For the last couple of months we have been spotting a family of red-legged partridges waddling about around our hamlet. They are so funny to watch and we have been trying to capture them on camera for a long time. Finally today I noticed two of them through the office window as they explored Michel’s garden next door.
So I whipped out the video camera and managed to grab some photos and video of these cute little fellas.
We just hope that they stay well clear of our cats!
Our school project this year is all about water and we are making a film with a professional team for the Conseil General de la Vendée (the department council).
Last Thursday was the first day of our filming trip, to Port Du Bec near Noirmoutier. For this I had to get up at 6:30am for school, but normally I get up at 7:30am. I got to school at 7:15am to be on the bus at 7:30.
So we set off up to the north of the Vendée. The journey took 2h30, which was long, but when we got there it was worth it. After the introduction we were split into two groups: the Yellows and the Reds (I was yellow). There were two parts to the day, the first one in the morning and the second in the afternoon. In the morning the Yellows went to do an interview and the Reds took the sound and some photos of the countryside and then we swapped round. We each took it in turns to take the different roles: director, sound engineer, cameraman etc…
So we went to interview an ostreiculteur (someone who works with oysters). His name was Jean-Louis and he showed us where he works and what he does. Here’s a video of an ostreiculteur at work.
Then it was dinnertime, so we got our picnic and we ate in a big room near the port.
After, it was our time to take photos and the sound of the country side. We saw lots of wildlife, including some horses, sheep and birds. While we where doing this, the other group were interviewing Nicolas, who is aquaculteur (he works with all different types of fish – mussels, prawns etc…) then we met up to film the last scene.
Port du Bec (photo by David Howlett)
We left Port Du Bec at 4:45pm and got back to school at 6:55pm. We were very tired but had had a fantastic day. The next trip is on 24th of March, with another on 14th of April and I can’t wait!
There has been much a bit of excitement at our house over the last couple of months due to the arrival of a Hoopoe. The hoopoe is a rather odd-looking bird, one that we had never seen before as they rarely venture up to england. They do migrate up to europe at nesting time though, so we were rather delighted when we first spotted him pecking around outside out house, looking for worms.
We have only ever spotted him a couple of times, although we have heard him more often thanks to his “woop-woop-woop” call. When I first heard it I thought it was an alarm clock going off somewhere in the house! After hunting high and low, I discovered him sitting on next-door’s roof. Sadly, by the time I got the video ready, he had flown off
Well, this morning he returned and, thanks to our shiny new camcorder, I managed to capture him in close-up. I apologies now as this was first thing in the morning so the camera-work is a bit shaky, and everyone was eating breakfast with the TV on, so it’s a bit noisy. But I’m glad we managed to get some close-ups of this guy as he really is quite a special bird.
Okay folks, I’m looking for some help again here. This creature has been entertaining us at night for a while so I thought I’d capture it’s call and see if any of my faithful readers can help me again with identifying it. You were all so great with the frogs & nightingales, I’m sure someone can tell me what this thing is 
Your guesses in the comments would be great. Thanks!
This big fella was hiding behind the breeze-blocks piled up next to the garage. I’m reliably informed that he’s a toad, not a frog (thanks Susie for clearing that up )
After watching him amusing himself by poking his head into every crack in our wall, I rescued him and released him down by the lake.
Surprisingly, none of the ladies of the house chose to try their luck and kiss him, so I guess they may have missed their chance to find a prince charming…!
