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

Gendarmes are also Red and Black bugs, (Fire bugs), in France, not just Police personnel.

Fire bug Pyrrhocoris apterus le Pyrrhocore or Gendarme Many will know this highly successful common bug by the name of Gendarme or perhaps, depending on the region, names such as Suisse, Soldat, Punaise rouge, Cherche-midi or Punaise au corps de feu , all of which are widely used French vernacular names for this colourful insect. As most people will have noticed the "gendarmes" are gregarious and as such live in colonies, which can be described as "gendarmeries", and can number several hundred or even thousands of individuals. Their Black and Red colouration apparently contains a substance that gives them some immunity from predation and as such they make no attempt to hide and even have a very pronounced propensity for collective sunbathing, hence the name of " Cherche-midi " . Even in winter on a warm day a sunny stone wall or tree trunk will see them out and about. Click on photos to enlarge Being well equipped defensively ...

Deaths head hawkmoth and Great Peacock moth.

OK, size isn’t everything but the two largest moths we find in France are quite spectacular in both adult form and caterpillar and as such I think are worth a mention, they rarely fail to rise a "wow" when someone finds one. The Great Peacock Moth Saturnia pyri is the larger of the two and is Euorope largest moth with a wingspan of between 100 and 150mm, (4 to 6 inches), although some texts suggest that 200mm, (8inches), is possible. Click on images to enlarge Great Peacock Moth on my hand This is a species with only one generation a year with the adults usually emerging from mid April to mid May when they devote their short life entirely to reproduction as they live for perhaps 7 days and have no requirement to take nutrition. Pair of Great Peacock Moths mating Specifically a virgin female finds a place in a bush or tree where she emits nightly sex pheromones which diffuse into the air which can be picked up by males from as far as 5 km...

House Centipede - la Scutigére, (Scutigera coleoptrata) in France

Older French stone built houses invariably play host to a number of species and that includes these fascinating little guests although not all people are thrilled by their presence or their speed when they get a move on reaching speeds of up to 0.4 meters per second. Although in everyday usage they are called a centipede or “hundred feet” they actually only have 15 pairs of legs when fully grown giving them 30 legs. The last 2 legs are particularly long, longer in fact than their antennae reaching twice the length of the body and can be nearly 6 cm. They use these long legs to form a kind of lasso which is one of the methods they use to capture prey. Note that the common terms centipede and millipede are never meant to be factual and both are grouped together as myriapods or very many-footed. Eggs are laid in spring and the larvae when they hatch look like miniature versions of the adult but with only 4 pairs of legs. They gain a new pair with the first moult and t...

French wildlife and beekeeping

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