No, this is not about sailing, I’m talking about British butterflies.  Certainly one of the best reasons to avoid C19 is by being out and about in the countryside and in southern England, particularly where there are downs and hillsides and not crowds of people, rare and beautiful butterflies are thriving.

Chalkhill Blue Butterfly

Some years ago, I was involved in a fairly dramatic car accident (not of my making I may add) which resulted in severe hearing loss. At the time I was creating natural history wildlife programmes for the BBC and Anglia TV and was able to use the developments in headphones and hearing aids to help me; but anno domini hearing deterioration and a natural preference led me away from regular broadcasting to writing, photographing and illustrating my many articles and books.

I’ve been fascinated by photography for 40 years and even processed my own colour film in a small cupboard on the landing at our home… And I was, of course, an early convert to digital photography, trying any number of different manufacturers and hoping that my growing collection of lenses would fit.

I’ve also had the good fortune to do quite a bit of travel writing, but my long -suffering wife and the various airlines I used to get us to far away places have become less tolerant of the bulk and weight of my camera gear and I got rather fed up with the ever-growing cost of each new development.

Happily. a brilliant photographer and keen naturalist friend introduced me to the Olympus Micro Four Thirds range of cameras. I won’t bore you with all the technicalities but, in essence. the electronic chip that captures the image is much smaller than the 35mm imaging chip on my very heavy Minolta Camera.

Essex Skipper Butterfly

In consequence, the entire camera is smaller and lighter. Olympus have a well-earned reputation for superb optics and wonderful engineering and have managed to incorporate such refinements as excellent anti-shake, vital for hand-held telephoto shots; and both camera and lenses are water and dust resistance, which makes them a must for the back-packing fraternity.  Indeed for any traveller who likes to get off the beaten track and have the assurance that their treasured pics will survive the adventure.

Several years ago I bought an Olympus EM-5 mk 2 camera and replaced three lenses with an Olympus 12mm to 200mm zoom lens; the best purchase I’ve made in a very long time. In a stroke the camera bag was lightened by a kilo and, as a bonus, I found I could film in good quality video from close up to telephoto without having to change lenses. Olympus is justly famous for the quality of their glass and the Pro series of lenses are world-renowned. And, though my lens is not a pro spec, I can’t fault it.

Because I am severely deaf I wear two sophisticated hearing aids, which means I can’t use headphones. I just get a rather uncomfortable feedback howl.  So recently I’ve been experimenting with an Olympus recorder LS-P4. A minute piece of sophisticated kit that sits on top of my camera flash hot-shoe and plugs into the microphone socket, providing professional-grade sound.  In order to hear messages on my mobile I use a digital neck loop, and have been delighted to find that by plugging into my neck loop I can monitor the high quality of the camera sound track in my hearing aids via a simple and cheap mini jack cable.

It’s an exciting step forward and this week I have been taking some sample videos and some stills of chalkhill blue butterflies and Essex skipper butterflies… and I’m very much looking forward to the time when I have mastered the digital editing programme I have and can add sound and vision to my blogs.

I’ve very recently had a note from Olympus telling me they have a special offer on cameras, lenses, and on the sound recorder LS-P4.

Highlight and have a look at these Links:

Direct Link: https://shop.olympus.eu/en_GB/promo.html?id=14595

enjoy.photo/deals

Enjoy Life. Stay Safe. Protect Nature.

I am a dedicated naturalist; one who needs to be out and about in the countryside to be at their happiest. I also happen to be one of the generation, the 70-plus population, affected the most by Covid-19 and have spent rather a lot of time in the garden or in the immediate environs of my home in Hertfordshire – taking the air.

There are many visitor centres and attractions based on the natural world that have had to furlough staff and, in some cases, make redundancies. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that now the lockdown is being eased these places will thrive again. They are, of course, out in the open air, which is the best place to be.

One of my favourite places to visit belongs to a very special man, David Mills, and this is a tale about his unique wildlife collection – the story of one man’s dream. David gave up a lucrative dairy farm and his pedigree herd of Channel Islands cattle on land just off the A22 at Newchapel near Lingfield in Surrey to pursue a dream. In 1994 he took a huge gamble; sold his herd and created a unique wildlife collection, housing virtually all of the native species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians found in the British Isles – as well as the odd furry immigrant.

After developing the concept, the next stage was to create enclosures and cages. These needed to have sufficient space and be filled with the right sort of habitat to allow the animals to feel comfortable enough to behave in as natural a way as possible. The core philosophy of the British Wildlife Centre being to conserve species and educate both children and their adults.

Main picture – Scottish Wild Cat, top right Red Squirrel, bottom right, Weasel

The wildlife residents range in size from red deer stags, tall as a man and requiring acres of land – to harvest mice weighing just a few grammes and capable of climbing a stalk of wheat without bending it. In between these extremes of size there are 40 or so different species of British wildlife, including the ancestor of the domestic ferret, the inquisitive and rather haughty polecat, (called “foulmart” in medieval times) and its elegant and inquisitive mustelid cousin the pine marten (known as “Sweetmart”.) Both are small, cat-sized predators driven to virtual extinction by gamekeepers over much of lowland Britain. Indeed, the polecat is still largely confined to Wales.

Pine martens very much at home hunting in trees, particularly Scots pine forests in northern England and Scotland. But these attractive predators are spreading south making themselves popular in mixed-species woodland where they tend to predate the introduced grey squirrels in preference to the endangered native red squirrel. They share their northern fastness with Scottish wildcats, arguably the rarest and most endangered our all our native wild mammals. Another victim of habitat loss and game preservation brought to the brink. They also suffered from dilution of the ancient wild cat genes through dalliance with feral domestic cats.

All three species, the two martens and the Scottish wild cats are housed in superb naturally planted enclosures and the Scottish wild cats, in particular, feel safe enough to breed with genetically pure native wildcats allowing visitors the opportunity to see them. They are so scarce and so shy in the wild that even dedicated naturalists have never seen one in the wild in the UK.

The enclosures housing weasels and stoats allow extended sightings of these mercurial little hunters. So fleeting and only spotted for a few seconds in the countryside yet they are far from rare. It’s a place where you can spend hours watching the antics of these beautiful hyperactive hunters.

Left above – Red Fox – Right above – Badger 

Certain areas at the Centre draw people like iron filings to a magnet. One of them is the fox enclosure. Foxes have a poor image generated in part by ill-informed headlines. Shy by nature, but wonderfully adaptable they are one of Britain’s two largest native predators, the other being the badger. The foxes here are in perfect physical condition, behaving much as foxes do in the wild, exploring and sniffing, scent marking and simply lazing in the sun. All too often our view of Reynard (the old country name for the fox) is limited to a sad corpse at the roadside, or a brief glimpse of an urban fox exploring the rubbish that we, who litter our environment, leave behind, yet there are few wild creatures to match a wild healthy fox in its winter coat.

Two large lakes nestle in a valley, home to a pair of otters. I’ve spent many hours watching them on the river dart in Devon. They exude enjoyment, living on a high protein wetland diet and spending a great deal of their time snoozing quietly on the bank before plunging, with hardly a ripple, into the water where their favourites pastime is playing. Feeding time with otters is very special.  I have the privilege to be the Joint President of IOSF, The International Otter Survival Fund, a charity based on the isle of Skye and dedicated to the support and conservation of otter species around the world… many of these are endangered

Among the most special features of this fabulous collection of native wildlife is the breeding colony of red squirrels that inhabits a large enclosure of trees, shrubs and grass kept in check by a family of muntjac deer. It is perhaps the most successful breeding colony of red squirrels anywhere in the UK. So at home are they, that they breed in sufficient numbers to allow some to be reintroduced to the wild; truly a case of conservation in action.  A raised walkway allows you to see the squirrels and for them to see you too. Indeed, they are so accustomed to people that they move along the rails of the walkway looking for all the world like Beatrix Potter illustrations come to life.

Feeding times are well signposted and popular, providing an excellent opportunity to see the animals at close quarters interacting with their keepers and the public.  David Mills is a superb communicator and at one time conducted most of the ‘in-cage’ lectures, but now his staff of four and a head keeper have taken over as he deals more with the administration.

Proof of the success of the Centre is the number of school parties that visit; the children are spellbound as the keepers explain the fascinations of nocturnal animals, or the way rabbits live underground, or the difference between a black rat and a common brown rat and, of course, these days, because of the pandemic, the role of black rat role in the bubonic plagues of the Middle Ages,   Details on the everyday life of hedgehogs, wood mice, owls and snakes is woven in between and, if the timing is right, (usually about 3.00pm) badgers may well come out to explore and pick up the food left out for them by the staff.

When the Covid-19 ceases to be quite so restrictive, I am sure they will resume the special photographic days when the Centre is closed to the general public. It’s well worth the extra cost for the opportunity to get much closer to the animals, fit and healthy and enjoying their superb surroundings.

 FACT BOX:   

Detailed information and directions can be found on the website – as will information on the “photographic days. www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk  e-mail: info@britishwildlifecentre.co.uk

 

 

The mere mention of the word spring conjures up visions of strengthening sunlight reflecting a multitude of shades of green; woods and hedgerows loud with birdsong and wild flowers in abundance and, everywhere you look, new life.

A queen bumblebee, an aerodynamic anomaly, wings seemingly too small to support the bulk of her furry body, trundles about seeking a safe place beneath a shed, or pile of logs, or disused wood mouse burrow to begin the process of founding a new female-dominated dynasty of worker bee pollinators – to the benefit of a host of food crops. Not so welcome, but of equal worth to gardeners and farmers, is the queen wasp. She too is searching out a site to establish her caterpillar and aphid-consuming colony. This year has the makings of a really good year for aphid species, so all those gardeners who kill wasps on sight might want to stop and think before they do. They will need the help of these small and much maligned, yellow and black aphid hunters.

Bluebell Wood in Hertfordshire – and common wasp collecting nest material 

The new decade opened with a worldwide Virus pandemic, but nature is carrying on as usual  The Duke of Burgundy fritillary butterfly, a small chequered-winged insect, favours cowslips for its larval food plant; we may look forward to a vintage butterfly year. The ‘Duke’ has some special companions in spring, the orange tip butterfly which patrols stands of garlic mustard plants and the green hairstreak butterfly that loves to sunbathe on bramble.

The month of April and May mark the highest level of migrant bird movements.  Most winter migrants like waders, ducks and wild swans will have left Britain’s lakes, ponds, estuaries and mudflats well fed in preparation for the long journey back to their summer breeding grounds, many in the far north.  From the opposite direction a flood of summer migrant songbirds is arriving, in particular the warblers.   Among them, though not known for their musical ability, will be some special rare visitors like the large fish-eating osprey and elegant common crane.  Both osprey and crane indicate the success of policies explored over many years of providing habitat and round the clock protection.  Neither as large nor as spectacular as the osprey, nor as showy as the cranes, nor as musical as the warblers, is the corncrake. This highly specialised member of the rail family very nearly became extinct in Britain due mainly to long term changes in farming practice; it’s a bird that needs flower-rich hay meadows and tall rank grasses cut much later in the year than the current trend for haylage or silage and, consequently, the secretive ratchet call of the territorial male has become a rare sound in the countryside.  Despite its seemingly weak fluttery flight the corncrake is a long-distance migrant, flying up from Africa in the spring to breed.  Once common on the flowery water meadows and traditional hayfields found in Victorian and Edwardian times, towards the end of the last century they had retreated to a small area of wildflower-rich ‘Machair’ hay meadows on the northern isles of Scotland and to a few hay fields in Ireland.

Thanks to a remarkably far sighted project sponsored among others by Whipsnade Zoo, the RSPB and the Pensthorpe Trust in Norfolk, the corncrake should be heard (once we are allowed out and about again) on the newly recreated Cambridgeshire Great Fen project, which aims to restore over 3,000 hectares of fenland habitat between Huntingdon and Peterborough.  The plan is to connect the two National Nature Reserves of Wood Walton Fen and Holme Fen and thus create an area with real conservation benefits for wildlife – and socio-economic benefits for people too.

Wood Walton Fen is an internationally important site and one of the very first designated nature reserves in Britain because of the communities of wetland plants and animals that it supports; this is reflected in its designation as a Ramsar site and Special Area of Conservation.  The whole project is impressive in its ambition and vision, aiming to combine nature conservation and management with tourism and other income-generating activities. It could also play a strategic role by storing flood water for the protection of the Middle Level System and the homes, farms and businesses that depend on this system.

However exciting they may be rarities are but the icing on the cake. It is the commonplace breeding birds like bluetits, sparrows, dunnocks and greenfinches, collared doves, robins and blackbirds that share our gardens and town parks that are the reality of the countryside and excite millions of garden birders, especially in otherwise ecologically barren areas of high density housing.  Regular feeding with nuts, seeds, fat and crumbs has meant that garden birds are filling nest boxes with clutches of eggs that will hatch to replace the birds lost to the rain-sodden winter…

Corncrake at Pensthorpe, Norfolk – and Robin in my garden

If any one particular  birdcall heralds the spring, it must be the bi-syllabic chiff-chaff which repeats its name from hazel twigs in ancient woodland and manicured hedges in town parks.  These birds make a journey of thousands of miles to come to Britain, and as the dawn chorus ripens so the chiff-chaff’s two notes will be joined by the more varied songs of other summer migrants with a backing of staccato drumming provided by resident greater-spotted woodpeckers and green woodpeckers; they use their head and beak as a hammer to beat on a resonant dead tree to attract a mate. To avoid getting a headache the woodpecker’s brain and eyes are protected from impact and flying chips of wood by a cushion of fluid at the base of the bill and around the eye socket.

Wherever you live in these complex islands of ours, the birdsong is varied.  In Kent, nightingales, fresh from Africa, join in with British robins. In Wales, summer migrant redstarts compete with song thrushes… and, of course there is always the blackbird. Few songsters can hold a candle to this Pavarotti of the avian world; it’s melody says … this is my place in the British countryside

FACT BOX: for more information

 WEBSITES

Whipsnade Zoo – www.zsl.org

Pensthorpe Nature Reserve & Gardens – Brainchild of the Jordan family (better known for high quality breakfast cereals), Pensthorpe is the current home of BBC’s Spring Watch. – www.pensthorpe.com

Great Fen Project – Still in its early stages this is destined to become one of the most exciting fenland re-creation projects in Europe – www.greatfen.org.uk

RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – As regular readers will note the RSPB crops up regularly in recommended website; with good reason. It’s role in national and international bird and habitat conservation is unmatched. – www.rspb.org.uk

Buglife – An organisation dedicated to conserving the small things that run the world – www.buglife.org.uk

BOOKS:

The Status of Birds in Britain and Ireland by David T. Parkin & Alan G. Knox, Published by Christopher Helm (Imprint of A C Black) ~ ISBN 978-1-4081-2500-7 – A new publication, packed with information on every conceivable British bird.

Insects of Britain and Western Europe by Michael Chinery, Published by Collins ~ ISBN No: 0-00-219137-7 – The insect reference book I use the most.

Collins Butterfly Guide by Tom Tolman and Richard Lewington, Published by Collins ~ ISBN No: 978-0-00-727977-7

 

One aspect of the Covid-19 epidemic relates directly to being housebound for your own protection. Namely, those myriad jobs that have been put off for some time will now coincide with self-isolation. In the past, we might have said we were waiting for a rainy day. Let us all agree it is absolutely pouring, metaphorically speaking!

Being a semi-retired writer on the subject of wildlife and natural history and a photographer and artist in order to illustrate my work, I’ve been drawing and painting, editing photos and catching up on a life story that I’ve had in mind to do for several years.  Writers depend on all sorts of things for inspiration; visual triggers, audible triggers, to set the juices going.  One such trigger came from watching BBC News recently and the announcement that the Excel Centre in East London was to be converted into a hospital for intensive care wards for victims of Covid-19. Named ‘The Nightingale Hospital’, it will be able to provide up to 4000 beds.

This news coincided with some emails I received from Tanzania and it was at the Excel Centre some years ago at a World Travel Market Exhibition that I first met Carel Verhoef, a young man who was just starting out as an organiser of Safaris. Subsequently, we have become firm friends and he has become an expert in the field of African wildlife and Safaris – based in Tanzania.

Back then I was compiling and presenting radio programmes and writing articles on ecotourism; a subject I had specialised in for some years. My wife and I had toured around the posh end of the Exhibition at the Excel Centre and took ourselves off to the peripheral stands in the Africa section where I knew some of the representatives.  We stopped at a small display with a collection of outstandingly good photographs of lions with the caption the ‘Lobo Pride’ and the smiling young man on the stand fitted to a tee the classical outdoor, healthy safari specialist. I admired the photos and he began to tell me all about them. How, where and when they were taken. I’m an enthusiast and warm to others of my ilk.

In next to no time we were on first name terms and he was telling me about his concession on the Serengeti at the Lobo Kope (where he based his main campsite) a huge pile of rocks a billion years old and set in tens of thousands of acres of wildlife-rich land. What started out as a general chat of mutual interest was the beginning of a friendship that has grown over the years. He now runs a successful and fascinating safari business and is the father of two lovely girls.

Over the years our face to face meetings have been few, generally at WTM (travel market exhibitions) but we keep in touch regularly. I’ve been to Africa several times, twice with Carel, and I was hoping to plan another trip with him this year to see the Wilderbeest Migration.  However, that will have to be put on a back burner.

The first trip I made was to the Serengeti and Ngoro Ngoro Crater. My wife is not a fan of rough camping in the bush so, with my son Robin, I arranged to meet up with Carel in Arusha in Tanzania to spend some time with him and his Tanzanian business associate ‘Machine’ who was as good with vehicles as his name would suggest.   Carel set about showing us his domain and in next to no time we were seeing leopards and elephants and the Lobo pride of lions and were surrounded by a host of other wildlife.  I’m no slouch when it comes to wildlife. It’s been my life’s work to write about it but, familiar as I am with many larger beasts of the plains, I am out of my depth when it comes

Ensconced in the Serengeti with a couple of comfy ridge tents and camp beds, the fire burning, Carel cooking supper and chatting over the day’s experiences, marvelling at the night sky – what more could you ask for.

Since that first trip, we have travelled thousands of kilometres through Southern Africa, Namibia, Botswana with Carel and his family. Trips that Carel has especially tailored to our needs.

Going back to the beginning of this blog, the e-mails that triggered this were from Carel and his partner Sally Grierson checking up on how we are faring in these difficult times and telling us that they are in the same boat. Well, not quite in the same boat; they are self-isolating in the Serengeti where wildlife is king, and they are thinking of ways in which they might share their fantastic experiences with the rest of us.

I mentioned that Carel and I first became friends when I stopped to chat with him about his superb photographs. He is also a master videographer and with the cooperation and input of two other camera people and a sound engineer has produced a series of programmes of what is happening in the Serengeti – as it happens – Serengeti Live.  There will also be pre-recorded programmes. They are looking for people to partner up with them to get these programmes out to as many people as possible.

The programmes will be ready to stream. If you have a budget for this type of programme, I guarantee it’s just what a locked-down population needs to lift their spirits. All the psychologists are advising us to let nature help us to avoid depression. Even to sit in a comfy seat by the window with, hopefully, some greenery outside is reckoned to be a benefit….. How much more beneficial to watch a specialist at work in the wonderful wildlife-rich Serengeti.

https://youtu.be/MS-cB_AJ3iA

https://youtu.be/k6JL137o5us

 

 

 

Hayling Island with Olympus OM-DE-M1X Camera and ED 300F.4 Pro Lens

I’m a keen photographer with a huge library and over the years have owned several makes of camera equipment with a few breaks, usually due to lack of funds.

When I had to buy some photographs to illustrate my very first book, The Country Book of the Year, published in early 1980, they were so expensive that, even though I was happy with the quality of those few I did buy, I had to use my small ability as an artist to illustrate the bulk of the artwork with drawings and paintings.. Ever since I have taken my own photos, spending many hours in a darkroom like a modern-day alchemist, turning silver and rare elements into images on print and slide.

Some years and several books later I entered the world of the single lens reflex camera. Having tried and been frustrated by offerings from a number of high-profile camera makers, I was, photographically speaking, at my wits end. Fortunately, a friend, who is a skilled photographer and artist himself recommended Olympus, a highly respected manufacturer that enjoys a considerable reputation in the field of medical optical equipment as well as cameras and lenses.

In 2019 they celebrated 100 years in business and have developed an imaging format known as ‘micro four thirds’  I’m not going to try to explain the technical details, other than to say the devices that capture the image are far smaller and lighter than those in full frame cameras –  a system employed by the majority of cameras makers. Being a nature and travel writer and photographer, I find this lighter weight equipment gives me peace of mind in having my full range of camera kit in my cabin baggage. As well as being light, this equipment (camera and lenses, reduces the level of human-induced shake, particularly when trying to photograph birds in flight and taking shots in poor light conditions, this is something Olympus has majored in.

Recently, I had the opportunity to check out the very latest Professional camera and lenses from Olympus – namely the OM-DE-M1X camera and ED 300 F.4 Pro lens at the RSPB’s reserve on Hayling Island.  In winter it’s an excellent place for birdwatching with several thousand waders, Brent geese, egret, kingfishers and a large number of duck species recorded; and even the occasional seal.

Having arranged a short-term loan of the latest Olympus equipment, my friend Peter and I met up with a representative from Olympus. I checked the tide tables and crossed my fingers re the weather. The best laid plans ran true to form. The day dawned wet and windy. However, the tide was just right, and the Brent geese and waders were there on cue. One of my favourite waders is the turnstone, a dumpy brown and white bird in its winter plumage. It’s remarkably trusting and happy to carry on flicking over small pebbles to get at sand hoppers and tiny shore crabs while being photographed.

One of the plus features of the Micro 4/3rds system is the fact that the smaller sensor doubles the magnification of the 300mm lens to 600mm with no increase in weight.  The professional specification ensures that it does not lose any of its performance, creating a combination that can be used all day.  I use the Olympus OEMD 5 Mk 2 as my day to day camera, so the control layout on the M1X, though different, sports a button layout with a similar feel, and the camera controls fall easily to hand so that I needed very little instruction

In spite of the weather and, incidentally, camera and lens are both water-resistant to a remarkable degree, and the battery held its own in the cold, it was an excellent day.  When the rising tide drove the waders to roost out on the small islands in the harbour, it was time for us to leave them in peace, and part with the M1X. It was quite a wrench.

Several years ago, I was lucky enough to be in the most northerly tip of arctic Norway where the turnstone breeds and Cinderella-like the males throw off their dowdy winter clothes and dress in bright plumage with lots of dazzling white and amber and brown so they can display to a population of equally elegant females. For six months each year these birds have no contact with humans, and this might well account for their seeming tameness.

 

 

 

 

Last year my wife, who shares the same birthday as me, arranged a surprise visit to the Camargue, an immense salt marsh that forms the Delta of the River Rhone on the southern coast of France.  Having circumnavigated the hurdles and minor irritations of Ryanair (Mr O’Leary’s winged money collecting system), we landed at Nimes and took a taxi to Arles. This delightful walled town is full of Roman interest. The ampitheatre was built in the 9^th century AD and seated 21,000 spectators and there’s an imposing bathhouse to keep them clean and healthy after their questionable “entertainment”.

My wife Ann and I are Francophiles, having written about France for a quarter of a century. We love the laid-back French way of life. My French is dreadful and being deaf, I find accents almost impossible to understand, but a smile and a polite request in halting French and I usually manage very well.  The supposedly offhand manner of the French towards the English is not our experience.  We booked into La Muette, a lovely hotel within a building nearly 1,000 years old in the centre of the town. Typical French cafés abound, some with memories of Vincent Van Gogh, others serving delicious north African food.

However, we were there to see the wildlife and I also wanted to field test the remarkable Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark 2 Mirrorless flagship pro camera and the 40 x150 f2.8 Pro Zoom lens with a 1.4 teleconverter, the 12-40mm f2.8 Pro Zoom. As you can probably tell I am an Olympus fan, so I supplemented this combination with my own Olympus 6mm macro lens for close-up and insect work. It was interesting to see how the new equipment performed when measured against my existing Olympus camera, the smaller OM-D E-M5. First impressions were excellent; the sort of high-end quality that is standard with Olympus… and, despite being professional standard, the weight is reasonable and it all fits into a handy-sized camera bag,

As a working naturalist, travels to far flung places has taught me that the ultimate quality with the minimum weight is what to aim for in camera equipment and this combination from Olympus with the HLD9 battery grip gave me the weight I like and the power to not have to worry about enough electricity in the kit when that special shot comes along late in the day.

Olympus lenses are renowned for the quality of their optics. They have managed to put high-end elements into a relatively compact, but physically strong, dust and splash proof design without sacrificing superb focus, accurate stable zoom and edge-to-edge clarity. It’s one of the main reasons I am a fan… However, let’s get on with seeing the wildlife, including the flamingos, horses and fighting bulls for which the Camargue is justly renowned.

An incredibly helpful Frenchman in the tourist office in Arles booked us onto a Land rover Safari which was to take us across the marshes and through the national parc. We had planned to hire a car to explore the Camargue, but I was pleased that Ann convinced me that it might be best to have a look first with an expert guide then, perhaps find alternative transport; such as the local bus. We presented ourselves at the pickup point and met up with a cheerful English-speaking guide/driver.

The Camargue.is a huge area of marshes and wetlands with cattle ranches and rice paddies. It was formed when the sea rose after the last Ice Age, creating a delta where the River Grande Rhone drains into the Mediterranean.  The whole region has a long history of importance to humans and to wildlife. The river Rhone forms a migration flyway for birds passing to and fro the Mediterranean.  Long before the Roman legions conquered Gaul and set up an administrative capital in Arles, Celtic tribal groups fished for oysters and mussels in the fertile waters and trapped fish and some of the immense flocks of wildfowl…. I enjoy an oyster or dozen myself, but I mustn’t forget I was here for the wildlife.

As I’ve said the “Carmargue” is huge, encompassing miles of green-velvet, rice filled paddy fields, farms where the region’s fighting bulls are reared as well as sheep and the famous white Camarguais horses that are allowed to roam in free-running herds; periodically rounded up for local fiestas.  The whole area is intersected by minor roads that are not signed and all look exactly alike – and apart from a few distant dark-coloured birds away over the rice fields that I recognised as Ibis, not a white horse nor fighting bull to be seen … yet.   Birds in general were thin on the ground and when I mentioned this there was a smiling reply from our guide “we are not there yet.”  True enough, it was just about to get far more interesting.

We turned off the main road towards a small grass-roofed hut, a shade bigger than my garden shed. It had been a farm workers over-night shelter; a relic of the days when agriculture was pre-mechanisation (indeed, pre almost every creature comfort.)  20ft or so from the hut was a pole with the powerline crosspiece on which perched the largest nest I’ve seen in years. On top of this truck-load of twigs sat a pair of very affectionate white storks displaying. I was surprised to see the nest so close to the road, but storks are used to being around humans and their dwellings. My picture shows the remarkable optical quality of the 40-150 Pro lens … a good beginning. Later, when I looked at the shots I’d taken, I noticed that the storks were tenants and owners of an avian block of flats with house sparrows flitting to and fro beneath their large majestic landlord’s nursery.

The vast scale of the Camargue is difficult to come to terms with at first because the land is as flat as a billiard table and scale is confusing; but as we drove further into the park along smaller and smaller roads and, eventually, tracks, the birds began to appear.  A small flight of avocets and a black-winged stilt looking for all the world like an elegant waiter in dinner jacket.  Quite often flocks of dark birds appear in line of sight, but just too far off, especially with heat haze, to be clearly visible through binoculars, but it wasn’t long before we were close enough to get a really good view of what turned out to be glossy ibis probing in the newly flooded paddy fields for worms

 

These tiny tracks often lead to groups of ponds where waders, particularly avocets and stilts probe the flooded fields. The horizon can be filled with immense tracts of saltmarsh where flamingos, herons and egrets occupy the shallow channels. I’ve seen flamingos in many differing habitats around the world, but still can’t get my mind around the fact that these bizarre-looing creatures are members of the same family as geese and swans.   They are, of course, beautiful and ungainly at the same time, yet perfectly adapted to take advantage of a food source in the shape of algae and the minute invertebrates that are among the smallest most abundant creatures on earth.  Flamingos not only thrive on their peculiar diet but, as a bonus, absorb red pigment from their food which, in turn, colours their feathers in varying shades of pink and vivid red.  Is it any wonder that we are overawed by nature? As we were leaving this lovely area we drove past a small muddy pool where three of the iconic white horses had decided to wallow and splash about like large children in a puddle.  Needless to say, we had to stop to take some pictures.