Nature in the News

whyulittle

New bat species found in Ireland

On 24th February 2013, a single male Greater Horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum was found roosting in Co. Wexford, Ireland. This is the first record of this species occurring naturally in Ireland. Paul Scott, a professional bat worker and member of Bat Conservation Ireland recorded the bat hanging from the ceiling in a disused cellar. Its identity has been confirmed by the Centre for Irish Bat Research, University College Dublin by analysing a sample of DNA from the bat.

Full story at biodiversityireland.ie.

recedite

I wonder if they are really new, or is it just that nobody who was sufficiently qualified to ID the bats had seen them before? Nice to know they are around anyway.

swifts need our help!

recedite wrote: »

I wonder if they are really new, or is it just that nobody who was sufficiently qualified to ID the bats had seen them before? Nice to know they are around anyway.

Many people in Ireland are able to fully ID bats including me. The Greater horseshoe is extremely rare and although never found in Ireland before now may have been here a while. Only two species of bat hang like everyone thinks bats do and its the Greater and Lesser horseshoe bats. The Lesser is tiny and when the Greater was seen the finder would have known immediately he had found something new.

In '97 a new species of pipistrelle, Nathusius' pipistrelle, was found living in Antrim.

recedite

Sure, but the issue is whether the experts happen to be in the location of the animal. For example, a century ago, it was thought by experts at the museum in Dublin (and even much more recently by many people) that the appearance of a sea turtle in Irish waters was a freak event, whereas Blasket Islanders who were in the right place to see them considered them a regular part of the fauna.

Birdnuts

whyulittle wrote: »

New bat species found in Ireland



Full story at biodiversityireland.ie.

A very significant addition to our known mammalian fauna. A very distinctive and charasmatic bat and good to know they are here given their threatened status in the UK

trebor28

http://rt.com/news/mammoth-blood-ice-siberia-908/

whyulittle

Chairman of Limerick County Council calls for an open season on Hen Harriers.

http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/council-leader-calls-for-open-season-on-hen-harriers/

OpenYourEyes

Jesus Christ! I'm calling for an open season on Chairmen of Limerick County Council!

Thats nothing short of disgraceful and blatantly just going for a few easy farmer votes. Also a severe misunderstanding of evolution. Other counties are delighted to have WTSEagles and Red Kites breeding and bringing in tourism and using them on every leaflet and website they can, and this idiot thinks getting rid of similarly rare raptors is going to help his area. Words cannot describe how angry it makes me that people like this are allowed speak in public, nevermind hold a position of some power or influence.

recedite

whyulittle wrote: »

Chairman of Limerick County Council calls for an open season on Hen Harriers.

A lot of people with guns will think its OK now to shoot hen harriers. It will be like the turf cutters who decided it would be OK to cut SAC bogs after they got the words of encouragement from TD Ming Flanagan.

marlin vs

recedite wrote: »

A lot of people with guns will think its OK now to shoot hen harriers.

Wrong believe it or not, you must have a bad impression on hunters shooters and wildfowlers,all those people that I know actually enjoy watching bird's of prey.

OpenYourEyes

marlin vs wrote: »

Wrong believe it or not, you must have a bad impression on hunters shooters and wildfowlers,all those people that I know actually enjoy watching bird's of prey.

I don't think its that he has a bad impression of hunters/shooters/wildfowlers (all the ones I know very much like raptors too), but there's always a few bad apples in every community unfortunately - so it seems probable that a few of the bad-minded farmers and foresters will either think they're allowed to shoot hen harriers, or think they're justified in doing it.

Apparently a Hen Harrier was shot in Limerick before and sent into the same newspaper.

Capercaille

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

I don't think its that he has a bad impression of hunters/shooters/wildfowlers (all the ones I know very much like raptors too), but there's always a few bad apples in every community unfortunately - so it seems probable that a few of the bad-minded farmers and foresters will either think they're allowed to shoot hen harriers, or think they're justified in doing it.

Apparently a Hen Harrier was shot in Limerick before and sent into the same newspaper.

Former IFA president John Dillon made a speech encouraging people to

When this fellow appeared in the sky (Hen Harrier), the first thing we got was the gun to sort him out."

A young male Hen Harrier was shot dead and sent to the "Kerryman Newspaper" shortly afterwards.

OpenYourEyes

To register a complaint about the Limerick County Councillor in question see below:

http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/open-season-on-hen-harriers-how-to-complain-about-the-councillor/

cd07

I really hate hearing of people shooting Birds of Prey and in my experience its never true sportsmen with a genuine love for shooting and all things `countryside`. Its usually gamekeepers,farmers,pigeon fanciers and just complete gob****es who believe its something macho to kill these beautiful birds. I was nearly in a row with some guy down the country there the other day. I over-heard him telling his mates he nearly got the `bàstard` Buzzard hanging around his pens (Pheasent I presume) the other night and also shot two Sparrowhawks that same day. They all went on giving out about Buzzards,Hawks and Hooded Crows until I piped up and reminded that them that they are protected species.A verbal row ensued until the wife dragged me away! I`m sure theres plenty of Buzzards and countless Sparrowhawks shot by ignorant scumbags like these every year its such a shame.

Birdnuts

cd07 wrote: »

I really hate hearing of people shooting Birds of Prey and in my experience its never true sportsmen with a genuine love for shooting and all things `countryside`. Its usually gamekeepers,farmers,pigeon fanciers and just complete gob****es who believe its something macho to kill these beautiful birds. I was nearly in a row with some guy down the country there the other day. I over-heard him telling his mates he nearly got the `bàstard` Buzzard hanging around his pens (Pheasent I presume) the other night and also shot two Sparrowhawks that same day. They all went on giving out about Buzzards,Hawks and Hooded Crows until I piped up and reminded that them that they are protected species.A verbal row ensued until the wife dragged me away! I`m sure theres plenty of Buzzards and countless Sparrowhawks shot by ignorant scumbags like these every year its such a shame.

People like that should not have a gun licence and are as much a threat to the image of the sport of hunting as they are to protected species. If you know where this individual is based you should inform the local NPWS and Gardaí of your concerns. This at the very least will bring some grief down on him in terms of renewing his gun licence etc.

dodderangler

cd07 wrote: »

I really hate hearing of people shooting Birds of Prey and in my experience its never true sportsmen with a genuine love for shooting and all things `countryside`. Its usually gamekeepers,farmers,pigeon fanciers and just complete gob****es who believe its something macho to kill these beautiful birds. I was nearly in a row with some guy down the country there the other day. I over-heard him telling his mates he nearly got the `bàstard` Buzzard hanging around his pens (Pheasent I presume) the other night and also shot two Sparrowhawks that same day. They all went on giving out about Buzzards,Hawks and Hooded Crows until I piped up and reminded that them that they are protected species.A verbal row ensued until the wife dragged me away! I`m sure theres plenty of Buzzards and countless Sparrowhawks shot by ignorant scumbags like these every year its such a shame.

I would've went for the cnuts.
Really p1sses me off hearing of lads shooting birds of prey. It's disgusting and puts a huge shame on us lads who hunt.
I love seeing buzzards about. Gives a real American wilderness feeling when you hear them 2-400 foot above the ground. As for spars they are my favourite bop of all. Pure speed and agility.
It does kind of worry me when I do go out hunting with my Harris hawk that I'd get some pr1ck on other side of a hedge take a shot at we protecting 'his' pheasants. I'd take the gun off him as stick it up his arse.
Most lads I know that hunt do love seeing birds of prey about.

OpenYourEyes

Birdnuts wrote: »

People like that should not have a gun licence and are as much a threat to the image of the sport of hunting as they are to protected species. If you know where this individual is based you should inform the local NPWS and Gardaí of your concerns. This at the very least will bring some grief down on him in terms of renewing his gun licence etc.

NPWS are compiling records of persecution of raptors and other protected species (some idiots shoot Herons and other birds, as was said above - trying to look macho!), so they might be able to contribute a reliable but anonymous report about sparrowhawks/buzzards being shot to their records to help identify persecution blackspots in the country.

dodderangler

I wouldn't say its about being 'macho'
More trigger happy idiots that will shoot anything that moves.

Birdnuts

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

NPWS are compiling records of persecution of raptors and other protected species (some idiots shoot Herons and other birds, as was said above - trying to look macho!), so they might be able to contribute a reliable but anonymous report about sparrowhawks/buzzards being shot to their records to help identify persecution blackspots in the country.

Yes - I believe gun licences in areas with persistent wildlife crimes of this nature are going to come under increased scrutiny by the local cops.

OpenYourEyes

Birdnuts wrote: »

Yes - I believe gun licences in areas with persistent wildlife crimes of this nature are going to come under increased scrutiny by the local cops.

I think a focus on poisoning blackspots is what instigated it in the first place, but I'm sure persecution with forearms will be similarly scrutinised alright.

cd07

I have no problem with hunting/shooting whatsoever Im a big fan of most country sports ie shooting,fishing and falconry and I really believe anyone truly interested in these pastimes would never knowingly kill a bird of prey. I feel a lot of problems start when gun licences are obtained through farming, and Im not for one minute suggesting all farmers would harm birds of prey but I suspect a few with sheep relying on hearsay about Buzzards, Eagles and Kites would have no problem shooting them. These birds are only in the past few years becoming a common sight again around the country and I believe many people believe in the old folklore about these birds as in killing lambs or hens etc. Education is the only way forward in my opinion.

cameramonkey

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/spent-bogs-and-disused-railways-have-huge-ecotourism-potential-29453761.html

OpenYourEyes

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/eagles-earn-their-wings-but-threats-remain-238319.html

More Golden Eagles have bred successfully, though their population still needs all the luck it can get!

fryup

dusty the dolphin in clare is getting rowdy

recedite

fryup wrote: »

dusty the dolphin in clare is getting rowdy

That dolphin is a salting people all over the plaice.

fryup

some people just don't know how to behave whilst with a dolphin, they're not a pet they're a wild animal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMFBvpPQ40

OpenYourEyes

fryup wrote: »

dusty the dolphin in clare is getting rowdy

"Idiot gets whats coming to her" would've been an equaly valid headline!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Why I love Nature. It never stops surprising

Friday 04 October 2013
A British ornithologist and his team have discovered a completely new species of owl while on a research expedition in Oman.
The bird, previously unknown to science, is slightly bigger than a tawny owl and has been named the Omani Owl.
It was first spotted in a remote mountainous region of the Middle Eastern country while sound-recordist and author Magnus Robb, 43, formerly from Edinburgh, was studying another species in March.
Mr Robb said he and his team were recording the Arabian owl, which he knows well, when he noticed “faint owl-like hooting in the background with a rhythm I had never heard before”.
The expert was so struck by the sound that he immediately phoned a colleague and said: “I think I’ve just discovered a new species of owl.”
“My colleague Rene Pop and I tried in vain to find the mystery bird again the next night, but it was only on the last night of our trip that we heard it again,” Mr Robb said. “We had to leave for the airport with the unseen owl hooting up on a cliff.”
He returned a month later, accompanied by colleague Arnoud B van den Berg.
Mr Robb said: “Tracking it down again wasn't easy. This owl inhabits vertical terrain and its voice is difficult to hear. Worse still, in April the bird was virtually silent. Eventually we heard one. What a relief to actually glimpse it perched on a rock, confirming that this was indeed an owl and looked like nothing we had seen before.”
Over the course of the next months the team made another two research trips to look for new specimens, gather photographs and sound recordings, and observe the owls’ behaviour.
After critical analysis, they concluded this was indeed a new owl for science, and the first bird species to be discovered in Arabia for 77 years.
Details of its discovery were published today in the ornithological journal Dutch Birding.
Mr Robb’s work is part of an international project called the Sound Approach, which aims to catalogue bird sounds with a view to better understanding them.
And he told the BBC that he and his colleagues had undertaken such rapid and extensive study of the Omani Owl so that it could be made a candidate for conservation projects as soon as possible.
“One of the reasons we've gone through this process of describing and confirming this as a new species so quickly is to get conservation for this owl as soon as possible,“ he said.
“Conservation can only start when this species is accepted and given some official status.”
He said he wants to return to Oman later this year to discover more about the owl, its habitat and its behaviour.
So far, he and and his colleagues have found only seven of the birds in a single wadi in the remote, mountainous area of the country which, he said, “suggests that it’s a very rare creature indeed”.

magicbastarder

aren't owls one of the most common 'new species' groups, given their nocturnal nature? i think i may blame my understanding of that on QI...

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I think we all knew we weren't that different to other primates.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24566083