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Corsica potentially 13 – 20 May 2025

Isle of Beauty

accommodation still not finalised

The Mediterranean’s most mountainous island, yet with fine coastal wetlands, Corsica offers an unusual mix. That’s also reflected in its human influences: a region of France yet with cultural links to Italy. Its isolation also explains two sought-after birds named after the island, Corsican nuthatch and Corsican citril finch.

Nicknamed ‘The Isle of Beauty’, Corsica’s mountain zone has craggy limestone outcrops above forests of Corsican pine and oak. The coast will offer Mediterranean warmth with a nice range of wetland birds and other wildlife.

Rugged scenery in the mountains of Corsica.

Coast

For the first part of the programme we go are in northwest Corsica for three nights at the three star Isola Hôtel, set between a beach and the island’s largest freshwater body, L’Étang de Biguglia. This lagoon is the top site on Corsica for a range of wetland birds such as purple and night herons, greater flamingo, red-crested pochard, black-winged stilt and various waders.

Farther north is Cap Corse, a notable migration watchpoint. Offshore there should be shearwaters; on the land, blue rock thrush and Marmora’s warbler. Migrants are always a matter of chance though could include honey buzzard, red-footed falcon and bee-eater.

Marmora’s warbler

Mountains

We have a two-centre holiday that continues in the uplands amid the spectacular scenery of the Restonica Gorge. Here we’ll search for Corsican nuthatch and Corsican citril finch, plus the Corsicana subspecies of crossbill. Lammergeiers still occur in this area, but there is just a handful of birds on Corsica.

Other high-altitude birds include golden eagle, alpine swift, red-rumped swallow, crag martin, water pipit, alpine chough and alpine accentor. Birds of the countryside nearby include red kite, turtle dove, scops owl, hoopoe, woodlark, tawny pipit and nightingale.

Water pipit; turtle doves.

Corsican nuthatch, Mike Price, Wikimedia commons. The Corsican nuthatch is strongly linked to Corsican pines, especially older trees with holes.

Birds

Those mentioned above, plus Dartford and Sardinian warblers, Moltoni’s warbler (the Mediterranean island version of subalpine warbler here), firecrest, woodchat and red-backed shrikes, cuckoo, wryneck, spotless starling, pallid swift, Italian and rock sparrows, serin and cirl bunting. By the coast, Cetti’s, fan-tailed and moustached warblers; Audouin’s and yellow-legged gulls.

French lavender, tree heather and cistus.

Other wildlife

The holiday is based around a birdwatching itinerary though in Honeyguide style we’ll look at everything else. The maquis – Mediterranean scrub – includes strawberry trees, which support two-tailed pasha butterflies. Sunshine will bring out swallowtails and a range of other butterflies; Corsican wall brown is endemic to Corsica and Sardinia.

Cistus, tree heather, French lavender add structure and colour. Corsica has a good range of orchids and endemic island flowers will be a steep learning curve: Corsican butterwort, Corsican crocus, Corsican saxifrage and Corsican storksbill are some of the species to look for.

Reptiles and amphibians endemic to to the Tyrrhenian islands (see caption) are another point of interest.

Tyrrhenian wall lizard. Tyrrhenian tree frog is another island speciality. The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean west of Italy: wildlife names that include 'Tyrrhenian' are species that occur on Corsica, Sardinia and adjacent small islands. Bedragia's rock lizard, Italian pool frog and Hermann's tortoise are other 'herptiles' to look for.

Holiday details

Potentially four nights in the mountains of Corsica, if available at Hotel E Caselle, exploring upland areas, 13-16 May 2025, departing on 17 May 2025, then three nights at the coastal Isola Hôtel in NE Corsica, 17-19 May 2023, departing 20 May 2025. Or the other way round.

Price: for 2025, around £1900 per person in twin room for seven nights, Tuesday-Tuesday.

Single room supplement: £200

En suite facilities.

What the price includes: return flights, seven nights’ board in en-suite accommodation, breakfast, evening meals, local transport, guidance. Lunches are a mix of buy-your-own and picnics provided, TBC.

What the price excludes: lunches; shopping for picnic lunches is the plan.

Flights: Scheduled easyJet flights London Gatwick to Bastia:

13 May 2025 EZY6425 depart London Gatwick 07:40 arrive Bastia (Corsica) 10:55
20 May 2025 EZY6426 depart Bastia 12:30 arrive London Gatwick 13:40

Deposit: £400

Maximum number (two leaders): 14

Leaders

Christopher Hall runs his own birdwatching company, New Horizons, though is planning to guide for others and leave the administrative roles behind; this partnership with Honeyguide is a step in that direction. As well as being our holiday leader in Falsterbo, Corsica is another of the many birdwatching destinations he knows well. His wildlife watching tours for a growing ‘family’ of loyal regulars means he has guided over 150 tours worldwide. He has also been a science teacher and run birdwatching evening classes.

Chris Durdin is the driving force behind Honeyguide, running holidays since 1991. For many years he combined this with his work for the RSPB in Eastern England, often the Society’s spokesman, but has been concentrating on Honeyguide full-time since 2009. Chris is the co-author of a book about Norfolk’s cranes and leads monthly guides walks at Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Thorpe Marshes nature reserve. He’s also a barbershop singer. As a naturalist, Chris is an all rounder.

Conservation project

Unusually, we have been unable to find a conservation project on Corsica. There is no Corsica branch of LPO, which we have supported elsewhere in France. On this occasion, the conservation donation element of the holiday price will be kept in the Honeyguide Charitable Trust for general purposes.

Corsica

For prices, see Holiday Details at the bottom of the page.

FCO travel advice for France here.

Report and photos

Corsica holiday report May 2023

Photos on Facebook from May 2023

Corsican citril finch

Corsican citril finch (also called Corsican finch) has a restricted distribution: Corsica, Sardinia and adjacent islands

Corsica

Poppies, Corsica.

Lammergeiers on Corsica

When lammergeiers (bearded vultures) were disappearing from Europe, they hung on in Corsica, on Crete and in the Pyrenees.

Recent conservation efforts have boosted their numbers in the Pyrenees and reintroductions have meant their return to parts of the Alps and the Cévennes in France.

There are just four pairs on Corsica (more here) and the dwindling numbers are likely to rely on active help from conservationists to remain a viable population,

Cyclamen repandum