Birds of the Baie de Somme

This is not real, but rather a three-dimensional diorama at the Maison de l'Oiseau (The Bird House)--a truly wonderful museum devoted to birds and wildlife, near the huge Bay of the Somme in northwest France.

The diorama is one of perhaps a dozen at the museum-they are as good as any I have ever seen, devoted mainly to birds of the region. In the center foreground is a key to the birds displayed, represented by small black outlines.

In the very center is a black-headed gull (coincidentally the gull that I blipped yesterday). The large bird in the upper right foreground is a European herring gull (very closely related to the American one); below it on the ground is a large gannet. In the lower left are a whimbrel (with a long down-curved bill) and a common eider (large, in black and white).

The museum is near the small town of St. Valéry, we're staying nearby for three days. After our extended morning visit, we had a late Sunday lunch of moules (mussels), available everywhere, always with French fries (they were so good that Marylee ate all of hers-she otherwise never touches them!).

Afterwards we tried for the seals again, but they were as far away as yesterday. The late afternoon was topped off by several Northern Wheatears--a small but pretty bird. I'd left my bird lens in the car--we'll try again tomorrow morning.