Hoopoe - we have a hoopoe - 'huppe fasciee' (fr), or 'hop' (dutch) visiting our garden. Apparently these birds are pretty dirty in their habits. I'm wondering if it's the one who has been pooping purple on my nice white washing..... But the good thing is that they can eat things like the larvae of the processionary caterpillar.
The birds, according to the Wiki, are summer visitors and nesters throughout central Europe and central Asia. Its bill is long and tapered and it has strong head muscles which allow its beak to open while in the ground - perfect for eating the caterpillar larvae! Larger prey is beaten against the ground or a stone is used to kill it. The milky blue eggs laid are quickly discoloured by the dirty nest conditions.
Apparently the female has a uropygial (or preening) gland which can be quickly modified with a foul (pardon the pun!) rotten meat-like smell which acts as a deterrent against predators, parasites and is also probably an antibacterial agent. The smell is absorbed into the feathers of female and young alike, so I guess if you had a nest in your garden you'd soon know about it! In addition to this secretion, nestlings are able to direct streams of faeces at nest intruders from the age of six days, and will also hiss at intruders in a snake like fashion. The song is an "oop oop" sound, which gives rise to its name.
Image from http://snipurl.com/exnjz
Moles
We also have a mole - taupe (fr) or mol (dutch) - he or she came out of its hiding place a few days ago after all the concrete drilling we are having done at the moment - we found out they don't like noise or vibrations... So we did a bit of investigating and apparently they eat their own weight in grubs every day. They like damp, dark places under trees or other plants, often live under a concrete path and build their little network of feeding holes from there. They seem to need about a quarter acre of land each to live on and have a complex system of tunnels and chambers. They have found mole fossils dating back 130 million years.
It seems they are hard to get rid of as they build safety walls in parts of their underground network to keep themselves safe. The French advertise all sorts of traps and electronic devices in brico (hardware) shops. Apparently they don't spread diseases like some rodents can do, but they do eat fungus and other harmful underground grubs and bugs in your garden as well as aerate the soil. Mice and other small rodents sometimes use the burrows for feeding leaving the moles to get the blame for eaten roots and seeds.
The good news is that they will also feed on the processionary caterpillar larvae, which could explain why even though there might be thousands of caterpillars, there seem to be comparatively few moths. We wonder why people don't seem to like them - the only reason we can think of is that they spoil the appearance of our lawns and gardens - yes, I know they can make a mess, but for our garden, one or two are welcome if they help to keep pests at bay and we will gladly rake the mounds of soil flat.
Image from http://snipurl.com/exp3f
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