La Météo... Wet with rare outbreaks of Sunshine

A Weather Review of 2013

A summary of 2013

2012 records are in [brackets and italics] in this table.

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   12.0 (Mean Minimum     6.1 / Mean Maximum     17.9)
Minimum          -7.5 on 16/01/2013 [-20.6 on 07/02/2012]
Maximum          38.7 on 21/07/2013 [26.7 on 15/03/2012]
Highest Minimum  23.8 on 27/08/2013 [21.1 on 18/06/2012]
Lowest Maximum   0.0 on 06/01/2013 [-6.0 on 07/02/2012]
Air frosts       59  [41]

Rainfall (mm):
Total for period 717.3 [777.0 for 2012]
Wettest day      33.9 on 14/09/2013 [371.4 on 16/03/2012]
High rain rate   99.0 day 18/01/2013 [165.6 day 08/08/2012]
Rain days        174 [79]

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     42.8 on 24/12/2013
Average Speed    1.1
Wind Run         7881.1 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1041.0 on 15/01/2013
Minimum          995.5 on 10/02/2013

The Wind data are unreliable early on... 

a new windspeed sensor was only installed halfway through the year...

until then it only had two cones... not three...

in strong wind that meant that it often got stuck...

unable to turn with the wind. 

-----ooo))0O0((ooo-----

January

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   3.9 (Mean Minimum     0.4 / Mean Maximum     7.4)
Minimum          -7.5 day 16
Maximum          15.1 day 31
Highest Minimum  4.9 day 09
Lowest Maximum   0.0 day 06
Air frosts       10

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  61.2 [2012 - 37.8mm]
Wettest day      10.2 day 09
High rain rate   99.0 day 18
Rain days        21

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     33.1 day 21
Average Speed    0.5
Wind Run         285.3 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1041.0 day 15
Minimum          0.0 day 06 [a bit vacuous this!!]

FebruaryThe pré is part of the floodplain of the Aigronne...

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   5.4 (Mean Minimum     0.5 / Mean Maximum     10.3)
Minimum          -4.2 day 20
Maximum          15.4 day 19
Highest Minimum  5.9 day 01
Lowest Maximum   5.5 day 12
Air frosts       9

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  49.5 [2012 - 12.6mm]
Wettest day      20.4 day 01
High rain rate   18.0 day 09
Rain days        12

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     36.7 day 05
Average Speed    0.7
Wind Run         334.9 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1031.5 day 03
Minimum          995.5 day 10

March...saw more Snakeshead fritillaries than in previous years!

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   7.4 (Mean Minimum     1.3 / Mean Maximum     13.5)
Minimum          -6.2 day 15
Maximum          21.2 day 07
Highest Minimum  10.3 day 08
Lowest Maximum   5.1 day 29
Air frosts       11

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  43.2 [2012 - 395.1mm]
Wettest day      5.4 day 07
High rain rate   43.2 day 31
Rain days        16

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     29.5 day 08
Average Speed    0.2
Wind Run         148.0 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1016.0 day 03
Minimum          981.8 day 11

AprilFortunately the pré is much lower than the house!!

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   10.8 (Mean Minimum     3.5 / Mean Maximum     18.2)
Minimum          -4.5 day 03
Maximum          29.9 day 24
Highest Minimum  12.3 day 17
Lowest Maximum   7.8 day 06
Air frosts       6

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  59.4 [2012 - 9.9mm]
Wettest day      15.6 day 11
High rain rate   18.0 day 11
Rain days        9

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     31.7 day 09
Average Speed    0.1
Wind Run         35.6 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1020.6 day 19
Minimum          989.8 day 09

May...and still it rained and rained!

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   12.9 (Mean Minimum     6.6 / Mean Maximum     19.1)
Minimum          1.3 day 24
Maximum          27.0 day 07
Highest Minimum  13.1 day 08
Lowest Maximum   12.4 day 20
Air frosts       0

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  64.5 [2012 - 9.6mm]
Wettest day      10.8 day 21
High rain rate   16.2 day 08
Rain days        17

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     15.8 day 08
Average Speed    0.0
Wind Run         0.4 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1014.4 day 13
Minimum          989.0 day 16

JuneThanks to the rain we discovered four more types of Orchid on our land.

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   17.7 (Mean Minimum     10.8 / Mean Maximum     24.7)
Minimum          5.3 day 26
Maximum          33.0 day 06
Highest Minimum  15.9 day 18
Lowest Maximum   18.8 day 13
Air frosts       0

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  40.8 [2012 - 16.2mm]
Wettest day      12.3 day 13
High rain rate   14.4 day 13
Rain days        16

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     18.4 day 23
Average Speed    0.0
Wind Run         0.8 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1021.6 day 26
Minimum          997.2 day 17

July

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   22.7 (Mean Minimum     14.1 / Mean Maximum     31.3)
Minimum          9.2 day 01
Maximum          38.7 day 21
Highest Minimum  18.1 day 19
Lowest Maximum   16.6 day 03
Air frosts       0

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  9.3 [2012 - 15.0mm]
Wettest day      3.9 day 02
High rain rate   7.2 day 02
Rain days        8

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     20.9 day 29
Average Speed    0.2
Wind Run         286.1 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1030.7 day 30
Minimum          1002.0 day 02

August...we tended to see the morning sun...

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   17.0 (Mean Minimum     12.7 / Mean Maximum     21.2)
Minimum          0.0 day 11
Maximum          37.9 day 01
Highest Minimum  23.8 day 27
Lowest Maximum   0.0 day 11
Air frosts       0

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  41.7 [2012 - 30.3]
Wettest day      8.7 day 06
High rain rate   7.2 day 07
Rain days        10

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     19.4 day 02
Average Speed    1.6
Wind Run         349.0 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1032.7 day 10
Minimum          0.0 day 11 [Not really!]

September

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   17.5 (Mean Minimum     10.5 / Mean Maximum     24.5)
Minimum          4.7 day 10
Maximum          31.5 day 24
Highest Minimum  16.0 day 28
Lowest Maximum   17.9 day 17
Air frosts       0

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  61.2 [2012 - 7.8mm]
Wettest day      33.9 day 14
High rain rate   21.6 day 28
Rain days        12

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     30.6 day 17
Average Speed    2.1
Wind Run         1045.1 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1027.2 day 22
Minimum          1000.9 day 29

October

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   15.0 (Mean Minimum     10.3 / Mean Maximum     19.8)
Minimum          0.0 day 28
Maximum          26.8 day 03
Highest Minimum  16.2 day 04
Lowest Maximum   11.0 day 29
Air frosts       0

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  170.1 [2012 - 84.6mm]
Wettest day      30.6 day 28
High rain rate   39.6 day 14
Rain days        23

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     22.0 day 23
Average Speed    1.9
Wind Run         1110.7 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1026.0 day 06
Minimum          0.0 day 28 [Not really!]

NovemberPrivé - the walnuts were scarce this year!

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   7.1 (Mean Minimum     3.1 / Mean Maximum     11.2)
Minimum          -4.3 day 28
Maximum          19.0 day 07
Highest Minimum  14.3 day 07
Lowest Maximum   5.9 day 18
Air frosts       5

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  69.6 [2012 - 87.6mm]
Wettest day      20.1 day 05
High rain rate   82.8 day 05
Rain days        15

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     39.2 day 10
Average Speed    3.4
Wind Run         2100.3 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1034.4 day 26
Minimum          993.3 day 05

December

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   5.9 (Mean Minimum     -0.1 / Mean Maximum     11.9)
Minimum          -6.7 day 10
Maximum          17.9 day 16
Highest Minimum  9.3 day 24
Lowest Maximum   7.5 day 14
Air frosts       18

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  46.8 [2012 - 75.8mm]
Wettest day      15.3 day 28
High rain rate   9.0 day 28
Rain days        15

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     42.8 day 24
Average Speed    2.9
Wind Run         2184.9 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1033.0 day 14
Minimum          987.0 day 24

Walt's graphs for 2013 can be found here.
Susan's 2013 commentary, from her field notes, can be found here.

The full 2012 Summary is available here.
 

The odd zero pressure readings are probably due to a transmission breakdown...
we have seen odd "flat spots" on the graphs...
and the batteries were renewed during the year!!

Wishing everyone a Happy, Health and Prosperous 2014...
and here's a prayer for more clement weather.

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There is a new entry for the blog about the meadow here on Art en Saule.

An étourneau-shing sight...

Starling [Sturnus vulgaris] Étourneau sansonnet

Yesterday morning we had a flight of at least four thousand to five thousand Starlings [Sturnus vulgaris] Étourneau sansonnet over the house...
now we understand why they are a nuisible in France...
it was one of those "Wow!!" moments.

I was looking out of the kitchen window when they started coming past...
and, as they kept coming, I became a little hypnotised by the movement of the birds.
They were flying straight down the Aigronne Valley...
East to West!

What it looked like... but this was from later and not so close!

When I'd pulled myself together...
after a couple of minutes, I might add...
I called upstairs to Pauline...
 mainly because she hadn't "informed" me of the flypast...
so I knew she hadn't, at that point, spotted them.

They continued flying past for about another minute...
and as the tail-end left my view point I dashed to the "front" door...
grabbing a camera off the table en-route...

They were this close to the house... but travelling East to West!!

It was only then that I realised that they had over-flown the house...
and not just in front of the kitchen window...
they were still passing on the other side of the longére!!
But only for a few seconds...

So...
I didn't get any pictures at that point...
but...
looking over toward Grandmont and La Jarrie a couple of hours later...
Pauline spotted another well known starling "sight"...
a "murmuration"....
this can take place at a roost in the evening...
or if there is a raptor about...
quite often below the flock...
waiting to pick one off as they settle into a tree...
or onto the ground.
As we saw our "murmuration" around mid-morning...
'twas probably the latter.

The starlings stretch from the top of the picture to the bottom...
view large by clicking on these pictures for the full effect.

There were probably around a thousand in this flock...
really tiny... when compared with the two U-Tube videos below.

Here they are spiralling up and down...

While Pauline has seen this type of display at a roost of many thousands near York...
this is the first time I have seen it "live"...
"as seen on TV" wildlife action being my only viewings up to yesterday!!

They are off the top of this picture and linked by some birds to the two "blobs" at the bottom...

...these two blobs!!

The flock Pauline spotted, broke up and about half flew towards us and directly overhead...
and as the camera was in hand, I could at least show you what the sky looked like in the morning...
albeit from the wrong direction...
they are the two flight shots at the start!.

So... here's a couple of U-Bend videos of these wonderful displays...
starting with one filmed at the RSPB's Otmoor Reserve, just outside Oxford...
which has a very good commentary...

I recommend watching this one full screen...

This second one is at Gretna Green...
and there is a single falcon around, near the roost...
another favourite place for a raptor to lie in wait!!

And "Tweet of the Day" on Radio Four this morning was.....

The Starling

 presented by David Attenborough!!

Chiffchaff cabaret

For the last fortnight we have been entertained by a quartet of athletic chiffchaffs (phylloscopus collybita, pouillot véloce). The combination of soggy ground and (relatively) warm days has resulted in swarms of flies and other small insects rising from the grassland. Numbers of these find their way onto the wall of our kitchen, lounge and bedrooms, which faces northwest. The chiffchaffs spend the day target-spotting from perches in the cherry tree and the smaller trees that line the bank of the bief.

I've got my eye on you

They snatch insects out of the air, or rootle in the window boxes, or hop along the window sills, or hover at the top of the window, or even smash-and-grab flies from the glass with a loud thump. They show no fear of us. Several times one or other of us has come face to face with a small rotund olive-and-green bird, about a foot away, separated only by the double glazing. They are fast movers, but Tim managed to get some nice pictures.

who's got short primary projections then

Chiffchaffs are resident in this part of France, which probably means that "our" summer singing birds are now in Spain or North Africa, and "our" winter gang of athletes spent the summer in the forests of Scandinavia. They may be a group of siblings from this year's brood. They are certainly extremely fit and successful hunters.

The short tips to the primary wing feathers and dark legs distinguish a chiffchaff from its close relative, the willow warbler (phylloscopus trochilus, pouillot fitis), but the real distinction is its song. The chiffchaff goes "chiff-chaff chiff-chiff-chaff" and the willow warbler gives a monotonous descending "twee twee tweedle". The willow warbler is strictly a summer visitor to western Europe, and I've never heard one in the Aigronne valley. Ornithologist Tim Dixon tells of a bird ringing exercise near York in which a small olive-and-green warbler was definitely identified in the hand as a willow warbler. When released, it flew away singing "chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff"...

Reasons to linger longer in bed...

A strong wind blowing from the West on a miserable, damp, grey morning...
the bedroom is nice and warm...
the bed even cosier...
we have a cup each of Taylor's on the bedside tables...
and each a pair of binoculars...

And we are watching the birds...
Our view is a little restricted...
but we can see the ridge opposite.

From left... Long wave radio for the cricket [unplugged], bird book, binos, cat brushes and McDougalls Flour Men

First some pigeons having a "fly around"....
back and forth...
always a straggler...

The odd pair of crows...
making their way westward against the wind...
then a flock of small birds rapidly westward across our view!

Too fast to identify properly, but all the "jizz"...
the way they are flying, the way they behave....
shouts...
starlings...
busy aiming toward feeding grounds....
that they probably hadn't finished working yesterday...
before heading home to roost...

Then something larger glides slowly into vision...
just a buzzard!
Three seem to be around again...
nice to see them back after about a month's absence.

Buze Variable

It is hunting the ridge opposite...
using the wind to hold it steady whilst it watches the ground...
hunting...
hunting...
the primary feathers are completely spread...
like fingers at the end of the wing...
they twitch and flicker...
the wings jiggle...
the tail twists one way...
then the other...
controlling its position minutely...
it must be rising and falling as it makes its way against the wind...
but it is imperceptible...
it looks like it is travelling on rails...
all the time the head is moving left and right..
scanning the ground...

Common Buzzard

It sees something and begins to hover...
like a kestrel...
not as smoothly...
but enough to hold station...
eyes fixed on the ground below...
the wings close into the body as it stoops...
but then, almost as quickly they flick back out...
and the buzzard rises on the wind...
allowing itself to be carried up...
and back to where it began the stoop...
it had lost sight of the prey.

Three times we watched it pass the windows westward...
working the ridge...

The ridge up by La Jarrie

A sudden burst of activity nearer to us...
a cloud of LBJs lifts into the sky from our riverbank...
then two crows, chasing a raptor, come flying past...
making the deep cronking call we've noticed...
when watching them harry predators...
From what little we saw of the raptor...
it was probably the female sparrowhawk...
she's a regular along the riverbank and past the house.


Reasons enough I think to stay a little longer in bed...
on a Sunday!!

_____________________________________oOo_____________________________________

[LBJs... Little Brown Jobs... usually used to group the mixed flocks of winter buntings, finches and tits... often seen in silhouette against a grey sky... but often 'hiding' interesting species.]

Look out, there's a monster coming

Last night, at precisely 18:30, a ravening monster could be seen ascending the narrow road beyond the Aigronne opposite our kitchen windows. It was full dark on one of the longest nights of the year, and the creature was lighting its way by its own blaze. It let out a terrible roaring. With shaking hands I held up the camera.

Aiee! A Balrog! A Balrog is come!

The maize harvester had come at last, to finish the crop ahead of the first of a series of storms that threaten an unpleasant Christmas for us. Tim saw three half-tracked harvesters on the local roads in "convoi agricole" yesterday, one with clearly new tracks. This swarm of toothy monsters reinforces our feeling that it's the lack of machinery suitable for soft ground that is delaying the maize harvest.

Half-track maize harvester, behind the trees that border the Aigronne, running ahead of the storm

The loss of water meadow to highly profitable maize monoculture is heartbreaking to lovers of wildlife. Formerly, the waterside fields were used as grazing and to provide hay for livestock. The maize provides cover and gleanings for game birds such as red-legged partridge but little else. The habitat used to support wetland birds such as snipe and flowers like the snakeshead fritillary, but they are increasingly hard to find.

The heavy machinery is compacting the soil, making it less able to absorb heavy rain and increasing the flood risk all along the valley. Pools of standing water saturate the crop after every rainfall, causing great patches to rot and die. In the large meadow next to the bridge, the attempted maize crop was such a spectacular failure that the owner, a dairy farmer, re-seeded with rye grass and has gone back to hay and silage. Unfortunately the wild flowers are gone.

Ravening monster by daylight - note the caterpillar track around the front wheel

Yet there are still wet water meadows with a more positive future. There is what is being done in Yorkshire at Wheldrake Ings, more details see here and here. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust bought Wheldrake Ings in 1973. It forms part of the Lower Derwent Valley national nature reserve, which is a RAMSAR site of international importance for wetland birds. The method of land use, once the norm, has all but died out in the British Isles.

The hay meadows of Wheldrake Ings are managed as they have been for hundreds of years. The meadows are cut in July and stock turned out to graze the aftermath until October. Nature then takes over, and the winter floods enrich the meadows with sediment washed down from the moors.

In keeping with tradition, the graziers used by the Trust are local farmers, who live close to the meadows.. 

Wheldrake Ings Floodplain Meadows - Credit Kirsty Brown

These meadows have up to 25 plant species per square metre - better than a field of maize any day!

Again, along the banks of the Indre between Loches and Beaulieu lès-Loches, the water meadows of les Prairies du Roy are now an attractive and educational piece of ecotourism, and a valuable flood defence, albeit at a price of over 1 million euros. Here, the hay/grazing/flood annual cycle had given way to poplar plantations, overgrown scrub and fly-tipping, rather than maize, but the effect was the same - biodiversity was shrinking all the time while species loss accelerated. Now those species at least have a chance to return.

Les Prairies du Roy - the hay meadows return

Mouse's'miles...

A new unit of measure...
no, not really...
just one very well travelled mouse...
posing for the camera.

I'm not sure what that right front paw is trying to convey... but I can guess!!

The saga started when I noticed something yellow in the back footwell of our Merc estate!
Closer inspection showed it to be little bits of duster...
Looking in the pocket on the back of the driver's seat told me where it had come from...
a traditional yellow duster...
which now had a collection of holes in it.. and some very, very small droppings attached...
I shook the duster out and put it back...
checking that there wasn't anyone at home elsewhere in the pocket.
I checked the other pocket on the front passenger seat...
no sign that anyone had ever been there..........

I checked under one section of the rear passenger seat...
aha!!
Some small b'stard had chewed a hole in the LIDL insulated bag...
right on the fold necessary to keep it under the seat.
Not a great loss... we haven't used it since we've been in France.
But it had also eaten a chestnut from Valmer... a Horse Chestnut... about four years old...
collected before we moved and forgotten about until they were iron hard...
I put the seat back down...

All that's left... bits of husk, the base and bits of LIDL cool bag!!

Going round the other side of the car, I lifted the other section of the rear seat...
it had been here too...
it had chewed an old single duvet cover, kept under the seat for covering goods in the back.
I lifted the duvet cover and spotted the nest....

Well made... but some of those lime leaves are green...
how long has it been there...
how far has it travelled!??

the nest moved...
I poked it with a finger...
and something mouse-like shot out...
and under the seat that I'd put down...
Hmmm! 

I left the door wide open and went back round the driver's side...
and opened the rear door...
and lifted the seat.

"EeeeK! PaniC!! It's a human... where do I go...?"

I aimed to grab its tail....
but it decided to make good its escape and shot out of the opposite door.
GOOD!!
It is not wanted in this vehicle!

I replaced the seat and went to check the nest...
most of which consisted of lime leaves...
I have no idea when the mouse had moved in, but there must be an easy way in and out...
most of the lime leaves looked fairly whole.
I investigated the nest... the hole in the middle looked about right for a single mouse...
and there wasn't a family left behind!

A cosy home... I bundled it back together!!

There was another, untouched chestnut sitting behind the duvet cover...
I placed that near the entrance to the nest...
and put the seat back down...
then..
I moved the car!

I knew that wouldn't keep it out...
when doing a study on Bank Voles...

I had a chubby little male who used to go back into the trap almost as soon as I left the area...
on the final occasion I heard the trap's door close before I left...
I had to move the trapping site... and took all my traps to an area just over a mile away.
It took him seven and a half days to find them again... and he was 6 grams lighter!

In this case, when I checked under the seat...
I saw the nest move... good, it is back... it can get out in Grand Pressigny!
I arrived in Grand Pressigny... no sign of the little critter... damn!

In the afternoon we went to Chatellerault...
still no sign...
but some of the "new" chestnut had been nibbled!
The next day I didn't go anywhere...
but checked the nest on the Wednesday...
before we left for the Touraine Bloggers Christmas Lunch party...
it moved as I lifted the seat...
right! It can get out in Montrichard!!!

After the meal...
no, it wasn't there...
li'l'ugger!!

Right... 
this means war...
time to set the traps.

I baited them with "Snacky-Cracky" from SuperU...
irresistible...
and not just to rodents...
one trap in the footwell and one under the smaller seat...
and...
this morning...
SUCCESS!!
Got 'im!!!!
Yes... it was a HE...
a male Wood Mouse, Field Mouse [Apodemus sylvaticus] Souris de terre, Souris des bois.

Trying to let him go!!
You can just make him out on the left...
Every time I opened the front, he pushed on the bar and closed the door!
No... he hadn't finished the "Snacky-Cracky", thank you....
in the end I tipped him out!!

He "got out" by the "noyer privée" on the way into Grand Pressigny!

I left him by a good food supply...
someone else's... but it won't harm...
if they are still on the ground now,
they are under all the leaves!!

We have no idea how long he'd been in residence...
nor, how many miles he'd travelled...
but, in and out of Chatellerault...
and there and back to Montrichard...
he's got to have travelled many more miles than 99% of Field Mice...
but, it does go to show....
in these days of Chunnel and Ferry travel....
and "borderless" countries...
just how easy it must be for small mammals...
or insects... to cross continents!!

On returning home...
I reset the trap!!
I wonder..............................................?

Any Umbel will do!!

Susan from Days on the Claise blogged about what wildlife to look for in September and mentioned that the Swallowtail [Papilio machaon] caterpillar can be found feeding on Fennel, French Hog's-fennel or Wild Parsnip -- "it's even worth checking your garden carrots" she wrote...

Apparently any of the Umbelliferae will do....
The one below was on our Celeriac...

for a Swallowtail, though, I don't mind the loss of a leaf or two on these rather healthy plants!

NB: In the UK they are confined to the Norfolk Broads where they only feed on Milk Parsley...
Perhaps they need a bit of instruction?

The Sprawler

While waiting for the EDF meter reader to turn up, I photographed this Sprawler moth Asteroscopus sphinx (formerly called Brachionycha sphinx grrr) Noctuelle-Sphinx or Noctuelle de Cassini. He (we think, but he's keeping his antennae well tucked in) has been perching on our front door for several days now, and given the recent sub-zero nights he has need of that fluffy coat. The meter reader looked rather chilled too.

Who's got hairy legs then?

Adult Sprawler moths are found throughout much of northern Europe. They are active from October to December in France. The larvae feed on the leaves of deciduous trees, mainly oaks - spoiled for choice round here! Presumably the eggs are deposited on twigs. The fur coat is excellent camouflage against oak bark, though not so good on a window. Last night no less than four of them were distributed on various windows and Tim found the big eyes rather spooky - he said, "Ever felt you were being watched?".

... and a hairy chest, too!

Further information and pictures may be found in English in UKMoths, and in French in Lepinet, Les Carnets du Lépidoptériste Français. Here you will find photographs by Phillippe Mothiron. No pun intended...

L'éperon Murat : attention, fragile!

So read the headline on page eleven of Sunday's La Nouvelle République....
and it was an article about the new plans for the site that we wrote about here as part of the post on Sunday 20th October.

So whilst I took advantage of the "drier" weather to scalp the areas of grass we tread most...
Pauline translated and summarised the article.....

La Nouvelle République, 17 novembre 2013
L'éperon Murat, warning, fragile!

It is one of two sensitive natural areas in the Loches area.
L'éperon Murat (the Murat Spur), at Ferrière-Larçon, benefits from protection which is entering a new phase.

About a hundred sheep are pastured on the Murat Spur, where the Larçon joins the Brignon. This is one of the headline actions undertaken for a decade aimed at preserving this sensitive natural environment (1).
The objective is simple: the animals participate in the maintenance of the dry grassland of this promontory, an environment which has become rare in the region (2).

Protection of the Murat Spur, act II.
The Conservatoire d'espaces naturels (CEN) of the Centre region is studying a management plan which is nearing completion. At Ferrière-Larçon a couple of weeks ago, the assocation made public the new plan for the next ten years. In broad outline, the planned actions are much the same as those to date.

The extensive sheep pasture, which was re-established in 2005, will continue, in collaboration with the same farmer, Pascale Jacquet from La Celle-Guénand.
The sheep-farmer has the use of the land rent-free,
In return he must follow a list of exact duties.
"I am not from a farming background", explains M. Jacquet, who practises "agriculture raisonnée" [minimum intervention agriculture #] and sells direct from the farm.
"When I wanted to go into sheep, I didn't have room. So I accepted the proposal. I apply something very like the system of transhumance in the mountains."
Of his 250 ewes, between 30 and 100 are thus pastured on the Murat Spur.

"It's typical of what we're trying to do in environments formerly maintained by farmers and which, difficult to get to, are no longer of interest for traditional farming", explains Rolland Paillat, scientific study officer at CEN and principal author of the 2014-2023 management plan.
[It is also similar to the principle of the "Flying Flocks" and other conservation grazing as used by The Wildlife Trusts  and others in the UK.]

A more overgrown area

The restoration of the grassland will therefore continue.
This will happen notably by the removal of numerous pine trees which will give air and space for other plant species. In particular, the eight protected plant species (all orchids) and the twelve other regionally uncommon species, such as the Summer Pheasant's Eye [Adonis aestivalis] Adonis goutte-de-sang which the Murat Spur is home to.
That is without mentioning the varied fauna which lives in the 31.5 hectares of the site, owned by the conseil général.

The Junipers, that can be seen behind the oak and the orchids [ Cephalanthera sp.]
in this picture, are encroaching quite rapidly in some places... the sheep don't eat it!

In all, over the next ten years, 250,000 € is expected to be invested to safeguard the Murat Spur.

(1) With Les Prairies du Roi on the outskirts of Loches, it is one of two Sensitive Natural Spaces in the Loches area.
(2) Mainly financed by the Region and the conseil général.

Facts
Where...

The Murat Spur is one kilometre south of Ferrière-Larçon, along the D50.

Area...
31.5 ha acquired by the conseil général

Types of environment...
Chalky dry grassland, oak woodland (pubescent and sessile), heathland...

A close up of the turf.

Flora...

More than 360 plant species, including eight regionally protected species (Man Orchid, three Cephalantheras: rubra, longifolia and grandiflora, Small Spider Orchid,  Pyrenean fragrant orchid, Violet Limodore, Burnt Orchid and Pyramidal Orchid).

Fauna...
Nationally protected: Large Blue butterfly, Western Whip snake, Western Green lizard. Also nine species of bat, which will be the object of particular attention in the new management plan. This is notably to preserve their hibernation hollows.
The maintenance of the ripisylve* of the Larçon will also be an objective of the management plan.

[Links in the above three sections go to Loire Valley Nature.]

Visit...
The site is open to the public (sic).
Two organised visits take place annually by CEN on the theme of orchids.
Contact www.cen-centre.org.

(*Riparian forest = natural woodlands beside watercourses)
(# Similar ideals to the Wholesome Food Association's rules)

Five more hectares...
A particular effort will focus on the hillside of Montaugon, a plot of a little less than five hectares recently acquired by the conseil général.

"It is an environment similar to the Murat Spur, about 500m away as the crow flies, which has long been abandoned.  The first tree-felling work has started", Rolland Paillat from CEN commented.

The full article is here...

Now some more pictures from L'éperon Murat...

Hybrid Lady Orchid [possibly Lady x Man]

Milkwort thriving in the short turf left by the sheep.

Variations on Spider Orchids

Burnt Orchid

A couple of 'hoppers

A pale Green-winged Orchid

Cephalanthera longifolia

Fly Orchid

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CRANE UPDATE: Cranes on weather radar!

Follow this link to see the migration of the cranes on the 13th of November...
showing up on the Rain Radar on Meteo60 [http://www.meteo60.fr/]...
32,700 Cranes left Lac du Der in the space of around 4 hours... starting at 8AM.
There are three weather radar clips on the entry for the 13th...
each showing various quantities of birds.
It would seem that some reached Gallocanta in Spain the following day...
their count went from 14,000 in the morning of the 14th to 39,000 by the evening!!

Not counting the 28 500 that remain at Lac du Der...
there are still over 50,000 in North Germany that are still on passage!!

Flying South.... Southwest... 'ish...

A very large flight of Cranes [Grus grus] came over very late on Friday evening...
it was almost totally dark, with low cloud, and we didn't see them.

But Pauline heard them first...
through the double glazing and with the radio on...
and the tap running!

They must have been quite low and directly overhead...
They had a 7.2 kph tail wind to assist them and vanished into the distance at amazing speed...

Boy, were they a'bugling!!
Their conversations were probably on the lines of...

"Told you it would turn nasty this week... we should have left much earlier!!"

"Yes, dear... you've been repeating that all the way! Can we change the subject now, please!!"

... and from the juvenile wing...

"Are we there yet?!"