A naturalist journey through forests, oceans, and mountains, close to wild species in their habitats.
This month’s selection illustrates the diversity of natural habitats and species observed across several continents. In Europe, the photographs by Christian Cabron and Ervin Horesnyík document the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in different behavioral contexts, from rutting displays to herd interactions. Images by Stéphane Vitzthum and Claude Balcaen provide detailed observations of birds and insects in forest and grassland habitats of Lorraine and the Pyrenees, where seasonal conditions influence both morphology and activity.
The contributions of Frank Deschandol and Philippe Sabine enrich the collection with macro observations from the Philippines, featuring a range of tropical insect fauna — weevils, stick insects, moth caterpillars, and geometrid moths — all photographed in situ. These images highlight the structural and chromatic diversity of insects inhabiting the humid forests of Southeast Asia, and enable precise species identification within their microhabitats.
Aquatic and coastal environments are represented through the work of Gabriel Barathieu and Bruno Guénard, documenting coral reef ecosystems in Mayotte and freshwater habitats in France. Their photographs reveal the biological complexity of corals, sponges, and reef-associated fish, while illustrating ecological resilience following recent bleaching events. On land, Alain Roux and Pierre Vernay complement this perspective with behavioral scenes of wetland birds and mammals in Portuguese marshes and the Loire valley.
Finally, several series focus on forest flora and fungi photographed by Jean-Philippe Delobelle and Stéphane Vitzthum. Their images contribute to the documentation of saprophytic and mycorrhizal species, emphasizing their essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and the dynamics of temperate forests. Together, these works form a coherent corpus where descriptive precision and naturalist observation combine in the service of biodiversity knowledge and documentation
