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Dave Watts |
Birds and mammals of the Ariège Pyrenees :
Spring report by Dave Watts
Dave Watts is a professional wildlife photographer who spends much of the year in Ariège. More examples of his work can be seen on his website, www.davewattsphoto.com. Read also reports for : Summer, Autumn, Winter
For a naturalist, the arrival of Spring is certainly the most exciting time of year. At low elevations the first harbingers of spring are usually the Chiffchaffs, whose pretty, monosyllabic song may be heard during the first week of March followed by Blackcaps around the middle of the month.
April marks the return of large numbers of migrants from Africa to their Ariège breeding grounds including Booted Eagles, Short-toed Eagles, Black Kites, Egyptian Vultures, Cuckoos, Bee-eaters, Swallows and Swifts, (House Martins are generally later), Golden Orioles, Rock Thrushes, Nightingales, Common Whitethroats, Garden Warblers, Bonelli’s Warblers and Wheatears. The muffled hollow ‘oop-oop-oop’ call of Hoopoes may be heard in low lying districts particularly during early morning. This delightful and striking pink, black and white bird is suprisingly common in some areas of farmland and requires short grass or areas of bare ground for feeding.
The world’s largest gamebird, the Capercaillie (photo by Pierre Cadiran) still occurs in mountain forests, preferring mainly old Scots or Mountain Pine. The extraordinary display and song carried out at traditional leks at dawn are at their peak during April when many sites are still snow-covered. Unfortunately, this spectacular bird's population is decreasing rapidly due to increased disturbance from walkers, skiers and forestry development and incredibly some are still shot by hunters.
The secretive Honey Buzzard returns during May. Last year I was very fortunate to stumble across an adult which was attacking a wasp nest in the ground and removing large pieces of comb. Honey Buzzards will regularly return to a wasp nest to extract comb allowing the wasps to repair their nest in between visits, carrying out a form of regular cropping.
Short-toed Eagles are well represented in the Ariège and are at their most visible during May when they perform aerial courtship flights above the nest territory. This large pale eagle feeds almost entirely on snakes and other reptiles. Short-toed Eagles are superb fliers and frequently soar over bare hillsides where they often hover with slowly beating wings.
Red-backed Shrikes are one of the last migrants to return to their breeding territories often not arriving until the last few days of May or even early June. The migration route of Red-backed Shrikes differs from most other migrants. Whereas most migrants fly due south over the Pyrénées, through Spain and on to Africa, returning by the same route, Red-backed Shrikes migrate in an easterly direction crossing the east Mediterranean to enter Africa from Libya to the Suez canal and then onto southern Africa. This southern trip takes from 10 – 14 weeks. The return journey north through Somalia, Ethiopia, Red Sea area and onto the European breeding grounds takes 6 – 8 weeks. Although still common in many parts of the Ariège, Red-backed Shrikes are decreasing here and have vanished totally from some other parts of France and Europe.
Red-backed Shrikes require a particular form of habitat which consists of open meadows with scattered bushes or hedges particularly with thorns such as Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Wild Roses, bramble clumps, Gorse or Juniper. This sort of habitat is also favoured by Stonechats, Linnets, Cirl Buntings, Yellowhammers and several warbler species. Unfortunately some farmers have a hatred for this bird-rich scrub and go to great lengths to clear whatever they can, often by illegally lighting fires. Some areas of former scrub in the Ariège are now totally devoid of all thorn bushes and have been reduced to a park-like appearance with only grassland and scattered trees, quite unsuitable for most species of bird. I often see fires burning in these areas during May when many bird species are incubating eggs or feeding chicks.
One of the earliest birds to nest in Ariege woodlands is the Long-tailed Tit which frequently begins nest building in March. In Britain Long-tailed Tits usually build their delightful moss and lichen nest low in a hedge or in a tangle of gorse or brambles. Here in the Ariège these diminutive birds prefer to build quite high, often concealing their nest in the fork of a Birch or in the outer foliage of a conifer. Already I have seen a family of Long-tailed Tits recently fledged during the first week of May.
Those mammals which have been hibernating such as Brown Bears, Alpine Marmots and Edible Dormice will now have emerged from their winter sleep to begin foraging. Interestingly Brown Bears do not defecate normally during hibernation so when they emerge they poo what is often termed a post hibernation plug – a relief no doubt. It is always possible that Caramelles (the female Brown Bear who lives in the vicinity of Mont Valier Reserve) will have emerged with young cubs but as yet I have no evidence of this. If I hear any news it will be posted.
Female Brown Bears give birth during hibernation to 1 - 3 cubs which are tiny – only the size of a squirrel, and blind and hairless. Caramelles previously gave birth two years ago to an unknown number of cubs. Unfortunately one cub was discovered dead during late spring having been killed accidentally in a landslide.
Alpine Marmots inhabit steep rocky slopes and alpine meadows above the tree line preferring south facing slopes. Alpine Marmots are strictly diurnal but may have to retreat underground on warm days (over 25 degrees celcius) due to their poor capacity to regulate heat loss. They mate during April/May and give birth to 2 - 6 young during May/June. Marmots are still expanding their range in the Ariège and due to protection are often easily observed. Mt Valier is a good site for viewing Marmots although you do have to walk. When walking from Col de Pause the screes south of the forest refuge near lac d’Areau is a good area although they are more common just over the border in Spain at Port d’Aula. They frequently give away their presence with a shrill alarm whistle and often screech when fighting. Marmots are quite large with males weighing up to 4.5 kilograms and are a favourite prey for Golden Eagles and Foxes.
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