Hubris - From Great Freeze to Spring

The Greeks and Romans and numerous other cultures have traditionally avoided boasting because such hubris invokes retribution from the gods!  So in January I wrote: " The ancient but expensive oil central heating continued to work well in spite of a total lack of maintenance since it was put in!"  So accordingly the gods oranised a cold spell in the first half of February when temperatures fell to record lows. -17.5c was recorded in Bergerac a record low although records only date back to 1989! Crocodile Raph chose this moment to arrive at Le Port with five friends. He turned on the pump which, probably because it was drained and pulled up water from below which is normally at 12c, worked without splitting. However water did not flow probably because it had frozen solid in the first section of thick plastic flexible pipe. In an attempt to make it flow the working pressure of the tank was raised from three to five atmospheres - to no avail. Nor would the central heating work. So the cuve was emptied.  Instead the fire was lit for warmth and water was fetched from the nearby spring La Bolide which also provides water to a neigbouring village. Attempt to start cCH in Pierre's House led to extensive pipe bursts despite the system having anti-freeze- Later in the week a thaw set in and the cuve was refilled. After an interval one of Raph's friends said he could hear water hissing in Jochim's section of the house. It turned out to be the store room full of goods from London. We did not realise there was a water pipe there that was connected to the cold water system but there was and it gushed out, mostly over the floor but managed to include a few favourite pieces of furniture within its scope... 

So a repair and planning mission was launched on 9th of March which found the countryside very dry as only a few millimeters of rain had fallen since the new year. It was wintry too, the trees standing dark and gaunt with no trees in flower or budding leaves; the grass had a bleached look as if snow had just retreated.Until 14th there was either a frost or temperatures below 3c. The temperature range was very large; on 14th frost was seen on car roofs in the morning but the maximum temperature was 22c in the middle of the afternoon.

The spring migration did start during the visit;
11th March  two black kites, ravens busy on cliff top; Peacock butterfly 12th Red Admiral; brimstone; plum blossom; General low densities of birds - due to cold spell? 

13th Chiffchaff; Bonelli's (yellow vent?) One male black redstart singing from barn roof and from Robinia. Great tits nesting in walls and showing alarm at observer in vicinity.
14th Sparrow Hawk put up from field early morning when I noisily opened the window, overhead later in the morning. One bat seen on the wing at evening;
15th .Hare seen in field then coming up to gate at 07:30hrs;.Crag martin flying East along river over bridge at 08:30, On kayak trip: 5 grey wagtails on river edge in afternoon; 3 kingfishers; bunting sp. on river bank; 7 kites circling near heronry. 7 white eggs counted underwater in river close to cliff below heronry lying on the river bed, only one was broken ? could not work this out as nests are seventy to eighty foot  above the river so if they had fallen they would have broken, human interference in Heronry is a possibility but the nests are in trees with very high thin trunks which would be difficult to climb. Other possibility is  Cormorant eggs removed from elsewhere may be explanation as fisherman are always complaining of decline of fish in last ten years and like to blame herons and cormorants. In the twylight bats flying at tree top height (40ft) four counted at any one time, guestimate of a dozen. Song thrush sang for two to three hours from ivy covered poplar close to plane trees in the middle of the day. Migration is really getting underway.
16th Blackcap singing from low bush in wild area at 13:00.
17th March Wall Creeper on castle walls  at 15:00 hrs, also Crag martin in flight at same location and time.
06 April Song thrush nesting inside barbecue (bus shelter). Sat tight during discovery and inspection.
09 April - day of firsts  1. First Cuckoo of spring on ridge above Veyrines de Domme at 10:30 local; 2. First Nightingale singing close by at same time. A mass of blackthorn in flower as well as apple trees in orchards.
10 April Nuthatch pair in Robinia,one collecting insects in its bill; then flew to poplars on the river bank where it may be nesting. Two Red Squirrels seen in flowering poplars on river bank.
11 April, wet weather with house martins, swallows and swifts all feeding over the river. Swifts were higher than the other two species.