Finally a day off. Saturday morning – I’m heading out into nature with my little son and our dog. We’re going to check out the wetland. On the way, we pass a badger’s den (Meles meles) gaping from the stream bank. A bit further on, there are more and more entrances to the badger labyrinth. We don’t go closer and continue along the stream.
We pass a small game enclosure, from which an European fallow deer (Dama dama) watches us with a calm but cautious gaze.
And now we’re at the wetland. The sun is starting to warm a bit, and the air smells like spring. Floating on the water are clusters of slime with tiny black dots – the next generation of pond frogs (Rana). Right beneath my feet, a partridge (Perdix perdix) bursts out of the tall dry grass and vanishes with a cry into the nearby forest. I look back and see she has been sitting on a fresh clutch of eggs. We quickly move on so the partridge can return and warm her future offspring as soon as possible.
Tomorrow, we’ll go to see the other wetland – the one further by the forest, where the meadow saffron grows.
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