Birds and Bees

  No,  not those birds and bees, anyone expecting salacious revelations is going to be disappointed and had better seek cheap thrills elsewhere.  What I wanted to talk about today is the thrill of  seeing wildlife never to be sen in Britain or even in regions further north of France.
  What brought this on was the sight of the little fellow in the pic on the right. I would be the first to admit that this is not the definitive shot of a hoopoe but it is recognizable and all my own work. Now you may be blase for all I know and say that your house is surrounded by huge flocks of the creatures, and it`s true they are by no means rare here in Poitou Charentes. However, I had never seen a live one in Devon or Hampshire and a photo like this published would result in an invasion of twitchers in the UK. Yet there it was yesterday going hoop oop oop on the electricity pole outside our bedroom window.  Magic!

   Talking of bees there is an insect we see each spring again never spotted in the UK and called ,I think, a Carpenter bee. I don`t have a pic at present but imagine, if you will, a large bumble bee but not fuzzy as is normal chez les bees. No, this one is more  of a hells angel in the bee world and appears to be dressed in black motorcycle leathers. to add to the exotic aspect its wings have a bluish shimmer and like all bumble bees work overtime to keep its heavy body airborne so all that can be seen is a blue irridiscence in the air over it.  Unusual you will agree. A visitor from Lille expressed horror so it must be a southern creature.


    What do you think of the creature above?  I assure you it`s real, not a piece of jewelry  I don`t know what it`s called but it was about 2 centimeters long and is a sort of scarab beetle.  I could go on but I`ll retain the real horror stories of French fauna for a later edition as the Ark crew are demanding their evening feed.  See you aboard later I hope!