Nature
Plants
Plants page : vegetation and flowers.
Birds
Two mallard ducks on the still water of a pond.
A nice brood of mallard ducklings.
A majestic swan, inquisitive, spreading its wings.
Fluffy chicken from the Jardin d’acclimatation.
A seagull on a blue sky background, a cormorant basking in the sun, and a european shag scratching its back. A black-headed seagull at sunset, its footprint and the footprint of a dog on the beach.
A grey heron lying in wait along the Vilaine river, a very small meadow pipit enjoying the harbour view, and a robin in shrubs.
A herring gull in flight, another one interested in my sandwich.
A penguin in Océanopolis.
A european shag exploring the shore, not afraid of coming close to the camera, then drying in the sun, and going back hunting.
A tern surveying sand and seaweed at low tide. A herring gull turning its back.
A juvenile great black-backed gull. Two adult great black-backed gulls fighting over a flatfish.
Sanderlings lining the edge of the water to look for food, turnstones and an egret do the same.
At high tide, the space gets restricted and the waders finally fly away.
Young swallows have just left the next and await the next meal. Two numbered parakeets and two seagulls seen from underwater.
Two young common moorhen chicks on a branch. An egret among green algae. Red-billed choughs on a cliff.
The manger
Winter visitors on my balcony : an acrobat blue tit is a regular visitor, a watchful robin, turbulent greenfinches and sparrows.
At the end of the season, starlings have found how to attack the grease ball and the blue tits get the last scraps.
Mammals
A black cat on a green lawn, and a red panda. Two yin-yang cats.
The common seals in Océanopolis, with Lilou (2006 baby), swimming and splashing.
The father and Nat (2005 baby), and Lilou resting on the bank. The 2007 baby, Sanna, shot while being breast-fed.
In the Iroise sea, spotting dolphins is a magical moment. The grey seals are the other big sea mammals of these shores.
Fish & sea creatures
Colored fishes, white and yellow or speckled red.
Océanopolis
The fish in Océanopolis:
The gilt heads, the john dory, the sea robin and the bullhead shark with its funny nose.
A red lionfish, tropical fish, a porcupine fish, and a burrfish.
Rays and banggai cardinalfish in the tropical pavilion. In the temperate pavilion, the strange sand eels and the seahorses.
At sea
Saupes looking for food.
In the waterholes, there are not only shellfish and very young fish, but also sea anemones, hermit　crabs and edible crabs.
Insects & arthropods
The silhouette of a spider at dusk, a ladybird, and a green insect.
A bumblebee exploring pink flowers, honeybees and other insects harvesting blue flowers.
In the middle of summer, butterflies collect nectar : a peacock butterfly and a small tortoiseshell, a red admiral, a swallowtail.
There’s also lots of cabbage whites, a brimstone and a tiger moth.
A hummingbird hawk-moth is a special visitor, and this bee-fly is also surprising.
A green caterpillar.
European garden spiders, hunting or waiting patiently.
A dragonfly has landed on pebbles, a gatekeeper butterfly on a daisy, its wings are velvety and they make the light iridescent.
A bumblebee gathering nectar on a broom flower, a speckled wood butterfly resting on a leaf.
Reptiles & molluscs
A small lizard warming itself on rocks, and a green lizard. Other lizards hiding on the cliffs.
Snails gathered on a wooden post in the dunes.
Dune
A sand dune in Le Touquet, with vegetation (oyats) at the top, under the setting sun which underlines the sand ripples.
Snow
Photos from a week spent in Cerniébaud, Jura.
The first day was very clear and crisp, we walked in the snow and I discovered cross-country skiing.
At this altitude (about 1000 m), the vegetation and landscape change. In the pastures, the shadows on the snow are blue, and the light is glittering on snow flakes.
One morning, I woke to find more snow had fallen, creating odd shapes around the most simple objects, catching the trace of a bird.
I started walking in the fresh unspoilt snow, on paths under the trees, between snow-laden firs. The snow had piled up on branches and even on vertical logs.
The firs, covered in snow, pointed “fingers” towards the ground. Dry stems had been turned into snow flowers, and the branches into sculptures.
All the landscape seemed black and white, giving it a Christmas mood. Only a few dots of colour remained in some places.