I managed a handful of visits in May to the Embouchure du Var, a stretch of wetland and river where the Var River meets the Mediterranean here in Nice. It’s a 25-minute bike ride away, so for now, as close to a personal birding patch as I’ve ever had. Above, a Little Egret, a Black-winged Stilt and Eurasian Moorhen share a frame (albeit a heavily cropped one), to illustrate the diversity that late spring attracts to this corner of the Mediterranean.

As explained in my intro post last September:

Flanked on its east by Nice Cote d’Azur Airport and to its west by a sprawling shopping mall and entertainment complex, the Embouchure du Var, or mouth of the Var River, is most probably the best birding hot spot in the furthest reaches of France’s southeast. I say most probably simply because I haven’t fully explored the area yet, but all references I’ve found wouldn’t argue against that designation.

At least 260 bird species have been reported in this relatively small stretch of wetland and river, mostly located between the Napoleon III bridge just west of Nice and where the mouth of the river and the Mediterranean meet. That’s 38.5% of the 674 present or migratory species reported in France, a concentration of diverse birdlife that lends itself well to its nickname, ‘the little Camargue’.

[For the Embouchure du Var-curious, Here is report 1, report 2 and report 3.]

A dozen first time sightings in May upped my modest count here to 39 species, three of those lifers: a Eurasian Whimbrel, a few Little Ringed Plovers and a Little Stint.

But I was most excited about the Squacco Heron I saw on the 31st, a great way to round out the month. I spotted one once before, on the Kazinga Channel in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park in 2017; seeing it in my proverbial backyard provided a great lived example of the distances these birds and countless others cover during migration.

And it seemed the trip took a toll because this heron moved as if it had just traveled 9000 kilometers.

Its movement more closely resembled a slow sway than a deliberate walk as it gradually made its way along the edge of the small island it was resting on, poking its head now and again between the reeds before sway-wading back to the edge. For a time, it shared that small patch of earth with at least three other birds I watched swim or fly by, and didn’t seem especially bothered or alarmed. See below its look of casual indifference to a passing Eurasian Moorhen.

Two days earlier in the same spot I watched this Eurasian Whimbrel for a few minutes, a lifer and an obvious highlight. It was considerably closer so I was much happier with these images than those of the Squacco. When I tried to get a little closer, it decided it was time to leave. Its motion in flight was ethereal.

The Little Ringed Plover was another lifer, and fairly common over the last week of the month. Its small quick steps are a blast to watch, like Michael Jackson’s moonwalk in reverse and turned up to 1.5x speed.

Below is a closely cropped fuzzy shot of a Little Stint from a substantial distance; iNaturalist users confirmed the species. If you think this bird is something other that a Little Stint, let me know.

As mentioned above, there was a nice bit of diversity on display. This scene, comprised of the Black-winged Stilt, a Great Cormorant and a handful of Black-headed gulls, was typical on the sandbars a couple hundred meters from the river’s mouth. Below that, a row of nine Black-winged Stilts, the largest group I saw. And below that, a small group of Little Egrets that also made an appearance on the last day of the month.

It was also nice to get to know a small but growing Mute Swan family. I first spotted this pair with several chicks on the 23rd; a week later they were cozying up just a few meters from me at the edge of the beach.

Keeping with the family theme.. Plenty of White Wagtails were about, but this was the first I saw juveniles.

It was also a good opportunity to observe Common Terns, flying between the Napolean III Bridge and the river’s mouth by the hundreds. Early evening feeding time seemed the busiest and most chaotic – great practice for shooting these beautiful birds in flight.

Great Cormorants remain ubiquitous, on the river and off. These portraits were taken on what I’ll forever call the Great Cormorant Tree House, which sits on the east bank of the river next to the road that leads to the airport’s Terminal 2. If you’re in a car heading there in slow moving traffic, look for the only entirely dried out tree. Then look up.

And below, a few more shots, for the record.

Personal report tally at the Embouchure du Var as of 31 May 2026:

39 species in 13 visits; 21 species photographed. (And one Emirates A380.) Links to personal internal galleries.

• Black-headed Gull – 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025
• Black-winged Stilt – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 23 May 2026;
• Carrion Crow – 22 Nov 2025
• Cetti’s Warbler – 29 May 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 9 Apr 2026;
• Common Buzzard – 22 Nov 2025
• Common Chiffchaff – 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025
• Common Swift – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026;
• Common Tern – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026;
• Common Wood-Pigeon – 31 May 2026; 28 May 2026;
• Eurasian Blackbird – 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026;
• Eurasian Collared-Dove – 31 May 2026;
• Eurasian Coot – 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Eurasian Crag-Martin – 12 Apr 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 07 Dec 2025
• Eurasian Kestrel – 28 May 2026; 06 Dec 2025
• Eurasian Magpie – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 9 Apr 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 7 Mar 2026; 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Eurasian Moorhen – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Eurasian Whimbrel – 29 May 2026;
• European Robin – 28 Mar 2026; 06 Dec 2025
• European Shag – 22 Nov 2025
• European Starling – 22 Nov 2025
• Gray Heron – 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Great Cormorant – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 9 Apr 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 7 Mar 2026; 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Hooded Crow – 9 Apr 2026;
• House Sparrow – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 9 Apr 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 7 Mar 2026; 06 Dec 2025
• Little Egret – 31 May 2026; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Little Ringed Plover 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 23 May 2026;
• Little Stint 23 May 2026;
• Mallard – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 7 Mar 2026; 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Marsh Sandpiper – 23 Aug 2025
• Meadow Pipit – 22 Nov 2025
• Mediterranean Gull – 28 Mar 2026;
• Mute Swan – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 22 Nov 2025
• Rock Pigeon – 31 May 2026 2026;
• Ruddy Turnstone – 23 May 2026;
• Sardinian Warbler – 28 Mar 2026; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Squacco Heron – 31 May 2026;
• Western Cattle-Egret – 23 May 2026;
• White Wagtail – 31 May; 23 May 2026; 06 Dec 2025
• Yellow-legged Gull – 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 9 Apr 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 7 Mar 2026; 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025