Sophie Mowles

Among our camera trap footage from this autumn was this male Wild Boar, near a newly dug wallow adjacent to the river. We’ve not seen this behaviour before, but think he may be scent-marking with his metacarpal glands. Wild Boar continue to fascinate! @chantallyons.bsky.social

A really special moment thermal-imaging with our last group of the season. There were 18 of us on the bridge and everyone was absolutely silent. We could even hear the Otters crunching their prey below as everyone watched on the tablet that the thermal camera streams to.

A great picnic overall. Three species of vulture while we ate, plus a parlour trick! (Thanks to Bob Mortimer on Would I Lie to You for the inspiration and apple-splitting "tutorial"...).

Sophie holding an two halves of an apple, one in each hand, having split it apart. I am wearing a broad rimmed hat as it is sunny, a t-shirt with vultures on it, and have a pair of binoculars around my neck.

We always hope the students gain a lot of ecological knowledge in our field courses... However, we suspect a highlight might have been the "splitting an apple in half with your bare hands" technique showcased at our picnic in the Causse Méjean. Here I am presenting the apple in the customary way…

A fantastic (and very sunny!) week in autumn. Beautiful colours in the trees, great wildlife, and enthusiastic students. A really lovely finale to this year's autumn field season.

A pair of Spoonbills with a Caspian Tern behind them on a sandbank. One of the Spoonbills has its bill open, revealing the sensitive cream-coloured tissue inside.

A group of students walking across a boardwalk towards a reedbed. Sophie is with them, carrying a spotting scope.

Students looking across a freshwater pond using a spotting scope and binoculars.

A Greater Flamingo feeding in shallow mud. It has its head down and is skimming the surface of the mud with its bill.

For our second excursion with MSc students from the University of St Andrews, we headed to the #Camargue. First exploring the freshwater reedbeds to the north, then the southern salt marshes where we saw plenty of waders and Greater Flamingos. @mikemwebster.bsky.social #birds #ornithology #ecology

A view from an upland plateau looking down into a valley that is filled with clouds.

A group of students using binoculars and with a telescope. They are looking up into a blue sky with cliffs in the background.

Students using binoculars while Fabrizio uses a radio antenna to hear if any radio-tagged Bearded Vultures are nearby.

A Griffon Vulture soaring against a sky of light cloud cover.

We spent a day with staff and MSc students from the University of St Andrews to explore the rugged uplands of the Causse Méjean. We had extraordinary views of the gorges from above the clouds, found some fantastic plants, and were lucky enough to spot 3 species of vulture. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

Students sat on the ground in a meadow next to a microphone mounted on a tripod.

Students reviewing bat calls using computer software.

A Speckled Wood butterfly on fallen plant tree leaves.

Plasticine model butterflies deployed on a tree.

Day 2 with MSc students from the University of St Andrews, and they are trialling their field projects. Microphones have been placed to record meadow soundscapes, audio has been reviewed from bat detectors, and model butterflies have been deployed to investigate predation. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

A group of people looking up at a drone. Its landing pad is in the foreground.

An iridescent green leafhopper on a ragweed leaf.

A Cauliflower Fungus among pine needles.

A group of people in a meadow pointing and looking at invertebrates on the ground. Some are taking photographs too.

A great first day with our visitors from the University of St Andrews. We’ve had a drone demonstration and toured the local habitats while looking for inspiration for field projects. Highlights included plenty of invertebrates, and some amazing #fungi. @mikemwebster.bsky.social

Fabrizio holding a telephoto lens up to the sky, where numerous Griffon Vultures are soaring.

A Griffon Vulture against a pale blue sky.

Sophie lying on a short grass bank, holding a camera with a long macro lens to her eye, focussing on a small insect in the grasses.

A Southern Festoon butterfly shot with a macro lens, giving sharp focus to the subject, with a blurry background.

Here at Merops, both Fabrizio and Sophie are keen photographers and are also happy to help those wanting to improve heir skills. We both use Canon EOS, so if any staff or students bring a compatible Canon body and want to trial a macro or telephoto lens in the field, then we can help!

A close-up photograph of a Double-spot Brocade moth's head in profile. It is a dappled light brown and grey.

A close up of the head and back of a Rosy-striped Knot-Horn moth in profile. It is pink and yellow, with iridescent green eyes.

More #macro from Merops! We’ve done some #moth trapping, and while the moths are warming up prior to release, they remain still enough for some close-up #photography. Here are some of their portraits. L: 𝘔𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘢, Double-spot Brocade and R: 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, Rosy-striped Knot-Horn

A black and orange Ichneumonid wasp.

A Rosemary Beetle, staring head-on into the camera.

A close-up of a bee, showing its fuzzy covering.

A Common European Harvestman looking straight into the camera lens. Its claw-like chelicerae are visible in front of it.

On our field courses, we often tend to share photographs of the larger animals around, however, some of the smaller organisms are just as stunning. With #macro-photography we can really see the details of the invertebrates present here in the autumn. #macro #photography #entomology #arachnid #insect

A cluster of orange mushrooms sprouting on the forest floor. The ground is covered in dried autumnal leaves.

A cluster of mushrooms at night under UV light. They are glowing with a greenish hue. The rest of the surroundings are dark, with a faint purple glow from the nearby UV light.

It’s autumn and some great #mushrooms are appearing in the woodlands here. We’ve found several clusters of Sulphur Tuft (𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦), which happens to fluoresce under UV light. Cue a nocturnal trip into the woods with a UV torch to see its amazing green glow. #mycology #fungi #mushroom

A group of 23 people standing with their backs to a forested valley. They are a mixture of students and staff, many wearing binoculars. There is also a spotting scope at the right hand side of the image.

We’d like to say a big thank you to our visitors from @sheffielduni.bsky.social. We had a great time hosting you all this week, and were impressed by everybody’s enthusiasm and dedication to their field projects. We wish you the best of luck with the rest of your studies! @luketdunning.bsky.social

A male Vapourer Moth in a petri dish.

A group of students listening to a member of staff talking about moth trapping.

A group of students sat in a meadow collecting data. There are trees behind them, plus a classical French country house.

A female Western Saddle Bush-cricket among the grasses. She is green and is well-camouflaged.

While here with us, students from @sheffielduni.bsky.social learned various survey skills, including #moth trapping. After identifying their findings in the morning, they were back out in the meadows and woods gathering data for their independent ecology projects. @luketdunning.bsky.social

A group of ecology students stood in a rugged upland area of short grasses. They have binoculars and telescopes and are having something pointed out to them by a member of staff.

A Chalk Burnet moth sat on a dried grass stem. It is black with red spots surrounded by yellow borders.

A Bearded Vulture in flight against a cliff.

Staff and students at a lookout point. A member of staff is taking photos with a telephoto lens. In the background there are rising limestone crags.

With staff and students from @sheffielduni.bsky.social, we explored the Causse Méjean, an upland area famous for its rugged habitats, surrounded by deep gorges frequented by #vultures. We were lucky enough to spot Bearded Vultures, plus shrikes and some great #lepidoptera. @luketdunning.bsky.social

A group of students looking through binoculars at a pond.

A Moorish Gecko on an overhead wooden beam.

A Western Swamp Hen investigating some dried reeds while foraging.

Greater Flamingos on a pond. In the background some people are observing them.

Yesterday we took our visitors from @sheffielduni.bsky.social to explore the Camargue wetlands. We observed the differences between the freshwater areas to the north and the brackish areas to the south. Highlights of our day were Western Swamp Hens and Moorish Geckos. @luketdunning.bsky.social

A group of staff and students looking into a white sampling tray next to a river.

A Spinycheek Crayfish.

A female Western Saddle Bush-cricket on the edge of a sweep net.

Students holding up a sweep net and looking at a bush cricket.

Day two with @sheffielduni.bsky.social, and we’ve been exploring field techniques. Kick sampling, GPS use, plus plant and terrestrial invertebrate surveys. Highlights were more mantises, Saddle-backed Bush Crickets, plus spotting crayfish in the river. @luketdunning.bsky.social

A Mediterranean Conehead Mantis sitting on a dried plant stem

A member of staff showing a mantis to a group of excited students

Three people close to the ground, taking photos of invertebrates with their phones

A Colchicum autumn crocus. The flower is pale purple with yellow stamens.

A great first afternoon with our visitors from the University of Sheffield. We explored the local habitats, seeing some fantastic autum wildlife including the Mediterranean Conehead Mantis. Other highlights were large Orthoptera, butterflies, and Colchicum autumn Crocuses. @luketdunning.bsky.social

Absolutely. A really important paper here. Fieldwork 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 be safe and inclusive for everyone.

Guessing the grant wasn't about donkeys then?

Nice to see our company logo sitting on the wires just outside the house!

A Wild Boar swimming in the shallows at the edge of a river. The image is a still from a camera trap, which shows that the temperature is 29 degrees Celsius at 8:06 pm. The river looks cool and refreshing.

Going back over some camera trap data from earlier this summer and finding I completely sympathise with this Wild Boar. Who wouldn't want a swim in the river when it's still 29 degrees after 8pm!

I've always wanted to see these spiders! Such a happy day spent in the Cévennes mountains. Plus Wasp Spiders, loads of amazing upland Orthoptera, and to top it off, a family of European Rollers! The Cévennes never cease to amaze.

Round-leaved Sundew plans growing among Sphagnum moss and low grasses. They have round green leaves covered in sticky red filaments for catching invertebrates.

A Marsh Gentian flower. It is deep purple and tubular, facing upwards out of the Sphagnum moss.

An Alcon Large Blue butterfly feeding on heather flowers. Its wings are partially open, showing the spotted underside and greyish-blue upper side.

A Asp Spider. It is sitting in the middle of its web, which has a zigzag pattern woven into it. The spider has a black and yellow striped abdomen.

With summer well underway, we explored some cooler habitats in the Cévennes mountains. At a fantastic peat bog we found lots of Round-leaved Sundew, plus Marsh Gentians, which are the larval food plant of Alcon Large Blue butterflies. Other highlights were Wasp Spiders amongst the shrubs.

Planning a trip to the UK and thought it might be possible to go to #ASABWinter2025 and #BES2025 - but they overlap by two days! Anyone going to both, or have suggestions (i.e. skip day 2 of ASAB), or run madly between both like the Vicar of Dibley trying to go to all the Christmas lunches..?

A composite panel showing seven group photos of staff and students on field courses throughout he spring.

We’re looking back at our fantastic spring field season, and would like to say a huge thank you to all involved: staff and students from all of our visiting universities, and especially to Chris and Alison at the Château du Fraissinet. Thanks to everyone for making these field courses so special.

So happy to see this Roe Deer mother and fawn on the camera traps. Oh - that little jump!

A group of twelve people smiling at the camera. They are viewed slightly from above and there is an old Mediterranean building in the background with an open courtyard.

We spent a fantastic week hosting @stir.ac.uk for their Mediterranean field course. We’d like to say thank you to all involved, especially the students for their engagement and enthusiasm with their projects. Good luck with the rest of your studies! @bb-phd.bsky.social @zarahpattison.bsky.social

A cat peeking out of the top of a moth trap it is sat in.

A cat sitting in a kick sampling net.

Students in the field identifying insects. They have a beating tray at their feet. A cat is stood in the middle of it.

An educator giving a talk about GIS with students watching. Two cats are also at the front of the classroom.

Running ecology field courses - except there are cats. Last autumn we were dismayed to find two 10-day old kittens abandoned in a dustbin. They are now 9 months old, doing really well and have graduated to becoming fully integrated members of team Merops! @meropsfieldcentre.bsky.social
#EcologyCats