Northern Ireland's Jail Birds

swifts need our help!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15645805

Lapwings have a new ASSI that is the area between the inner and outer fences around Maghaberry, said ma-ga-bre, Prison

cameramonkey

swifts need our help! wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15645805

Lapwings have a new ASSI that is the area between the inner and outer fences around Maghaberry, said ma-ga-bre, Prison

saw a few buzzards eating rabbits in the h blocks after they closed.was a great place for rabbits.

Birdnuts

Places like this are often great for wildlife as they are undisturbed and protected from the worst of modern intensive farming practices etc. Old quarries around here are now the best places for orchids,breeding lapwings and a whole host of other rare and declining species:)

Alun

There was a great documentary in the Natural World series on the BBC a while ago called "Iron Curtain, Ribbon of Life" where they looked at the wildlife in the narrow strip of land in the "No Go Zone" between east and west. Again it was an area which was completely undisturbed, but more importantly because of it's length it also functioned as an important migratory corridor.

swifts need our help!

I saw that programme and it was brilliant

There was also a programme showing how wildlife has taken over Chernobyl

Mark

Mickeroo

swifts need our help! wrote: »

I saw that programme and it was brilliant

There was also a programme showing how wildlife has taken over Chernobyl

Mark

Yea I saw the Chernobyl one too, it was pretty fascinating how some of the animals are actually going bigger there. I seem to remember reading that even though the mega-fauna like deer, bears etc seem to be thriving the lower down the food chain you go the more irradiated the organisms get, such as insects. Gradually the larger animals will get more irradiated as it works its way up the food chain, so its not as rosey as it seems apparently.

Cork boy 55

remineds me of the wildlife in the DMZ in Joseon

maybe we could make a DMZ with the 6 counties??

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In the past half century, the Korean DMZ has been a deadly place for humans, making habitation impossible. Only around the village of Panmunjeom and more recently the Dong Bukbu Line on Korea's east coast have there been regular incursions by people.
This natural isolation along the 155 miles (249 km) length of the DMZ has created an involuntary park which is now recognised as one of the most well-preserved areas of temperate habitat in the world.
Several endangered animal and plant species now exist among the heavily fortified fences, landmines and listening posts. These include the extremely rare Red-crowned Crane (a staple of Asian art), and the White-naped Crane as well as, potentially, the extremely rare Korean Tiger, Amur leopard and Asiatic black bear. Ecologists have identified some 2,900 plant species, 70 types of mammals and 320 kinds of birds within the narrow buffer zone. Additional surveys are now being conducted throughout the region.
The DMZ owes its varied biodiversity to its geography which crosses mountains, prairies, swamps, lakes and tidal marshes. Environmentalists hope that the DMZ will be conserved as a wildlife refuge, with a well-developed set of objective and management plans vetted and in place. In 2005, CNN founder and media mogul, Ted Turner, on a visit to North Korea, said that he would financially support any plans to turn the DMZ into a peace park and a UN-protected World Heritage Site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone

swifts need our help!

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

maybe we could make a DMZ with the 6 counties??

No Cork boy. :eek::eek:

How could I visit Co. Wicklow and Dublin botanic gardens