Anser anser – About 200 Greylag geese arrived on the site at Mazères in the south of France in a frantic commotion! They settled far, out of reach for our lenses, but in the middle of morning small groups formed to graze on the banks. One of those came towards us and settled to feed […]
Tag: France
The Eurasian wren
I love the Eurasian wren but it comes all too seldom in front of my lens! The 14th of November was superbly sunny contrary to the weather predictions, so I decided to get into the garden hide for an hour and see who would appear! Bingo, curiosity had a name, the wren! He inspected every […]
Lapwings and Water rail: mirror, shine and attitudes
Vanellus vanellus – 3 Northern lapwings landed about 60 m from the hide, the distance was a pity but the show was great! 3 Vanneaux huppés se sont posés peu avant que le râle n’apparaisse, à environ 60 mètres de nous: même avec le 500 mm c’était juste en distance. Rallus aquaticus – […]
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax – Quite a common species round the world. It is only in its 3rd year that the young takes on its adult plumage. Usually nocturnal, it is interesting to notice that in a protected area, it comes out in broad day light even if it does not hunt. These pics were taken at […]
France: LPO takes direct action to liberate poached Ortolans
Every year in France, thousands of Ortolan Buntings are poached, mutilated and killed in breach of EU and national laws. On Thursday 4 September, the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO, BirdLife in France) members went on the offensive, to liberate captured birds and make formal accusations against poachers to the French authorities. The […]
Southern Migrant Hawker
Aeshna affinis – Aeschne affine – Petite æschne, sa longueur est de 57 à 66 mm. De répartition plutôt méridionale, cette libellule de plaine est en expansion vers le nord de l’Europe.Rarement abondante sur un site quoique, au Parc du Confluent Garonne-Ariège en Haute Garonne, ses effectifs soient particulièrement importants depuis 2 ans. Elle fréquente […]
Alpine Marmots
From the same family as the squirrels, this creature is symbolic of our mountains and lives in an altitude between 800 and 3 000 meters. It was successfully reintroduced in Pyrenees in 1948, as it had totally disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene period. It hibernates 6 to 7 months a year without stocking food […]
Scarce swallowtail
Comparison between Iphiclides podalirius VS Iphiclides p. feisthamelii What a pleasure to go after dragonflies and find this gorgeous specimen on my doorstep in the lavander! Un Flambé magnifique, un des plus beaux papillons d’Europe, dans la lavande du jardin. Ces plants isolés m’ont offert un bokeh assez uni mais je n’ai pu me concentrer […]