Brussels, and it seems most of northern Europe, has had heavy snowfall the past couple of days yet, this time last week, I was enjoying the sunshine and blue skies of the French Riviera. Although more a short break from winter than a birding trip, I did get to do a couple of nice walks amongst the limestone garrigue, with skulky Sardinian Warblers calling all around. I was surprised to find a flock of feeding Crag Martins as I didn't realise they overwinter there. On my last day, I did the scenic walk around Cap Ferrat in the hope of maybe spotting an offshore shearwater but the sea was far too calm. There were plenty of Goldcrests and Firecrests in the coastal pines and I finally got good looks at some Sardinian Warblers, but the best sighting by far was the view from the tip of the headland.
