(photo Jacky Rio)

Young Chaffinches and adult male

I also have a passion for video recording. This is why I created this site, in order to meet other people in France who also film birds. We could exchange pictures. A mere amateur, I have created a short film of birds common in my region, Brittany.

For this documentary on our winged friends, I made a nest box for the Great Tit (diameter of entrance : 30 mm). It is of standard dimensions, but has in addition, a window in the side, and also a door. I open the latter when I wish to film them. I filmed the lives of the young Great Tits inside the nest box every two to three days. It is extraordinary to see them. The camcorder did not disturb them at all.

Tit nestbox
The diameter of the entrance varies according to the species of Tit for which it is intended (28 mm. For Blue Tits, and 30 mm. For Great Tits).
This drawing is not to scale.

This nest box was devised exclusively for the film.
To access plans for a traditional textbox, see page Les oiseaux et la protection

This summer, I made another nest box but this time for Blue Tits (diameter of entrance : 27 - 28 mm). To complete this film, "Living With Birds", I added images of birds on their nests : House Martins, Blackbirds, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Woodpigeons, Goldfinches... I managed to film them with the help of my friends from the S.O.A. and certain other bird lovers. To make a film on birds is not too difficult, but it certainly takes time. To begin with, one must pinpoint the nest and that is not always easy ! I place the camcorder on a tripod. This is either stood on the ground or attached to a branch. I then go away, and leave it running for at least an hour. During this time, the parents will have fed their young several times. They very quickly become accustomed to the stationary camera. Generally, there is about a fornight between hatching and flying from the nest. I film two or three times during this fortnight. And next I edit my film. Filming is great, but the editing is even more intesting. With the software that now exist, I can watch the film come together with the addition of images, links, music, sound effects, titles, commentaries, etc... The computer is an extraordinary medium. I couldn't even begin to tell you how much time I've spent in the production of this film. They say it takes one hour of recording to achieve one minute of finished footage. For this film you could reckon much longer than that. For example, to put together four images at once, the computer takes fifteen to twenty minutes. I will stop there with my explanations. So if you have any digital images of birds to share, unusual images ; I need pictures of certain birds to improve this film, e.g. birds of prey, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Woodpecker, Jay, Bullfinch, Heron, Kingfisher, Bee-eater... This film was made by a lover of beautiful images. He never goes to the cinema, but sometimes with his friends from the S.O.A. promotes bird protection in schools. In exchange I could send you my pictures. They're no great secret. One must stay modest.

Young Nuthatches

By now you will have understood that I love filming birds. This is not an easy thing to do as they are usually small, constantly on the move and timid. Over the course of time I have improved my technique. Some birds I attract with seed and I place my camcorder on a tripod in a good vantage point. I leave it there for an hour before I back. I note places that interest me. Sometimes I don't manage to film a single bird.

Videoing has been my hobby for a long time, I purchased a Super 8 camera with my first pay packet. Ha! What progress with digital, and what quality of image! I have a small digital camcorder - Panasonic NV-GS500. I work on a computer - Windows XP - and three hard discs 80 Go, 300 Go and 500 Go for videoing. Once the editing is completed, I can take it back to the camcorder without any loss to the quality of the image. I have a video card: Matrox RT 2500 with Adobe premiere 6.5; there, some details for the specialists. One problem with my camcorder, the zoom is not very strong. I can't for example film small birds from any real distance. It's the same regarding the birds in La Baie de St Brieuc. We can't have everything!

Birds have fascinated man since the dawning of time. In my case this fascination gripped me over forty years ago, at some moment becoming a real passion.

Thanks to the S.O.A. I came to know David Ledan. He is one of the experts in the natural environment of the Golf du Morbihan; a great expert on birds and above all a photographer without equal. He takes extraordinary photos; his latest book "La Bretagne des Oiseaux" published by "Montagnes Noires. To read again and again. I certainly couldn't take bird photos like those taken by him, as I said before the zoom on my camcorder is not strong enough. I would love to take bird pictures like his; they're fantastic!

Blackbird

Nuthatches

Siskins

Young Robin

Robin

Every year, thousands of birds are found in distress. Though it's difficult, sometimes it is necessary to end their suffering as quickly as possible. Bear in mind that if you attempt to save the life of a bird, it is possible that it may be unable to back to the wild and it could become a permanent dependent However, if you have the time, you could successfully save the lives of some injured birds.

Song Thrush

Bullfinch

If the young survive the many dangers that threaten them during their first weeks, their life expectancy is elevated. In spite of this, 50 % to 75 % of the population of small birds die each year, and the average life expectancy of an adult is just one or two years.

Chaffinch

Blackbird

Garden birds don't live very long, and those that attain advanced age are the exceptions. Although you can improve the living conditions of the winged guests in your garden, nothing can prevent the majority of them from dying young. Generally, it is the most capable that escape dangers, natural and man-made, thus assuring the future of their species in reproduction.

Grey Heron   (photo Erwan Davy)

Barn Owl   (photo Christine Brenta)

male Kestrel   (photo Cyril Bour)

Siskin   (photo Liliane)

Jay

We rescued an injured Jay. We were surprised by how docile it was considering these birds are normally very shy. He allowed us to care for him but we unfortunately lost him as he refused to eat.

It is very easy to recognize a House Martin in flight; by the blue-black of the back, wings and tail, the white rump which flashes vigorously, and also by the white under parts. The tail is uniformly dark with just a small and not very pointed "V". It is smaller than a Swallow.

This species has a well developed social life and when observing colonies, one sees groups leaving together to hunt and backing simultaneously. The House Martin is a guest at houses and buildings almost everywhere. Less friendly than the Swallow, it only nests on the outsides of buildings. It is the male which chooses the location of the nest, and he begins to build while defending it from his neighbours. He attempts to entice a female with a long pursuit followed by demonstrations of less and less hostility. The shape of the nest can vary according to its position, but the basic structure remains the same: partly spherical in shape, the only opening being a hole of about two centimeters in diameter, oval rather than circular, of just sufficient size for the bird to pass through. This entrance is situated on the upper edge, against the 'ceiling'. The nest is attached immediately beneath an overhang to provide shelter, whether it be a rock, a balcony or the caves of a building. As with the Swallow, the balls of mortar formed by mixing saliva with mud and grit, give a grained appearance to the outside of the nest. At the end of May or in June, the female lays between three to five eggs in the unlined nest. These are uniformly white. Both sexes carry out the incubation, taking turns for a period of 15 to 16 days. The chicks stay in the nest for three weeks, sometimes much longer. Occasionally there can be two clutches. Although dispersion begins in mid July, House Martins mostly migrate in the last two weeks of September, though some late starters stay on into October due to late broods.

Hello, I'm a wren. I weigh from eight to thirteen grams and my wingspan is between thirteen and seventeen centimeters.

I am a little ball of feathers with a tiny tail sticking out, that weaves it's way mouse - like through branches and undergrowth. He is amusing to watch! Stood on a stump, head help high, he opens his finely pointed bill and sings. Nimbly, he descends with a little hop into the grass then disappears into the tangle of roots. An instant later, he shoots into my Mimosa with a flight that is low, direct and rapid, his short, rounded wings vibrating like those of an insect.

Around the month of April, the male Wren builds several nests from balls of moss. He then sings to attract a female. After visiting each one the nest, madame chooses the softest. She lines the nest with feathers before laying five to six eggs, white speckled with reddish brown, on which she sits for two weeks.

After hatching, the chicks take food from their mother's beak, the role of the male is varied, sometimes he will feed them, though almost as if by accident, or he will guard the nest with a lot of calling ; sometimes he will continue with the feeding.

The paternal instinct is not awakened until the young leave the nest, that is to say between fifteen and seventeen days : the father accompanies his kids and feeds them from time to time.

The second clutch is laid some ten to fourteen days after the first brood have flown the nest, mid June.

These are lovable birds but very reserved and difficult to watch.

We backed this young Wren to freedom.

Brittany: it's the sea! These are the three nature reserves in Cotes d'Armor:

Brent Geese

All year round, the cove at Yffiniac (1140 hectares) is full of life, discrete in summer, out in the open from October to March. In winter, thirty to forty thousand birds find here an "open larder" in complete safety; the base of this bay is classified as a nature reserve.

From a distance, the small waders all look alike. To identify them, take note of the length of legs, and the shape and size of the bill.

In the depths of winter, the Brent Goose becomes the unrivaled monarch of the bay. Coming from Siberia, the first arrivals touch down from October. By New Year's Eve, the numbers reach to three or four thousand birds. Bringing increasing delight these small black geese animate the sky with their spectacular flights.

Ducks come in their hundreds also to spend their winter holidays here, more than twenty different species have been observed in the bay. The cove at Yffiniac is not only a harbour of peace during bad weather. The mud flats and marshes offer the great voyagers a migratory halt. During the autumn and spring passages one can here come across Curlews, Spoonbills, and even the rare Black Swan.

Lapwings and Black Headed Gulls

Gannets

How can one not be enthusiastic about this abundance of life that exists a few nautical miles from the Cotes de Granit Rose, between Perros-Guirec and Tregastel. From a distance one almost gets the impression of snow covered mountain in the month of July!

Visitors can't believe their eyes when approaching the isle Rouzic by boat. About three thousand pairs of Gannets are gathered there on a steep slope, somehow shoulder to shoulder. This species doesn't breed in any other part of Brittany or France. In the sky where other birds fly, these webbed footed birds compose a prodigious ballet. Evidently well named in French, "Fools"!

Gannets

Herring Gull

The small town of Frehel and it's cape known worldwide for it's ornithological wealth, can not go unnoticed. The road extends right up to two lighthouses.

As well renowned for the importance of its wildlife as for the size of its ornithological reserve, Cap Frehel attracts crowds of tourists in search of fresh air, as well as a great number of bird lovers. It has to be said that a simple pair of binoculars is sufficient to enjoy a colorful spectacle. The most favorable period for observation is the month of June. Then one can follow the amazing flight of the Fulmar (often confused with the gulls), the Kittiwake who nests on a mass of seaweed, Herring Gulls and Shags. Lower down, the crevices provide shelter to Razorbills and Guillemots two diving species : in the past there were several thousands of pairs in Brittany; there remain today only one hundred and forty pairs, all the same this is the largest colony in France.

Herring Gull

A pair of Marsh Tits have settled at Pierre's. In a simple flower pot fixed fixed in a tree. Sometimes their needs are few.

Grey Wagtail

Starling

Little Owl   (photo Guy Gilbert)