6th - A visit to a new area today, namely the Alpilles around Aureille. A footpath/road called GR6 runs a good bit of the length of the eastern Alpilles just to the south of the hills. I took this route east and spent around 2 hours birding the area. On the drive to the site I spotted a single Roller perched in characteristic pose on a telephone wire in the Baux valley and then a pair of Alpine Swifts flying over peaks to the south of the Maussane-Le Destet road. On the actual walk I first spotted a very tatty Kestrel that looked as if it had moulted around 50% of its primaries! How it managed to get airborne I have no idea! A couple of minutes later I had a great view of an adult Bonelli's Eagle as it soared first in front then directly overhead. It was joined by another adult and the pair soon disappeared over the hills to the North. As I got further into the hills the path became narrower and the number of birds increased. I heard and then saw a male Subalpine Warbler as it carried food to a nest in a nearby bush. The calls of the young birds were heard clearly. An adult Southern Grey Shrike then posed nicely on the peak of a large boulder before a Sparrowhawk appeared overhead in a search for food. The maquis was now full of birds with several Black Redstarts, at least 8 Stonechats, a female Subalpine Warbler and a pair of Sardinian Warblers chasing each other through the rocks. Then I noticed a thrush sized bird atop another rock and confirmed it as an exquisite male Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush! It flew across the valley and was soon joined a by a female giving reasonable views. The last time I saw one of these birds was 4 years ago on Mont Ventoux so it was nice to discover a pair closer to home. A female Dartford Warbler then made her presence known and gave extended views (for a Dartford Warbler!!) before diving into some scrub. On the walk back I had a Black Kite soaring overhead and a Woodlark giving its beautiful song as it fluttered to the ground in front of me. All in all a great day.