Almost but not quite............

I grabbed a day out last week and took the last opportunity I would have to visit our local zoo now known as a BioPark before it closed for the winter.

It is situated at Doué la Fontaine and is a centre for captive breeding of certain endangered species;

included in their number are Black Rhinos. The location is ideal, being an old stone quarry with acres of room that is not unlike their true homeland habitat.  I spotted the male getting a little excited at the scent being given off by the female he was with and spent the rest of my available time watching to see if I could get a shot of them mating - it is seldom seen and would be great to add to my portfolio.......  

 

 

 

 

First came a nibble on the neck then a lot of pushing and shoving to show he was up her exacting requirements for a potential mate.

 

 

 

Then came what looked like a gentle kiss by her that was then reciprocated by him. 

 

 

 

after a little more of the pushing the following happened

 

 

 

he tried to take the opportunity of what seemed to be an invitation by her,  but sadly was rebuffed at the last minute 

leaving him very very depressed as you can see below. I am sure that when the time is right she will let him do what comes naturally and hopefully there will a new young one who can one day be released back into the wild.

 

 

Finally I have included a far smaller creature for my last shot, of a Bank Vole who is lucky enough to live wild at the Park. I often spend as much time with these little creatures as with the

other larger animals when I visit here, as they have become used to people being around - as opposed to the ones I try to study in their more normal environment .  

 

 

The BioPark at Doué has a great track record in captive breading over the past fifty years and long may it continue with the help and support of its many visitors. I would heartily recommend a visit should you have the opportunity.

 

One Sunday in November

Yesterday was beautifully sunny and bought out more flying creatures than I have seen in one place for a long time. They were gathering in a sheltered spot in the garden that has Ivy in flower at the moment and as such was a ready source of pollen..............

 

 

The noise was incredible it sounded as though I was in the centre of a swarm and the diversity of insects was amazing for November. I have tried to show just a few of them for you:

 

 

Not even a kiss.....................

 

 

Go on stick your tongue out I dare you :-

Lots and lots of pollen was gathered

 

So Quick

What I saw today was amazing, fascinating, enthralling and strangely mesmerising.

I was trying to get a good close-up of this bee and the pollen as it moved from one head to another.

It then hit a Tiger Spiders web; I thought it would easily escape but how wrong could I be?

The Tiger Spider shot down its web and gave the initial injection

It was amazing how quickly it wrapped up the bee, it was so fast that I wasn't able to get a good shot in focus. 

It then injected for the final time and went back on guard for the next victim. The bee is just in the bottom left corner and the cocoon below it is for a previous victim.

 

Sorry this last shot isn't great as the light was changing but it shows that within minutes flies are all over the cocoon. 

The Cute Little Ones

Just a few shots to see whats happening on the water here and close by.

One of our ducks hatched seventeen ducklings, not all hers as I think another of the girls was laying in her nest. Unfortunately the Herons were quick to get them and so now we just have one left but it is doing well.

            

Here you can see Crested Grebe chicks with their very distinctive spotty heads.

This is the fry that the Grebes are using to bring up the chicks on - no wonder they are doing so well..

This was our second clutch to hatch and this girl had twelve young with two still surviving, they are lucky as she is a great attentive mother.  

Here we have two of our Moor Hen chicks. These are our second clutch from the same mother with the earlier offspring helping to look after their younger siblings. 

This is Iliza she is our oldest Mallard and was so unset by the constant attacks by the Herons.

Finally this was my favourite as he had unusual markings with a dark solid band on his head compared to the one above that has the normal facial stripes, sadly he was the last to be taken by the Grey Herons but that's nature - a cruel mistress at best.

Been busy sorry.

 Well what with weddings in the UK and getting the Gite www.dogswelcomefrance.com ready for guests and the Chambres d'Hotes www.accommodationloire.com starting to do the business not to mention the Photography Holidays www.photographyholidaysinfrance.com it has been impossible to find time to put up any posts - SORRY.

So I will see if I can include a short selection of shots to show the highlights of the last few months.............

The Coot is the Pitbull of the bird world - it will go for anything that looks at him wrongly or gets too close, some would describe him as a vicious little thug - in fact he is just defending his own territory.

 Black Headed Gulls - oh you're such a show off..................

                                                                                                                                                  

A pair of Crested Grebes - they do one of the best dances you will ever see.

Common Lizard playing peek-a-boo

     














Is this really made of CHEESE because it looks like it looks like it could be.

   

Synchronized swimming at its best courtesy of three Mallards.

Our Cowslips are normally yellow but these were a lovely shade of Orange.

Not sure what this guy is but he was big and wondering down our railway line. 

The frogs started to appear in March but didn't start to sing until May.

  

A Murder

A group of magpies is called a tiding, tribe, charm, gulp, flock, or murder..............

we have one of over thirty birds just down the lane.

The last year's newborns leave their parents in September or October and get together in groups

as they do not start to breed until they are over two years old. Breeding pairs need around 12 acres for their territories so the available space for couples is limited; some of these young birds may pair- bond but may not yet be able to find a good area to live. Also these groups are also joined by adult couples over the winter if they are near their own territories.

On the same walk we also saw the Hen Harrier who eventually dropped, caught a vole and flew off very low over the countryside.

Mr Pu cleaning his bitz and pitz, getting ready for the weekend,