Now you see it...

Here you can see a line of trees and shrubs....

Now you don't!

But, now you can't.... magic.... no!!

Eric, who now runs the Fauvellier farm, has been putting in a set of irrigation pipes....
as if we currently need it...Ha-ha!!
The source is a bore pipe in a field near their étang...
this will give them ground water, with the étang as a reserve.

All very interesting, yes....
but you are now thinking...
"What has that to do with the above pictures?"

Well Eric.... sensibly on his part... took advantage of having a big digger on site...
he removed a tree and shrub line that divided one of the big fields...
from a smaller one and filled in the ditch!
It costs to get a digger in...
so use it whilst it is on site for another job.

It has been removed up to the neighbours garden.

But as you can see from the picture above....
the ditch, trees and shrubs formed a corridor toward the étang...
and then linked to the other side of the valley...
however...
it was the LAST such corridor from the nearby land South of us.

There are now no easy links between the wooded areas to the South...
with those on the Northern side of the valley...

It looks as though there is a link down by the Moulin de Chevernay...
but if you drive up into Chevernay, you rapidly discover...
that there are vast open fields on the flatlands beyond....
where, ten years ago, there was quite a lot of remnant hedge still standing.

The nearest easy links between the Aigronne and Claise valleys...
are now down by Gatault...
one and a half kilometres towards Grand Pressigny...
and up just before Chateauneuf...
another good kilometre from us towards Petit Pressigny...
where a big wood and then a set of small copses act as the link

A great shame... another chunk of habitat destroyed in the name of...
PROGRESS!!
The only real beneficiaries will be the raptors....
especially the Barn Owls and Harriers...
Hen and Montague's....
whose hunting habits require big flat open areas!

But small birds now have a big open tract to cross...
leaving them vulnerable to other raptors...
the Falcons and Hawks...
let alone the loss of nesting and feeding that the shrubby line gave.

And the small mammals will fare little better...
more open land to cross...
perfect for the Harriers and Owls!

Even some predators suffer...
flattened on the road just there the other day was a beautiful Pine Marten....
I thought it was a Fouine [Beech or Stone Marten]...
until Pauline questioned the colour.
We had a closer look on the way back....
and took photographs to record the loss!
Sure enough...
the colour on the neck was a rich cream and....
on close inspection...
the undamaged fur was too reddy-black.

Pine Martens have a huge territory...
upward of 80 square miles according to Collins "Mammals"*...
and martens, both types, move fast...
think weasel... and scale that up about five-fold.
The poor creature probably hesitated for that second too long....
trying to get its bearings!!

And all in the name of PROGRESS...
so that bigger machines have easier access!
Wildlife corridors are vital highways for the interaction of breeding groups...
the smaller the creature, the more vital it is to have easy links.
And I haven't yet mentioned the insects...
but poor fliers and habitual crawlers need habitat to almost touch....
or else their population becomes isolated and genetically, inbreeding can lead to....
disease resistance being lowered...
poor reproduction rates...
and eventual extinction of that population.

And, in the name of PROGRESS, the world becomes a poorer place.
I am not against progress...
I just want people to take into account what their actions might mean...
and try and create alternatives...
like a line of trees and shrubs...
or a hedge...
down either one of the sides of the road to Favier...
seventy-five metres further along.
But that will never happen...
there are no financial incentives...
no "rewards"...
no altruism, either!!


* "Field Guide - Mammals (Britain and Europe)" David Macdonald and Priscilla Barrett [HarperCollins 1993]

Disgusted??... we are!!

Chris Packham is currently in Malta to highlight the slaughter of birds that goes on every migration...

........................LEGALLY!!

Malta got an exemption many years back from the EU Birds Directive....
but some of the birds mentioned in the BBC article are not even edible!!
Please read this BBC Article...
but make sure you have an empty stomach...

This would normally be in the "Spotted on the Web" section...
but Pauline and I feel that it is worthy of its own immediate Blog Post!!

Crashing owls all round...

"Oooops! Crashed again!!"

We were treated to another Barn Owl visitation yesterday evening...
it crashed in front of the kitchen window.

Actually...
it didn't crash... the picture above shows it mantling its prey...
that is, shading it from view by spreading its wings out and around the prey.

Two more pictures of mantling the prey.

It tore its prey, probably a vole, apart before swallowing each piece...
in contrast to this morning's visitor... more of which later.

Have you finished it?

Yes... if you don't mind?

The Barn Owl [Tyto alba] Effraie des clochers stayed around for quite a while as dusk fell...
this is the first time we've ever seen a Barn Owl in daylight!
It was wonderful to watch as it glided across the meadow...

back and forth, hunting methodically...
it struck a couple more times whilst we could still see it...
but I'm sure it hunted for a while after.

Strike two...

Oooops... not quite!      Pounce...

Aha! Got it!!

If that guy's still watching... I'll eat elsewhere!!

As you can see it was a handsome bird in good plumage...
whether or not it is a new bird that has rapidly come into the territory vacated by the one the Buzzard ate...
or the original one that's been present all the time...
the latter being unlikely as the average lifespan is only four years...
but it might be, as this is a fairly calm area, all told.
They can survive in the wild for up to 12 years.
I have put some general Barn Owl facts about survival at the bottom.

Strike three by the dead willow...

It also ate this elsewhere!!

This morning's visitor was a Long-eared Owl [Asio otus] Hibou Moyen-duc [which we've had here before]...
I saw it first while I was feeding the cats...
it was sitting on one of the fence posts of the potager, quite near the snow covered road.

First sighting... what's that?

It's an Eagle Owl... er... perhaps not? No... it's a Long-Eared Owl

It then moved to the weather station...
now is this why I'm having to replace the wind-speed whirly?...

I think it has got another vole? It ate one before it flew here...

...before taking up temporary residence, close to the field feeder, near the faux-gatepost in the dividing tree line... both Pauline and I were surprised to see the the small birds on the feeder seemed to be totally blasé about it...

The orange base to the primaries can be seen here...

The above four shots were taken through the big telescope... but hand held. [see note below]

whereas they scatter if the Hen Harrier comes through...
like it did yesterday morning...
[or the female Kestrel, who has recently taken to attacking in a Sparrowhawk fashion.]

 Hen Harrier coming through yesterday morning...

I cannot now remove the major part of the dead willow as it and the Barn Owl began using that as a hunting perch...
as does the Kestrel...
and, probably, as the wood is of little calorific value, it is better to leave it there as both bench and seat for us....
and highpoint perch for the raptors.
So I'll just tidy the top up so that I can maintain the ground around it and let it rot away quietly...
providing also food for the woodpecker...
a breeding place for beetles...
and a hiding place for other insects and arthropods.


As I type [6PM] the Long-Eared Owl is still hunting the field...
and it doesn't bother tearing the voles it catches into pieces...
three or four jerky gulps and they're gone!!

I missed getting that on film...
as well as a threat display, very early on by the road, as the Kestrel came and hovered over it...
I was looking down the 'scope both times...
no time to get a camera!

The threat display was magnificent...
I had the owl in the scope and saw the Kestrel appear...
the owl leaned forward as if to take off...
and, while looking at the Kestrel, and remaining hunched forward....
slowly spread the wings to display only those bright orange feathers at the base of its primaries.
It was all the warning not to mob that the Kestrel needed...
it stopped hovering and flew on into the walnut.
The owl resumed it position on the post...
but "ears" up...
alert...
for further attack.

As well as not cutting the big willow apart, I shall be erecting a faux-fence line, straight down the length of the big field, using posts reclaimed from the riverside as I clear the barbed wire...

Cold and snowy it might have been, but we've been treated to a wonderful display by the local fauna!

---------------------------------------------------oo00OO@OO00oo-----------------------------------------------

Average life span for a wild Barn Owl:
Due to the following dangers and environmental factors, wild Barn Owls do find it very difficult to thrive...
the majority of young owls will sadly perish within their first year.
Harsh or severe weather conditions such as prolonged rain & snow can have a great effect on the Barn Owls ability to survive. Many die from starvation under severe conditions. They simply struggle to find prey.
Motorways, busy roads & railways, loss of grassland habitat & hedgerows,
the loss of suitable roost & nest sites, [for example old buildings & barns being converted into dwellings like at La Forge],
a shortage of natural tree hollows due to removal of old trees to "tidy up" the environment all effect their survival.
The life span of a Barn Owl in the wild can average anywhere from 1-5 years, the average for a mature adult being four.
In a more protected & safer environment a Barn Owl, including captivity, can live up to 20-25 years.
And some ignorant or plain misinformed gamekeepers still shoot Barn Owls!!

The majority of this paragraph was gleaned from:
The Barn Owl Centre's website
and Wikipedia's Barn Owl page

---------------------------------------------------oo00OO@OO00oo-----------------------------------------------

Because of the very low light, all the above pictures were taken at 1600 or 800 ASA... this is why they are grainy... the sensor has to act like high-speed film to grab a picture.
The colour differences are also down to colour balance setting between the Pentax Optio and the Pentax K7... and no time to re-set!!
The "dodgy"scoped pix, that I hand-held, exhibit vast differences in exposure and in some cases vignetting... it involved holding the camera in one hand... focusing the 'scope with the other... holding the 'scope, camera and tripod steady with the third.... and pressing the shutter button with... the fourth!!

'Twas wonderful fun!! We now need to repaint the white walls... they've turned blue!!

Twittering again...

Flock of Siskin (Carduelis spinus) Tarin des aulnes working one of the alders [aulnes] near the kitchen door this morning...

Alder Catkins and Pussy Willow... from March 2012.
The Siskins were feeding on the little round "cones"
and not these catkins... but we need a lift and I thought
that the golden sunshine looked warming!

A Great White Egret (Ardea alba alba) Grande Aigrette  in the valley... near Gatault on the D103 on the way in to Le Grand Pressigny... it was in the company of around seven Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) Héron cendré [who were probably saying to each other "Who's that flash b'stard then?"]

Great White Egret from February of last year.

Also seen so far this week... male and female Hen Harriers (Circus cyaneus) Busard Saint-Martin [on separate occasions]... quartering the fields and our meadow...

Male Hen Harrier also from February of last year.

Coming shortly... a post to brighten this weather.

Visitors sniping at Winter's chill

An icy cold, misty grey morning yesterday to welcome in February... and a flash of white passed across the walnut tree trunk. I followed it with my eyes and saw a Hen Harrier [Circus cyaneus] Busard Saint-Martin.

Not the one I saw... my brother captured this today [3 Feb 12]

Recognisable, in the grey, only by its flight and the black tips of its wings as it coursed low over the fields towards the Moulin de Cheverny. A nice start to the day which brightened considerably as the sun burnt through the mist.

Song Thrush on the ivy this morning... the ivy berries [an important winter food source] are the black 'seeds'.

A Song Thrush gets chased off the ivy by a Blackbird by a rear assault [beak up backside]... "My ivy berries, you!" scolded the blackbird as it sat on them calling. Dunnocks, Robins and Wrens hurtling all over the place looking for insects, although the Robins have taken to feeding from the seed feeder here. Five pheasants clustered under the sunflower seed feeder in the field gleaning what the Greenfinches, hogging the field feeder, have scattered or wasted. Mr Creosote and his chums [Goldfinches] scattering seed from the seed feeder.... a Green Groundpecker* [Picus viridis] Pic vert working over the potager whilst it still could.
[*That should read Woodpecker... but for a bird that feeds mainly on grubs and ants from the ground perhaps Groundpecker would be better... it's like the Chocolated-headed Land Gull!]

What was that?...

I'm outa here!!

A trio of Willowchiffs [collective name for Willow Warbler/Chiffchaffs when you can't hear them singing] worked their way through the battered celery plants in the potager. All in all, awful lot of bird activity as they fought to keep up their food reserves in this cold, icy weather. But I had work to do... can't spend the whole day birdwatching.

A glance out of the window as a Blue Tit risks a direct flight of the one hundred metre open ground between the trees along the bank of the river Aigronne and the seed feeder here in the cherry tree... it flew low, to avoid the attention of predators... especially the local Sparrowhawk [which I saw burst like a rocket through  the top of the cherry a couple of days ago.] As he passed over the bief edge, I saw movement down by the water's edge... aha! The Water Rail; haven't seen him for a few days, thought I... but wait, that colouring seems wrong... look again.

A Snipe [Gallinago gallinago] Bécassine des marais was preening itself just opposite the kitchen window.
Then it went hunting for food. It looks for soft accessible organic soil, rich in food organisms just below surface. It also requires clumps or patches of vegetation/shrub as cover. Both of which it has aplenty along the bank of the bief.

The warming of the beak!

Warmer now... let's carry on...

It is not a common bird in France [Concise Birds of the Western Palearctic give the distribution in France as 300-350 breeding pairs; listed as decreasing - 2002] - we are towards the southern end of the range here, but it is believed to breed in the Brenne, where it would nest in a shallow scrape, concealed in short vegetation.

A-probing we shall go...

The winter distribution is as far away as the Nile valley and North Africa, but it is shown as a resident breeding species in the Loire valley.  So we are more likely to see them in the winter months. I thought I'd heard 'drumming' round here before, but had dismissed it as such... but pairing and display may well take place as they migrate to breeding grounds and we now know they feed around here in Winter.

Blending in well with the vegetation

He then went up on the bank to pose!

And he's there again now as I started to write this this morning, probing away at the mud along the edge... I wonder how often we've missed seeing them.

14th & 15th May 2005 - Observations in Nature Diary

14th
Possible Corncrake calling from over the road, called three times.
Oriole singing in poplar plantation. Hen Harrier [male] over woods.

15th
Did a walk from the LPO book 'Voir les Oiseaux en Touraine' [Walk 13 - Etableau, Grand Pressigny] -  
Orchids, Scarce and normal Swallowtails, further on [just beyond the set-aside that lies behind the wood behind Gatault] Stone Curlews.
Came down past la Duranderie onto the Etableau to Preuilly road [D42].
Walked back through Etableau past a marvelous potager to our car.
Good walk, well marked in the book and not tiring despite the heat.
Then went up above La Jarrie... orchids all way up the hill...  
Autumn crocus seed pods visible in the ditches towards la Celle Geunand.

Swallowtail