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ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 13-07-2018 1:45pm

Immense activity at the bird feeders. A family of eight Great Tits, adult and young Chaffinch, copious House Sparrows, Robins and Blackbirds. Great to see them before the usual July/August slump when they disperse further.

fiacha · 14-07-2018 11:57am

Had a bad week of deliberate fires destroying part of the old growth hedgerow in our estate. Lost one blackthorn at the end of the garden with another badly damaged. 5 fires within 3 days. Thanks to DFB there wasn't any major damage to sheds / gardens.

Spent an hour in the garden this morning sulking over a coffee and scone. Our resident young robin came over for crumbs (as usual) and was soon joined by one of the blackbirds. First time she has come so close. I was watching the house sparrows making a mess down at the baths, when out of the blue a pair of bullfinches landed on the back of a chair right next to me. They stayed for a couple of seconds and took off into the neighbours. Never seen bullfinches in the area before, let alone in the garden !

Sounds soft, but I swear nature has a way of knowing that you need a bit of a lift.

New Home · 14-07-2018 1:43pm

fiacha wrote: »

5 fires within 3 days.

That's desperate... :mad:

hope the culprits get their comeuppance! :mad:

fiacha wrote: »

Spent an hour in the garden this morning sulking over a coffee and scone. Our resident young robin came over for crumbs (as usual) and was soon joined by one of the blackbirds. First time she has come so close. I was watching the house sparrows making a mess down at the baths, when out of the blue a pair of bullfinches landed on the back of a chair right next to me. They stayed for a couple of seconds and took off into the neighbours. Never seen bullfinches in the area before, let alone in the garden !

Sounds soft, but I swear nature has a way of knowing that you need a bit of a lift.

They probably lost their homes in the fires and needed a lift, too.

appledrop · 14-07-2018 9:24pm

It's not soft I love having birds in the garden. We live in urban area but mature estate + we have huge range of birds especially in winter when we feed them sunflower hearts which are goldfinches favourite. I'm putting out an apple each day in garden + 4 blackbirds fighting over it yesterday. It is so dry they can't find worms.

fiacha · 19-07-2018 2:05pm

It looks like it's been a bumper year for House Sparrows. Just counted 47 of them laying waste to my back garden in Dublin 7. I don't remember seeing this many here in the last 10 years. Don't know why I bother putting seed in feeders, they just pile on and knock it all out onto the ground

Noisy little feckers, but they have done a great job keeping the greenfly and ant numbers under control.

I've been thinking about putting up a Sparrow terrace, but the only spot I have available is an East facing garage wall. The box would be about 7.5 feet above ground and shaded from direct sun from mid morning onwards. Would this be suitable, or would the box need to be much higher ?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 19-07-2018 2:40pm

fiacha wrote: »

It looks like it's been a bumper year for House Sparrows. Just counted 47 of them laying waste to my back garden in Dublin 7. I don't remember seeing this many here in the last 10 years. Don't know why I bother putting seed in feeders, they just pile on and knock it all out onto the ground

Noisy little feckers, but they have done a great job keeping the greenfly and ant numbers under control.

I've been thinking about putting up a Sparrow terrace, but the only spot I have available is an East facing garage wall. The box would be about 7.5 feet above ground and shaded from direct sun from mid morning onwards. Would this be suitable, or would the box need to be much higher ?

Good numbers here too. There are at least nine nests under the roof tiles on the east facing side of my house and the height would be fine.

Keplar240B · 19-07-2018 9:07pm

3 year old coillte Eucalyptus plantation, survived the bad winter , I wonder if these might be better for wildlife than Spruce plantation There is lots of space between trees and tons of plants and bushes. When would they harvest it?

magicbastarder · 19-07-2018 9:24pm

any idea what the intended use of the plantation is when the do harvest it?

fiacha · 19-07-2018 9:32pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

any idea what the intended use of the plantation is when the do harvest it?

I read somewhere that Coillte typically use it for biomass. Can't remember where the article was. If I find it I'll add a link here.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 19-07-2018 9:33pm

No idea but, if my eucalyptus trees are anything to go by they are of no value to wildlife at all.

magicbastarder wrote: »

any idea what the intended use of the plantation is when the do harvest it?

magicbastarder · 19-07-2018 9:34pm

we have one in the front garden, planted by the previous owner. i just want rid of it.

New Home · 19-07-2018 9:48pm

They smell gorgeous, but they tend to fall very easily with the wind, esp. when they're matured.

ZX7R · 20-07-2018 10:58am

fiacha wrote: »

I read somewhere that Coillte typically use it for biomass. Can't remember where the article was. If I find it I'll add a link here.

I know people in Poland that grow it for firewood they use a fast growing type.
They only started to do so the last few years

Graces7 · 20-07-2018 3:11pm

Just been out with the dog along the rose hip /bramble rich lane for the first time since the heat hit.

The pattern is that roses that flowered and set before the real heatwave are ripening well, and there are green blackberries.

But the later flowering ones are "blind" and no fruit, just withered flower ends.

As for elderberries; the attempt at a second flowering after Hector hit has failed badly due to the heat

Gives pause for thought re changing weather patterns.. Also the rose hips look ready to pick, more than a month early.

Graces7 · 20-07-2018 3:13pm

Now my sparrows are not nurturing chicks, they are friendly again, coming so close to chat to me. Lovely

ZX7R · 21-07-2018 10:14pm

Have seen some unusual behaviour from gulls where I live in co Kildare, they are taking young crows from roof tops ones that are still been given food from there parents also attacking and taking young swallows from ESB lines and gutters ,I have seen it twice in the last 4 weeks,I know gulls will take chick on cliffs and sea shore nest ,but is it normal this far inland.
Any body able to explain this

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 21-07-2018 10:40pm

ZX7R wrote: »

Have seen some unusual behaviour from gulls where I live in co Kildare, they are taking young crows from roof tops ones that are still been given food from there parents also attacking and taking young swallows from ESB lines and gutters ,I have seen it twice in the last 4 weeks,I know gulls will take chick on cliffs and sea shore nest ,but is it normal this far inland.
Any body able to explain this

It's quite typical of gulls away from the coast. A young crow or swallow is just prey, as any chick would be to them. They are opportunists and don't have a particular prey.

Birdnuts · 21-07-2018 11:57pm

Kayla Moldy Supernova wrote: »

It's quite typical of gulls away from the coast. A young crow or swallow is just prey, as any chick would be to them. They are opportunists and don't have a particular prey.

.

Had them swiping moorhen chicks off local quarry lakes last year too. Seems to be more larger gulls inland these last few years. Some folks reckon they are hungrier now due to the EU ban on discards at Sea

ZX7R · 22-07-2018 12:24am

Kayla Moldy Supernova wrote: »

It's quite typical of gulls away from the coast. A young crow or swallow is just prey, as any chick would be to them. They are opportunists and don't have a particular prey.

You learn something new every day, thank you for the information

ZX7R · 22-07-2018 12:26am

Birdnuts wrote: »

.

Had them swiping moorhen chicks off local quarry lakes last year too. Seems to be more larger gulls inland these last few years. Some folks reckon they are hungrier now due to the EU ban on discards at Sea

Makes sense if there free food has disappeared

Graces7 · 22-07-2018 5:00pm

Graces7 wrote: »

Just been out with the dog along the rose hip /bramble rich lane for the first time since the heat hit.

The pattern is that roses that flowered and set before the real heatwave are ripening well, and there are green blackberries.

But the later flowering ones are "blind" and no fruit, just withered flower ends.

As for elderberries; the attempt at a second flowering after Hector hit has failed badly due to the heat

Gives pause for thought re changing weather patterns.. Also the rose hips look ready to pick, more than a month early.

Pattern is worse than I thought. They are not ripening evenly; fronts ripe, shaded backs yellow, and then withering and rotting

Graces7 · 22-07-2018 5:02pm

When I was first up at early light there were literally hundreds of birds lined up on the electricity cables, not moving. Strange sight.

Graces7 · 22-07-2018 5:04pm

appledrop wrote: »

It's not soft I love having birds in the garden. We live in urban area but mature estate + we have huge range of birds especially in winter when we feed them sunflower hearts which are goldfinches favourite. I'm putting out an apple each day in garden + 4 blackbirds fighting over it yesterday. It is so dry they can't find worms.

Mine are doing fine on grubs and flies. They come in with beaks full

recedite · 22-07-2018 8:38pm

There's a phenomenal amount of flying insects around today, including flying ants. A drop of rain a few days ago, and now the temperature has risen back up to 25 degrees, but its also humid at the same time. Seems to have triggered them.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 22-07-2018 9:12pm

recedite wrote: »

There's a phenomenal amount of flying insects around today, including flying ants. A drop of rain a few days ago, and now the temperature has risen back up to 25 degrees, but its also humid at the same time. Seems to have triggered them.

Perfect conditions; July and hot humid day after a wet spell.

magicbastarder · 22-07-2018 9:33pm

i ingested at least half a dozen flies on my cycle earlier.
i could joke about getting some protein, but i don't know if flies are more chitin than protein.

recedite · 22-07-2018 10:17pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

i ingested at least half a dozen flies on my cycle earlier.
i could joke about getting some protein, but i don't know if flies are more chitin than protein.

Its not chitin unless you consume above the legal limit and they are on the banned substances list. And even then you can always do a Froome and claim "dehydration"

New Home · 23-07-2018 10:13pm

As I was saying elsewhere, two large hornets dropped in unannounced this evening, I've been trying to get them out of the house (or to send them to meet their maker, if they won't go out). But that got me thinking - what are they for? Swallows and bats won't eat anything that might sting (or so I was told), so whose food are they, and what purpose do they serve?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 23-07-2018 10:39pm

New Home wrote: »

As I was saying elsewhere, two large hornets dropped in unannounced this evening, I've been trying to get them out of the house (or to send them to meet their maker, if they won't go out). But that got me thinking - what are they for? Swallows and bats won't eat anything that might sting (or so I was told), so whose food are they, and what purpose do they serve?

Firstly, are you certain they are Hornets and not horntail or wood wasps? We haven't hornets.

Starlings, Magpies and Blackbirds eat wasps. Purpose doesn't come in to nature or evolution other than for the species itself to survive.

Edit. Realised I don't know your location. If outside Ireland, the above holds for hornets too, birds will eat them and ants take their grubs.

New Home · 23-07-2018 10:56pm

Good to know, Srameen, cheers.

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