THE NATURAL HISTORY
OF BRAMELOUP
As a biologist and ecologist, as well
as a Bahá'í. contact with the natural world and its
beauties is very important for me. The natural environment of Brameloup
and its vicinity is one of its attractions. Here I want to share some
of beauty I have observed, the things I have discovered that pleased
me, and some of the living things with which I share my environment.
Most of the botanical beauty of my forest, particularly the
wildflowers, is shown on the seasonal pages for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
PLANTS
The orchids and lilies are the most remarkable flowers (see also Spring and Summer)
but there are many others, as well as a mixed forest of many kinds of
trees: Ivy is a common ground cover and often reaches high into the
trees as well. Mosses are also very common.
Orchids
Orchis militaris Military Orchid - Orchis militaire
Anacamptis pyramidalis Pyramid Orchid - Orchis pyramidal
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Orchis mascula Male orchid - Orchis mâle
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Listera ovata Big Listera orchid - Grande listère
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Neottia nidus-avis Birds nest neottia - Néottie nid-d'oiseau
saprophyte
Lilies
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Scilla bifolia Scille à deux feuilles
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Paris quadrifolia Parisette à 4 feuilles
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Colchicum autumnale
spring
autumn
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Polygonatum odoratum Solomon's Seal - Sceau de Salomon
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Ornithogalum pyrenaicum Aspergette
Other plants
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Ivy in a tree
Holly
Cherry blossoms - Cerisier
Hawthorne - Aubepine
Moss
For other flowers, see the seasonal pages
THE FUNGI
While there are mushrooms in the forest, I have never learned to
recognize those that are safe to eat, and would not try. For beauty, it
is the shelf fungi that grow from rotting wood that are the most
aesthetically pleasing.
Shelf fungi
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Mushrooms
THE LICHENS
Most tree trunks and many other surfaces have lichens (associations of
fungi and algae) growing on them. When you look closely, they can be
surprisingly beautiful.
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INSECTS
From butterflies and moths, to beetles, spiders, and grubs under the
bark of fallen trees, insects are everywhere (not to mention mosquitos,
mites, ticks and biting horseflies that are less welcome dimensions of
the natural world).
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Grubs live under the bark of dead trees
Photo by Nabil Stendardo
Spider catching a fly Moth with peace symbol
Fly that hovers like a hummingbird
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ticks were common in 2010
MOLLUSCS
There are different kinds of snails including some that are bright
yellow, but the slugs are most common. They particularly like the
flowers in my garden and voraciously consume any vegetables that I try to grow.
These slugs appear to be copulating outside my front door ---->.
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Photo by Nabil Stendardo
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The local snails come in various colours
AMPHIBIANS
Since the river is not too far away, there are frogs and toads in the forest and garden. In
the fall, I sometimes find a black and yellow salamander on my patio.
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Toad on my doorstep
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REPTILES
Lizards are very common around the chalet, particularly on the balcony
and patio. I found a brown garden snake sleeping under a tile, but it
slinked away before I could photograph it.
MAMMALS 
I have occasionally caught glimpses of mice, deer, foxes, martens,
hares, squirrels and
badgers at Brameloup, and often see their footprints along my paths and
in the snow, but they and the birds are not easy to photograph. There
have been some signs of wild boar. Dormice (nocturnal fruit-eating
animals about the size of a squirrel) were permanently resident in my
chalet when I moved in, including nests with babies. They would often
run around the rooms while I was in them. I finally closed all the
openings, but they are still resident in the tool shed and build their
nests in boxes. The mouse at right fell into a bucket, which made it
easy to photograph.
In early spring, a squirrel busied itself building a nest in the tree next to my chalet. These photos were taken from my window.
At the far end
of my property there are extensive badger dens with large heaps of soil
like mine workings. The different entrances are regularly maintained,
with the new soil from one creating a kind of chute like a bobsled run.
Badger dens
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Photo by Nabil Stendardo
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excavated soil looked like a bobsled run
In mid-winter, I found a dead gopher on one of my forest trails, as well as a mole and a shrew
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Dormouse nest in a box
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