France for Nature Lovers - On The Nature Trail

It was like playing Cowboys and Indians again. Alan was in front carefully placing his feet so as not to step on noisy dead branches as he approached the edge of the wood. Ralph, Mary and I followed in his footsteps hardly daring to breathe. From the cover of low branches we looked out on to a huge glade and searched for the source of the sound we had been tracking since first light – a bubbling ‘coo-crew-ee-coo-carew’.

Our leader, Alan, spotted it first and set up the telescope. There it was on top of a pine tree about 400 yards away. A black grouse is a rare sight in France and to see one lekking is even rarer. The lek is the male’s amorous display to attract a female. This normally takes place on the ground and involves the bird spreading its lyre-shaped tail feathers to reveal a cockade of white feathers in the form of a fan. There are just one or two places in France to see and hear black grouse leks – either in the high Queyras near the Italian border or this one small spot on the haut plateau of the Vercors.

Ralph, Mary and I were three of a group of ten on a wildlife holiday based at la Chapelle-en-Vercors and we were being guided by Alan Miller, an ornithologist. Our other guide Paul Harmes, a botanist, was looking after the rest of the group who were more interested in finding the Vercors’ wealth of rare orchids – either that or they had not wanted to have such an early start.

Alan and we three ‘birders’ had left the comfort of our hotel at 4am, driven seven kilometres along forest tracks and then climbed a footpath for 40 minutes to reach the clearing by first light. As we enjoyed a picnic of hot coffee and cakes two hours later we all agreed it had been well worth the effort, even if the others were still tucked up in bed. Meandering our way back across the plateau we watched a firecrest restlessly flitting through conifers as a golden eagle soared overhead – the little and large of Vercors birdlife.

The natural citadel of the Vercors is a fascinating freak of geology. Sheer limestone cliffs rise thousands of feet from the Rhône plain concealing a lush plateau. The villages that punctuate this hideaway upland were once all but cut off from the rest of France, but the tortuous mule tracks that had kept travellers at bay for centuries were eventually replaced by serpentine roads that wind their way up three sides of the Vercors’ natural fortress. Despite this relatively recent accessibility the plateau roads remain quiet, but the patchwork of fields and dense woodland teems with wildlife making the Vercors the perfect place for a nature-lover’s holiday.

Perfect for wildlife

The Vercors is criss-crossed with waymarked footpaths that lead walkers through a wide variety of landscapes and habitats that are perfect for the amateur naturalist, but our guides were professionals. They had done their homework and knew exactly where to take us. Walking was kept to a minimum as the minibuses took the strain.

En route to the viewpoint of col de la Chau and a wildlife walk at Font d’Urle we stopped at the Resistance cemetery at Vassieux-en-Vercors. Because of its remoteness the Vercors became a stronghold for the French Resistance during World War II. Then, owing to a misunderstood BBC radio signal in 1944, the Vercors was witness to a disastrous saga. Some 4,000 partisans fought a losing battle against a far superior Nazi force. Vassieux-en-Vercors was the scene of one of the more harrowing episodes when SS troopers dropped in by glider and massacred some 800 men, women and children. Our group stood in sombre silence among the graves of many of Vassieux’s victims.

The viewpoint at the col de la Chau is jaw-droppingly good, but not the day we were there – it was shrouded in mist. A little further on at Font d’Urle, a tiny ski station with a few picnic tables, we parked and walked up an easy path – part of the Grande Randonnée 93 – to another stunning viewpoint. Sadly the clouds had descended here too, but that didn’t stop our enthusiastic group spotting a variety of orchids and birds. There seemed to be some competition between the botanists about who had seen which rare orchid and many a Latin species name was bandied around the dinner table that night. The ‘birders’ decided to drop in a few ‘latinos’ with tongue-in-cheek questions such as “Did you see that magnificent Circaetus Gallicus on the Col de la Chau?” Sadly, I could only respond with a sighting of a Turdus Viscivorus, but it raised a few botanists’ eyebrows.

Dinner at the comfortable Hôtel Bellier in la Chapelle-en-Vercors was always enjoyable, as much for the conversation as for the sumptuous food. The hotel has been in the Bellier family’s ownership for generations. The original hotel was in the village’s main square but became a victim of the war when it was burnt down in 1944. It was not until 1950 that the present Hôtel Bellier was built alongside a courtyard that saw the execution of 16 local Resistance fighters by a Nazi firing squad in July 1944 – still within living memory of many local residents.

Table-top view

Another day saw us head past the memorial hamlet of Valchevrière – scene of another wartime massacre – before climbing to a lofty perch overlooking the gorges du Furon in the northern Vercors. Here, on a scary outcrop not much bigger than a table-tennis table, we sat with sheer drops on three sides with our binoculars focused on a sunny rock face waiting for a sighting of a wallcreeper. It was only fleeting but, after about an hour, one of these rare birds flew in. We all felt a lot safer once we reached our picnic spot by the river in the gorge below.

That night one of our party, a retired French teacher, regaled me with amusing stories of his days as a student in France while some of the botanists tried to outdo each other with exotic places where they had first seen various Latin-named plants.

On another day we left the hotel amid sleet and headed up the col de Carri on roads covered in several inches of slush. The visibility closed in and we had no views as we broached the col. Heading southeast we stopped at Léoncel and the ‘planters’ saw a group of rare orchids in the verge while the ‘birders’ watched a red-backed shrike puffing out his chest. Heading down to a sensible altitude, we found a spot with a splendid variety of orchids and the ‘planters’ were in heaven.

I gradually worked out what to look for and began to find some rather interesting specimens for them. My find of the day was a birdsnest orchid, a first timer for many of the botanists. As a reward they made me learn the Latin name, Neottia Nidus-avis.

Swooping eagles

The weather cleared up at lunchtime and we saw a short-toed eagle ‘rocking’ and trained the telescope on it for long enough to see it in all its glory. Alpine swifts, however, were probably the sight of the day as they swooped within a few yards of us.

For many the highlight of the week was walking down to a remote spot in a high valley where there were dozens of lady’s slipper orchids. One of our party, a delightful gentleman called Tom, said his holiday had been made by being able to be so close to a lady’s slipper for the first time in his life. I later learned that Tom had spent his entire life observing wildlife and is regarded as a world-famous naturalist having written two volumes on the birds of Pakistan as well as a definitive guide to the mammals of that country.

During our week in the Vercors the group visited the cirque d’Archiane, drove over the col de Rousset, enjoyed the delights of the vallée de Combeau and the spectacular cliffs at Presles. We climbed to the cross overlooking Plan-de-Baix, visited Pont-en-Royans, saw dippers in the gorges de la Bourne and avoided coach parties on the col de la Machine. In all we identified 85 different species of birds and found and photographed some 35 species of orchids. My highlight was stalking three red deer and seeing a young black woodpecker peering from its nest in the bole of a tree.

To enjoy a holiday like this to the full, you should be an all-round nature-lover with a reasonable knowledge of birds and wildflowers – and it helps to have a sense of humour. After dinner on the final evening one of the ‘planters’ showed some orchid pictures on his laptop – all rarities unknown to all bar orchid experts. From the far end of the table as everyone was peering at the computer screen I focused my binoculars on the top left-hand corner of the screen where the caption was written and as each picture came up read the name, hid the binoculars then rattled off the correct Latin name much to everyone’s amazement... until I could contain my laughter no more.

I can think of nowhere better in France to enjoy learning more about nature than on the Vercors plateau, it’s a treasure trove of wildlife waiting to be discovered.

FRANCOFILE

Philip Faiers went on a trip organised by Naturetrek, a company which offers a range of wildlife holidays and natural history tours to France. Its list of tours includes birdwatching in the Champagne Lakes, birdwatching in the Camargue, flowers, birds and butterflies in the Lot Valley, La Brenne, the Vercors, the Dordogne, Normandy, the Cevennes, the Loire Valley and the Pyrénées.

Naturetrek
Cheriton Mill
Cheriton
Alresford
Hampshire
SO24 0NG
Tel: 01962 733051
www.naturetrek.co.uk