Alpine Marmots and Ibex in the French Alps

I had a quick trip to the French Alps in the surrounding areas of Chamonix and it was a great excuse to get out and see what wildlife I could find. On my first little walk it was pouring down so I was pleased when I happened to see a female Ibex with her young. It was quite misty and I think that helped me to get quite close to them before they spotted me. As these are not found in the UK I was really pleased to see them....

Alpine Ibex, Capra ibex

On my walk up the track I was able to compare some of the plants with those found on the mountains at home. There was alpine lady's mantle and tormentil in abundance. The other noticable factor was that they were much bigger plants with much bigger leaves than those we have in the UK. I also found some great chunky clubmosses and an abundance of juniper which was great to see.

Alpine Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla alpina

Harebell, Campanula rotundifolia

Clubmoss

Alpine vegetation including juniper

The other thing that caught my eye was the green lichen covered rock. The rock was plastered with it and as lichen is considered an indicator of good air quality, you could say with confidence that the air is pretty clean in the Chamonix area!! The landscape in general was stunning and as the rain stopped pouring and the cloud lifted a little I was rewarded with a great view back down the valley.

Other interesting things I found along my way was fungi and more lichen. The was an abundance of lichen coming to life in the damper air of September. I also found plenty of cladonia type lichens and one in particular which looked a lot like reindeer moss. I cannot say for sure that it was reindeer moss but looked very much like it with the hooked antler ends. There was also plenty of 'pixie cup' type lichens - and again these were much bigger than the ones I have seen in the UK.
 

Possible Reindeer Moss, Cladonia rangiferina

The other delights along the way were some alpine donkeys! It was a bit unexpected to see them and I am guessing they were not wild and I have since discovered you can actually do treks by donkey or they are used as baggage carriers!
 

And of course no trip to the Alps would be complete without seeing some marmots. Have a look at my previous post to see some more pics and a little video about these lovely furry creatures...
 

Alpine Marmot, Marmota marmota

Just to finish off this post I thought I would add a couple of stunning scenery pics. Although this was not a mountaineering trip - it vrought back many fond memories of being high in the mountains and on Mont Blanc which is all tied in with my love of naitre and just being outdoors. What an amazing world we live in.....

View from the Aguille de Midi Station

The Mer de Glace

Petit Dru

The blue ice of the Ice Cave under the Mer de Glace

Alpine Marmots - cute and furry creatures!!

                              

I had a recent short trip to France for a wedding and there was no way I was travelling to the French Alps without going looking for marmots......

The alpine marmot, Marmota marmota has to be one of my favourite mammals - marmots  are classed as rodents but they are just so cute and I would liken them to giant guinea pigs. I could sit and watch marmots foraging and lolloping around for hours. Marmots are found in high mountain meadows and pastures. They are omnivores and eat grasses, herbs but will also eat worms, insects and spiders.

Alpine Marmot, Marmota marmota

Steve and I headed off for a walk the morning after the wedding and to be honest I wasn't expecting to see any marmots as we were on a pretty popular trail. However we decided to head off the beaten track and we hadn't been walking for long when I caught a glimpse of a marmot. At first the marmot was a little wary of us and headed into his burrow, but we sat quietly for a moment enjoying the sunshine until he came back out to investigate...

Entrance to a marmot burrow

Watching a marmot is pretty relaxing and I didn't really want to leave...so I just sat and then another marmot appeared....and then another. I found it all pretty mesmerizing. One of them lolloped away up the hillside but they didn't appear too worried by our presence or too startled.

Alpine Marmot, Marmota marmota

Although the marmots didn't seem too bothered by a couple of tourists they can be quite defensive and they will try and warn off intruders in their territory by beating their tails or chattering their teeth. Marmots can often be seen standing up tall to look out for predators and when they feel in real danger they will whistle a warning call to their fellow marmots.

Spot the marmots - there are two in this pic!

We had a bit more of a wander around and left the marmots to it. I found plenty more burrows and signs of marmot life. Marmots will dig out a burrow with both their forepaws and hindfeet and will also use their teeth to remove stones and pebbles. They make their bed at the end of the burrow out of grass and other herbs.

Stunning scenery in marmot land!

Further along the trail that day we met a group of hunters. They were out shooting grouse and ptarmigan. I asked if they were shooting marmots and they said they weren't today but that they do shoot marmots as they are classed a pests in some areas. 

As we approached the hunters, I heard the marmots whistling out a warning call high up on the mountainside. I am guessing they could smell, see or hear the dogs and they alerted each other. 

Alpine Marmot, Marmota marmota

So if you do ever get a chance to see marmots, stop and be quiet for a while and just enjoy being around these lovely creatures.

A Bit of Natural History mixed with Roman History!

It was a sunny day and I decided I would like to head out and explore a section of the Hadrian's Wall Path. Since opening in 2002 it has become very popular and I haven't been to Vindolanda since I was a child. So off I went to explore some ancient history of World Heritage status and to see what flora and fauna I could find a long the way....

Heather in bloom

Ling Heather, Calluna vulgaris

Roxy on the way to our first Mile Castle

I set off along the wall from Once Brewed up a small climb to Steel Rigg, accompanied by my faithful labrador Roxy. We passed plenty of heather which has been stunning this year and there is a lot of patches of purple all over the hills. We continued along the wall and headed down to the famous sycamore tree that has been a Robin Hood film. I love the fact this lone tree stands strong in an otherwise fairly grazed landscape.

The lone Sycamore Tree on Hadrian's Wall

Along the way I met a group of walkers raising money for various charities and enjoying the sunny weather after yesterday's downpours.

I saw some beautiful patches of harebells and yarrow, still hanging on to their flowers. The harebells looked lovely against the grey stone of the wall.
 

Harebells and Yarrow

Onwards we marched and came to a small section of woodland, where we pondered for a while and I looked for signs of birds and mammals, whilst Roxy swam in the tarn. I found some great fungi and patches of wood sorrel.

Fungi and Wood Sorrel

After our little break Roxy and I sauntered along more sections of Hadrian's Wall until we finally arrived at Housesteads, where there are some amazing ruins of the Roman buildings that once stood there.

19th Century Well

And so next, I headed off the wall path and back through the fields and along some minor roads to see what I could find along the way....and I was treated to peacock butterflies and what I think were house martins or swifts flying all over above my head.

Peacock Butterfly

House Martins or Swifts - they were just too quick for me to identify!

As I continued along my way, I eventually turned a corner and saw some very large and eye catching ruins and then it dawned on me that it was actually Vindolanda. It is an amazing sight from afar. I saw a marker stone up on the hillside and decided to climb up to it to get a better birds eye view back down on Vindolanda. I tried to imagine myself as a Roman Soldier looking out over the landscape....

Roxy and the longstone

Vindolanda from above

Rosebay Willowherb with a bit of Vindolanda!

Dogs are not allowed on the Vindolanda site - which is fair enough, so Roxy and I walked up the minor road beside it - enjoying the countryside and the first signs of autumn - berries! I also noticed a pellet or was it some scat on a stone wall. I now really have an eye for noticing this stuff - which some may find a bit odd! I am still not sure what this came from as it contained a lot of fibrous material - I still need to do some research on this one.

Unidentified poop or pellet!

Rosehips!

Blackberries

Mountain Ash

 
The final walk back along the road had lots of interesting things to see such as a sapling growing out of the base of a tree and a meadow like flurry of flowers just on the side of the road. It was just a different way to enjoy a walk - stroll and you really do see more........!!