the birm*

Getting some is hard when everyone else is trying to as well…

I was invited up to our friend Sylvie’s refuge with a bunch of wildlife people and a camera crew to take part in the annual counting of a sort of rare, wild, mountain chicken (called Tetras Lire). They come out and do a mating dance for about two weeks at this time of the year. I bolted up to the refuge in 40 mins, thus arriving soaked in sweat (it’s about an 800m vertical climb) and got there just in time for dinner (fondue…yum!). Too much fondue, the excitement of waking up early to go out in the snow and a bunch (13) other people trying to get some sleep/snoring, make sleeping at a refuge quite difficult. Finding out it was snowing outside the refuge made the 4am wake up call even more painful (and many, including myself, contemplated remaining in the warm, in bed, to resume (or finally start) the little sleep we’d got... we finally made a move at about 7am, trudging through old and fresh snow, and headed to where most of the hens were habitually hang out. The camera crew got some shots (though it was hard due to the white-out) and we heard some great mating calls, but had to cancel the counting due to the snow storm (we did see 3 or 4 roosters dancing for the hens, which was pretty special). Hiking down the steep trail in half a foot of fresh was amazing, slippery, fun and unexpected for this time of year. Getting to the car, which was covered in snow, was also a surreal experience, as it was about 15 degrees and sunny by the time I got to it. Need any volunteers for the next count?..