What about fauna and flora in our area in this season ?

Villerest

The european beaver Beavers live mostly in water.

Near Villerest, we can find them in the Loire river and in the gravels (a natural protected area). Beaver is a protected animal. We can see them in the rise and at sunset when they look for food.

In the winter, we can notably see their tracks on the trees, because they eat barks and wood.

Key featuresName : european beaverLatin name: Castor fiberMaximum size : 1m 30 cm (incl.tail)Weight : between 15 et 38 kgLife expectancy : from 7 to 8 years(max.25 years)Distinguishing features : hot and waterproof fur. Rear legs are webbled for swimming. Flat tail (it uses as a table, to swim in different directions and to hit the surface of the water as a warning signal). 4 big and sharp teeth (incisors). Flat head to be discreet. Transparent eyelids to see under water.

What do they eat?Beavers eat trees like poplars,

hazel trees or willows. They enjoy eating leaves and buds but in the winter they eats barks and wood. They nibble at the wood in two ways: sharp or on the side

When they are not in water, beavers stay in their den. There can be 4 to 8 beavers in the same den. The entry of the den is under the water, it is built with branches and some mud. They make a chimney on the den to breath.

Their house

They spread a flavour: « the castoreum », like that they mark their territory..

The white willowThe white willow lives in wet areas

near to the rivers, lakes or ponds. It is appreciated by beavers: they eat their leaves, buds, barks and wood. Beavers regulate white willowspopulation, it is good for our environment.

Key featuresName: white willowLatin name: salix alba size : until 25 m Life expectancy: until 100 yearsleaves : void, from 5 to 12 cm, fine, narrow, silveryTrunk : straight and clearUsing : matches, wood carving, heating

The Grey Herona large grey bird, with long legs and a long neck with a broad black supercilium and a big yellow beak.

It can have up to a 200 cm wingspan. It has a slow flight.

This is a bird which can

stand on one leg for a long time with its

long neck retracted.

The grey heron feeds by catching fish, insects, frogs, shellfish, small mammals and reptiles.

The female lays 3 to 5 eggs. Then both parents sit on them for 26 days. They go to search for food in turns.

Threats and protectionThe grey heron used to be an endangered species because its housing environment and trees where it nested used to be destroyed; it used it be we hunted.But, since 1975, it has been a protected species. Now we can find them along our river La Loire.

It lives in wet areas like swamps, ponds or near streams. We can see grey herons everywhere in France. In winter, they move in South of France.

Near Roanne there is a protected ecological area where we can find them grouping together at the end of the winter to build their nests. They were to be seen this year early because winter has not been as cold as previous years and they think spring is soon there.

January March August December

aloneMales and females group together build their nest, eggs hatch

alone

The white stork

The White Stork's prefered feeding grounds are grassy meadows, farmland and shallow wetlands. It eat grasshoppers, frogs, fish …

In flapping flight its wingbeats are slow and regular. It flies with its neck stretched forward in an heavy and powerful way.

White storks lay 3 or 4 eggs at the end of March. Both adults hatch them. Babies are born at the end of April

Threats and protection

The white stork is an endangered species. Many white storks die in Africa (place of migration). Threats include collisions with overhead power lines and use of persistent pesticides.

Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100cm from beak tip to end of tail, with a 200 cm wingspan.

White storks are rather silent birds.

White Storks fly south from their summer breeding grounds in Europe in August and September, heading for Africa. Migration of white storks is not due to cold temperatures in Europe but because food is scarcer during winter months.

On March the birds return north, passing through our region. Some white storks are spotted near to Roanne, near an open-air landfill site even sometimes in winter.

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The peat bogSometimes the peat bog was at the beginning a lake.The vegetation developed on the surface. The water disappears. This is the way the peat bog is born

The round-leaved sundewThe round-leaved sundew grows in the peat bog of Verrerie’s plateau (heigh of 1000 m) in the Monts de la Madeleine 30 km away from our school. In the peat bogs water and soils are acidic. So nutrient availability is severely decreased. The sundew can’t find enough food in the soil. It has evolved this carnivorous behaviour in response to its habitat.

Key FeatureLatin name : Droséra rotundifoliaFrench name : Droséra à feuilles rondes ou Rossolis à feuilles rondesEnglish name : round-leaved sundewCaracteristics : size 5 cm maximum. It’s got four round leaves with some red glandular hairs. This plant is carnivorous. Habitat : peatlands (acidic, damp and cold)

The plant feeds on insects (flies, midges, mosquitos, bees) which are attracted to its bright red colour and its glistening drops of mucilage, loaded with a sugary substance, covering its leaves. The plant uses enzymes to dissolve the insects – which become stuck to the glandular tentacles. It’s a kind of passive trap.

In winter, the sundews are sleeping under a red moss, the sphagnum which protect them from cold. It’s difficult to see them. The stems and flowers appear and the end of the spring.

This is a protected species. The area of the Verrerie’s peat bog is also protected . It’s forbidden to pick up the sundews and other protected plants.

The european wildcat

Key featureLatin name : Felis silvestrisFrench name : “chat sauvage” ou “chat forestier” Physical characteristics: She’s a tabby cat with a thick fur and a black line all along its back. She ‘s bigger than the domestic cat. She ‘s got a short, thick tail, black at the end, with three big black rings. She’s got four black stripes on the neck, golden eyes, pink nose. She’s a wild animal.

We can find wildcats in the “Monts de la Madeleine” a chain of mountains situated 30 km away from Villerest. They are difficult to see. They are just a few. This species have been protected for a long time because ethey have become very rare. It’s forbidden to shoot them. They begin to come back in our mountains and forests.They may die by accident ( diseases, hunting, cars…).

Food : rabbits , badgers , small rodents (field mice),birds , frogs, insects when she can’t find anything else. She hunts beetween 16h and 6h ( nightfall and at night). She’s a important predator.

Habitat : In broad-leaved trees forests with clearings, in the plains, on the hills and in the mountains. She sleeps in the trees. She hunts in the clearings.

Breeding : at the end of winter and spring.