19th February to 6th March 2005 Observations from Nature Diary and Notebooks

19th Feb - 6th March 2005 [Dead Season, ha-ha]
Brenne [Visit on a bright and sunny day] -
Loads of Great White Egrets and G-C Grebes. Also cormorants, lapwings, gulls.
Small flocks [20'ish] of Pochard and Wigeon at Foucault.
Very little else except a Red Kite and Little Egrets
.
La Forge - Accumulated observations...
[Weather V.cold - sunny with occasional snowy days - water froze in minus 12 degrees Celsius temperature.]
Barn Owl seen on road to village numerous times after dark.
Black Redstart around grinding his little steel balls.
Blackbirds, Robins, large flocks of Fieldfares.
Kestrels, Buzzards and a raptor with very white blaze at base of tail flew across field and meadow and up to the trees below la Jarrie. Female Hen Harrier or Monty? definately not a buzzard.
Saw a Water Vole by our bridge....
also three Coypu [ragondins] by baby poplars toward Bezuard and on the bank between Richard's etang and the bief. >>>
Found a fresh Barn or Tawny Owl pellet on the concrete lid of water meter mains tap.

From the Nature Diary:

20th
Dry, cold, sunny. Bodie the buzzard calling - else very little moving.

21st
Sunny - snowed in evening - Loads of birds calling but little to see.

Ragondin [Coypu]

22nd
Snow showers and sunshine breaks - saw coypu in young poplar grove opposite the wier.
Heard tawny, barn and little owls calling after dark [around 8pm]

24th
Found deadish catfish in the bief [there was a little bit of muscular twitching]