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whyulittle · 24-09-2011 10:20pm

I do believe there is actually some good weather forecast for next week! :eek: Only been what, 6 months, since the last good spell?

Mothman · 24-09-2011 10:32pm

Here in my part of world, the weather has been reasonable this year. WE haven't had anything like the rain that the west has got recently.

whyulittle · 24-09-2011 10:43pm

It's not even that it has been constantly wet here, it has just been so changeable. No nice settled weather since about April I'd say.

If it stays good 'til Friday, might even check out Tacumshin!

Mothman · 24-09-2011 10:46pm

I suppose after the summers of 07-09, I'm easily pleased

littlebug · 06-10-2011 10:47am

Great photo on the Golden Eagle Trust facebook page of a gull attacking a sea eagle.

littlebug · 22-10-2011 10:02pm

I had a very rare hour to myself in Galway today so I took the camera and headed down to Nimmos pier to see the gulls and whatever else was hanging around. Lots of gulls...was snapping away and then noticed.... no sd card :mad: so typical grrrrrr

stupidusername · 29-10-2011 10:50am

Was going to start a new thread, but thought it'd do to put it in here: just saw this in my inbox

:D:D 2 & 1/2 hour falconry experience for 2, for €78. Think i'll buy it!

Mothman · 30-10-2011 6:48am

The family had a lot of fun watching a family of mice couple evening ago.

These are mice living in the hay in the barn. the hens get fed wheat on the ground and there are a few grains left. The mice are in amongst pot plants. They would come out sniffing for a seed and then when they find one, they'd rush back to the pot plants.

We, the 5 of us, were just 2 metres from them and shining a torch on them. Their journey to their bounty is about 5 metres. Counted at least 6 mice.

Watching them like this, they were so cute

Rainbowsend · 30-10-2011 12:49pm

I just checked my bird box with the camera in, I havent been checking it all summer and was going to put some bedding in it for the winter in case the small birds wanted a bed for the night. I was checking it for spiders before I went near it

when a little Great Tit flew in with a mouthful of peanuts and left them there! Must be storing them up for the winter.

Delighted to see it, and hopefully it will remember it next spring when looking for a suitable nursery

whyulittle · 30-10-2011 9:05pm

I've only uploaded photos with my URL on them here on this forum.

Weirdly, it has had hits from Ireland, USA, Latvia, Hungary, Russia, Syria :eek:, Germany, Canada and GB.

I used to run an Irish football website, and the places that it used to get hits from were bizarre, including the US Capitol/Senate building!

littlebug · 09-11-2011 2:03pm

Discussion on the Godwit thread reminded me of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vbd3E6tK2U

stupidusername · 09-11-2011 2:59pm

I was out in Blessington Basin earlier, and suddenly all the gulls and pigeons took off, in formation, so I looked around, to try find a predator if there was one around, and there was! didn't have my binoculars out in time but I think it was a hawk. wasn't too much bigger than a pigeon but the tail was quite prominent. I'll visit more often now to see if I can catch him at anything.

there were also two cats there, trying to catch the ducks!

I went over to the fencing and some mallards came over (expecting bread I imagine) and then the cats came over, one of them kinda stretches his paw out to see if he could reach one.

Mickeroo · 16-11-2011 7:00pm

Hey look, a movie about bird watching coming out. Supposedly based on a true story :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCBAP2wId5M

littlebug · 19-11-2011 1:09am

I've just been having a browse through old Irish Naturalist volumes (starting from 1892) and remarking to myself how much of Irelands nature and wildlife has changed in the lifetime of a journal.

Or maybe not. Section of text below taken from:

W. J. Williams
Eagles in Ireland.

The Irish Naturalist , Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1916), p. 16

"I regret to record the capture of the May bird on the 21st October which was shot on a fence asleep having gorged on a dead farmyard goose. It was a female in excellent plumage, measuring 6ft, 4 inches in space of wings and weighing 9 1/2 lbs. This, I fear, closes the career of the Irish Golden Eagles. Poison has done more to destroy these noble birds than any other source. On at least two occasions I have heard of their remains being found on the mountain side (months after death had taken place) from partaking of poisoned lambs laid for the destruction of foxes. Their well known habit of eaitng carrion of all sorts has in great measure hastened their destruction. The White-tailed or Sea Eagle has entirely disappeared from Ireland. "

Traonach · 19-11-2011 1:16am

littlebug wrote: »

I've just been having a browse through old Irish Naturalist volumes (starting from 1892) and remarking to myself how much of Irelands nature and wildlife has changed in the lifetime of a journal.

Or maybe not. Section of text below taken from:

W. J. Williams
Eagles in Ireland.

The Irish Naturalist , Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1916), p. 16

"I regret to record the capture of the May bird on the 21st October which was shot on a fence asleep having gorged on a dead farmyard goose. It was a female in excellent plumage, measuring 6ft, 4 inches in space of wings and weighing 9 1/2 lbs. This, I fear, closes the career of the Irish Golden Eagles. Poison has done more to destroy these noble birds than any other source. On at least two occasions I have heard of their remains being found on the mountain side (months after death had taken place) from partaking of poisoned lambs laid for the destruction of foxes. Their well known habit of eaitng carrion of all sorts has in great measure hastened their destruction. The White-tailed or Sea Eagle has entirely disappeared from Ireland. "

History repeating itself:( Shooting of raptors and poisoning continues in this backward country....

trebor28 · 20-11-2011 7:00pm

Hate this time of year, went out today for a walk and pretty much saw nothing but birds in the distance flying away from me.

Mothman · 23-11-2011 10:53pm

Got to mention that Littlebug has disembarked from modship

Please show a round of thanks to LB. This ship has been left much better than when LB took the helm

Mothman · 23-11-2011 10:54pm

So how do I thank my own post?

bogtreader · 23-11-2011 11:02pm

Thanks littlebug for your moderating. Hope you keep posting pics

Mickeroo · 23-11-2011 11:31pm

Thanks littlebug!

Traonach · 23-11-2011 11:47pm

Littlebug did a super job:)

littlebug · 24-11-2011 12:13am

Mothman wrote: »

So how do I thank my own post?

and if I thank your post am I thanking you or me

Thanks guys

I've had fun and learned lots.

I'm not actually going anywhere. I've just unburdened myself of all those extra powers :cool:

bogtreader wrote: »

Hope you keep posting pics

Haven't posted a pic for ages.... must fix that

Kess73 · 24-11-2011 10:56am

Traonach wrote: »

Littlebug did a super job:)

+1 and then some.

Traonach · 25-11-2011 11:27pm

Lads out lamping with lurchers in the fields behind my house. Hopefully they won't savage the vixen I feed. I've been feeding her for months now.:(

Kess73 · 25-11-2011 11:45pm

Traonach wrote: »

Lads out lamping with lurchers in the fields behind my house. Hopefully they won't savage the vixen I feed. I've been feeding her for months now.:(

Someone might bring me up to date on this, but is lamping for foxes using dogs legal or illegal in Ireland? I know it was made illegal in England to use dogs when lamping for foxes and that it was legal only with guns, but many got around this as it is not illegal to use dogs when lamping for rats or rabbits.

Have to say I don't fancy your night, Traonach. If I had been feeding a vixen for as long as you have, then I would be very uneasy until I saw her again.

I hope that you get to spot her in perfect condition asap.

Any chance that the lampers are going onto private land, or that you could make a call to the gardai saying you saw people moving around behind your house with torches? Basically play the fool that you did not know they were lampers and that you thought it was prowlers?

googsy · 25-11-2011 11:50pm

Lampers are usually out looking for Rabbits... times like these you want a large high powered spot to blaze light over the whole area !! Hopefully your fox is two steps ahead of the fk'ers

homerhop · 26-11-2011 12:02pm

Kess73 wrote: »

or that you could make a call to the gardai saying you saw people moving around behind your house with torches? Basically play the fool that you did not know they were lampers and that you thought it was prowlers?

Kess why would you advocate making what is basically a hoax call to the guardi when they are so under resourced in rural parts as it is?

Kess73 · 26-11-2011 2:04pm

homerhop wrote: »

Kess why would you advocate making what is basically a hoax call to the guardi when they are so under resourced in rural parts as it is?

If the land is private, then he would not be lying if he said he saw people with torches moving around behind his house, he would just be leaving out the lamping bit unless asked directly by the gardai, plus unless those behind his house actually told him that they were lamping there is always the element of doubt that they could be up to something else.

Last time I checked it was illegal to go onto private land day or night. I know if someone came onto my land I would not give a damn whether their excuse was that they were lamping, or just taking a night time stroll with a torch, the only thing that would matter is that the land is private and that they were trespassing on it.

It would be a different story if someone else owned the land and they had permission to go lamping there, within the legal guidelines of course, but the impression I got from the post was that they were in the poster's fields behind his house.

googsy · 26-11-2011 2:36pm

Am hoping for some snow this year / early next year, for one simple reason - Owls. Great way to determine if there is a resident Barn / Long Eared owl in your area. Once it's stopped snowing and there's a good heavy carpet of it on the ground and trees... all of nature's night creatures become visible for a while.... well the ones that fly that is lol

Traonach · 26-11-2011 2:37pm

The food I left for "my" vixen is gone this morning so hopefully she is ok. I don't own the fields so unfortunately I can't stop whoever lamps it.

Getting a loan of a lamper's lamp. Will head out myself to try and see if she's around and hopefully train her to become afraid of the lamp. If I spot her with the lamp I'll make plenty of noise and hopefully she will learn to run whenever she sees a lamp. It will hopefully give her a good advantage over the lads.

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