Rtas' wildlife pics

Species : Eurasian hoopoe

Spot : Meursault, Côte d'Or, France
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I used to be a street fundraiser for Greenpeace and I travelled quite a lot in France back then. We used to spend only one week in a city and then move to another one. It was a bohemian life and surely the most intense six months in my life, even though it ended up destroying me psychologically (but that's another story)... I photographed this hoopoe while we were staying in a nice winegrowing village, close to Dijon. The hoopoe has always been one of my favourite birds and we actively looked for it every summer with my grandmother, when I was a child. I remember precisely when and how I took this picture. I had a crush on one of my colleagues but unfortunately, she had a boyfriend waiting for her at home... We were very close to each other and I remember I was particularly jealous that day. Indeed, she spent hours on the phone with her boyfriend because he had a problem with his keys and they had to fix it. As a consequence, she had no time for me this morning and I got angry. So, I decided to look for that hoopoe I had already noticed in the neighbourhood. I easily found the nest : it was just under the rooftops of an old stable, in a tiny hole. I just waited a few minutes and the adult came back with a great green bush-cricket in its bill to feed the chicks. I took the picture and it was over. It was not a difficult photo actually but a very satisfying one. I remember I said I would kill for a hoopoe picture a few days before and now I had one. I was very happy and proudly came back to the house to show the pic to my love interest. And the only thing she said to me was...

"What a wonderful picture, can I send it to my boyfriend ?!" (he was, indeed, a wildlife photographer like me...)

Spoiler:

Well, I think it is too late for the vast majority of us but I would like to say to younger ones, and I am thinking about you Adam...

DON'T EVER FALL IN LOVE MY FRIEND !

Oh Ben I have and it lasted two years. It was a nice time as we visited Iceland together, but that's not important any more. Not upsetting but they were just untrustworthy. I have known them 12 years and we resolved our friendship last week after I told them I was doing taxidermy.

Ah the hoopoe, the first bird I saw in Spain and loved them as they are so funny looking. My grandfather and I would go out most mornings and search for any birds. We enjoyed seeing swamp hens, flamingos, stilts and a massive black beetle that climbed up my leg.

Adam, I did not understand that thing about taxidermy

Species : Great crested grebe

Spot : Whiteknights lake, Reading, Berkshire, UK
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

The great crested grebe is probably one of the most beautiful waterbirds and yet, most people do not pay attention to it. That's a shame ! It is one of those very common species I still enjoy watching for hours, just admiring their beauty... Their courtship ritual is particularly graceful. The only problem with them is that they are always diving and thus, can be difficult to photograph. This one was shot as it just came to the surface, next to the lakebank : you can still see the water drops on its back !

Oh the beautiful grebes, I love their courtships dearly.

Basically Ben I found a bird (I've told Pardo about this) and I wanted to preserve it. I tell my old partner I'm doing something. They ask what, and I tell them and they don't speak to me for a month. I'm a zoologist in training, I need to know how a bird works!

Ahah ok !

Species : Migrant hawker

Spot : City of Rennes, Brittany, France
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I also enjoy photographing insects and especially dragonflies and damselflies. I think they are even more photogenic than butterflies ! I hate summer and heat but I still love to watch and take pictures of dragonflies and damselflies during hot days. In my opinion that's one of the only positive points about summer ! I did not realise there was such a huge diversity of species before starting to photograph them. Species identification can be quite hard but I love this kind of challenge and enjoy spending hours on my books, trying to find the species I shot. This one is a migrant hawker, one of the largest species in Europe.

Marvellous photo Ben!

Thanks Adam !

Species : Common guillemot

Spot : Cézembre island, Brittany, France
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I used to work for a local conservation society in Brittany and take part in bird and nest counts. I actually worked in the office but twice a year, I landed with my naturalist colleagues on coastal islands in order to count sea bird nests and follow the evolution of nesting populations. It was a dangerous job as these rocky shores were very steep and we climbed without any rope or safety gear. One of these islands was particularly dangerous and was forbidden to the general public. Only us were allowed to land twice a year to count birds. The reason ? Its ground was full of shells and bombs from WWII. Indeed, this island was the last German position to surrender in France and the Allies bombed it a lot. But it was also the most interesting one as far as birds are concerned, since it was one of the only one to host a murre and razorbill nesting population. I know these birds are very common in northern Europe but they are very rare in France and can only be found in Brittany. As you can expect, I was very excited the first time I went there since I knew I would finally have the opportunity to photograph those wonderful species. I have to confess I did not do my job properly that day. While my colleagues climbed on the rocks to count the nests, I stayed before the childless couples' perch and took pictures of young lovers. I remember that lovely guillemot pair, still chick-free, which stayed in front of me and my camera all day long, courting and smooching each other. They were enjoying the beginning of their relationship before taking on the hard life of being parents !

Well I hope this bit of romanticism will make up for yesterday's baboon's bum !

Bonus pic : the lover's kiss
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I really like your pics,

i have the same passion

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks Andreas, I will have a look at your pics.

I am indeed a good zoologist but are murres and guillemots the same thing? I'm ever so embarrassed I have always thought so, as they are identical but I'm not sure.

Yes, they are synonyms but it seems that the birds from the genus "Uria" are rather called murres whereas the ones from the genus "Cepphus" are named guillemots. In French, we only use the word "guillemot" for both of them.

Interesting, very interesting

Species : Black-crowned night heron

Spot : Brière marshes, southern Brittany, France
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

As I already told you, I used to go on holidays in Guérande Peninsula every summer with my parents when I was a child. It is a shinny place, which has magnificent salt marshes and the most beautiful sand beaches in Europe. It is a place of tourism, open to the world, a place of light. Or at least its western part... Indeed, in the east, inland, far from the beaches and yet so close, lies a very different, darker and mysterious world. A closed and isolated world of muddy peat bogs and backward countryside, those of Brière, the second largest marsh in France. This place hosts a fabulous fauna, yet more discreet and obscure than the splendid egrets, avocets and stilts of Guérande's salt marshes. The night heron perfectly embodies that mysterious fauna. As its name suggest, it is rather a twilight species which stays hidden in the trees all day long. To find it, you have to look for it carefully but fortunately, I know exactly where to search. There is a lonely individual who stays always at the same place, perched on low tree branches, on the bank of a canal I often walk along. I have known him for quite a long time and I see it every year.

Very cool

If you have the Kaiyodo figure you could post that here

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Unfortunately, I don't have the Kaiyodo figure, but I could post the kingfisher

Species : Natterjack toad

Spot : Châtillon-en-Vendelais lake, Brittany, France
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

When I worked as an intern for a local nature conservation society, I often took part in counts with the volunteers. I did not only count sea bird nests but also toads, newts and other amphibians. One night, we went to that large lake which was invaded by natterjack toads, a nice, good-looking toad with a very particular sound. They were everywhere, it was a cacophony and gave the place a very unique atmosphere. I took a lot of pictures that night, like this singing male, ready to explode !

I have always admired night herons as they are very regal birds who patrol the riverbanks looking for tasty morsels. I sound like Sir David Attenborough, 'the rare and elusive night heron patrols the riverbank in an attempt to find a tasty morsel under the cover of darkness'

Natterjack toads are very beautiful amphibians but I have never (but want to) seen in person. He's a very beautiful male indeed.

I used to capture toads and bring them home. Anytime a toad entered, my Mother used to run out of the home. I was very young and not long after I've found out that it was not a good idea. Poor toads.
Later, I stopped with it and one of my favorite outdoor activities, was exactly to watch all these creatures since their first stages. They gave me a kind of lesson, once they teached me that my Mother was not that different from me only just because she didn't like toads...
Oh, with my common tales, I almost forgot to tell you how much I like your pictures.

Did your mother kill the toads ?!!