Le Pays des Mille Lacs - Spring 13

A spring-time trip to La Brenne Parc Naturel (locally 'The Land of a Thousand Lakes') was booked backed in autumn 2012 and the anticipation warmed us throughout the cold winter months.

Eventually leaving behind the appalling UK weather, we set off for the more temperate climate of central France. Or so we had hoped... But France too had suffered a poor start to spring, with plenty of rain and temperatures below the average for this time of year. It was about 2ºc better than back home during the day but plummeted overnight to as low as -3ºc. The Bermuda's and sun lotion were never going to get out of the bag!

Day 1: Arriving at Rosnay late afternoon, tired and hungry, we settled for a stroll around the lake that we looked out onto. There were a few Mallard about and a Grey Heron, but suddenly a Night Heron dropped in (camera not yet unpacked of course). I watched it briefly before it was seen-off by the Grey. A big tick so soon and a stroke of luck too, as we didn't see another all week! Also today - Mute Swan, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Moorhen, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Crow, Rook, Magpie, Jay, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Pheasant.

Day 2: We headed off to see Tony Williams at Maison de Nature at la réserve naturelle de Chérine. What Tony doesn't know about La Brenne simply hasn't happened yet! He marked our map with some likely hot-spots and also pointed out the lakes that were dry and not really worth a visit. They drain some lakes periodically to farm the carp. Tony confirmed that many migrant birds had not yet arrived, and those that had were still in relatively small numbers. Worse news, the large breeding colony of Purple Heron was hidden away on a lake that was completely inaccessible due to severe flooding on the access path. Apparently you could get through if you had waders but we simply forgot to pack them! So it was a case of rip-up the target list, see as much of the area as possible and just enjoy whatever came our way. But that is what adventures like this are all about - the simple unpredictability of nature - a fact confirmed by our first Black Kite, circling above us as we said merci et au revoir to Tony.

We had a quick lunch accompanied by Chaffinch, a Robin and a White Wagtail before moving on to etang D'Essarts. Here we added Coot, Swallow, Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Shoveler, Pintail, Little Egret, Buzzard, Stonechat, Chiffchaff and Blackcap. In the evening we had a stroll around a nearby wood, where we added Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, a female Black Redstart, another Black Kite and a few passing Cormorant.

Day 3: We awoke to two very clear calls. First a Cuckoo calling from the far side of the woods and then, the much closer call of a Hoopoe. We were to hear the Hoopoe for the next few days but we couldn't find it. We set off for etang Gabrielle, a huge lake and great place to look for Osprey, which we did unsuccessfully for some time. We did see a good number of Red-crested Pochard and the males looked fantastic, but too far away for a decent photo. We saw a lot of Little Egret here and also one Great White Egret. On the drive back to Rosnay we came across a farmer ploughing a small field and counted six Black Kites circling above. Later, at etang Masse we found a Cormorant breeding colony out on a wooded island and I counted 40 nests. Walking to a smaller lake nearby, we saw a Green Woodpecker and a male Black Redstart. The lake was deserted apart from Mink and we counted six in and around the margins. Back at base and during an evening stroll we found two Great Whites, the resident Grey Heron, a Wren and a couple of Marsh Tit.

Day 4: First thing today I spent an hour stalking a couple of Treecreepers but gave up once I had my customary 20+ shots of tree bark! We set off for a good woodpecker spot at la Chappelle but having got a little lost, we ended up in the middle of open farmland where we chanced upon a few Redshank and Lapwing feeding on a puddle.  We eventually found la Chappelle, but all we got there was a rather eerie feeling from the old chapel and the surrounding woods were reminiscent of the Blair Witch Project! We quickly agreed to bail out and headed to la Maison du Parc (visitor centre) where we had lunch and the best boozy crêpes we've ever had. From the car-park we followed a path down between a meadow and large woodland that took us to three lakes, where a mega fly hatch was being enjoyed by Stonechat, Black Redstart, Reed Bunting and Chiffchaff.

Day 5: A wipe out due to a very bad hangover. Just me, so we knew it wasn't revenge of the crêpes! Breakfast at 3pm was followed by a short walk for two distant Great White Egret.

Day 6: A 7am walk in search of the Hoopoe brought me no closer to seeing the bird, but hearing its occasional calls amongst the magnificent dawn chorus was awesome.

We arrived at etang Foulcault quite early and found

it alive with waterfowl, Also Black-headed Gulls, Yellow-legged Gulls, a couple of Great White Egret and a Grey Heron. And overhead we had Black Kite, Buzzard and Kestrel. We moved on to etang Sous for possible otters but no joy. Whiskered terns breed here but it was far too early for them. In fact, their protected breeding area was still underwater! Out of the blue came a couple of Cattle Egret that sped, manic-fashion, around the hide a few times before disappearing. But we got lucky and caught up with them in a meadow near to the car-park and I managed a record shot at least.

We decided to round off this last day with another look at etang Gabrielle but on what was now a rather grey day, it was difficult to pick out anything across the open water. So we headed to the far north-west corner where it was marginally brighter. Here we

watched a Cormorant catch a carp so large, that after a 10 minute struggle trying to lift it through the surface and into position, it eventually conceded defeat and let it go. Sadly the carp did not survive the experience but maybe a pike or catfish got to enjoy the freebie. Quite a sight to round off the week I thought. But that magical unpredictability of nature was to have the last word... As our long-awaited Osprey came over from behind us and slowly faded away into the gloom.

My suggestion of a return visit in the summer, was not met with total enthusiasm by PK as she muttered something about lounging in the sun. So I have a compromise... but where on earth will I find her a camokini?

Our resident Grey Heron at Rosnay

Tufted Duck at etang D'Essarts

Fine male Kestrel from car en route to etang Sous

PK scoping Red-crested Pochard at etang Gabrielle

 Early spring Pussy Willow flower (male) in the afternoon sun at Rosnay

Deux Loutres - 20 August 2012

For a final trip to Brenne, we returned to the Cherine reserve and had a look around La Maison de la Nature - visitor centre (closed on Tuesdays remember). We collected a few maps and brochures and headed for the main viewing hide,  crossing a boardwalk on the way where we found a number of flowering Water Lilies.

The hide (open to public 10:00am - 12:30pm) looks out on a rather picturesque Cistude Lake. We first watched a Grey Heron fishing and eventually saw it take a fish of about 500g. To our left, we had an ebony and ivory scene as a Cormorant and Little Egret were busy preening next to each other. Further out on the lake we saw Mute Swans, Coot, Mallard and a congregation of Cormorant roosting on a sunken tree.

As this would be our last day here, we decided to make a return trip Sous Lake, as we were still wondering why the hide had been so full on our previous visit. On the walk to the hide we spotted lots of dragonflies and darters, plus the remnants of a few orchids that were long past their best days for this summer. The hide was again busy and although the Whiskered Tern were still present, there was nothing out of the ordinary. We stayed for over an hour watching disappointed faces leave, until we had the place to our selves.

A little later, as I studied the Terns, PK unleashed one of her excitable intakes of breath. "Otter" she whispered. We watched the nearby reeds moving for some time with me declaring that it was probably just a Mallard. Then, all went still and and there they were... Out in the open water in front of us was an adult female otter with a young pup. We were no more than 5 yards from them as they swam past the hide and disappeared. Mystery solved!

Quelle magnifique finale.

Water Lily at Maison de la Nature

Whiskered Tern - post breed adult at Sous Lake

La Couleur Pourpre - 17 August 2012

After a couple of touristy days we headed back to La Brenne and continued our exploration...

Etangs Foucault was our first stop and the main hide here gave us some great views. A French birder ushered us to the far left of the hide where a Purple Heron had flown in and was hunting in the shallow water close by. What a joy it was to get such a good view of this amazing bird. We watched for some time as it patrolled the margins and then flew to the far corner of the lake, landing within a few yards of one of its Great White cousins.

The far bank held a large colony of mostly Little Egrets with a couple of Great Whites and one Cattle Egret that took to the air, crossed toward us and continued over the hide and away. Shortly after this, a single Little Egret broke out to pay us a front-of-hide visit. We also noted Cormorant, Mallard, Lapwing, Pochard, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe and a Buzzard landed on a nearby post and stayed for some time. Before leaving, we were treated to a Roe Deer as it emerged from thick foliage to take a short stroll along the far bank.

We moved on to the expansive Blizon Lake which is a somewhat deeper affair and bird-wise, was rather quiet other than a few ducks on the water and a Grey Heron on a far-off island. We walked the area for a while and found a shoal of catfish basking in a small pool on an outlet stream and a Great White Egret flushed up from one of the smaller lakes as we approached.

Lots of Ruddy Darters accompanied us (vice-versa in truth) along the lakeside paths and adjacent woodlands.

Purple Heron patrolling the near margins of Foucault

Yellow-wellied Little Egret on look-out duty at Foucault Lakes

Ruddy Darter at Blizon Lake

Fermé le Mardi - 14 August 2012

Parc Natural Régional de la Brenne* is a 646 mile² nature park in Indre, France. Tagged colloquially as 'Land of a thousand ponds', it was within a 1 hour drive of our holiday base on the River Creuse near Eguzon.

*Not to be confused with the large naturist camping park in the same area, where sun-factor 50 is essential on certain parts!

We made our first visit on the first Tuesday of the holiday but arriving at the visitor centre in Cherine Nature Reserve near Rosnay, we were greeted by the sign 'Ferme le Mardi'. It was closed every Tuesday throughout the year, a fact that had somehow eluded my regimental forward planning, Doh! Fortunately, it only applied to the centre and the viewing hides on the adjoining Cistude Lake. So, back in the car and with only our road map as a guide, we set off to explore the area...

Just 5 minutes away we found Ricot Lake where a short footpath led us to a viewing hide. Our first sighting and what would have been a fantastic first French bird, was a probable Bittern disappearing into the reeds on the far side, but I couldn't say for certain. The lake held a number of Mallards and 2 Cormorant but the real excitement here was immediately in front of the hide. Sunning themselves on a strategically placed fallen tree trunk were 5 European Pond Turtles (Cistude d'Europe). From the information posted in the hide, we gathered that they were now relaxing after the breeding season (May to July) having buried their eggs somewhere away from the lake. This turtle is now a protected species (the French having almost eaten them out of existence early in the nineteenth century) and this lake is home to more than 100.

Next stop was Etang des Essarts where we walked to the lake accompanied by a good number of Swallows, either feeding all around us or perched in nearby trees. We spotted our first Whiskered Terns as they sailed through the air flying to and from the lake which we eventually arrived at. Here we found lots of them including many recently fledged birds, and a cordoned area of nesting trays, some of which still contained a few youngsters being fed by adults. The lake also held Mallard, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant and PK spotted our first Purple Heron across in the far reeds.

Another short drive found us at Sous Lake where we found a near-packed hide for the first time. After 30 minutes or so and only a brief raptor fly-through (we missed it), the hide emptied - probably another piece of PK witchery - and I wondered what, if anything, had brought them here. Here we saw more Whiskered Tern and hundreds of tufted Duck.

On the drive home we stopped briefly at a small lake where a Great White Egret was perched on a sunken tree.

Bonne Journée

European Pond Turtle at Ricot Lake

Swallow (juv.) - part of a large flock near Etang des Essarts

Whiskered Tern (juv. and adult) at Etang des Essarts