Sophie Mowles
@sophiemowles.bsky.social
Co-director of Merops – organising field courses for universities in the south of France.
Field Ecology🌳 Behavioual Ecology 🦗 Animal acoustics 🦇
Photography 📷 Environmentally conscious 💚 Vegan (sometimes difficult in rural France) 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️
Field Ecology🌳 Behavioual Ecology 🦗 Animal acoustics 🦇
Photography 📷 Environmentally conscious 💚 Vegan (sometimes difficult in rural France) 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️
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Hello world!
I’m Sophie Mowles, a former academic from the UK. I now live in the south of France and run a company organising field courses for university groups.
I’m passionate about inclusivity and believe that everyone should be able to benefit from a great field course experience.
I’m Sophie Mowles, a former academic from the UK. I now live in the south of France and run a company organising field courses for university groups.
I’m passionate about inclusivity and believe that everyone should be able to benefit from a great field course experience.
A bit of autumn downtime, and I’ve managed to get back to the #orchid photos from this spring. I’d set myself the challenge to try to get one good photo of each species I saw this year. Here’s no. 11, the Woodcock Orchid (𝘖𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘹). We found this one in late April in the Ardèche. #botany
October 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Always happy to spot Praying Mantises out here, especially the impressive Empusa! With their crowned head, they look like Sauron!
Late summer and early autumn are the best times to see mantises here in the garrigue – if you can spot them! These sit-and-wait predators blend in with often remarkable camouflage while awaiting their prey. Pictured are a Mediterranean Conehead Mantis and a Grey #Mantis. #entomology #insect
September 30, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Always happy to spot Praying Mantises out here, especially the impressive Empusa! With their crowned head, they look like Sauron!
Last #orchid of the year here in the Ardèche - Autumn Ladies' Tresses (𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴). These orchids are tiny and easily overlooked (looking like a little plantain spike), but worth looking for. I love how the #flowers look like melting snow up close. #macro #photography #botany #wildlife
September 27, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Really happy to find some 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 in the garrigue. Such impressive beasts! Plus a lovely Sunday nature walk for a couple (the usual when you're both ecologists!).
September 14, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Really happy to find some 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 in the garrigue. Such impressive beasts! Plus a lovely Sunday nature walk for a couple (the usual when you're both ecologists!).
I really like finding Mediterranean Slant-faced Grasshoppers. Seeing them makes me so happy. Mainly because all I can see is Beaker from the Muppets.
August 27, 2026 at 8:43 AM
I really like finding Mediterranean Slant-faced Grasshoppers. Seeing them makes me so happy. Mainly because all I can see is Beaker from the Muppets.
A great evening spent hanging around a #moth sheet with members of the LPO. Worth staying out until midnight to see my first ever Lappet! Plus a gorgeous Striped Hawkmoth, a fairly shifty looking mantis (you ain't seen me, right?), plus a 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢. A great opportunity to talk convergent evolution!
August 20, 2026 at 1:53 PM
A great evening spent hanging around a #moth sheet with members of the LPO. Worth staying out until midnight to see my first ever Lappet! Plus a gorgeous Striped Hawkmoth, a fairly shifty looking mantis (you ain't seen me, right?), plus a 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢. A great opportunity to talk convergent evolution!
Red-veined Darter female photographed in the Monts d'Ardèche, among the flowering heather.
August 18, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Red-veined Darter female photographed in the Monts d'Ardèche, among the flowering heather.
I'm making these for the people who can't have the desserts we source for the rest of the group on our field courses. French desserts are lovely (they're famous for them!), but are a bit heavy on the cream, and eggs, and gluten...
All to be enjoyed after a day of exciting fieldwork – including acoustic ecology (here’s @sophiemowles.bsky.social rocking the @wildlifeacoustics.com buff!). Doing great field ecology doesn’t mean you can’t have great food too.
August 11, 2026 at 8:05 AM
I'm making these for the people who can't have the desserts we source for the rest of the group on our field courses. French desserts are lovely (they're famous for them!), but are a bit heavy on the cream, and eggs, and gluten...
It's been a fun challenge to find recipes that cover all bases: vegan, and free from major allergens such as gluten and nuts. But I've received compliments, and did overhear a student saying "Oh my God, that's amazing" when they tried the vegan chocolate mousse, so pretty happy with the results!
This field season, Sophie has been in charge of creating alternative #vegan, allergen-free desserts for those that require them. Chocolate mousses with aquafaba, lemon pots made with silken tofu, plus vegan #gluten-free brownies and blondies made with local chestnut flour. Allergen-free and #local!
August 11, 2026 at 8:04 AM
It's been a fun challenge to find recipes that cover all bases: vegan, and free from major allergens such as gluten and nuts. But I've received compliments, and did overhear a student saying "Oh my God, that's amazing" when they tried the vegan chocolate mousse, so pretty happy with the results!
Here’s Oscar, watching attentively, and clearly concerned as paella normally includes fish…
(Important hygiene note – the cats are carefully monitored and NOT allowed near the cooking).
Oscar prefers bread anyway…
(Important hygiene note – the cats are carefully monitored and NOT allowed near the cooking).
Oscar prefers bread anyway…
August 10, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Here’s Oscar, watching attentively, and clearly concerned as paella normally includes fish…
(Important hygiene note – the cats are carefully monitored and NOT allowed near the cooking).
Oscar prefers bread anyway…
(Important hygiene note – the cats are carefully monitored and NOT allowed near the cooking).
Oscar prefers bread anyway…
Really happy to be providing good food for the visiting staff and students. A great location, great wildlife, and great food. Just what a field course should include!
In addition to supporting local caterers, this season we’ve been preparing some on-site meals ourselves. This lets us cater for many dietary requirements, creating allergen-free, #vegan, wholesome meals. Fabrizio is rather proud of his paella pan. Here he is with his famous #paella and #ratatouille.
August 10, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Really happy to be providing good food for the visiting staff and students. A great location, great wildlife, and great food. Just what a field course should include!
By the end of our spring field season the lavender alley was absolutely heaving with life. Really great for students doing invertebrate transects. It made every walk to the château gate take ten times as long though. So much to stop and see!
Our late spring and summer groups were treated to some fabulous invertebrates among the lavender. Plenty of pollinators, like this Broad-bordered Bee #Hawkmoth, but also Saddle-backed Bush Crickets and predators such as crab and Wasp #Spiders. Great diversity for student projects. #lepidoptera
August 5, 2026 at 9:56 AM
By the end of our spring field season the lavender alley was absolutely heaving with life. Really great for students doing invertebrate transects. It made every walk to the château gate take ten times as long though. So much to stop and see!
Really happy to be supporting local businesses with @meropsfieldcentre.bsky.social, which is what we've always wanted to do. Plus if it means I'm eating delicious vegan Asian food twice a week, don't mind if I do!
Their "flamboyant sauce" is amazing.
Their "flamboyant sauce" is amazing.
This field season we’ve been working with some new local food providers, including the fantastic Koumaï just down the road in La Grand Combe. Specialising in growing a variety of micro-herbs, they create amazingly tasty Asian-inspired (gluten-free AND vegan!) food that everyone can enjoy. 1/2
July 29, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Really happy to be supporting local businesses with @meropsfieldcentre.bsky.social, which is what we've always wanted to do. Plus if it means I'm eating delicious vegan Asian food twice a week, don't mind if I do!
Their "flamboyant sauce" is amazing.
Their "flamboyant sauce" is amazing.
Our last field course of the spring-summer season went right into early July. It was hot, but still very biodiverse, with lots of cicadas, butterflies, fish and amphibians on-site. Plus the ever-present vultures and flamingos on our day trips. A really great course.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff and students from Bath Spa University for a great field course. Thanks for being so enthusiastic, designing such innovative projects, and making the very most of your time here in France. We wish you all the best with the rest of your studies.
July 24, 2026 at 6:32 AM
Our last field course of the spring-summer season went right into early July. It was hot, but still very biodiverse, with lots of cicadas, butterflies, fish and amphibians on-site. Plus the ever-present vultures and flamingos on our day trips. A really great course.
Really happy that the stream was still flowing and attracting visitors. But daytime footage of a Beech Marten (with prey!) was the icing on the cake.
While here in France, students from Bath Spa University deployed #camera-traps around the field centre. With the hot temperatures, the stream was very attractive, with Badgers, Roe Deer, Wild Boar, Red Foxes, Genets, and even Beech Martens carrying prey (a rodent and a Sloe Worm)! #trailcam #ecology
July 23, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Really happy that the stream was still flowing and attracting visitors. But daytime footage of a Beech Marten (with prey!) was the icing on the cake.
A great opportunity for the students from Bath Spa to trial radio-tracking. We did this the day before heading to the Causse Méjean, where we then searched for the real thing by going through known frequencies of released Bearded Vultures. What a great experience!
More field tech for the students of Bath Spa University to learn about. Firstly a hands-on experience with #radio-tracking, locating our resident (plushie) Griffon Vulture. Then a demonstration of our @djiglobal.bsky.social multispectral #drone by Fabrizio to illustrate plant and habitat surveys.
July 22, 2026 at 8:43 AM
A great opportunity for the students from Bath Spa to trial radio-tracking. We did this the day before heading to the Causse Méjean, where we then searched for the real thing by going through known frequencies of released Bearded Vultures. What a great experience!
Great projects from Bath Spa University, where the emphasis was not on getting good data for analysis, but getting to have hands-on experience with different survey and sampling methods. What a fun week!
While here, students from Bath Spa University designed projects that let them experience using different ecological survey equipment. These included underwater filming of Pumpkinseed Sunfish, and #bat acoustic analysis using passive bat detectors. @titleyscientific.bsky.social @wildlifeacoustics.com
July 21, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Great projects from Bath Spa University, where the emphasis was not on getting good data for analysis, but getting to have hands-on experience with different survey and sampling methods. What a fun week!
Quite arid on the Causse in July, but a nice variety of plants and insects. Plus some great upland birds despite the heat!
Exploring the Causse Méjean with students from Bath Spa University, we saw the harsh and often arid steppe where there is a breeding program for the endangered Przewalski’s #Horse. Nearby, we spotted an Iberian Grey Shrike, plus Acanthus-leaved Carline Thistles just starting to flower.
July 20, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Quite arid on the Causse in July, but a nice variety of plants and insects. Plus some great upland birds despite the heat!
A really great (and hot!) day on the Causse. Lots of birds, despite the heat: vultures a-plenty, plus shrikes, rock sparrows and Snake Eagles. A fly-by by a member of one of our favourite Bearded Vulture couples (a male-male pair) was the icing on the cake.
As part of their field course with us, we took students from Bath Spa University to the Causse Méjean, where we learned about the species of vulture here in France at the Maison des Vautours. We were lucky enough to see 3 of them: Griffon #Vultures, Cinereous Vultures and a stunning Bearded Vulture.
July 9, 2026 at 1:03 PM
A really great (and hot!) day on the Causse. Lots of birds, despite the heat: vultures a-plenty, plus shrikes, rock sparrows and Snake Eagles. A fly-by by a member of one of our favourite Bearded Vulture couples (a male-male pair) was the icing on the cake.
Reposted by Sophie Mowles
Day 3, and students from the University of Bath Spa got to trial some invertebrate sampling techniques. We started with a morning of #moth trapping, then headed to the river to collect invertebrates by kick-sampling. Highlights were Langmaid's Yellow Underwing, and Red Swamp Crayfish in the river.
July 6, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Day 3, and students from the University of Bath Spa got to trial some invertebrate sampling techniques. We started with a morning of #moth trapping, then headed to the river to collect invertebrates by kick-sampling. Highlights were Langmaid's Yellow Underwing, and Red Swamp Crayfish in the river.
A hot day in the Camargue, but wow-oh-wow, two close flyovers by a stunning male Little Bittern. No pics, as they're speedy and we just enjoyed the moment. All students saw it. Great stuff.
Day 2 with our guests from Bath Spa University and we explored the #Camargue wetlands. We were treated to some close fly-bys of Little Bitterns, and watched as the Glossy Ibis fed in the shallows. We also discovered the path left by a terrapin as it made its way across the mud and into the water.
July 5, 2026 at 11:54 AM
A hot day in the Camargue, but wow-oh-wow, two close flyovers by a stunning male Little Bittern. No pics, as they're speedy and we just enjoyed the moment. All students saw it. Great stuff.
Supporting local businesses while enjoying delicious food. This makes me VERY happy.
This field season we’ve been sourcing one of our evening meals from Au Fil des Tartes in Alès. We’re really happy to support local businesses, and enjoy great regional food. Here is the goat's cheese and onion "tarte Cévenole", plus a vegan tart made with vegetables and coconut milk. Delicious!
July 4, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Supporting local businesses while enjoying delicious food. This makes me VERY happy.
Reposted by Sophie Mowles
We’re having a great time hosting staff and students from Bath Spa University. We kicked off the first day with tours of our local habitats, an introduction to #GPS use, plus deploying camera traps. A comprehensive start to an excellent week of #ecology. #butterflies #entomology @bsugeog.bsky.social
July 4, 2026 at 6:06 AM
We’re having a great time hosting staff and students from Bath Spa University. We kicked off the first day with tours of our local habitats, an introduction to #GPS use, plus deploying camera traps. A comprehensive start to an excellent week of #ecology. #butterflies #entomology @bsugeog.bsky.social
Well, wasn't expecting that to turn up in the moth trap! A female Rhinoceros #Beetle (𝘖𝘳𝘺𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴). Trying to dig down into the egg crates. She was dutifully released under the trees where she rapidly disappeared into the woodland soil. They can dig so fast! #insect #Coleoptera #entomology
June 27, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Well, wasn't expecting that to turn up in the moth trap! A female Rhinoceros #Beetle (𝘖𝘳𝘺𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴). Trying to dig down into the egg crates. She was dutifully released under the trees where she rapidly disappeared into the woodland soil. They can dig so fast! #insect #Coleoptera #entomology
Haven't seen any Emperors yet, but I did kneel to pay my respects to a Pasha. Two-tailed Pasha (𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘶𝘴) photographed in Gard, France.
#butterfly #butterflies #entomology #Lepidoptera
#butterfly #butterflies #entomology #Lepidoptera
June 26, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Haven't seen any Emperors yet, but I did kneel to pay my respects to a Pasha. Two-tailed Pasha (𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘶𝘴) photographed in Gard, France.
#butterfly #butterflies #entomology #Lepidoptera
#butterfly #butterflies #entomology #Lepidoptera