Geoffroy's bat, (Myotis emarginatus), a chance encounter in the south Vienne dept (86).

 

Being both a bit of a naturalist and a bee keeper people sometimes contact me to remove honey bee colonies that have been constructed between closed shutters and the window. This is an ideal space and a fairly common occurrence in France with second homes that are left empty during the swarming season and only discovered when the owners return to their house or when someone they know or employ takes a look at the house.

A few years ago, August 2021 to be precise, one of the houses I was called to was in Charroux, (86250) by a neighbour of an empty property that was a keyholder, where the following day I proceeded to dismantle the comb and re house the bees in a ruchette, (small hive). During a pause in proceedings the neighbour invited me for a coffee and we then took a walk though his land chatting about wildlife and conservation in general. During the course of this chatting he mentioned that they had a large number of bats every year in their outbuildings which immediately grabbed my interest. Of course it's not unusual to have a number of bats in a roof or an outbuilding in France but a large number clustered close together will invariably be a Maternity colony or nursery. We went to look and there were no bats present, but this would be expected in late summer as the bats that formed the nursery would have dispersed to individual hang outs, however there were some photos that clearly showed an important nursery. Having taken the property owners details and asked if would be OK to inform Vienne Nature, (the responsible structure for overseeing bat populations in the Vienne departement), I packed up my gear from collecting the bees and left.

Greater Horseshoe bat and Geoffroys bat

At around this time the ongoing health situation with my wife took a serious downturn and everything took second place to my caring for her and I forgot about the bat nursery until after her death in July 2023. It was following this that I popped in to the offices of Vienne Nature and finally mentioned the bats, passing on the contact details to Samuel Ducept, (chargé d'études entomologie), and Alice Chéron, (chargée d’études chiroptères-faune). Following this Alice made contact with the owner of the property and a first visit took place that confirmed the presence of 494 Geoffroy's bat, (Myotis emarginatus), making this by far the largest and most important of the 3 known nursery sites for this bat in the Vienne. In June 2024 Alice Chéron visited the site for a second time and it turned out that two species of bat were using the same building as a nursery, the second species being 87 Greater Horseshoe bats, (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum), in total making this the third most important known nursery for this species in the Vienne. It's quite common for these two species of bat to share the same nursery structure and following the discovery of this important site it is proposed by Vienne nature to visit and monitor the bats in June each year.

Counting Geoffroys bats

A maternity colony which is known as a mise-bas in French refers to a temporary association of reproductive female bats for giving birth to, nursing, and weaning their pups. The colonies are initiated by pregnant bats that arrive in late spring but pregnancy in bats is another of natures remarkable affairs given that actual copulation usually occurs in the previous year prior to hibernation involving delayed ovulation where the sperm is stored in the bats uterus and oviduct, or sperm storage which is where sperm is stored in either the caudal part of the epididymis or the vas deferens, (sperm duct), of the male or after copulation in the uterus and oviduct of the female. Whether in the epididymis or uterus, the bat sperm can stay alive and healthy for months until it is required.

The number of bats in a nursery can vary substantially, in part depending on which species of bat they are but equally there can be a large variation within a species. With Geoffroy's bats it can be as few as 10 or exceptionally as many as 1,000. Somewhat less for Greater Horseshoe bats with a maximum of 600, usually much less tending to be between 30 and 200.

In Europe as a whole bats have suffered serious declines in their numbers and as such they are fully protected at both the European and National level. The positive news is that in the Vienne both of these species have populations that have shown some small growth in numbers for the period 1995 to 2015. This is based on winter surveys of their known hibernation zones and according to the Vienne departements “red list” Greater horseshoe bats are listed as “Vulnerable”and Geoffroy's bats are listed as “Least concern”. Overall in France they are both listed as Least concern but that shouldn't be seen as a reason for complacency and it is of utmost importance to monitor populations and protect any nurseries.

A few brief facts:

Greater horseshoe bat is Grand rhinolophe in French and Geoffroy's bat is Murin à oreilles échancrées hence the alternative name for this bat in English of Notch eared bat.

Greater horseshoe bats mainly eat chafers, dung beetles, noctuid moths, craneflies and caddis flies which they take from the ground or from the air when flying low along hedgerows, woodland edges and over water.

Geoffroy's bats preferred prey are either flightless, such as spiders or flies of all types that don't fly at night and can be taken from their resting places in scrubland, grazing pastures and inside animal sheds and shelters.

In both cases, as it is with all bats in France, large quantities of insects will be consumed in one night, well in excess of 1,000 when it comes to smaller insects.

Both species hibernate underground in disused cellars, caves, old underground mines and excavations.

If you think you have a nursery or would like to take part in winter bat surveys you can contact your local authorised bat group or contact me via my Facebook page if you need any help with this.

Chris Luck.

Dangerous Asian Hornets in France

 

We are increasingly reading about hospitalisations and deaths resulting from Asian hornet stings

BUT are Asian Hornets any more aggressive or dangerous than our native European Hornet and Social colony forming wasps? You may think so if you only go by media sources but in reality this isn't actually the case despite there being some well publicised reports of deaths.

Read the full post.

About the Dangers from Asian Hornets in France 

The Roller in France experiences an exceptional expansion in range in 2022.

(Roller Coracias garrulus Le Rollier d’Europe)

The European Roller is a migratory species spending the winter months south of the Sahara. The first ones to arrive in France are noted at the end of April, but the majority of the birds arrive in May when breeding starts immediately, some years from mid-May, but the peak of egg-laying takes place at the beginning of June, late pairs often lay eggs until June 25.

They are a cavity-dwelling species that often uses the cavities dug by Green Woodpeckers and any others cavities it can find in various trees (plane trees, willows, poplar, pine, oak, almond), at a height that varies between 5 and 10 meters. They sometimes will use holes in walls, sandy banks or can even use old European bee-eater galleries (Tron et al., 2008). They do not bring any nesting material into the chosen cavity. The female lays 4 to 7 eggs there, the incubation of which lasts 18 or 19 days. Breeding success is 73%, i.e. 3.6 fledglings per breeding attempt.

After their emancipation, the young Rollers will disperse outside of the immediate nesting zone in the Mediterranean region where they originated. This dispersion classically takes place in the Rhone Valley and in Occitania. However in 2022 this phenomenon has taken on a quite remarkable magnitude with a dispersal covering a large part of the southern two thirds of France, albeit sporadic and localised a situation that is unparalleled in recent decades. Obviously at this stage the reason for this is speculative but one way or another the heat waves that we experienced this summer in France will have been a significant factor with reduced available water and insects.

Above 2021 

and 

Below 2022

NOTE. A single Roller was seen in Lincolnshire, UK, at the end of August this year, (2022)

It's also worth noting that France is one of the few countries witnessing a population increase for this species that is declining elsewhere in Europe.

Chris

White tailed sea eagles reintroduced in France

White tailed eagles effectively disappeared from France as breeding birds some 130 years ago. They have not nested since 1959, having been subjected to hunting, poisoning, pesticides, water pollution, egg collections and theft of chicks along with the disappearance of wetlands and other human disturbance and since then we have only a few young birds that visit in winter from the east and north east.

Earlier this year in summer four young white-tailed eagles were successfully released from a zoological park in Haute-Savoie in an already successful method of reintroduction.

After disappearing for more than a century, the white-tailed eagle is once again taking its place in the skies of the Alps. This is the case of “Haute-Savoie”. This young fishing eagle - named after the Departement that sponsored the reintroduction program - measures 2.5 meters in wingspan and weighs about 6 kg. According to Jacques-Olivier Travers, the founder of the animal park and reintroduction center of the Eagles of Lake Geneva she likes to perch on the big trees on the edge of the park.

For 15 years, he fought to reintroduce the eagle, now he is rewarded with the first flights of his eaglets."For me, it's the most beautiful bird in the world, but I'm not objective. To see them fly here, in Sciez, where they flew 130 years ago before disappearing for so many years, I think it has enriched biodiversity in an incredible way. It makes me forget all the hardships and 15 years of fighting. Every day, they give us incredible gifts,"says the falconer.

Like three other eaglets, “Haute-Savoie” was born in Sciez, in the aviaries of Jacques-Olivier Travers' reintroduction centre. All of them were opened a few days ago in August to let the eagles take their freedom. Its reintroduction program, totally unprecedented, is now crowned with success.

The young white-tailed eagle reintroduced on August 12 made a flight of 350 kilometers in two days, from Haute-Savoie to Ain via Jura, Oyonnax and Geneva, before returning to its starting point. This whole journey was reconstructed thanks to the GPS beacons installed on the back of the bird.

"It's impossible that he visually memorized the place where he was born. It means that there is something in his head, or maybe magnetic fields, that allow them to leave and know how to find their way back", Jacques-Olivier Travers.

After taking a break for a day, it headed to Switzerland. A spectacular flight, carried by thermals, up to 3,000 meters above sea level. Within ten years, 85 young eagles will be reintroduced to the shores of Lake Geneva.

The long story in French which is well worth looking at is HERE

Chris

Pesticides in France for members of the public and in public spaces.

 

From January 1, 2019, only plant protection and other gardening products of natural origin have been available to home gardeners in France. This was originally to have been from Jan 2022 but was brought forward as part of the French move towards reducing the use of products that are harmful to both humans and the wider environment. This follows the banning in 2017 of the use of Glyphosate, (Roundup), and other synthetic pesticides in public spaces including public roads, parks and cemeteries. (The term Pesticides is used generically these days to cover all “cides”, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide etc. to avoid laborious repetition).  

 

The use of synthetic pesticides continues to be permitted for farmers and professionals registered to work in the gardening business.

 

Synthetic pesticides are “a substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources.” Synthetic pesticides are often referred to as conventional pesticides.

 

Of course natural products can be equally as harmful if used excessively or in concentrated form. For example salt, vinegar, detergents and even Jeyes fluid are often promoted as being natural but all can and will cause serious environmental harm.

Natural products that have been approved can be found on this PDF list.

 https://agriculture.gouv.fr/telecharger/107938?token=05114b30f4d7c166288d72c1a15d4127da868bf56deb89544941882be8241c2f

Chris

Voles and holes in France

 

Gardeners and householders in France are forever complaining about the presence of voles in their gardens, either because of the holes they make or the harm they can cause to plants and vegetables. Any harm they may cause depends on the species, some preferring roots and others seeds, grains, leafy plants and even insects. 

Although there are eleven species of vole in France only a few are of concern to gardeners or farmers. As a general rule these are the Field vole, the Common vole and the Bank vole. The Water vole in its land based form, (known as rat taupier), can have a major impact but they are only present in some regions of France. 

Occasionally some vole species have a population explosion that reaches a peak and then equally as rapidly the populations collapse back to normal or less than normal for a year or more.

What needs to be considered, as always, is the greater good and voles along with wood mice provide the main food source for a large range of creatures and in some cases what amounts to the only food source.

I would think that birds of prey will immediately spring to mind for most people; owls, buzzards, kites and hawks. All will catch and eat voles to some extent and for some they will make up almost 100% of their diet. They are of particular importance for Little owls, Barn owls, Kestrels, Hen and Montagu’s Harriers, all of whom will either not produce eggs or will experience high chick mortality numbers if there aren’t sufficient numbers of voles available. 

Most of the snakes that are found in France regularly eat voles. 

On the mammal front they will be eaten by Foxes, Stoats, Weasels, Badgers, Polecats, Genets, Stone Marten, Pine Marten and European Mink. 

Although it may seem a bit callous, the more voles that are available for mammals and snakes to eat the less pressure there will be for them to eat other creatures that are either less able to produce large numbers of offspring or that are already suffering population declines due to other causes. 

Due to the harm being caused to other non target species the use of poisons, (rodenticides), in the outside environment was prohibited by law in France in 2012. Poisoning to other creatures was being caused either directly with them coming into direct contact with the products or indirectly by the consumption of creatures that had been poisoned.   

Farmers in France can apply to their Prefecture for derogations to enable them to continue with poisoning fields to protect their crops and sadly this has become normal. It’s also not unusual to see dead small birds around animal sheds where poison grain is being used but that’s a different issue. 

These vicious cycles reduce the number of predators for the voles and other rodents and increases the need for poisoning, exactly the opposite of that which is required.

 

Chris

Protected Reptiles and Amphibians in France

The new list of protected reptiles and amphibians in France has for the first time included the four species of Viper, (Vipéridés).

Vipera aspis - Vipère aspic - Asp Viper
Vipera berus - Vipère péliade - Common Adder
Vipera seoanei - Vipère de Seoane - Seoane's viper.
Vipera ursinii - Vipère d'Orsini - Orsini's viper

For far too long these species have been persecuted and killed. This combined with the destruction of their natural habitat has resulted in a serious decline in numbers.

Needless to say this will not in itself prevent the continued harming of these valuable species but will send a signal to those with ears to hear and to those in authority 

LINK TO LEGISLATIVE TEXT

Chris