In a slight departure from my usual style of one single gallery, I’ve split the images up into 4 sections, covering the topics in the title. The pictures were more or less in this sequence anyway, but I wanted to say something about each, so I thought this was the best way…

During the lockdown, when I’ve had nothing much better to do, I’ve been in the habit of walking up the paths at the back of our chalet. As you may recall from previous posts, there’s always something interesting up there and yesterday was no different.

Bird:
For the past, 6 or 7 weeks, I’ve sometimes seen but often heard, what I think are Western Bonelli’s Warblers. I’ve been trying to get a decent picture, often taking Jude’s SLR with me in the hope of getting a ‘good’ shot. But they have proved very elusive. Yesterday, I went with just my point and shoot camera and so, you guessed it, Sod’s Law, two or three of them were right there no more than 12 feet in front of me. I snapped away regardless and these were the best results. I’m hoping someone can confirm my id.

Bugs:
Not for nothing is our home called Chalet Les Criquets (The Crickets). At this time of year there’s a constant chirruping noise, though mainly of grasshoppers. As you walk along our grass driveway there’s a moving cloud as 10’s of them leap out of your way. It’s no wonder the birds come to our garden. There are quite a few species too. Below are just a few examples, plus an ugly looking horsefly type thing.

Butterflies:
And then of course, there are always butterflies. I was particularly pleased to capture what I think is an Alpine Zephyr Blue. (See first 2 pics below). It’s not normally seen this far down the Rhone valley so, if I’m right, it’s quite a rare find. I’ve also included my first (photographed) Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year… 😊

Flowers:
Towards the end of my walk, I found 4 ‘new’ plants, more or less growing side by side (pics F2 to F5 below) and, to my delight, I’ve actually identified 3 of them! The mushrooms or toadstools were tiny, each no more than about 5 millimetres high, and they were growing in a tree stump. Finally I’ve included a map of my route at the end.