As my old thread is still locked up I thought I'd start & new one. New home, new thread, new forum!!
Since moving in we've been really busy but here are a few photos taken along the way, these are a pair of Gland weevils, up to something naughty on the moth trap,
a Shield bug (for Rockwolf, where is she?) ,Pantilus tunicatus,
A flight of storks passing over on migration, someone asked me once, how do you know a bird is on migration "Does it have it's suitcase with it?" & they are quite right, most of the time it's circumstantial evidence,
& a local stork flying around,
meanwhile, whilst insulating the roof space I found this perfectly dried Garden dormouse (male!) which obviously died a horrible death from poisoning,
a Robin on the overhead cable, they don't come too close;
This is it's & our view of the estuary marshes,
A spider visiting the moth trap, Hogna radiata,
A burying beetle, Necrodes littoralis, also around the moth-trap
& a hornet, who wasn't agressive fortunately,
a Migrant Hawker on the marshes,
some Great White Egrets,
Cattle Egrets (probably), sitting on the fence,
& finally another Spider around the moth trap, Xysticus sp,
I'll try & finish this update later. Thanks for looking.
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Found all your wagtails Hazel, great to see them altogether. I don't know about Spring we might have added an hour on today but just wish the weather would practice more and produce a little warmth:)
Lot to learn
My cousin turned up for his holiday (staying locally in a B&B with friends) & the weather has perked up too! We saw this dead snake on one walk & it turned out to be an ASP! Quite rare here,
I hope nobody has a snake phobia!
Methinks the phobia arises from googling snakebites on Wiki!!!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
I'm not keen on anything like that after a visit to an aquarium as a child! However I don't run away now!
Hazel C said:an ASP! Quite rare here,
Ha ha ha EB ... Here was me going to quote something quite erudite from Shakespeare but your play on words is so much better!
Wonderful photos Hazel. I love South of France but have never visited your area. Your photos make me really want yo go next year if I can!! I visit Poland regularly as my wife is Polish. This year I only managed one day's bird watching whilst there but still saw a white tailed eagle and a flock of Sandhill Cranes!!
Thanks all for your comments & interest in our bit of France. We had a treat this morning as 3 Goldcrests arrived together & flew around in the cherry tree for about 10 minutes. It was a dull day so the pics aren't great, but probably my best yet of this species. They were taken through a window & cropped hard! I think they may be either migrating or come here for the winter, we never see them in the summer normally.
Full on towards me, this is definately a male,
& nice side view
Not sure if this is male or female
same one on another view
& again, they never stop moving around do they,
& back view
They really brightened up a dull wet day! However we were very pleased to see the rain, great for the garden & the pond digging project which has been on hold for weeks.
Ooh how lovely Hazel, they are lovey wee birds. Thought I had a quick visit on one occasion but not sure, would love see them again. The 2nd picture shows a very grumpy faced Goldcrest!!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Lovely wee birds, Hazel.
My bird photos HERE