27th November 1988

Nov 27

During the last couple of days we have heard a trilling which we haven't been able to identify. This morning the song came loud and clear from an aerial on a nearby house, and was being sung by a bright yellow male cirl bunting. The field guide describes it as a monotonous hurried jingle re­calling lesser whitethroat; it solves a mystery of a bird we heard when we visiting Sussex last s­pring, and decided it was probably a lesser whitethroat with the sound distorted by wind and distance.
We eventually got sorted out, packed up and on our way south again ‑ persuading the telescope to get in the van was the hardest bit ‑ it always wanted to look at yet another bird.
A dead mammal by the side of the road caused us to stop for a second look. It was a beech marten, similar to a pine marten but with a cream throat patch instead of white, and a pink nose instead of brown. This animal had probably been struck a glancing blow by a passing vehicle, there wasn't a mark on it; it was cold and stiff but not unpleasant to handle so we took the opportunity to look closely at it, particularly the feet and the tracks they would leave.
The beech marten ranges from central and south­ern Europe eastwards through Asia to Mon­golia. Although we found this one in an area of woodland, it is quite common in built‑up areas where it gets into buildings and can cause con­siderable damage, mainly to the outer panelling and insulation of houses. Thus it is often con­sidered a harmful pest and is widely persecuted.
The Rural Code contains a whole section on the destruction of animal pests. The concept is outdated but it still carries a lot of weight in France, and the regulations make it possible to destroy any wild animal by any means and in any season at the slightest excuse. Foxes, badgers, magpies and crows are traditional victims, with weasels and stoats being more or less wiped out in some areas.