Our first discovery were the swallows in the main barn. There were about 20 couples who were all very quiet when we first moved in. They would sit on the milking pipes, and watch all the activity...
As we unloaded all our boxes and equipment into the barn, they remained undisturbed - twittering softly and simply curious about the new arrivals.
After only a few weeks, the activity heightened in the barn, and we would leave the big doors open for the swallows to go back and forth, collecting materials for their nests.
And very soon, entering the barn meant ducking under the swooping and wheeling parents, intent on protecting the new arrivals....
It wasn't long before the chicks had outgrown the nests, and the calling became louder and more insistent as they were beckoned out for their first flights...
They have all left now for warmer climes, but we will make sure we open the big barn doors in March to welcome them back home.
Another interesting feathered neighbour is a family of red-legged partridges..
There are six in the main group, and they spend most of their time pecking in the newly exposed manure, looking up when we approach, but not moving until we start an engine - at which point they all run, clucking and twittering, in the opposite direction.
In the smallest house we discovered a small colony of bats...
Being around them was very peaceful, they would remain calm even when we stood beneath them....
And when they became conscious of us, they would twitch slightly, and then flutter silently around the room and disappear up the chimney where they would remain until we vacated again. As we needed to work on the roof of the little house we left the doors of the opposite barn open, as an alternative home.
They stayed with us while we removed all the old roof tiles, remaining downstairs where we kept the shutters closed for them to keep it dark. It wasn't long though before they moved into the big barn where they, and their young, remain undisturbed for most of the day.
The other discovery made, while we were removing the old roof tiles, was a tiny nest of mice. We couldn't leave them undisturbed, as without the shelter of the tiles, the young would have baked in the 38 degree searing sun. We bought them inside and made them a nest in a warm towel. Feeding them with a cotton bud soaked in cat milk...
It seemed to work, and they became quite active when they opened their eyes after a week. However a night of major thunderstorms must have proved too traumatic, and the following morning we had to pack the cage away again.
We have a host of amphibious friends at the farm. Our pond is full of frogs, who sun themselves on the big flat lily pads, and keep the mosquito population at the farm down to almost zero....
We even have frogs living in the EDF electric box, whose croaks would suggest they were slightly larger than their diminutive frame...
I particularly like the toads, who seem to be hiding under everything I need to move. Turning their warty backs on me, they puff themselves up to make themselves as terrifying as possible, and then sit placidly in my hand as I transport them off to a quiet dark place. I love the cool dry feel of them, and the way they sit so patiently in my hand.
I think my love of toads began at our last property in Lot et Garonne. Without knowing much about toads at that stage, we found a large one under a concrete disc covering the water meter. Concerned that he had got himself into a hole and could not get back out, we decided to rescue him and take him to the nearest pond. I picked him up and cradling him in my hand, we rode off on the quad to the nearest pond we could find. We then very carefully dropped him into the water and rode back feeling very pleased with ourselves. It was only later when we googled 'toad rescues', that we found they prefer dark places on land, and only use ponds to find a mate!
We have a plethora of tiny lizards that spend their days on the hot dry stones of the houses, skittering away as you approach. But we found this one under a pallet of roof tiles...
It is apparently a marbled newt, and unlike the other lizards he seemed calm and placid. He was very similar to the toads, sitting quietly in my hand, and moving around very slowly when placed on top of the warm seat of the quad.
We also found a very small snake that had a very big attitude...
and seemed intent on biting through my husbands finger. Forunately his aggression was not matched by ferocious fangs, albeit they did draw a tiny bit of blood.
Finally we have a few passing visitors, that stay for short periods and then disappear again.
Our first is a pair of deer that graze in the far meadow. We spot them very early in the morning, but any slight movement sends their white tails up and they bound away. We have still to capture a great photo as they are so quick... but as the 'chasse' (hunting) season has begun now, we are seeing them less regularly.
Our most awe-inspiring visitor was a buzzard. He had been sitting on overhead wires and the huge hay bales near the property for a while, hunting in the newly cut fields. When we returned from a brief visit to England, we found him sheltering from the rain under the barn roof, and although he flew off, it was a lazy unhurried exit. The following day he sat on a pile of stones in front of the polytunnel - just 20 metres from the kitchen window....
He stayed around the property for another week, but has left us for now.
We can only hope that our visitors will return regularly in the future, and that we are sufficiently careful with our environment, for our residents to continue to call it home.
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