This week Iolo starts in the area of Ariege near Toulouse in the south of France. They don’t put chemicals on this land so the land is fertile and many different animals live here.
A lot of poppies grow in this area and all kinds of insects live here. Iolo sees a special bird called the European bee-eater. This bird is very colourful and eats big insects.
Iolo travels to Arcachon Bay to see the sand dunes. Pyla sand dune is here – Europe’s largest sand dune. It’s the strong wind from the Atlantic that makes these sand dunes.
In this area there’s a large forest – Lande Forest. Here Iolo meets Marie Francoise Canevet who looks after the birds in the forest. One of the birds is the Eurasian Hobby; this bird eats small birds and lizards.
Then Iolo goes to Briere National Park; here Jacques Hedin takes him in a boat on the canal. The park is a home to birds like the marsh harrier. The park is also a home to the muskrat, an animal that spends a lot of his time in the water.
Near Briere National Park people have made water puddles to collect salt. The water in the puddles evaporates in the sun but the sand stays. You can see birds like the pied avocet here.
Before leaving France Iolo goes to Keremma beach. This place is very important because there are many wild plants and flowers growing near the beach.
The largest island of the Channel Islands is Jersey and Iolo goes to a beach near St Brelade. He goes there to see the green lizard. These lizards love the sun and they can grow to be over 40cm of length.
The little island of Serca is between Guernesey and Jersey. On a reef near Serca Iolo dives to see sea fans and fish like the cuckoo wrasse. This fish can change his colour; the female fish can also change to a male fish.
Iolo goes to a golf course on Alderney Island to see an animal that comes out during the night to search for food. This animal is a hedgehog and his colour is light.
From the Channel Islands Iolo goes to Cornwall. Here he goes to see a grey seal on an island near Lizard Point. When they are small this seal is very fat with White fur. But after five weeks they are ready to leave their mothers and go to the sea.
Iolo finishes his journey on the Scilly Islands. These islands are important for birds that migrate and many people come here to watch the birds. Iolo has come to see the uplands sandpiper.
