's the drive rather than the destination that I like here, the narrow road winding between river, poplar plantations and then through mature woodland and along the lake shore. A Red Kite flew overhead at the river and three Tree Sparrow were chirping in the scrub on the path out to the breach itself.

 After a more satisfying meal and sleep - disturbed only by a Tawy Owl hooting right above the tent in the early hours - I was up early once more to strike camp. A Black Redstart was the only addition to the campsite bird list but a stroll around the woodland at  "la plage" - the nearby lake shore beach area - brought another Golden Oriole and a Green Woodpecker laughing away. But the main purpose of the morning was a return to my favourite hant in these parts.

Cornee du Der is a wooded peninsula from the lake's northern shore not far from La Breche and it reaches halfway across the lake towards the southern shore. It was here that I'd seen my first Mddle Spotted Woodpecker and Hawfinch plus my closest views of Black Woodpecker: the place always seemed to bring me great birds and the mature oak woodland is peaceful.

 Bumblebee on Dandelion

The usual woodland birds and a pair of Garden Warblers entertained me in the main parking area and then I ventured south down the track in the car and parked up at the next turning circle. From here, I strolled deeper into the woodland, without absolute clarity where I was but knowing that gradually bearing right would bring me out at the second turning circle on the track. Birds were relatively few and far between but I enjoyed the solitude and quiet of the woodland rides. Small frogs jumped into path puddles as I approached. A pair of Sparrowhawks looped together overhead in their display flight and I tracked down the purring of a Turtle Dove to the very top of an old stag-headed oak. An hour's stroll brought me to the second turning area and I sauntered back down the track to the car, enjoying the bees, butterflies and wild flowers.

Purple Heron, by Ferran Pastraña under CCSA

A final circuit of the lake before heading off for an evening in Troyes saw me back on the southern dyke where my visit started to say "au revoir" to Lac du Der and a flypast from a Purple Heron was the perfect way to part.