Jonathan Kemp; A naturalist in the south of France

One result of the shortage of rain this summer has been the reduction in flow of the tributaries of the main rivers, in our case the Aude. We live in a water mill perched above the Brezilhou stream, and not for the first time see why the original mill, dating from about nine hundred years ago, was built here. Upstream all the flow has gone underground, but whilst the waterfall that feeds the mill pond has slowed, it would have still supplied enough to keep the ponderous wheels turning.  Kingfisher dive   Somewhere upstream a pair of Kingfishers nest every year. I have not found this year's nest, the older ones of previous years have been washed away in the floods that will eventually come. This year we see a kingfisher nearly every day, there is often a spark of electric blue and the piercing cry as these brightest of birds make the kilometre journey down to the main river to hunt for their meals – and sometimes they stop at the millpond and try their luck here.    S...

                                                                                    I have just spent 3 days in the Asturias region of Spain, part  of  the Cantabrian mountain chain that runs a little inland from the northern Atlantic coast.  Based  in the Parque Natural de Somiedo our guide Marcos has a dual role of working with the  www.fundacionOsoPardo.org   (Brown Bear Foundation) and also with a reputable tour organisation  www.wildwatchingspain.com  with whom I have made a wolf tour in the past. You can sign up for a day trip, but this is risky, the weather in a high mountainous area can be misty, wet and cool, as was our last day, and  can  easily pass with no  new  sightings  for us , despite many hour...