Showing posts with label General wildlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label General wildlife. Show all posts

Tuesday 4 May 2021

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

Monday 30 January 2017

Pine processionary moth and Napoleon 3rd of France

So now it's warmed up a bit following that rather nasty period of cold weather there are the inevitable sightings of Pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa, caterpillars and all the usual corresponding scare comments that we, our children, our dogs, cats and horses will all die if they so much as get near them and that the vets and hospitals all over France will be unable to cope. Let's face it there is nothing like a bit of shock and horror to lighten up our dull winter days.

Of course this is not to say that the caterpillars can't be a problem and that due diligence is required when walking anywhere near Pine trees, equally that logic would normally dictate that if you have a Pine tree in your garden and knowing this potential danger it may make sense to remove it - there are very few parts of France where they belong naturally. 200 years ago in most places you would have been hard pushed to find one in most areas and it is another example of how commercial / economic interests with the demand for softwoods and quick returns have changed both the landscape and the environment dramatically. We see a similar issue with Poplars being used in wetlands.
It was in fact Napoleon 3rd that in effect put in place the possibilities for this species of moth to spread across France with..
"la loi du 19 juin 1857, également appelée loi d'assainissement et de mise en culture des Landes de Gascogne, va encourager le drainage, la plantation de pins, le développement de l'économie sylvicole, tout en condamnant en l'espace d'une génération le système agro-pastoral"

which roughly translates as......

"The law of June 19, 1857, also called the law of sanitation and cultivation of the Landes de Gascogne, which will encourage the drainage, the planting of pine plantations and the development of an economy based on siviculture, while at the same time condemning in the space of a generation the pastoral system, (of small sheep farming that was carried out on the wetlands)."

Since that time Les Landes has become a massive region for the production of pine and there are corresponding plantations all across France all heavily infested with this Pine processionary moth. This combined with garden planting and climate change has made this one of the most successful species we have in France today.

As a footnote, the sheep farmers on the mairais or marshes of that region at that time would spend their days watching their flocks on stilts, now that's something to think about.



Berger landais


Chris




Monday 5 December 2016

Adders in the Réserve naturelle nationale de la vallée de Chaudefour, France

The Common Adder is not found in the warmer parts of France and is generally to only be found in the north and east. As such I thought this information about Adders in the Réserve naturelle nationale de la vallée de Chaudefour, France maybe of some interest. It certainly sounds like a great place to visit if nothing else.

The Vallée de Chaudefour is a glacial valley in the heart of the volcanic massif du Sancy in the Auvergne National Park with a unique range of species many of which are unique to mountain environments. It has no less than 976 species ranging from mammals such as chamois, mountain sheep and marmots to the Apollo butterfly, (Parnassius apollo), rock thrushes (Monticola saxatilis), and a population of Common Adders, (Vipera berus).

The Chaudefour Valley which is between 1137 and 1854 m above sea level has 820 ha of terraced landscape was classified as a National Nature Reserve in 1991. The syndicate of structures that manage the park together with the ONF, (Office National des Forêts), put in place a program that ran from 2011 to 2016 to record and document the adder population.

The inventory has been realised by Frederic Durand, of the Société d’histoire naturelle Alcide-d’Orbigny. The methodology consisted of field surveys with a systematic search and in all 248 Adders have been counted inside the reserve and 19 outside the reserve. They have all been identified, named with an individual tracking record. The colouring, the patterns of the head and arrangement of cephalic scales allow individual photographic recognition, rather like finger prints in humans.

The effective boundary between where the Asp Viper is to be found at lower altitudes and the Adder is directly on the boundary of the reserve where a hybrid pregnant female was found and is the third known case of such a hybridization identified in France.


In June of 2016, officers from the departmental ONCFS, (Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage), for the Puy-de-Dôme participated in a day of recognition where 1 Grass snake  and 19 Adders were measured, weighed and photographed.

The ONCFS officers were able to practice finding the vipers which can be hard to find, especially males, (females that bask on rocks to thermoregulate are usually easier). They also had the opportunity to handle the snakes and discuss the monitoring program with specialists, (sounds like a fun day out).

The implementation of this virtually unprecedented comprehensive monitoring program and the relatively large number of snakes detected where they were thought to be scarce is very interesting given that overall this species is rapidly becoming threatened in much of its range. In general the loss of habitat and fragmentation of the population elsewhere has pushed this species from the status of "least concern" to "vulnerable" category on the 2015 red list. 


Principle source ONCFS

Office National des Forêts  ONF

Réserve naturelle nationale de la vallée de Chaudefour HERE

Adders in France HERE

Cheers, Chris

Saturday 14 December 2013

Freshwater Clams and Mussels

It may be 2013 but here in La France Profonde there are still shops that close for 2 hours or even more at lunch time. Then when they open you may well wonder why you bothered waiting because in many instances they don’t actually have what you want or perhaps they have it but it’s 5 times the price you can buy it for from the UK.

Anyway, before I start moaning the point is that I spent about 45 minutes poking around by the river Charente near to Civray waiting for a shop to open. This wasn’t likely to be exciting in mid December but you never know what may turn up and it’s a lovely river. The alternative for killing time would be to look at Estate Agents windows or wander round LIDL and even I’m not that sad.

It’s a spot near a sluice where there are always one or two Grey Wagtails,  Motacilla cinerea, (note to self to have a look for nesting activity in Spring-time), and sure enough there was one there on the bank-side – always a welcome sight. The river here can be quite varied in nature, extremely fast flowing following heavy or prolonged rainfall or be almost as still as a lake during dry spells. 


Above - looking upstream.


Location of the river site just below the "v" in Civraisien.

On these upper reaches of the River Charente there are numerous weirs / sluices that obstruct the free movement of both boats and fish so I was somewhat surprised to discover large collections of shells in the shallows and some on the land as well. Of course shells in themselves wouldn’t be a particular surprise but these were Corbicula fluminea, the Asian Clam. First detected in France around 1980 they feed primarily on phytoplankton (algae), which they filter from the sandy or muddy bottom of streams, lakes, or canals. They self fertilise and somewhat scarily can produce between 34,500 and 47,500 individuals in a season, hence within 20 years they had colonised most French rivers, some lakes and a large number of canals. Along with various human means of being spread it seems likely they are transported when very small by being stuck to birds’ feet.



They will be taken for food by Musk rats, (another introduced nuisance species), and possibly by some birds although this would be unlikely in most river situations. Musk rats also take native species of freshwater mussels / clams as can be seen by these other shells in the photo below of what I think possibly are Potomida littoralis, Mulette des rivières., one of the more common river mussel species in western France.



The freshwater mussel begins life as a tiny larva, measuring just 0.6 to 0.7 mm long, which is ejected into the water from an adult mussel in a mass along with one to four million others. This remarkable event takes place over just one to two days, sometime between July and September. The larvae, known as glochidia, resemble tiny mussels, but their minute shells are held open until they snap shut on a suitable host. The host of the mussel larvae are juvenile fish. The chances of a larva encountering a suitable fish are very low and most will die. Attached to the gills of a fish, the glochidia live and grow in this oxygen-rich environment until the following May or June, when they drop off. The juvenile must land on clean gravely or sandy substrates if it is to successfully grow. Attached to the substrate, juvenile freshwater mussels typically burrow themselves completely into the sand or gravel, while adults are generally found with a third of their shell exposed. Should they become dislodged, freshwater pearl mussels can rebury themselves, and are also capable of moving slowly across sandy sediments, using their large, muscular foot.


Life cycle freshwater mussels





Chris




Monday 28 October 2013

29th International Ornithological Film Festival Ménigoute

This week it's  the 29th International Ornithological Film Festival at Ménigoute, Deux-Sevres, Poitou-Charentes and I'm really looking forward to spending some time there on Thursday.


Festival runs from 29th October until 30th November and I should say right from the start it's a lot more than films and however good the films may be it's the other things that interest me, especially spending a bit of time looking, (drooling), at all the optical kit, cameras, field glasses and scopes I can't afford. Not that I can't get by with what I've got but it's like everything else, it would always be nice to have better things and there really are some incredible optics available these days.  Hmmm, best stop dreaming.

I must mention before anything else that the first thing to grab my attention was this stunning old bee "hive" apparently about 150 years of age. I just love this type of thing however impractical it may have been compared to current bee hives. Sadly not for sale.



Inside the large exhibition buildings there were all the stands with goods and services for sale, optical goods as mentioned, seeds for old varieties of vegetables and plants from Association Kokopelli, regional products, producers of organic wines, producers of organic fruits and juices, honey and bee products, cheeses, bee-keeping associations, wildlife tour organisers, cane work, conservation and planting of trees and hedgerows with Prom'Haies, all manner of wildlife and nature books, DVD's and other publications. 


As to be expected numerous Associations, Organisations and other structures connected with wildlife / environment protection and management including the State bodies such as the ONCFS , the Conseil Regional Poitou-Charentes and the Conseil Général des Deux-Sevres were represented. 

The two main Associations for Deux-Sevres had large stands as one would expect. For birds Groupe Ornithologique des Deux-Sevres, (or GODS as it is known), and for everything else Deux-Sevres Nature Environnement.



For the Region of Poitou-Charentes there was Société Française d'Orchidophile Poitou-Charentes for Orchids, the Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels de Poitou-Charentes and Poitou-Charentes Nature. To be truthful it's all a bit too complicated to explain here but I will put links at the bottom of this post.

I really must give a mention to L'Abeille des Deux-Sevres a Bee keeping Syndicate that provides information and education to prospective bee keepers. These children were fascinated by the glass sided display hive heaving with bees which could also be viewed though a small section of roof that had a ventilation grill and access to water. 



Another special mention is to L'Association pour la Protection des Animaux Sauvages - ASPAS, a National Association that campaigns and uses the legal system to take action against both individuals and the French authorities for breaches of both National or European law. They also provide a service to people that wish to prevent hunters from entering their land and provide assistance if there are "issues".



For those that know France it goes almost without saying that the LPO, (Ligue por la Protection des Oiseaux), Frances largest Bird protection organisation had a large stand providing information, signing up members and selling related books and product


In a large separate section of the exhibition centre there was a section dedicated to what I would broadly call wildlife & nature "art", paintings, sculpture, photography and so on. Some interesting work and much of it a very high standard as far as I can tell!

This is a snip from the winning film The Moor 

However most importantly to me there were a large number stands and even some dedicated areas where they had educational games or other activities for young people to play and learn with motivated adults available to make it fun and interesting. Here's a few photos and I think an appropriate place to end with building the future.







Some Links from this post.
The Festival

Association Kokopelli
Prom'Haies
ONCFS
Groupe Ornithologique des Deux-Sevres
Deux-Sevres Nature Environnement.
Société Française d'Orchidophile Poitou-Charentes
Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels de Poitou-Charentes
Poitou-Charentes Nature.
ASPAS,
LPO