As far as visits in June to my local bird patch were concerned, I had high ambitions. I was to be home the entire month, the days were long, the camera got a cleaning and my newish bike was raring to go. Then the heatwave that baked Europe for much of the last two weeks hit, stubbornly melting away chunks of that ambition as quickly as the mercury in our balcony thermometer rose.

I still managed seven visits last month to the Embouchure du Var, a stretch of river which remains for now as close to a personal birding patch as I’ve ever had. 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 are report 1, report 2, report 3 and report 4.]

A half dozen first time sightings in June upped my modest count here to 45 species, two of those, a Common Greenshank and a Kentish Plover (above), lifers #225 and #226.

A day-by-day account and 25 more photos follow:

8 June

How quickly they grow.

The Mute Swan family I shadowed last month was still around, on this night mostly paddling up and down a shallow channel on the River’s western edge as the sun began to set.

Several Black-winged Stilts were still around; I spotted up to nine at a time in the latter half of May but groups no larger than five this month, like the scene below.

And a few Little Ringed Plovers, too. Once you see that eye ring, you can never unsee it.

And below, a Eurasian Coot illustrating why it should be the mascot for any and all reggae music festivals.

Thursday 11 June

Another after work early evening visit, arriving just in time to catch a half dozen Little Egrets take flight. Below are five of those.

It wasn’t a great evening for images but I did cross paths with the Mute Swan family again, who paddled towards me, made landfall, stared for a few moments, then looked away and continued to go about sharing their evening meal. It is incredible how fast the cygnets grow.

Saturday 13 June

But yeah, don’t get too cozy with Mute Swans.

When they came ashore this time and spotted me near their beach spot, the one on the right looked me straight in the eye as it continued walking towards me, first snapping at my backpack and then directing a few bill snaps at me before I made a hasty and somewhat clumsy retreat. Clearly they didn’t know me that well. And liked me even less. Lesson learned.

I was glad to spot a Black-winged Stilt – its somewhat sluggish solitary wading made me wonder if it’s common to see them going solo. It was my impression that they are social, and tend to travel and hang out in small flocks.

A few Great Cormorants found there way back to the rock islands on the river, doing what they best: sitting still and staring at the sea. Two of the three, anyway. A solitary Mallard seemed disinterested.

Below, part of a small group of Indian Silverbills that flew through, the first I’ve seen in three months, and the first I’ve ever seen here. They appeared to be a couple, or at least a co-habitating pair, patiently dividing the fibers one collected for some nesting material.

Below, several Yellow-Legged Gulls on a breakwall that stretches part of the way across the river’s mouth.

Wednesday 17 June

I left my camera at the office, so naturally I spotted some relatively rare-ish birds for this time of year: a pair of Common Shelducks swimming upstream and a Common Greenshank (lifer #225) before watching scores of soaring Common Terns, their beaks stuffed with fish, all bathed in impossibly beautiful early evening light.

In the distance, I watched three teenagers with fishing rods wading and walking and eventually casting from the breakwall pictured above -where they clearly shouldn’t have been. If I had my camera, I think to myself, I’d snap a few shots and send them to the police.

Friday 19 June

Another after work visit, the first as the heatwave begins to settle in. It’s after 7 pm and still quite hot. I wonder if that’s why there’s no sign of the Mute Swan family of five, or little else for that matter other than the hundreds of Common Terns that return here each spring. Then, a pair of Kentish Plovers land about 15 meters away – lifer #226!

A pair of Black Winged Stilts are still around, slightly upriver near the islet where a pair of Great Cormorants continue their rule of the rock.

The Great Cormorants may be ruling the rock, but it’s Common Terns that dominate the scene, from the mouth of the river like the islet below, to the larger rocks upriver as viewed from the Napoleon III bridge. And most points in between.

And one final scene from the bridge, a wading Eurasian Moorhen. I’ll never tire watching that color scheme on display.

Saturday 20 June

I get up at 5:30 specifically to catch, for the first time in Nice, early morning bird activity. I never do that and still haven’t fully recovered. (See note above about my ambitions this month.) The fence separating the beach on the west bank of the Var from the Natura 2000 area has been extended almost to the shore, so my usual close-up area is now off-limits until the autumn.

Back along the Var, the light was in the wrong position for decent photos, so I spent about a half hour watching the terns that were still largely commanding the skies before hitting the road to explore Lac du Broc Departmental Park, about 25km to the north.

On the way home, I swung by one last time to grab a parting shot for the day which I meant to snap in the morning. I didn’t think it would be the month’s last image from the embouchure, but it does provide a bit more context. Next month I’ll end with a real bird.

~~

Personal report tally at the Embouchure du Var as of 30 June 2026:

45 species in 21 visits; 26 species photographed. (And one Emirates A380.) Links to personal internal galleries.

• Black-headed Gull – 20 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 23 May 2026; 12 Apr 2026; 07 Dec 2025; 06 Dec 2025; 22 Nov 2025
• Black-winged Stilt – 19 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 23 May 2026;
• Carrion Crow – 17 June 2026; 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 Greenshank – 17 June 2026;
• Common Shelduck – 17 June 2026;
• Common Swift – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026;
• Common Tern – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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 – 20 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026;
• Eurasian Blackcap – 20 June 2026;
• Eurasian Collared-Dove – 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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 – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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 – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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 – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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 – 19 June 2026; 9 Apr 2026;
• House Sparrow – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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
• Indian Silverbill – 13 June 2026;
• Kentish Plover – 19 June 2026;
• Little Egret – 11 June 2026; 31 May 2026; 22 Nov 2025; 23 Aug 2025
• Little Ringed Plover- 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 23 May 2026;
• Little Stint – 23 May 2026;
• Mallard – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 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 – 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 31 May 2026; 29 May 2026; 28 May 2026; 23 May 2026; 28 Mar 2026; 22 Nov 2025
• Pallid Swift – 20 June 2026;
• Rock Pigeon – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 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 – 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 31 May; 23 May 2026; 06 Dec 2025
• Yellow-legged Gull – 20 June 2026; 19 June 2026; 17 June 2026; 13 June 2026; 11 June 2026; 8 June 2026; 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