Saturday 18 February 2012: Room without a view

This old barn seems to have undergone several alterations over its long life. I wasn't the only one out shooting near here this morning - a huge area of garrigue and holm oak wood near this building was ringed by hunters, making me rather nervous that I might be shot as I drove past, although they are much more likely to shoot each other accidentally, it seems. There was an announcement from the mairie over the village loudspeakers yesterday that the start of the season for woodcock shooting would be delayed until Monday, so these hunters must have been after wild boar.

[Edit: I've got my seasons in a twist here and should have said it was the end of the woodcock season!

My nephew, who is a very good young wildlife writer, recently had a piece published in Wingbeats, the young ornithologists' magazine, about his experience of ringing woodcock near where he lives in Wales. One bird he'd ringed was shot near St Petersburg, confirming the migratory path of these birds. It's sad that it was shot, but if it hadn't been no one would have known where it had travelled.

• PENTAX K-7:
• f/8:
• 1/1000":
• 35.0mm:
• ISO 200

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