chris pp

Lori, Some species of bats will hang out for the day behind shutters or something similar, small space, dark and hot, so nothing to be concerned about at all. It's best if you can avoid disturbing them as they are asleep and happy where they are. Others will get under roof tiles or perhaps a crack in a barn beam. This is literally just their summer gite, nothing to do with breeding or having young and it's usually south facing. Ernie, I guess the above says it all really, maybe you only shocked it or maybe it was injured. Chris    

I'm only a phone call away.. 05 49 87 65 18  but I'll be out tomorrow so it will have to be tonight. Chris

Roosting and nesting places are certainly not handed down, nothing could be further from the truth. As soon as the young are considered to be old enough the mother will chase them away from her territory even to the point of attacking them, no actual harm caused. I have no idea how large an area a barn owl will defend, probably quite large, hunting area can be as much as 5 or 6 square kilometres if required. Chris

Unlikely to be searching for warmth, not really a barn owl requirement. It does sound possible that she always used that space to enter the building and has continued as there is obviously enough space, bit hot all the same I would have thought. With regard to the presence of humans, I don't think they are that bothered and get used to the comings and goings as long as a certain distance is respected. Chris

I've cropped it and made it into a jpeg Lisa and thanks for sending it. One more question I'd like to ask...what direction does the wall face? [IMG]http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q73/unautremonde/owl1.jpg[/IMG] I don't think you really have to "go up with a tape measure"[:D] Chris  

That was the bit I tried to cover a few posts back with this.... It's highly unlike that a rescue centre will actually "install" a barn owl on it's release but they may release it near or on your land if it's appropriate and then of course it may be a male anyway. Here's a list of centres. http://planetepassion.com/LISTS/union_nationale_des_centres_de_s.htm Keep of the grass! I most certainly will.[;-)] Chris

Would you like me to put the photo on the forum Lisa? It does give a much better idea of what the situation is. The hole is definitely somewhat larger than you thought and I suspect that the cavity "dog legs" sideways in the middle of the wall, just what they like. Back in a bit, have to plant some weeds.[:D] Chris

This is I think what you must mean, taken from your link http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/infopage.html?Id=5 ""Barn Owls do not build a nest. Therefore (for egg-laying and incubation), they need a cavity-bottom or ledge that's fairly level. For example, in an old barn the nest may be on a wall top or between bales, in a derelict house it may be in an old (dry) water tank or in the loft. To use any site, the owl has to be able to get in but the absolute minimum hole size required is only 70x70mm. The minimum width of a nest ledge is around 250mm and the minimum floor area of a nest cavity is about 0.1sq. metres (300x300mm). If you are thinking of creating a suitable access hole or space for nesting please don't use these minimum figures as a guide!"" Now I reckon this would be about as rare as anything could be and to squeeze, and it would be a serious squeeze into that hole they would have to land first on something larger.  I'll look at the PM's now, I'm always at a disadvantage on this forum as I can't receive notifications and have to continually check. Chris

7cm by 7cm ?  That's Little owl size, a Barn owl requires about 23cm x 23cm, that's three times the size. Perhaps you've got the size of the hole mixed up. For a "fly in and land" a Barn owl needs a good 50cm wide x 25cm high. Chris  

It's highly unlike that a rescue centre will actually "install" a barn owl on it's release but they may release it near or on your land if it's appropriate and then of course it may be a male anyway. Here's a list of centres. http://planetepassion.com/LISTS/union_nationale_des_centres_de_s.htm I'm more than a little surprised to hear that people have barn owls actually nesting directly in an outside wall, I'd appreciate a photo as I've never heard of this before. The other thing of course is that rejection pellets are not a sign of nesting, only of roosting. A box will work if it's put in the right place and it's the right size and type just like any other bird box, and then it's a case of seeing whether it gets used or not.. Little owls nest in outside walls and will be seen out and about during daylight, especially when they have young  in the nest they will park nearby, they can also be seen sitting in the entrance to the nest site. Chris    

Still here, not much time, pop back later. Thanks for the input so far. Chris

Strangely enough it's because it's hungry and this year there is little food for them "in the wild" so they will take whatever there is and whenever they can. Chris  

It should be made quite clear that I did not either report or make a complaint, I commented on the nature of the replies in the thread concerned which is not the same thing at all. Whatever I have to say I say in public so that everyone can read or hear it and comment accordingly. There was one response to the question which was "it sounds like a grass snake", this was followed by a few "mambas" and as not everyone knows what snakes there are in France or is of equal intelligence I thought it was both unnecessary and potentially misleading for the reasons given in my opening post. If this is what people want, that's fine but I make no apology for being serious, I am serious and in being so I hope that the information that I provide can in general be given some credence. Next???? Chris

I'll put this up for open discussion and then we can see what everyone thinks. My view is that serious questions in specific "topic zones" of this forum deserve serious answers. Firstly for the benefit of the person asking a question and even more importantly for all the people that view the forum from all over the world, it is of course open to anyone, anywhere to view and the attempted accuracy of the information given should be paramount. Now, it's clear that not everyone agrees with this and finds my approach to these matters "heavy" etc.which is fine, it's an opinion. It is also fair to say that I rarely spend time on this forum anymore due to the manner in which it has developed, let's just say it's not my cup of tea and I know that I'm far from being alone in this, silly answers turn a lot of people of. There may well be nothing wrong with this, it depends on what type of forum is required both by the participants and the forum owners. While I'm at it, I also dislike people being personally insulting as opposed to debating or discussing the issue. If people wish to be insulting they should do it face to face in real life and not in hiding. There's something to be going on with. Chris  

Post edited by me, (Chris), as it no longer makes sense due to the removal of other posts, this will explain some of the other posts that follow this. Chris

The climbing thing is relative, they are not such good climbers as Loir, that's not the same as being bad climbers. Chris

Edible or Fatty dormouse!! It's the Lérot that's called a Garden dormouse, see the link above from Clair.[:D] Chris

Ooop"s, sorry John, foot in it.[:$] Chris

Nice photo John, did you take that yourself? Chris

I'm a bit knackered after a very long day out with a group, so please excuse me while I try to cope with 3 pages. Peregrines will only be found where there are either rock faces or in cities where normally, but not always, they have been introduced to control town pigeons where they use tall buildings instead of rock faces. So, if you see a bird take a pigeon or dove outside of those habitats it will almost certainly be a Goshawk, which is of course a much larger bird. Buzzards and Black or Red Kites will take both living prey and carrion, opportunistic and not too fussy. As, sorry I can't remember who, said earlier the Long toed eagle is the specialist snake eater but I have heard of other instances where a Buzzard has taken them. Large groups of Buzzards, Black or Red kites are not unusual and you will often see them soaring or perched together in large mixed groups with possibly the odd eagle in proximity. In fact in Autumn these groups as with Hen and Montagu's Harriers can easily exceed 100 birds and sometimes 200 or more. Chris    

Anti venom will normally only be used for humans when there is an extreme reaction to the venom, large quantities of  fluid build up that affect the brain or spine, anaphylactic shock etc. The use of anti venom in itself is not always a good thing and will be avoided if possible. The problem with mouth and neck bites is that the swelling can block the airways. First 48 hours are reckoned to be the danger period, after that has passed safely there should be no problem. Remember that infection is probably of more concern. Chris

You can listen on this link but not with firefox. http://planetepassion.com/SPECIES%20FACT%20SHEETS/AMPHIBIANS/Alytes_obstetricans.htm Chris

I get dive bombed on occasions by Barn Owls when I get close to a nest with young, contact never takes place as the owl will change course slightly at the last minute and fly past. I've never had any other type of owl present this type of behaviour, they seem content to simply keep an eye on you. The owls we have in France hunt by using a combination of sound and vision, some species more by sound, e.g. Tawny Owl, some more by vision, e.g. Barn Owl. Here's a Long eared owl watching me a couple of weeks ago, her young are to my left. [IMG]http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q73/unautremonde/RSCN0890.jpg[/IMG] Chris

As I wrote "although in practise this isn't normally an issue" and with the 3 hectares that you have I can't see any problem, talk to your neighbor and say that you are getting some bees.[;-)] Chris

Sounds good and thanks for the info. I will add here that although we have a similar scheme in place for communal mares in south Vienne including "restoration" there is at present for private owners although I will be happy to perform this function in south Vienne on behalf of Vienne Nature. Chris