Our Wind Farm in Blanzay / Romagne

It’s been known for some time now, 9 or 10 years at any rate that a number of sites in the area have been selected as places for wind turbines with all the relevant wind speed and duration tests completed and found to be satisfactory and one thing we certainly have here is wind for much of the year.

Then came the preliminary approvals for the ones proposed near us with the two relevant Mairies, (Romagne and Blanzay), giving their consent.

Well folks, there are a few things that always rattle peoples cages and having a wind farm being built close to where you live is one of them and it wasn't long before some of the local residents were “getting organised” and preparing to fight this proposed outrage. As with all such projects there was an opportunity for people to make their views known and register their objections or indeed support.

At some point some people formed an association – the Association de Défense et de Protection de l’Environnement de Blanzay (ADPEB) with the aim of presenting a case based on, well, protecting the environment of course, saving birds and bats and stuff like that. This came as something of a surprise to me because up to this point there has been a remarkable lack of interest from the inhabitants in our local environment and bio-diversity as it has been systematically destroyed over recent years, but maybe this has been a "Road to Damascus moment" for some people, we’ll see how much interest they have in the future and I look forward to working with them, there’s plenty that needs changing starting with simple initiatives such as reinstating hedgerows and not continually slashing the roadsides margins.

To cut a long story short the Prefet approved the construction although the Enquiry Commissioner actually recommended against it. The Prefet was of the view that it was merely an opinion which did not bind their decision and it was their responsibility to seek the opinion of administrative services, municipal councils concerned, as well as members of the Commission Departementale de Ia Nature, des Paysages et des Sites (CDNPS). The later would be one or more recognised organisations that would have carried out environmental impacts studies. In the Vienne organisations such as the LPO Vienne and Vienne Nature, the recognised Ornithological and Nature Associations for the Department or a structure such as Biotope are used for this. In this instance the commitment to renewable, clean energy would be considered to far outweigh any minor impact on wildlife which would indeed be negligible at this site and restricted mainly to birds. Although any additional impact is unfortunate it pales into insignificance when compared to what has happened and what is happening to the local habitat. There will undoubtedly be deaths of small birds and one or two of the larger species of birds of prey may suffer casualties as well but realistically of these only Buzzards and Honey Buzzards remain as nesting birds that are likely to collide with the blades. Hen and Montagu’s Harrier have had their nesting possibilities all but ended years ago by modern farming practices and these local fields are now virtually useless as prey hunting zones, (intensive cultivation and lack of voles). Goshawk and Sparrowhawk  are unlikely to come into contact and the nearest nesting site I know for Black kite is about 12km away. Some people have said that Cranes, some of which pass this way on migration, will be in danger and there may be an outside possibility of this but generally the flight altitude of Cranes will take them clear of the turbines.

The final throw of the dice has been the threat by the manager of La Vallee des Singes, a local animal park principally for primates, to close the business and relocate elsewhere. He had requested that the nearest turbine should be no nearer than 3km to the animal park rather than the 1.6km which is proposed because the infra sound would disturb the primates.

Much has also been made of the loss of employment and other losses to the local economy should La Vallee des Singes relocate to another site although this would in fact be a net gain for the wider economy with the construction of a new animal park creating employment while the existing park remained open until the new park was able to accommodate the primates with the existing jobs simply transferring to the new location.

Living as we do with the nearest turbine 600 metres from our property I would naturally be happy to see them being built elsewhere, especially as there is likely to be a negative effect on property prices, but to simply take the attitude of "Not in my back yard" when there is no good reason to oppose them would be hypocritical in the extreme, therefore I have remained neutral throughout the legal processes. The wider debate about wind generation, its effectiveness and how it’s financed is another matter but there is little doubt that it is now a significant and increasing part of "renewable energy production" in many countries and cannot be opposed using spurious disingenuous arguments.

The company concerned is ALSTOM

LPO Vienne 

Vienne Nature 

Biotope 

Maps and notices, click to enlarge images.

UPDATE  22nd March.

Well it now seems following a meeting at the Prefecture that Emmanuel Le Grelle the manager of La vallée des singes in Romagne has decided to pursue what could potentially be a long drawn out legal challenge.

Translated quotes.

"The authority to operate the wind farm was issued by a prefectural order on January 8, 2014. As of this date, I have six months to refer a case to the court. As for the building permit signed by the mayor on 28 February, it was posted last Tuesday. That leaves me two months to file a petition."

"While the courts have not settled, the work will not take place, he predicts. No bank will risk lending money. And as I have decided to go all the way, including before the Council of State, if necessary, this gives us five to seven years!"

Additionally Emmanuel Le Grelle said he had no news of the criminal complaint he filed for “illegal interest” against three current councilors of Blanzay, who he suspects have a personal interest in the wind farm development.

Full article in French 

Chris

Ortolan Bunting - a typically French approach to protection?

Due to the "peculiar nature" of the situation with the Ortolan Bunting in France I've chosen to blog this rather than use a page on the web site.

The situation in France.

In Les Landes the Ortolan bunting is a species that has historically been captured to be eaten as a “Regional delicacy”, a food reserved mainly for the rich that was served in the best restaurants of Paris and the other large French cities and has graced the tables of the wealthy and  politicians for hundreds of years. It was for this reason that France derogated this species from the European Bird Directive. This led to something of a paradox because although the Ortolan bunting wasn't listed as protected in France neither was it included on the list of species permitted to be hunted. This enabled them to be captured alive, transported, kept in captivity, bought and sold and killed – BUT NOT HUNTED. In a few regions the practice of capturing them continued to be considered as “traditionale”, being apparently an important part of French culture. After being banned in the Lot-et-Garonne and the Gers it only left Les Landes where this continued until finally under mounting pressure they were made a protected species in France on 15^th March 1999. Unfortunately the illegal capture and trade continues and little is done to prevent it. With an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 people involved in their capture in Les Landes and each bird with an end price “served up” on the table of €100 to €150 or even more it isn’t difficult to see the financial attractions or the probable reasons why there is what seems to be a “blind eye” from the authorities. 

The Capture.

The process commences when the birds are captured, either in mist nets or more usually these days in small cages on posts and this takes place when the birds are on their autumn migration, mainly from the North and Centre of Europe where the south west of France forms their major route. The cages are spaced out in blocks on open land that is often concealed in the middle of maize fields. They have a small dish of fine seed placed in them to attract the birds, then as the Ortolan enters, the cage snaps shut. It is estimated that some 30,000 to 50,000 of these so called “protected birds” are caught in these traps, (called matoles), each year in Les Landes, which is the equivalent of the combined total of all the nesting Ortolan in the Benelux countries, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In recent years the LPO and CABS have been present in some of the areas where the birds are trapped and have attempted to destroy as many illegal traps as possible after releasing any birds. They have also denounced this situation of tolerance established between the administration and the poachers without concrete results and in spite of the promises made by various Ministers for Ecology to put an end to this situation very few prosecutions actually take place.

Videolink – destruction of traps by the LPO.

The Fattening.

The captured the birds are fattened for a few weeks by being fed millet in suspended cages kept in dark barns. Kept in these artificial conditions and with an ample supply of food and water they gorge themselves rapidly putting on excess weight.

The Eating.

Now we come to what we could call the “sacred” bit or perhaps "satanical" would be more appropriate as the cooking and eating of Ortolan buntings takes on something of a ritualistic aspect. There are several ways in which the bird can be prepared and back in the 19^th century Alcide Bontou the famous chef had several recipes for them in his work titled “Traité de Cuisine Bourgeoise Bordelaise”. However, in all cases the birds are plucked and cooked whole, often having been first drowned in Armagnac. The person eating the bunting usually holds it delicately by the beak and legs, then with a napkin  draped over their head and in silence with eyes closed the bird is taken whole into the mouth and slowly chewed, perhaps after having first sucked the juices.

Ortolan bunting was famously reported to be Francois Mitterrand's last meal and there is also a section in the documentary "A table avec les politiques", (France 3, 29^th September 2007), showing Alain Juppe and Jack Lang enjoying a private meal of Ortolan where you can see this ritual taking place. 

Video link: Politicians illegally eating Ortolan on television.

About Ortolan Bunting.

Description.

Slightly larger than a sparrow the male Ortolan bunting is easily recognised by its colouring. A greyish olive green stretches of the head and neck to the top of the chest with a yellow throat and “moustache”. The lower half of the body is a rich cinnamon. Upper parts are brown and streaked. A good view will reveal a yellow eye ring, buff pink beak and feet. Females are paler, less green with small dark streaks on the breast.

Habitat, Behaviour and Diet.

Here in Poitou-Charentes they arrive from tropical Africa in mid April and depart towards the end of September and the Vienne Departement hosts the largest breeding population in Central / West of France, although there are significant, if small, populations in the other three Departments. Habitat, as is often the case, is paramount for Ortolan. They require an open aspect with sparse ground cover and a soil that is “hot and dry”. Typically this is the type of small family size vineyards that have the odd small fruit trees included and aren’t kept over “weed” free. Other open sparsely covered ground such as wasteland and set aside, which is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, will also be suitable. Nests are constructed on or very close to the ground in a clump of plants from mid May and the female produces 4/5 eggs, usually in June; usually there is only one brood. Breeding males will be seen singing in a small tree, on a stone wall or vine in close proximity to the nest with a call that resembles that of a Yellowhammer. Food, which is taken on the ground, is mainly insects and caterpillars supplemented with small seeds as the season progresses. 

Threats.

With the exception of Poland, Bulgaria and the Baltic States they are in decline throughout their European breeding range, although with a large global population they aren’t currently considered to be globally at risk they are considered to be threatened in France. Other than the obvious annual slaughter the situation is linked to changes in agricultural practices, particularly the intensive use of pesticides and the abandonment of traditional practices. 

In the Vienne we have the only remaining viable ortolan population in the region with all the adjoining Departements either in steep decline or it having disappeared completely as a nesting bird. For this reason in 2013 the LPO Vienne commenced a program "connaitre et protéger" for the Otrolan in the parts of the Vienne where it best represented, principally Le Pays du Haut-Poitou et Clain. Working on two fronts with farmers to provide the correct good habitat and with schools to educate the young - always important.

Carte Vienne Ortolan bunting 2013

Chris

Spring is in the air - well almost.

Not quite out of the woods yet with a sharp cold spell always possible ‘til mid March but today after all the rain the sun is finally shining, 11°C+ in the shade and life is emerging again even if perhaps only briefly taking a break from hibernation for some creatures.

I have to confess that this is always a somewhat nervous time of year for me waiting to see how many of my occupied bee hives are active. Even though activity in itself is no sure sign that the colony is OK and has a good Queen it’s quite a good indication if they are taking in pollen but even now if a Queen fails before the end of March there is no chance of a naturally mated successor. Most of the hives looked good, all were active and I even managed to get my first sting of the year right on the face, not too happy about that I have to say, never a pleasant experience however much it goes with the job.

Butterflies today were much as to be expected, all the common over wintering species, Brimstone, Comma, Peacock and Red Admiral but good to see them however common they are, after all it wasn't so long ago that the Small Tortoiseshell was a common species in our region, now it's getting quite rare. Also saw a Humming bird hawk moth a species that didn't over winter in our region at one time but increasingly some do now. Carpenter bees are always early risers on a warm sunny day and there were a few of them around “inspecting holes” although it’s hard to believe they could really be laying eggs at this time of year. Found this very pretty and immaculate Ground beetle with very orange legs.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Hazel catkins have been open a while now and many have been washed out with all the rain, none the less there are plenty that are fresh with pollen, goat willow is starting to show and will be open in a matter of days as is the wild plumb blossom.

Found some quite nice clumps of Agile frog spawn, perhaps a little early due to the mild wet winter so far……

…… and at 4.30 a few groups of Cranes totalling some 400 flew over chattering their way north east, (recorded on line with the LPO). All in all a pleasant day with the promise of the big spring rush just around the corner.

Chris

Eyes out for Grues cendrées, (Common Cranes).

One of the more spectacular bird migrations in France if you happen to live on the flight paths is that of the Grues cendrées or Common Cranes as we call them in English. 

The Spring and Autumn migrations are completely different affairs but for several weeks now Cranes have been moving in ever increasing numbers in or through France as part of their Autumn movements BUT this is not a simple migration from A to B but more a gradual, partial, staggered affair with birds wintering at various locations stretching from north-eastern France (Lorraine and especially Champagne) to Morocco with various locations in between. The majority will end up in Spain with most of them in the large wintering areas of Extremadura.  Weather conditions will determine the timing of these movements which can last until December; the only issue is accessibility to food on the ground which is principally the residues in maize fields that have been left untouched following harvest.

Roosting takes place on the ground and is normally on marshy islands or marshy shallows on large lakes where the same site is used year on year. Some such as Lac du Der and Lac de la Forêt d'Orient in Champagne are huge at around 5000 hectares.

The map shows the principle sites in France where they stop over and /or spend the winter.

In west / south west of France where I live the main sites for over wintering Cranes are La Mer Rouge at La Brenne, (Indre) near Le Blanc where some 3000 usually stay and some lakes just south of Bordeaux; (l'étang de Cousseau being the nearest for me), where overall about 28,000 cranes overwinter. One other site to the north of La Rochelle, at the Baie de l'Aiguillon (Vendée) hosts a small number of about 75 in recent years. There are also a number of other smaller lakes that host relatively small numbers of birds some only occasionally. 

Flights of Cranes can be as few as 3 or perhaps more than a thousand together but generally there are between 40 and 250 in a group although there can be many groups following close on each others tails. Spectacular as the flights are, and they are truly a wonderful sight to be seen,  I would highly recommend taking the opportunity to see these birds in the winter in their feeding zones when on the ground if at all possible with their continuous comings and goings accompanied by that characteristic calling, and it's usually that calling that first draws my attention to them as it can be  easily heard a couple of kilometers or more away and it's this constant distinctive calling that easily identifies them for anyone in doubt. This can also be heard when they pass over in the dark as they will fly day and night.

European Cranes reproduce in 17 countries, in order of decreasing importance : Russia, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Biélorussia, Germany, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Turkey, Republic Czech, Denmark, Romania, Britain, France. (very few in the last couple of countries but there are hopes this will improve).

More about the Common Crane can be found here including links.

There are plenty of videos on the web but this one gives a good all round view of them on the ground and in the air.