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ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 18-11-2014 10:49pm

5 Buzzards came gliding through the garden this morning. I am used to them about the place but these five floated in below the height of the Larch trees and flew around with me standing in the middle of them for about three or four minutes. A real pleasure.

Zoo4m8 · 19-11-2014 9:04am

Trimming a hedge in front of an old cottage yesterday, engrossed in the job I was vaguely aware of a number of insects flying round me.. It eventually dawned on me they were wasps and I was standing on a very active nest in the long uncut grass..I've never seen such activity at this time of year before.

Pie Man · 19-11-2014 8:09pm

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Trimming a hedge in front of an old cottage yesterday, engrossed in the job I was vaguely aware of a number of insects flying round me.. It eventually dawned on me they were wasps and I was standing on a very active nest in the long uncut grass..I've never seen such activity at this time of year before.

Well if a giant stood on your house, you'd be fairy pissed off as well :pac:

Zoo4m8 · 20-11-2014 8:58am

Half-cocked · 22-11-2014 2:00pm

Had a pair of Bullfinches in the garden this morning, quite a rare sight in this area. Also a female Blackcap and 10 Collard Doves - we usually only have a pair.

whyulittle · 08-12-2014 5:07am

I remember asking before do any of our common birds show up on foreign shores as a mega find. Well, here is one!

Bsal · 09-12-2014 4:16pm

I just saw a Wheatear at Dublin airport and a Stonechat too, my first time seeing a Stonechat.

stevensi · 09-12-2014 4:58pm

Bsal wrote: »

I just saw a Wheatear at Dublin airport and a Stonechat too, my first time seeing a Stonechat.

A Wheatear is a good find for December normally they would all have moved on by this stage...I think there was one on the Bull Island in December a couple of years back now that I think of it

whyulittle · 10-12-2014 6:45pm

Rounding up some Grey Partridge to send up north.

Native Irish Grey Partridge being caught up at the National Parks and Wildlife Service's Grey Partridge Project at Boora Co. Offaly on the 8th December 2014.

These partridge are destined for Co. Down in N. Ireland where Mr. David Sandford is piloting a re-introduction programme.

The species were declared extinct in N. Ireland in 1992.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U-7oVBUHqM

http://youtu.be/_U-7oVBUHqM

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-12-2014 11:56am

There is so much activity around the feeders and on the lawn this morning that it's impossible to get a count of any one species.

Capercaille · 11-12-2014 1:48pm

25 acres of scrub after been destroyed by neighbouring farmer. He has hardly any cattle/sheep and works fulltime. Did it for the SFP. Would hold a few whitethroat in the summer, the last time I will see them there:(

OpenYourEyes · 11-12-2014 2:44pm

Kayla Moldy Supernova wrote: »

There is so much activity around the feeders and on the lawn this morning that it's impossible to get a count of any one species.

All part of the fun of keeping count of garden birds I'm sure you'll agree!

Won't get any easier over the next few weeks as the weather gets worse and natural food supplies in the wider countryside run low!

Woodville56 · 11-12-2014 4:32pm

Capercaille wrote: »

25 acres of scrub after been destroyed by neighbouring farmer. He has hardly any cattle/sheep and works fulltime. Did it for the SFP. Would hold a few whitethroat in the summer, the last time I will see them there:(

Have seen several instances of similar type habitat destruction lately, smaller scale but cumulatively significant nonetheless ! One site in particular was usually
dependable grasshopper warbler territory during the Atlas survey work.
Also hedges locally being cut to the stumps, not causing obstruction or reduced visibility - just mindless stuff !

Zoo4m8 · 11-12-2014 7:15pm

Cutting a hedge to the stump is coppicing, what might seem a nice perfectly harmless hedge to others might be past it's sell by date as a useful field boundary. Coppicing a hedge will result in a thicker more resilient growth in time.

Woodville56 · 11-12-2014 11:32pm

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Cutting a hedge to the stump is coppicing, what might seem a nice perfectly harmless hedge to others might be past it's sell by date as a useful field boundary. Coppicing a hedge will result in a thicker more resilient growth in time.

Some of it indiscriminate and pointless though, ditches and banks shaved of any type of vegetation or cover with no regard to habitat value.

OpenYourEyes · 12-12-2014 12:36am

There's obviously big differences between hedgerow management and hedgerow destruction - unfortunately one of those big differences seems to be the prevalence of the latter compared to the former!

Zoo4m8 · 12-12-2014 9:26pm

To me hedge management would be cutting , trimming, laying etc etc some good, some bad and some awful but the hedge is still there at the end of the day.
Hedgerow destruction, again to me, is just that, the removal of a hedge for good.
I cannot see , and I've tried.., how you could possibly consider that removal of hedgerows is more prevelant than management, no matter how it's done..

OpenYourEyes · 12-12-2014 9:31pm

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

To me hedge management would be cutting , trimming, laying etc etc some good, some bad and some awful but the hedge is still there at the end of the day.
Hedgerow destruction, again to me, is just that, the removal of a hedge for good.
I cannot see , and I've tried.., how you could possibly consider that removal of hedgerows is more prevelant than management, no matter how it's done..

Well just for clarity, I'd class giving a hedgerow a very extreme 'short back and sides' as hedgerow destruction too - when their ecological value is damaged for a few years because they have been cut back to such an extreme.

I may have gone slightly overboard there, but in addition to the above I think theres a lot of poor management done too. I think the word 'management' implies that some sort of thought or care is put into the process, but that's often not the case with farmers or local authorities.

At the end of the day, what I was trying to (and should have) said is that if I was asked if we as a country are good at managing our hedgerows, only ok at it, or bad at it, based on my experiences I'd say we are bad at managing our hedegrows.

Woodville56 · 12-12-2014 9:57pm

What I've seen mostly is not really coppicing or strengthening hedges through careful or strategic pruning, it's having hedge cutters shear growth to the stump, taking with it brambles and undergrowth, leaving no foliage or cover for any form of animal, insect or bird life. While the undergrowth will return with the spring, it will take several seasons for the ash, whitethorn etc to regain the stature of what was destroyed.

Capercaille · 12-12-2014 10:00pm

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

To me hedge management would be cutting , trimming, laying etc etc some good, some bad and some awful but the hedge is still there at the end of the day.
Hedgerow destruction, again to me, is just that, the removal of a hedge for good.
I cannot see , and I've tried.., how you could possibly consider that removal of hedgerows is more prevelant than management, no matter how it's done..

Alot of intensive tillage men have their hedgerows hacked back to near the ground, worthless for biodiversity.

Zoo4m8 · 12-12-2014 10:29pm

Woodville56 wrote: »

What I've seen mostly is not really coppicing or strengthening hedges through careful or strategic pruning, it's having hedge cutters shear growth to the stump, taking with it brambles and undergrowth, leaving no foliage or cover for any form of animal, insect or bird life. While the undergrowth will return with the spring, it will take several seasons for the ash, whitethorn etc to regain the stature of what was destroyed.

Oh dear.. As it will after coppicing or laying......

Woodville56 · 12-12-2014 10:42pm

Well there's coppicing, hedge trimming etc and then there's mindless habitat destruction - that's the point ! Defending the latter in the name of the former won't help biodiversity !

Zoo4m8 · 13-12-2014 7:33am

Woodville56 wrote: »

Well there's coppicing, hedge trimming etc and then there's mindless habitat destruction - that's the point ! Defending the latter in the name of the former won't help biodiversity !

Oh dear, again...I most certainly am not defending ' mindless habitat destruction' I am pointing out that a hedge cut to the ground messily or tidily will mostly regenerate at the same rate..

Woodville56 · 13-12-2014 11:04am

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Oh dear, again...I most certainly am not defending ' mindless habitat destruction' I am pointing out that a hedge cut to the ground messily or tidily will mostly regenerate at the same rate..

How long will it will take a hawthorn, whitethorn or ash tree to regenerate from a stump or after an almost ground level cutting ? Years I guess ? Being from a farming background myself, I understand and appreciate farmers or landowners maintaining their hedgerows in a neat and non obstructive fashion, but on the basis of some of the indiscriminate hedge clearing I've seen, there's little or no thought or regard to maintaining biodiversity in their actions !

Zoo4m8 · 26-12-2014 8:38am

Standing outside the back door twenty minutes ago, pitch dark, perfectly still and not a sound except for a Robin singing in the back hedge and across the fields two Song Thrushes keeping him company.. Magic..

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 26-12-2014 8:57am

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Standing outside the back door twenty minutes ago, pitch dark, perfectly still and not a sound except for a Robin singing in the back hedge and across the fields two Song Thrushes keeping him company.. Magic..

Likewise here. I was thinking of posting the same thing half an hour ago! We must be in the same place .

It's mornings like this that make you happy to be able to enjoy them

Woodville56 · 26-12-2014 9:26am

Robins here also on song this rainy morning here in north midlands and last week in the local woodland a solitary song thrush in full voice as if it was spring but on a perfectly still grey Decenber morning.
Anthony McGeehan's take on Robin song here -

https://www.facebook.com/anthonymcgeehan/posts/608589972602121:0

Zoo4m8 · 26-12-2014 6:23pm

Kayla Moldy Supernova wrote: »

Likewise here. I was thinking of posting the same thing half an hour ago! We must be in the same place .
It's mornings like this that make you happy to be able to enjoy them

Indeed..moments of 'small wonder' ...we're not from the same place but I suspect from maybe the same vintage!
I feel privileged to have lived a life full of these moments that to me rank alongside the spectacular , and continue to live a very active lifestyle with something new to learn or see or experience all the time... Standing at the front of a open sided shed this evening leaning on a shovel after checking that all the drains and watercourses were clear, a Sika hind trotted round the end of the shed, I don't know who got the biggest surprise , me , my dog or the deer!, she hopped over the hedge and disappeared in the gloom across the field..
And so it goes on.. Moments of small wonder.

Capercaille · 26-12-2014 8:09pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjOtD63UwhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrRmv5vfKEc
A short film on the reintroduction program of Corncrake to England

Cork boy 55 · 30-12-2014 9:01pm

CSI
Can Anyone identity these feathers?
Main guess is wood pigeon or collared dove.

Zoo4m8 · 30-12-2014 10:29pm

Woodpigeon..

vistafinder · 31-12-2014 1:52pm

I was out doing a count of the garden birds yesterday and out of the grass came a bank vole to get some of the seeds.

Never saw one before and I spend a lot of time out in the garden.

Cute little thing dumpy, foxy in colour and sat on his ass using its front paws to nibble on the seeds.

Rosahane · 31-12-2014 5:16pm

A pair of bullfinches, a male and female have spent most of the day eating the buds in a flowering purple plum tree in the garden.
They spotted the buds before I did!

OpenYourEyes · 31-12-2014 5:22pm

Had a Peregrine over the garden today - only my third time seeing one in Roscommon, and they're probably my favourite species, so to see one from my bedroom window was a real treat

splish · 02-01-2015 10:20pm

Recorded 11 species in flower today as part of BSBI's New Year Plant Hunt. The aim is to record as many wild species flowering as you can in up to 3 hours over the New Year period. Species I recorded today were Gorse, Daisy, Ling, Alder, Common Ragwort, Western Gorse, Catsear, Wild Strawberry, Common Centaury, Bramble and Annual Meadow grass. Still time to get involved for anyone interested.

MeteoritesEire · 03-01-2015 1:40pm

so I've been seeing loads of these birds at night flying up and away from the lane verge as I drive along.My cousin suggested maybe nightjars but I never did get a look at one---until last night

me and the girl driving along and one was just sitting in the lane, I drove slowly up to within 6 feet of it and it just sat there giving us a great look.Only thought after to get a pic on her phone.Anyway it was a woodcock and when it flew away finally it was the same action and colour as all the birds I've been seeing.

Couple years ago I reported seeing a group of 6 birds flying over me with long beaks and told my cousin (who is big twitcher) that I thought I saw 6 snipe--he said probably woodcock and reckon he was right.There must be loads of them about here--on the coast Donegal

MeteoritesEire · 03-01-2015 1:40pm

so I've been seeing loads of these birds at night flying up and away from the lane verge as I drive along.My cousin suggested maybe nightjars but I never did get a look at one---until last night

me and the girl driving along and one was just sitting in the lane, I drove slowly up to within 6 feet of it and it just sat there giving us a great look.Only thought after to get a pic on her phone.Anyway it was a woodcock and when it flew away finally it was the same action and colour as all the birds I've been seeing.

Couple years ago I reported seeing a group of 6 birds flying over me with long beaks and told my cousin (who is big twitcher) that I thought I saw 6 snipe--he said probably woodcock and reckon he was right.There must be loads of them about here--on the coast Donegal

Bsal · 03-01-2015 5:12pm

Just back from a walk in Newbridge demense and saw 5 grey squirrels and a goldcrest and much more, great afternoon.

splish · 05-01-2015 9:09pm

Nice days birding at Lough Boora today with the highlight being good but distant views of Hen harrier. Also saw Lapwing, Moorhen, Mallard, Teal, Kestrel, Buzzard, Kingfisher, Curlew, Redpoll, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Raven & a covey of 12 Grey partridge. Great to see good numbers of Irish hare too.

Woodville56 · 05-01-2015 9:23pm

Robin in full voice this morning at 6.50am, followed shortly afterwards by calling Collared Doves !

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 05-01-2015 9:28pm

Robins, while the song changes, sing through the winter. Collared doves remain in pairs and reinforce the pair bond by calling in winter.

whyulittle · 05-01-2015 10:41pm

splish wrote: »

Nice days birding at Lough Boora today with the highlight being good but distant views of Hen harrier. Also saw Lapwing, Moorhen, Mallard, Teal, Kestrel, Buzzard, Kingfisher, Curlew, Redpoll, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Stonechat, Raven & a covey of 12 Grey partridge. Great to see good numbers of Irish hare too.

Fair play, I've never once seen a Kingfisher there!

splish · 05-01-2015 11:15pm

whyulittle wrote: »

Fair play, I've never once seen a Kingfisher there!

We were surprised to see it really. First time at Boora today but hope to get back again sometime.

Rosahane · 06-01-2015 12:12am

Went out this morning to put out the little suet and seed food that I got in Aldi for the robin and pair of blackbirds that visit us. Put them on the bird table and as i moved away the robin started calling his thanks from a tree about ten feet away

He got his breakfast before the starlings arrived!

Zoo4m8 · 08-01-2015 8:46am

North Wicklow, south Dublin followers of this forum might be interested in an evening run by Kilmacanogue History Society next Tues 13th at 8.30 in the Glenview hotel, Glen of the Downs.
It's entitled 'Wicklow birds-part of our heritage' with Eric Dempsey ,well know author and broadcaster ..... There is a small admission charge and as this is bound to be well attended, as most of the societies evenings are, it might be a good idea to be early for a seat with a view..:)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 08-01-2015 4:49pm

I was kept amused by 5 goldcrest in the hawthorn hedge and a flock of 12 long tailed tits in the trees, while having my coffee in the garden this morning. Their constant activity on a winter's day is inspiring.

OpenYourEyes · 08-01-2015 5:48pm

I had plenty of Whooper Swans along the River Suck today, with what looked like a good ratio of juveniles. Hopefully it was a good season for them overall.

Worth highlighting that the international Whooper and Bewick Swan Census is coming up the weekend after next (and including the wekk before and after), so if you come across any of those Swan species or know a good haunt get in touch with the Birdwatch Ireland office, or make sure to record them on Birdtrack and I'd say the records will be included!

See link here:
http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Ourwork/SurveysProjects/IrishWetlandBirdSurvey/Additionalsurveys/Swancensuses/tabid/970/Default.aspx

splish · 08-01-2015 6:11pm

Delighted to see 4 goosander on the river Slaney today. Friend of mine who runs the Wild Carlow facebook page took this photo.

gzoladz · 08-01-2015 10:39pm

Following the carefully written instructions posted here by OpenYourEyes one or two weeks ago, last Sunday evening I detoured into Bull Island to look for suspicious birding activity.

Shortly after, a flock of Redshanks got agitated... I started scanning carefully the poles in the mudflats with my binocs and I saw what looked like a white dot at the top end of one of them.

I pulled my scope from the boot of the car, and I could now see a quite large bird perching on top of it, but between the distance and my limited experience I was not sure what it was.

So I asked a fellow birdwatcher who had stopped by to have a loom and he confirmed that it was indeed a peregrine falcon

it was actually my first one.

Woodville56 · 09-01-2015 8:32pm

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

I had plenty of Whooper Swans along the River Suck today, with what looked like a good ratio of juveniles. Hopefully it was a good season for them overall.

Worth highlighting that the international Whooper and Bewick Swan Census is coming up the weekend after next (and including the wekk before and after), so if you come across any of those Swan species or know a good haunt get in touch with the Birdwatch Ireland office, or make sure to record them on Birdtrack and I'd say the records will be ]

Noticed a large flock of swans today spread across flooded fields where the M6 crosses the River Suck at Ballinasloe - not sure which species, it was blowing a gale so didn't stop to scope them.

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