Natural surroundings of the watchpoint

The migration watchpoint of Bellet is nestled in the middle of vineyards. Bellet is a small appellation (650 hectares) of the Provence wine region in south-eastern France. Created in 1941, it covers wines from the hills northwest of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes). The vines are located in the tightly ridged hills, generally on terraced sides and occupy slopes too steep for other uses, 8 km from the Mediterranean. The wind from the Alps and the sea breeze cool the microclimate down. The rich hearty wine owes its original taste to various grape varieties, including some of the oldest on earth. The migration watchpoint lies at 206 m and overlooks the plain of the Var. To the west, there is a view on the Baous (Baou de Saint-Jeannet, 800 m) and to the east, on the Mont Chauve d’Aspremont (870 m).

History of the survey

On 11 May 2003, Michel Belaud organized the first visit. That day, 26 Honey Buzzards flew overhead. Ever since, a few birders from Nice have done spring surveys in their free time. Since 2007, we also count in autumn.  

Target species

Bellet is of national importance for spring and autumn migration of Short-toed Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle (rare in France) and Eleonora’s Falcon.

Results

During spring 2007, 830 Honey Buzzards and 247 Short-toed Eagles were counted in 260 hours, with a grand total of 1363 raptors. During autumn, 100,788 Woodpigeons were seen.

The results for 2008 are quite different. We counted mainly during weekends with additional data from a single observer who counted during on one or two weekdays. In total, 13 observers surveyed during 289 hours. During two Short-toed Eagle counts (8-9 and 15-16 March) 612 Short-toed Eagles were seen in the south of the department with no less than 459 at Bellet. With a spring total of 678 Short-toed Eagles for 2008 at Bellet, the site turned out to be one of the prime migration watchpoints for the species in France. The weekend counts also showed that there is a fairly concentrated passage of Short-toed Eagle here. The flow meets at Arenzano in the Italian province of Genoa in the Liguria region.

Spring 2009 : 562 Short-toed Eagles were seen on migration with 490 individuals (87%) between 13 and 15 March. Unfortunately, the weather conditions over the next few days were particularly poor.

Autumn 2009 : 1051 raptors were observed, including 421 Short-toed Eagles and 187 Honey Buzzards. Surprisingly, 42 Booted Eagles flew to the east! In total 80,638 Woodpigeons were counted during 242 hours of survey.  

Spring 2010 : 1068 raptors were noticed during this season. The migration peak was on 17 March with 451 individuals. 2213 Honey Buzzards were counted with a peak day of 943 inds. on 7 May. Marsh Harrier migration was also good (130). 2010 will be remembered as the record year for raptors at Bellet with 3701 inds. Bee-eater migration was also better than average, with twice as many birds compared to previous years.

Autumn 2010 : 573 Short-toed Eagles were counted. The best days were 19, 20 and 21 September with 182, 46 and 170 inds. respectively. Honey Buzzard figures reached 377 (compare to 187 in 2009). 2010 was the best autumn so far with 1279 raptors counted. This is the result of merely 235 hours (57 days) in the field between 10 August and 11 November.  

No access for visitors…

The watchpoint can only be reached via a private road. The watchpoint itself is on private property. For these reasons, it cannot be visited.

Gabriel Lopez , Gérard Joannès, Michel Belaud, Patrick Kern.