Provence 2008: The Footsteps of Petrarch

Our first morning’s ascent of Mont Ventoux was just a few days off from the anniversary of the poet’s climb in 1336–but it was just as windy and cold as Petrarch described his long walk up the mountain he called “Ventosus.” While our scouting trip a couple of days before had produced a decent selection of montane species, including outstanding close views of singing Citril Finches, when we returned with the group we found fog, mist, and snow at the higher elevations, and birds were hard to come by.

But the scene was magical all the same, and those of us who–perhaps less sensible than the others–abandoned the warmth and strong coffee of the restaurant at Chalet Reynard found the walk through silent woods to the bare slopes just beneath the summit one of the most moving and exciting experiences of the entire trip. No Citril Finches greeted us this time, sadly, but Common Treecreepers sang for us, and a small band of Crested Tits flew through; neither species would be seen again in our ten days in Provence. The highlight, however, was a single Fieldfare playing hide-and-seek with us, peering out first from one side and then from the other of a small sheltering bush.