A bird species very rarely observed in Normandy spotted in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel: a Pouillot de Pallas, a bird native to Siberia. It normally migrates in winter to southern China but there an individual got lost to our country. A tiny little bird of 9 centimeters and weighing 6 grams, with a thick yellow eyebrow.
For its migration he traveled 7,500 kilometers: 3 times more than going to China No doubt a youngster of the year who has lost his way. Each year, we observe this phenomenon of “reverse migration” a few dozen birds of different species which have “taken the wrong path” and find themselves at the opposite end of where they should go. They follow other species and greatly exceed the distances they had to cover.
This Pouillot de Pallas is really very rare in Normandy: as far as an ornithologist can remember, the Pouillot de Pallas has been observed less than 10 times in Normandy – the last time was in 2010 – explains Sébastien Provost, ornithologist guide in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel. It was he who spotted it, during an exit, in the parking lot of Mont-Saint-Michel. “It is a small rarity, among the smallest species that exists, it is tiny, and imagine it comes to us from far off eastern Siberia, 7500 kilometers from here. It has strayed among us.”
We wish him to return to his regions: his orientation, his migratory course is genetically registered and therefore he may be able to return to his homelands. But it will be more complicated than for its congeners who migrated to South Asia. Sébastien Provost, ornithologist
For our friend Pouillot de Pallas, if he survives the winter, the hardest part for him will be the return to Siberia with a great distance to cover, strewn with pitfalls: the weather, meeting predators such as hawks and also being the only one of its kind.
The bird probably continued on its way south
As autumn is mild for the moment, the little bird has undoubtedly continued its journey further south, towards Spain. Little chance of seeing it again, therefore, but thanks to global warming, and milder winters, you will be able to see other animals, like theegrets and herons, or even storks, now common in Normandy. As the fall of 2021 is quite mild, the barnacle geese are not yet complete in the English Channel: we are still waiting for at least half of the workforce, we are also waiting for the ducks like the whistling ducks which arrive with the cold.