Orchids go on line

Here's an exciting piece of news for French orchid-spotters, from Benjamin Griard, for the Faune-Touraine team:

The VisioNature family of websites has grown. The National Orchid Society "la Société Française d'Orchidiphilie" has just put a national data entry site on line: 

http://orchisauvage.fr/. 

Its purpose is to collect your data on wild orchids. You can log on to it, as with all the other sites of this type, using the same identifiers (your e-mail address and password) that you use currently on Faune-Touraine. It will soon be spring and the orchids will soon be back! 

Good observations!

If you aren't already registered on a VisioNature site and would like to be, you can join directly on orchissauvage, or via the faune-touraine website if you live in Indre et Loire, or from one of the "other sites" if you live in elsewhere in France. Be prepared for a question about your background in Natural History (e.g membership of organisations, etc) and it's all in French, of course. I have undergone a crash course in bird names and behavioural descriptions (comportement) and made a couple of stupid mistakes, but the team has been very kind.

VisioNature is a great way of learning what's around and where you might see it. The gallery of photographs is always worth a look - there are some professional-quality pictures there, look out for Céline's work in particular.

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

15th to 23rd May 2004 Observations from Nature Diary and Notebooks

15th to 20th [and the 23rd] May 2004
Observations at La Forge and an Orchid Walk organised by the Patrimoine.
[The middle bit was spent at the meeting of 2CV friends at Bessais le Fromental in the Berry 
but we returned early as the people in the caravan next door had a generator running all night!! 
And it was on our tent's side of their caravan... made it worse. Was tempted to use some sugar in the tank... but lethargy prevailed.]

At La Forge.... 
Stone Curlews nesting in field oppposite house [Richard had planted tournesol]
We had our meadow cut and the Montague's Harrier came in to hunt as the hay was being turned.

On the 20th we went on an Orchid Walk...
very well organised [and the first Natural History event we'd come across for 'les adultes']
Went in our own transport in a convoy, first to the top of the hill outside GP on the Barrou road.
At the junction of the road leading down to the 'independant' commune of [name] we saw six species including Purple Limodore and Man Orchid.

Purple Limodore || Man Orchid

Our guide and lecturer pointed out the 'odd' orchids [crosses between species]... very interseting and informative.
Then via someone's 'private' road down to the road from Etableau to Chaumassay and the Lady and Bee orchids along there at the side of the railway.
 
At Chaumassay we looked at the huge colony of Lizard orchid above the Source and then followed the railway towards Les Haute Thurinieres.
The whole track and road side was covered in different species in quantity...
20 metres of embankment covered in Monkey Orchid. Also Man, Lady, Bee, Spider in quantity.
 
Leaving our transports at the roadside we walked through some private woods to see Green-winged, Narrow-leaved and Pyramid [as well as wild Aqueligia]
Returning to the transport we carried on along the railway line to the Boussay road and turned back toward Chaumassay.

Just passed the other [more well known?] La Forge we drove up a track to look at the chalky Juniper wasteland in search of Fly orchid [found some, but they were immature] and the descended the hillside above La Forge, back towards the road... great examples of Pyramid and some Burnt Orchid.

Fly Orchid || Burnt Orchid

Most species seen were a first for us. We've been back along that route many a time... it still thrills!