France: Brittany in Fall 10/4/2025-10/12/2025

ebird.org/tripreport/415968

At the very western edge of Europe, Brittany is a place of moody landscapes, wonderful food, generous people, imposing architectural monuments, and gentle autumn skies. It is also, as we learned, full of birds, especially in October. Our exploration of northernmost Finistère—the ends of the earth—offering generous helpings of all that and more, a splendid introduction to a splendid landscape at the most splendid time of year.

One of the many advantages of an early autumn trip to Brittany is the leisurely schedule imposed on us by the physical universe: the sun rises here after 8:30, leaving plenty of time to linger over a lavish breakfast before striking out to see what the day would bring. Most of our mornings found us starting with the birds, in woodlands, wetlands, and seaside marshes where migrants joined with resident species in a show of abundance and color. 

It would be invidious to choose favorites, but it is fair to point out some of the surprises. A juvenile Purple Heron at Brest’s National Botanical Conservatory was a pleasant jolt: not only is this species quite scarce so far north and west, but this particular individual was remarkably tame, in clear violation of the oath that keeps Purple Herons hidden deep and invisible in the cattail fastnesses of southern European marshes. 

More startling still was a small raptor being chased over the dunes of Keremma by a flock of busybody jackdaws. I’m not sure what we expected when we raised our binoculars, but it was certainly not the Black-winged Kite we found. With a core distribution even more decidedly southern than the heron’s, this species is unmistakably on the move north in Europe, and this was the first either of the leaders had ever seen this far from the Mediterranean—something probably to be said, too, of its corvid persecutors, which chased it mercilessly out of sight as we watched.

Rarity, of course, isn’t essential to good birding. Our morning at the famous lake of Curnic turned up no real surprises, but the numbers of birds and the spectacularly good views we had of so many of them were every bit as enjoyable as a wayward heron or raptor. Here, Black-tailed Godwits fed virtually at our feet, and goodly numbers of the declining Spotted Redshank—just as handsome in dove-gray as in their splashier springtime dress—swam and spun like giant phalaropes in the shallow waters at the edge. Northern Lapwings swooshed in to join Common Redshanks and Common Greenshanks on the sand, a dramatic show exceeded only by the arrivals of several flocks of those giant green plovers on the Bay of Goulven later in the week. 

Passerine migration, too, was evident throughout, with especially large numbers of Meadow Pipits virtually everywhere we looked. We were reminded of the perils faced by southbound songbirds whenever we looked out to sea—and when Peregrine Falcons and a dazzlingly beautiful female Merlin appeared to show just as much interest as we did. 

As exciting as it was to venture out into the countryside and onto the marshes, it wasn’t even necessary for us to leave our hotel to see birds. Northern Gannets passed steadily the entire time, and single Sabine’s Gulls on two consecutive days were very good finds out over the waves. Even so, the most breathtaking of our seabird experiences may have been provided by an adult light-morph Parasitic Jaeger hazing a Black-headed Gull right in the little harbor of Pontusval, hardly five minutes from our rooms. 

Our Hotel de la Mer more than lived up to its name, perched on the seawall just above the rocks and the waves of the Finistère coast. Birding and photography were sometimes just as good from our windows as from the beach itself, especially when the tide brought hundreds of Sanderlings and dozens of Black-bellied Plovers and Eurasian Oystercatchers to our virtual doorstep. Gorgeously ethereal Mediterranean Gulls—another southern bird moving north in huge numbers—fed and loafed on our beach every afternoon, and Sandwich Terns flashed past the dining room windows over our delicious dinners. 

Not even the most single-minded of naturalists can overlook the cultural treasures of Brittany, where nature and culture are so closely intertwined. At Meneham, a seaweed-gathering, shipwreck-scavenging village transformed into an open-air museum of Breton life, we admired the thatch-roofed houses and the famous guardhouse squeezed between enormous monoliths as Rock Pipits and Northern Wheatears plied the beach. A huge menhir loomed over the crossroads just down from our hotel, and not far away was the dolmen of Le Cosquer, a Stone Age burial chamber still standing incongruously in the front yard of a neat farmhouse. 

More recent monuments were just as stunning. The kersantite jubé of Le Folgoët remains one of the miracles of Brittany’s Golden Age, as do the stern gray statues adorning the church’s exterior. The mighty tower and steeple of Saint-Goulven, visible over the marshes from the dike trail along the bay, were even more impressive viewed from the narrow streets of the tiny village. In Saint-Mathieu, where skylarks serenaded us on a warm afternoon, the ruins of the massive abbey church recalled the days when pilgrims came from far and wide to venerate the relics of the Evangelist.

All of these events and experiences were punctuated by another clear highlight of our tour, the food. Breakfasts were rich and inviting, with local cheeses and meats to sample, and midday meals and dinners, whether in simple restaurants in Lesneven and Guissény or the stylish bistrots of Saint-Mathieu and Brest, were nothing short of outstanding. Even the light menu at our hotel bar featured a lavish spread of prawns, oysters, patés, sausages, salads, cheeses, and other local specialties. The French know how to eat—and how to spoil their guests.

This was VENT’s first tour of Brittany, and its success owed much to the good nature and good company of the participants. Marco and I were delighted to get to spend time with each of you, and look forward to the next chance to get out and see some birds with you, ideally in a setting as captivatingly wonderful as Finistère in autumn.

A complete list of the birds recorded on our tour can be found at: ebird.org/tripreport/415968.

Description for the next departure of this tour.

Rick Wright's upcoming tour schedule.

ITINERARY:

Sunday, October 5: assemble at hotel 6:00 pm. Three taxis to dinner at Le Marie Louise, 6:45. Three taxis back to hotel, arriving 9:25 pm. Clear, calm, 46° F.

Monday, October 6: breakfast in hotel beginning 5:00 am. Assemble 8:00 am. Lunch at La Fabrik de Lesneven 12:35–2:25 pm. At Hotel de la Mer 2:50 pm. Mostly cloudy, calm, high 50s F. Break until 4:00. 4:00–5:15 pm birding beach at hotel. 6:30 pm assembly; dinner at P’tit Nice 6:40–8:40 pm. At hotel 8:50 pm. Mostly clear, calm, ca. 60° F.

Tuesday, October 7: breakfast in hotel beginning 7:30 am. Clear, calm, 47° F. Assemble 8:45. La Digue / Baie de Goulven 9:00–11:45 am. Clear, calm, low 60s F. Lunch at Bistrot du Papa, Lesneven, 12:10–2:15 pm. Maison des Dunes 2:35–3:50. 73° F, calm, high overcast. At hotel 4:05 pm. 5:00–6:00 birding beach at hotel. 6:00–8:05 pm checklist and dinner in hotel. 55° F, calm, high overcast.

Wednesday, October 8: breakfast in hotel beginning 7:30 am. Assemble 8:45 am. Post office stop. Pointe St-Mathieu. Lunch at Bistrot 54 12:05–2:20 pm. Le Conquet . At hotel 4:20 pm. Hotel birding 5:55 to 7:00. Dinner in hotel 7:00–9:20 pm. 

Thursday, October 9: breakfast in hotel beginning 7:30 am. Assemble 8:45 am. Cloudy, breezy, 68° F. Etang du Curnic and adjacent beach 9:30 to 12:10 pm. Partly cloudy, 73° F. Lunch at Station Volubile 12:25–2:35. Meneham 3:00–4:00 pm. Partly cloudy, 68° F, light breeze. At hotel 4:40 pm. Sémaphore de Brignonan 4:45–5:50 pm; cloudy, 64° F, light breeze. Dinner in hotel 7:00–9:15 pm. Partly cloudy, calm, 57° F.

Friday, October 10: breakfast in hotel beginning 7:30 am. Assemble 8:45 am. Cloudy, calm, 58° F. Bodonou chapel and wildlife preserve 9:50–12:15. Cloudy, calm, 66° F. Lunch at Chez Jeanette, Maison d’autrefois, 12:30–1:35 pm. Free time in St-Renan to 2:30 pm. Partly cloudy, calm, 68° F. Dolmen à enceinte 3:10–3:30 pm. Cloudy, calm, 69° F. At hotel 3:45 pm. Cloudy, calm. 4:30–5:30 pm, birding hotel and village. 7:00–9:20 pm dinner in hotel.

Saturday, October 11: breakfast in hotel beginning 8:00 am. Assemble 8:45 am. Cloudy, light breeze, 68° F. Gué Vroc Beach 9:15–10:45 am. Cloudy, light breeze, 70° F. La Digue de Goulven 10:55–12:20. Lunch at hotel 12:40­–1:30 pm. Leave hotel 2:00 pm; menhir, grocery store, church of St-Goulven. Mostly cloudy, light breeze, 68° F. At hotel 4:00 pm. Birding hotel 5:00–5:40. Windy, cloudy, 65° F. Dinner in hotel 7:00–9:00 pm. 

Sunday, October 12: breakfast in hotel beginning 8:00 am. Cloudy, foggy, mid-50s F, light breezes. Tour ends with 10:00 am transfer to Brest airport.