The rising sun found us at La Crau, that otherworldly steppe between the marshes of the Camargue and the limestone cliffs of the Alpilles.

We started off well with a Stone Curlew flying  in and landing in the open as we got out of the car; we had better views of several individuals in the course of the morning, but there’s nothing like being greeted by a sign.

Our walk out to the 150-year-old sheep barn was (get this) windy, but we still managed to run into some very nice birds, including several singing Corn Buntings.

Every day with emberizids is a good one–and it’s a great one when they’re honest-to-goodness Emberiza.

A European Roller, a couple of European Turtle Doves, and a quick pop-up by a Melodious Warbler were also happy distractions; but the most amazing sight was a flock of nearly 50 European Bee-eaters hunting from a single tree, burping and buzzing as they flew out to scoop the ill-fated from the sky.

As the sun rose higher, at least three Lesser Kestrels started working the area south of the sheep barn;  this is a rare bird in France, reliably (or semi-reliably) found only here. Greater Short-toed Larks joined the abundant Sky and Crested Larks in song, and soon it was warm enough that we decided to return to Arles for breakfast.

Bodies refreshed, we walked  across to St-Trophime for spiritual sustenance.

I’m usually there too late in the day to visit the interior of the church, but the early start we’d made to the Crau gave us time for a change to admire the way the tall austerity of the Romanesque naves gives way to the brightness of the Gothic choir and transepts–a combination more famously repeated in the capitals of the cloister arcades.

The church contains some important early Christian art, including several spectacular sarcophagi; the most famous is the fourth-century Crossing of the Red Sea, a work that makes me gasp no matter how often I see it.

Eight centuries later the sculptors responsible for the west and north galleris of the cloister were working their own miracles. Here is one of the best, and certainly one of the most famous, of the capitals, the Dream of the Three Kings.

Here’s another dream, this time Joseph’s, the beginning of the Flight into Egypt:

The (latest) restoration of the cloister and its sculpture is set to be finished this month, and I can’t wait to see what it all looks like next year; fortunately, only a corner was still under cover when we visited this morning.

Tomorrow: more Romanesque and a lot of Van Gogh in St-Rémy. Plus some birds, of course!