Les Herbiers and Puy de Fou, Vendee

We were only in Les Herbiers for a short while in the summer for a friends wedding and there wasn't any time for hiking excursions but I saw a few interesting things just around town.

It's hard to stop noticing things even when they are small things and you're in the middle of a huge party. I was amazed at how this small violet was growing on a vertical wall of the old church in Les Herbiers.

Violet growing on the wall of the church

But less about the little plant and more about the wedding.  Weddings in France are a big deal, at least this one was. It was an entire day event. You technically see the couple get married twice, once in the town hall and once in the church. Since the church and the state are separate you apparently need to do both. The church part is significantly longer and involves singing with intermittent speeches. After that is appetizers and drinks before going to another location for an early dinner. It was very good that dinner was early because it was about a 6 course meal with bread and wine being a constant. It was a bit different than these types of dinners in North America because they actually gave  breaks in between each meal. There were games, people smoked, drank and mingled in between each meal. The party lasted till 4 or 5 am with drinking, dancing and fireworks. At the end of the night they served onion soup with croutons and cheese. It was the best thing ever for after a night of drinking. It comes from a custom of the guests bringing soup as a gift to the newly weds. This happened over the course of the night and kept them from enjoying their wedding night so now they give soup to all of the guests so that they won't do this.

Barn Swallows nesting on the garage roof

At the house there were Barn Swallows nesting on the garage roof and fence lizards climbing all over the stone walls whenever the sun came out. This species shares the same name as the one in Canada but is actually a different species.

Adult Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis- Lézard des Murailles) living in the stone fence.

I think the lizards were the same species but there were juveniles and adults. I haven't figured out what type of lizard they are but they look quite similar to fence lizards an they were on a fence, so I have been calling them that.

Juvenile Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis Muralis- Lézard des Murailles) living on the stone fence.

We also went to Le Parc Landrau, a very busy city park with some forested areas, fields and ponds. There were House Martins, Magpie, Black Duck, Moorhen, Robin, Barn Swallow, Wood Pigeon and a brown bird that frustrated me to no end when I was trying to ID it and ends up being a juvenile Common Blackbird.

Common Blackbird

Puy de Fou is an amusement park in Vendee that puts on shows of the history of Vendee and France. It was very very busy despite the fact we went on a Monday. They provide translators, but the headphones are terrible and I would recommend bringing your own.

Le secret de la lance

The Puy de Fou houses a large collection of raptors for one of their shows. This included many species from Europe but also around the world.

Le bal de oiseaux fantomes

Around Puy de Fou was a lot of urban adapted birds including Chaffinch, Great Tit, Wood Pigeon, House Sparrow, Magpie, Moorhen and Pied Wagtail.

Chaffinch

Great Tit

In a small pond there were a few frogs hanging around. They look very similar to Green Frogs in Canada. 

Marsh Frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)

We left Les Herbiers for Grenoble and along the way stopped at a few rest stops.  At one of them I had the pleasure of watching a Kestrel (the not American kind) hunting for food in a field beside the highway. I love these tiny bundles of predatory skill. It is amazing to watch them hover and dive.

Kestrel

Christmas in France- Atlantic Coast

The coast of France is a mixture of rocky cliffs and sandy shores. In Vendee the coast is on the Atlantic. I visited Les Sables d'Olonne where there is a complex of salt farms with trails around them. The birding in these salt far wetland areas is quite good with a variety of birds including herons, ducks, grebes, sparrows and others.

Bird Observatory near Ile d'Olonne

Salt Marshes in Ile d'Olonne

Little Grebe
Grey Heron
Little Egret

Little Egret

Mallard
Coot
Pintail
Greater Black-backed Gull
Black-headed Gull
White Wagtail
Starling

Magpie

Magpie
Robin
Blackbird

Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover
Meadow Pipit
Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Sparrows

Mute Swan

Mute Swan

The beaches are bordered by a band of pine forests that transition to sandy scrub and then sand dunes before the beaches. The beach near Les Sables d'Olonne is very very sloped with patches of rocky areas. It is a common surfing spot and even in winter I saw people out on the waves.

Foret Domaniale d'Olonne at the beach at Sentier des Gravelots, Ile d'Olonne

Christmas in France- Les Herbiers

Les Herbiers is a small city in the countryside of France. The surrounding area is rolling hills and rivers.The city is small and there isn't much to do in the city. Despite being small there are some very nice restaurants and bars. One of the most intriguing bars was La Cervoiserie, which serves a huge variety of craft beers from all around the world. This isn't your typical bar though because it is actually more of a store that also serves. Unfortunately this also means it closes earlier than other bars.

Although there isn't any huge cathedral or castle in Les Herbiers there is a church and small castle.

Church in Les Herbiers, France

At the top of Mont des Alouettes overlooking the city there are two windmills and a chapel at the entrance to a trail complex. These old windmills were used as signals during the war. I took a hiking trail that went around the hill with scenic views of the edge habitat of the park and the surrounding hills and farm land.

Windmill at Mont Des Alouettes

The views are mostly forest and open pasture but this did give me the chance to see one of my favorite birds. Blue tits are small colourful birds. In this forest they mainly stayed in coniferous forest. They move quickly and with the many branches I couldn't get a decent photo.

The countryside of France has many hawks, falcons, egrets and lapwings to see in the trees and fields. 

Lapwing

Outside of the city there are many areas that have hiking trails. The abby near Les Herbiers has a grid of trails associated with the logging activities in an old forest. Bird feeders set up outside of the abby actually attract blue tits and other birds from the area. This forest looks very nice for finding an owl in but I didn't hear any that afternoon and I couldn't stay later into the evening.

Great Tit

Blue Tit and Great Tit at the abby in les Herbiers

Abby in Les Herbiers

La Grotte de Boistissandeau has a small outside chapel and some trails going through the woods. The day we went for a hike there was frost on all of the trees and vegetation from the humidity in the area. Although wildlife was pretty quiet in the area that day there were some Nuthatches and Marsh Tits. Marsh Tits look very similar in appearance and size to Black-capped Chickadees in Canada.

Grotte de Boistissandeau, near Les Herbiers

Holly leaves with frosted edges

 South of Les Herbiers, near L'Orbrie there is a Sentier de la Balingue. This trail is also associated with logging activities. It runs along two river areas. There are large old growth trees in one area with an empty understory from logging activities that have opened up the area. Along the river edges it is rockier and the views of the river are quite open in the winter.

Sentier de la Balingue

Here was my first time seeing a Hoopoe. A bird I had never even heard of but is sort of like a woodpecker with a large crest. Robins are really common birds in Vendee and they are quite adorable. They don't scare easily so it made them quite photogenic.

Robin

Robin

The last trail I did in Les Herbiers was a short loop around Lac de la Tricherie. The lake was quite small and it didn't take long to walk around. The surrounding area is countryside and the trail is well maintained and easy to walk.

Great-crested Grebe

Coot

One thing that helped a lot finding these local trails was being lent a book by a friend. The book about trails in Vendee is quite good for locating trails in the province but some of the trails are better marked than others and the colours of the trail markings don't always match what is in the book. The other downside is that often the trails are actually complexes of multiple routes but only one is shown in the book.

Christmas in France- Nantes

For this Christmas holidays I visited France. My trip started in Nantes for a few days were I saw the gorgeous old architecture all around the city and many of the tourist spots including Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne and Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul.

The Chateau is free to walk around and its history is quite spectacular. The main street seen from the walkway actually was previously a river that was filled in and rerouted so they could build a road.

Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, Nantes

Chateau des ducs de Bretagne, Nantes

 Around the moat of the chateau there were a few birds hanging around. I am sure these are quite commonly seen all over France but it was such a good look at them I couldn't resist.  I was able to see many ducks and geese, which are probably not wild species as well as a White Wagtail and Moorhen.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

Duck

 Cathedrals in France are no doubt all spectacular and when I first visited France when I was young the size and amount of detail that went into these buildings amazed me. On this visit I must say it still does.

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, Nantes, France

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, Nantes, France

The entrance had intricate stone carvings of religious scenes, text, floral designs and more. It would take years to actually get a good look at everything in these stones. Much of the work is far to high to even reach.

Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, Nantes, France

Ile de Nantes is another place described to me as a must see while in the city so I headed there one afternoon. The area is currently in transition. What used to be a large industrial area is being turned into an artsy area with studios, bars, tourist attractions, galleries and some residential areas.  One of the larger attractions is the Machina gallery with mechanical animals and creations that actually can move. You can even get a tour on a massive mechanical elephant.

There is still a industrial flare to Ile de Nantes and a lot of interesting photo opportunities.

Orlando, Florida

Leaving the wilderness behind, we headed to the city of Orlando to visit my friend Miles for a few days. It was great to catch up with some old University friends including Miles and Megan who both moved down to Florida (lucky people that get to live in warm places). We went out for dinner at the Disney shopping area. This is basically a big mall with a variety of regular stores and includes many Disney themed stores. There is pretty much a store for every attraction! My favorite was the Lego store where you can build yourself as a Lego. Megan and I both pretty much looked the same (she couldn't find blonde hair).

Miles, Megan and I as Lego

During my stay I also got to go on a few hikes. Despite the lovely warm weather I wasn't lucky enough to find any snakes but there were many frogs around and I finally found a gopher tortoise. These adorable, long lived animals are an important keystone species in Florida. Their burrows are used by hundreds of different species but they are at risk due to human impacts.

Gopher Tortoise

Sadly leaving Orlando is the end of my trip. Beka and Brooke are continuing on without me and hopefully Quicksilver will stay in good shape for them to complete the trip and make it back home.

Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area, Ocala National Forest

After another nice morning swim in the salt springs we went to Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area for a short hike and swim. The Yearling Trail across the road is free but a much longer loop. The short one way trail at Silver Glen is only 2.4 miles total. It does cost $5 per person to use the area for the day but the hike, picnic area and spring are all very nice.

George Lake Trail, Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area

  The highlight for me was a green anole that was nice enough to pose for a while on a tree trunk. 

Cuban Green Anole

 Lake George isn't good for swimming at Silver Glen Spring and the shoreline is swampy. Probably would be great for seeing alligators but unfortunately we didn't see any. There were a lot of grebes and herons along the shoreline that you could see from some of the viewpoints.

The spring is also something you'd imagine out of a movie. Crystal clear waters that make the sand look like its one foot under but you can't touch the bottom. The current here was stronger than at Salt Spring and although it was sandy around the crevice (instead of rocky), you could feel the current pushing against you. That being said it is still very easy to swim. Unlike the Salt Spring Silver Glen Spring had a natural shoreline that was blocked off from the public to prevent erosion. It made the area that much nicer and natural.

Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area

Silver Glen Springs Recreation Area

Salt Springs Campground, Ocala National Forest

Ocala National Forest at Salt Springs Campground was empty compared to the booked up campground in Anastasia State Park. They don't allow reservations and it is strictly a first come first serve basis. The park staff is really friendly and helpful and if they know you will be getting there a bit late they are willing to stay open for you.

Bear Swamp Trail, Salt Spring Campground in Ocala National Forest

The bear swamp trail is a nice short loop through some swamp and sandy forest. It is a beautiful area and looks like great habitat for all kinda of wildlife but we didn't see anything other than birds. There are a lot of black vultures in the sky with crows, woodpeckers and bluebirds in the trees. The recent high winds had blown town a few trees and cracked some parts of the boardwalk. Luckily none of the massive cypress trees had fallen or the boardwalk would have been very smushed and impassible.

Orange trees grow really well here and Beka and I went foraging for oranges in a big tree that was very... fruitful. The oranges were the best oranges I have ever had.

Fresh picked Florida oranges

The spring wasn't what I expected since the shoreline is built up. I understand that this is probably because large numbers of visitors were having a negative effect and eroding the shorelines. The water is crystal clear and you can walk out to where the water is coming out of cracks in the rocks. Massive fish are swimming around and some are even leaping out of the water.

Salt Springs in Ocala National Forest

In the winter manatees come up the rivers to the various springs in central Florida to get into warmer waters. Blue Springs State Park is one of the better known areas where you can see 100s of manatees at once in the river and spring. Unfortunately this is again a very busy area and required booking in advance. Luckily we did encounter some manatees at Salt Spring Campground. A few of them even came right up to us while we were swimming!

Manatee, Ocala National Forest in Florida

The experience with the manatees was surreal and definitely worth visiting this park. I wish I had brought my snorkeling equipment because I would love to be able to see them better and just opening my eyes underwater (yes you can do this because the water is fresh) isn't really the best view.

During our time in the water we did see a manatee that had been hit by a boat and was dead on the shoreline. The river is supposed to be idle boating only so that the boats go very slowly and the manatees have time to get out of the way and there are signs telling people to watch out for them. They also have specific ways to avoid stressing out the manatees, ie. don't chase them, don't try to ride them, let them come to you and don't surround them. Make sure they always have a way to get away if they want to and if they want to then let them get away. Luckily they are quite friendly and curious creatures so if you are patient and quiet they will likely come right up to you!