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The Pheasant2 · 30-09-2018 12:15PM

Was walking through my local park last night and came upon a massive beech that had been taken down in the storm.

It was 1.5m at the base and about 30m in length...I know it's hard to be precise with these things without cutting it open but would anyone have a rough estimate as to how old a beech of that size would likely be?

New Home · 30-09-2018 12:32PM

According to this, it's the diameter in inches at chest height multiplied by 6 (approximately).

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/guess-age-beech-tree-93377.html

The Pheasant2 · 30-09-2018 12:41PM

New Home wrote: »

According to this, it's the diameter in inches at chest height multiplied by 6 (approximately).

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/guess-age-beech-tree-93377.html

I think this applies for American beech whereas this would've been a European beech...I assume it'd be grand for a rough guess though

New Home · 30-09-2018 12:48PM

Obviously the width of the rings would be hugely affected by rainfall, heat, type of soil, etc. If it's in a park that was part of a big house (e.g. Malahide ot St. Anne's), you could guess the age of the trees by finding out when the parks were put in place - for instance, the history of a house might say that the house was build/bought by Lord Such and Such in 17 - - and the park was planted 35 years later; now, not all the plans there would be that old, but you could compare "your" tree to the ones around it. You could also contact the county council (if it's not a private park) and ask them, they'd have slightly more precise data for you.

magicbastarder · 03-10-2018 03:03AM

anyone here familiar with birdwatching in the south of spain?
just home, but on our drive back to malaga airport we spotted about 50-60 eagles (we assumed this at first) soaring in a congregation, but from a quick read up, it's possibly more likely they were vultures?
this would have been about 30km east of ronda.

Capercaillie · 03-10-2018 06:44AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

anyone here familiar with birdwatching in the south of spain?
just home, but on our drive back to malaga airport we spotted about 50-60 eagles (we assumed this at first) soaring in a congregation, but from a quick read up, it's possibly more likely they were vultures?
this would have been about 30km east of ronda.

Likely to be griffon vultures. Huge wingspan and very noticable short wedge tail in flight. They soar the thermals in a circular pattern barely beating their wings.

magicbastarder · 03-10-2018 10:23AM

cheers - i just counted the birds in the first photo i took (was with a 35mm lens from probably half a kilometre away, so no good for visual identification), and there are 110 birds in the frame.

was quite some sight, even from that distance.

Capercaillie · 03-10-2018 10:30AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

cheers - i just counted the birds in the first photo i took (was with a 35mm lens from probably half a kilometre away, so no good for visual identification), and there are 110 birds in the frame.

was quite some sight, even from that distance.

Post it up, they can be identified from silhouette.

magicbastarder · 03-10-2018 10:47AM

unfortunately, as you can see, the lens was not much good from that distance. also included a crop from one of the other shots which shows some of the numbers.
my wife has yet to check the photos from her camera, she had a little bit more zoom (approx 75mm, at full frame equivalent, so still not massive)

Capercaillie · 03-10-2018 01:13PM

You can defo see griffon vulture there. There are three very dark birds above the white building. The bird on right has noticeable short wedge tail, which is less than width of wing. Can get same shape with Rüppell's vulture, but they are very scare migrants to Southern Spain.

Half-cocked · 20-10-2018 05:26PM

Nearly got hit in the face by a sparrowhawk earlier! I was kneeling in a flower bed pulling weeds when it chased a house sparrow through a gap in the hedge straight at me. It hovered about 18 inches in front of me for a few seconds before zooming off down the garden. Not sure which of us was the most surprised.

Keplar240B · 28-10-2018 05:01PM

Jay in the garden first time ever , saw it a few times( its a urban garden) there is oak trees nearby, I seen it with an acorn in beak, hopping around.

I have read they eat acorns and also bury them.

Is it rare to see them in urban areas I have seen them in countryside a few times, flying away , very skittish.

https://www.birdwatchireland.ie/IrelandsBirds/Crows/Jay/tabid/1052/Default.aspx

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 28-10-2018 05:17PM

Keplar240B wrote: »

Jay in the garden first time ever , saw it a few times( its a urban garden) there is oak trees nearby, I seen it with an acorn in beak, hopping around.

I have read they eat acorns and also bury them.

Is it rare to see them in urban areas I have seen them in countryside a few times, flying away , very skittish.

https://www.birdwatchireland.ie/IrelandsBirds/Crows/Jay/tabid/1052/Default.aspx

Mature gardens and parks will attract them to urban areas although they are more associated with woodland. A lovely bird to have in the garden.

Half-cocked · 30-10-2018 09:42AM

Winter is definitely here! A quick visit to Bull Island causeway yesterday and all the Winter migrants are here in numbers: Lapwing, Plover (Golden and Grey), Knot, Dunlin, Curlew, Godwits (both species), Redshank, Oystercatcher, Shoveller, Shelduck, Wigeon, Pintail, Teal, Mallard, Brent Geese, etc etc....

Read a few Brent Geese rings, all Dublin regulars. Didn't spot and ringed waders.

breakemall · 30-10-2018 11:25AM

My scout cam took a few interesting snaps in recent weeks.

The first was a Kingfisher with minnow "in beak", they are regular visitors to my pond and usually just a blur on the camera but this time it was using it as a perch so perfect timing.

The second appears to be a swimming Heron (the water would be too deep for him to be wading).

Lastly there was a cursed Mink, after five years with traps in place I got my first two within a week of each other in June and now another has arrived. For now!

Half-cocked · 30-10-2018 12:12PM

breakemall wrote: »

Lastly there was a cursed Mink, after five years with traps in place I got my first two within a week of each other in June and now another has arrived. For now!

I've trapped mink for a few years now. They seem to come in waves. Empty traps for a full year, then 2 adults and 2 juveniles in the space of a week.

recedite · 31-10-2018 01:57PM

Do heron's swim? Don't think I've ever seen it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 31-10-2018 02:26PM

recedite wrote: »

Do heron's swim? Don't think I've ever seen it.

They rarely swim but do at times.

Half-cocked · 31-10-2018 03:51PM

recedite wrote: »

Do heron's swim? Don't think I've ever seen it.

I fished a juvenile out of the sea about 500m off shore last Summer. It certainly wasn't swimming very well but was staying afloat. 3 Great Black-backed Gulls were waiting to make a meal out of it. I took it ashore and it eventually recovered and flew off after a few hours in a warm place.

magicbastarder · 04-11-2018 07:40PM

rather depressing today, saw three kites and a buzzard within a mile, out of the car window, while on the way to visit the in-laws.
mentioned it to the father in law and got a bizarre rant about how buzzards are 'bad for nature'. partly because they were reintroduced (!) so they're not really native. but he has no issue with kites.

however, it's 99% certain that his attitudes are borne from being someone who likes going out with the shotgun and bagging some pheasants. i suspect he has a rather self-serving definition of the word 'wildlife'.

Graces7 · 12-11-2018 04:39PM

Last week an angry robin started attacking my window. I have light problems so keep it curtained and thus he was getting a clear reflection of himself and went intensely territorial...

I have covered the outside now

But it has been like that , ie covered and reflective, for well over a year so seems odd he should suddenly start this? Or maybe he is new to the area?

Graces7 · 12-11-2018 04:41PM

Just removed the second and third dead rats from just outside the gate here. The last one was huge, kitten sized.

Is this a seasonal thing? One of my cats is responsible and I am deeply grateful to him but until the last week or so only seen one and a few tinies dead.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 12-11-2018 04:59PM

First Treecreeper, in six years, in the garden today. Nice to see one again.

New Home · 12-11-2018 05:51PM

Graces7 wrote: »

Last week an angry robin started attacking my window. I have light problems so keep it curtained and thus he was getting a clear reflection of himself and went intensely territorial...

I have covered the outside now

But it has been like that , ie covered and reflective, for well over a year so seems odd he should suddenly start this? Or maybe he is new to the area?

Could be - the summer ones are different from the winter ones, they are migratory birds. The other thing I was thinking is that the light could hit the glass pane at a different angle from before, and that could trigger the robin's reaction. Try and put the picture of a bird of prey between the glass and the curtain, in full view of Little Mr Bossy, it could help to keep him away. Either that, or he's knocking on the window asking for food.

Graces7 wrote: »

Just removed the second and third dead rats from just outside the gate here. The last one was huge, kitten sized.

Is this a seasonal thing? One of my cats is responsible and I am deeply grateful to him but until the last week or so only seen one and a few tinies dead.

In all likelyhood they're trying to find food and shelter for the winter, and they realise your house is the warmest spot for miles (and the one with the most supplies).

Graces7 · 13-11-2018 09:10AM

New Home wrote: »

Could be - the summer ones are different from the winter ones, they are migratory birds. The other thing I was thinking is that the light could hit the glass pane at a different angle from before, and that could trigger the robin's reaction. Try and put the picture of a bird of prey between the glass and the curtain, in full view of Little Mr Bossy, it could help to keep him away. Either that, or he's knocking on the window asking for food.

In all likelyhood they're trying to find food and shelter for the winter, and they realise your house is the warmest spot for miles (and the one with the most supplies).

Ah thank you, I did not know re migratory robins. Am going to paint the outside of the window as I can never uncurtain. This was aggression: I fed him and it made no difference!

Interesting re the rats. Long since I had a cottage with rats in the roof. One night there was a loud fight between one of my cats and a huge rat. Cat won and I never saw or heard another rat. They alll marched off up the drive waving a white flag!
Interesting that this big cat tackles then when he is terrified of the new kittens.

Apparently they tackled the island cat problem fairly recently as it was out of control so there are few predators. Until I came! That big one was huge so maybe they will learn now

They get left right by the mail box on my gate so I have to shift them :eek:

OwlEye · 18-11-2018 06:38PM

Should anyone come across any dodgy activity, poaching etc, here's a handy resource;
http://www.wildlifecrime.ie/pages/Reporting.html

selectamatic · 18-11-2018 10:13PM

Just wondering has anyone heard anything about the wild geese this year?

I was talking to a few locals of the Lough Gara Co. Sligo region and no wild geese have come to the lake as of yet this year which is extremely unusual.

Just now I thought I heard some passing over my own locality which usually means they're heading for Lough O'Flynn Co. Roscommon, not fully confident on what I heard though as by the time I got outside all was silent.

Birdnuts · 18-11-2018 11:36PM

selectamatic wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone heard anything about the wild geese this year?

I was talking to a few locals of the Lough Gara Co. Sligo region and no wild geese have come to the lake as of yet this year which is extremely unusual.

Just now I thought I heard some passing over my own locality which usually means they're heading for Lough O'Flynn Co. Roscommon, not fully confident on what I heard though as by the time I got outside all was silent.

Cold weather thats on the way from the East should bring them in - plenty of Whoppers already around the country anyway

recedite · 19-11-2018 02:39PM

Birdnuts wrote: »

plenty of Whoppers already around the country anyway

Whoopers?

New Home · 04-12-2018 07:40PM

There was a lovely pheasant in my very overgrown garden, today.

He was nice and relaxed (he hadn't spotted me at all), he was standing in a little clearing among three old trees that grow quite close to each others, and was scratching through the thick layer of fallen leaves looking for something nice to eat. He was there for a few minutes, then he stretched his wings, and quietly walked away still looking at the ground. I'm delighted to see that the "wilderness" of the unkempt, neglected garden is good for the wildlife, and I'm also delighted that he felt safe here, well away from the guns. I hope for his own sake (as well as for my personal joy) that he sticks around.

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