Photo gallery nature

The woodpeckers make a spectacle this year (2004)

Near the pic-nic table, close to the swimming pool, in the first big tree, we had a nest of greater spotted woodpeckers, with two or more young ones.

The parents didn't seem to be bothered by the swimming people, they continually flew to and from the nest to feed their screaming youngsters. 

Note: the pictures above were taken from a video film, which explains why they are not very sharp, and can't be shown larger.

Especially in the last part of the summer this animal can been seen everywhere. About six or seven times I found one in or near my house, each time I have moved it to a hollow place in a stone wall. If it was the same one each time? Maybe.

Via Internet I had contact with Mario Jungman of Biolab. He sent me this information via email:

The frog(s) that visits you and your wife is the Hyla arborea (the European tree frog and these frogs, together with the European toads, are the single amphibians to hibernate on land. All other types start their hibernation much earlier, so I am pretty sure about the species. tree frogs look for a rather warm place to hibernate, preferably where there's no risk of frost. Normally that could be in large mounds of dry leaves, deep hollows in trees, deep caves. And, also under and between houses. If you try to find a place like that next time you want to re-locate the frog: where you placed the animal it was rather cold, that's why it returned to the house.

Occasionally, during the day, we hear in the Parc a repeating whistle, made by one of the trucks to warn that it is coming backwards.

’But sometimes, in the evening, there is a similar sound. First I thought it was some kind of bird, but I didn't see any. My brother suggested it was this kind of toad. Some Internet surfing clarified it for me.

Question:
I read you article about this animal -de vroedmeesterpad- and I think it also lives in France. Does this animal make the sound of a repeating whistle?

Answer:
That's true, this type of toad (only the male, to mark their territory) make a short whistling sound. Tourist often mistake the sound for an alarm installation or some defective machinery. The Netherlands is the north limit of where you could find them, but there might be more of them in France.

Rik Palmans

In the picture you see that these animals carry their eggs on their back. The Latin name is  Alytes obstreticans

Salamander
Near the shed, just between the wall of the house and the tiles, I found something that reminded me of a yellow-black garden hose. Taking a better look, I saw it was a salamander, I suppose it had ended its hibernation due to the nice weather:

I sent this picture to  Charlotte Vermeulen in the Artis Zoo and the told me the official. Latin, name is salamandra salamandra.

And from Mattijs Courbois: 
"The 'field cricket' is actually a house cricket (Acheta domesticus). The field cricket lives outside in places like moors, the house cricket prefers places that are heated by humans.

The official name is Palomena prasina. The germans call it Gemeiner Grünling here in France they say Punaise verte des bois. Dutch name is wants.

When we arrived here in June 1999 we discovered that there were hardly any musquitos. But, the punaise is a very common appearance.  We were warned: don't touch them, they smell horribly when you hit them!

The young ones are green, with some dark spots, the older ones are brown. The full length is 12-14 millimeter. They can fly pretty well, but in starting and landing they are clumsy: they might suddenly bump into you, fall down on their back and after a lot of problems get back in the air again.

They prefer to spend the winter in the house, so they will bother you regularly. OK, they don't sting or hurt you, but still rather annoying. Then, in April, they go back to nature again, to mate and lay eggs. Their purpose in life is to spoil fruit. Another reason why I don't understand what they are doing in the Parc: hardly any fruit trees in the neighbourhood. 

Crex crex

I don't know much about birds, but I used some reference material. I found out these were corn crakes, in Latin Crex crex or in Dutch: de kwartelkoning

Because I haven't managed to take a picture I copied one from my The Reader’s Digest birdbook

Several visitors of the Parc told me they had seen this kind of bird as well, sometimes even three together.

We already met the subject of this Newsletter back in 1998, even before we had been in Lombez. We were watching the promotional video film about the Parc. In one of the shots, through the windows of a Barbet de Luxe bedroom, you can see him (or her): the Hoopoe.

Now, in 2001, while I was working in the garden, I heard its song. I didn't immediately know who it was, but I found out via the Internet. Once you know the sound, I a, sure you will recognise it when you hear it in the Parc:  "doo-doo-doo", there is the hoopoe, a bird with beautiful feathers and a head-dress that stands up when he gets angry. In flight this birds is also very easy to recognise: very characteristic patterns on the wing, a very wobbly flight.
Maybe you can manage to take a picture of this bird: I haven't yet, so I had to copy my picture from "Het Beste Vogelboek" a publication of The Reader's Digest

Which animal is doing that?
An email with picture to Artis helped me to the answer:
Our Head of the Insect department can tell you this:
"I think it a type of wasp, the, Ancistrocerus parietum, a kind that lives solitarily. It encloses its prey (mostly caterpillars) in cells with one of its larves." Greetings from Artis!

Praying mantis (Dutch: Bidsprinkhaan)
I don't know what happens to you, but we see the most surprising animals on our terrace, at the strangest moments. 

Like now. There she is: in the September sun, the praying mantis (Dutch name bidsprinkhaan). When I try, flat on my belly, to photograph her (without much success) she turns her head and watches me carefully.

The Manlis religiosa (the Latin name of this kind) is a rare and protected animal in South-Germany, but in a large part of Europe it is quite common. They also live in other parts of the world, e.g. in North-America. The bundles of eggs are produced in summer or autumn, mostly hidden under stones, to hibernate. The 80 to 200 kids are 'born' in May / June.

Snake
In April Ton van Dalen saw a very large snake, in his garden. He even managed to take these two photographs. 

Ton thinks it was the (Dutch name) hagedisslang (in Latin Malpolon Monspessulanus). 

I (Miep) have checked it in my reptiles book, and found another snake that can be found in the Gers, and of which the photos better matched the description, the (Dutch name) Geelgroene Toornslang (in Latin Coluber viridifavus)

It is really impossible to do a positive identification: the guide book suggests to measure the tail size, look closely at the snake's eyes, anyway, why didn't Ton ask the snake for its name?

Anybody knows the answer?

"I think this snake looks more like the one of your pictures (the checkered pattern). This is the Eastern Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)".

Indeed, the likeness is there, but this species of snake is officially not to be found in Europe (in the wild). Or could it have escaped from a zoo or private collection?

And from Ryan O'Donnell (Oregon, USA):
"If your snake was seen in the USA it would be one of the Masticophos family, but I don't know the European counterpart of it."

This link will give more explanation (in Dutch):

http://www.geocities.com/crcpel/Bidsprinkhanen.html?20068