WINGS Birds and Art in Provence: Day Six

One of my favorite days on this tour is our visit to the Peau de Meau preserve, the only readily accessible portion of the rocky steppe of La Crau.

In spite of the beautiful openness of the habitat, birding can be challenging out here. But in our morning’s stroll out to the sheep barns and blind, we came up with European Rollers, Hoopoes, Greater Short-toed and Crested Larks, and plenty of Black Kites, the bird of the Crau. Among the real specialties of the area, we had outstanding looks at five Stone-curlews, including a pair just across the road from the parking area, and a lone male Little Bustard stuck his head up over the grass once in a while for at least a couple of us to tally.

Nearly as exciting as the birds was the insect life. The ditch running along the north side of the preserve was full, as always, of dragons and damsels, and an elegant mantis hitched a ride back to the vehicles on my pant leg.

There are two inviolable traditions after a visit to the Peau de Meau: lunch at the Hotel Crau

and a group photo at the Ecomuseum.

We had a nice afternoon’s break at our hotel in Arles, then set out on the five-minute walk to St-Trophime.

The sculpture of the west front, in all its stern severity, is truly breathtaking, but it’s the capitals of the cloister that are even more famous in the history of European art.

One of my favorites: the dream of the three kings, asleep in their shared bed.

The upper gallery was irresistible on such a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed the views of the cloister from above and the rooftops of Arles beneath the ancient tower of St-Trophime.