Nature on your farm.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 01-08-2020 7:48pm

Say my name wrote: »

Are you familiar with buzzards?

No, never seen one before. He's a big bugger anyway.

Thanks for that, interesting that he's around though.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 01-08-2020 8:03pm

Here's one that's puzzled me for a while. It looks like ragwort but the flowers are less dense and the plant is more stemmy than ragwort.

And the leaves and closer look at the stem.

And some nearby ragwort.

And its stem and leaves.

PoorFarmer · 01-08-2020 8:15pm

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

Here's one that's puzzled me for a while. It looks like ragwort but the flowers are less dense and the plant is more stemmy than ragwort.

And the leaves and closer look at the stem.

And some nearby ragwort.

And its stem and leaves.

Marsh ragwort I would say

Base price · 01-08-2020 8:15pm

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

Here's one that's puzzled me for a while. It looks like ragwort but the flowers are less dense and the plant is more stemmy than ragwort.

And the leaves and closer look at the stem.

And some nearby ragwort.

And its stem and leaves.

Groundsel. Its a relation of Ragwort - see 3.2 in the link
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4690134/

Water John · 01-08-2020 10:01pm

Yeah agree Phacelia and I call it Marsh Ragwort.
The Phacelia add a lovely colour to the WBC. Bee friendly flowering plants should have been incl in all mixes by the Glas scheme.
The Marsh is less toxic than Ragwort.

sonnybill · 01-08-2020 11:46pm

Counted 5 hares together first thing this am

Mossie1975 · 02-08-2020 9:00am

sonnybill wrote: »

Counted 5 hares together first thing this am

Lucky you! Brilliant to hear. We’re seeing a hare most mornings but think it’s the same fellow. Young ones call him Henry Hare

NcdJd · 02-08-2020 12:13pm

Water John wrote: »

Yeah agree Phacelia and I call it Marsh Ragwort.
The Phacelia add a lovely colour to the WBC. Bee friendly flowering plants should have been incl in all mixes by the Glas scheme.
The Marsh is less toxic than Ragwort.

You could try a bit on its own, sow the seed heavily. Amazing the amount of bees that come on it. When the phacelia goes to seed you can chop it up with a rotovator and it will come up again from the seed it produced.

Genghis Cant · 02-08-2020 3:45pm

They're a great looking apple you have. What variety are they?

NcdJd · 02-08-2020 4:21pm

Genghis Cant wrote: »

They're a great looking apple you have. What variety are they?

It's called Discovery. Very reliable and early cropper. Another couple of weeks and they'll be ready. After that it's a battle between myself and the wasps as to who gets the good apples off it. I'd see a lovely big one and around the other side of it a hole with a load of drunk wasps in it!

Lady Haywire · 03-08-2020 4:56pm

Never seen one of these guys before,'Orgyia antiqua' or the rusty tussock moth according to the Google God.

NcdJd · 04-08-2020 10:08am

Butterfly was evicted from polytunnel..

6034073

Base price · 04-08-2020 10:23am

NcdJd wrote: »

Butterfly was evicted from polytunnel..

I think the bee is a bombus pratorum worker.

Lime Tree Farm · 04-08-2020 11:12am

Lovely. A selection of redtailed bumblebees here :

https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/red-tailed-bumblebee-species/

blue5000 · 04-08-2020 12:06pm

A friend of mine did a PhD on red arsed bumble bees, think it was on the burren and Aran islands.

893bet · 05-08-2020 3:40pm

dodderangler · 05-08-2020 6:28pm

893bet wrote: »

Plenty of them about this time of year. Massive cock in one of my hubting permissions. I dont shoot pheasants anymore so hopefully hes safe come season

forgottenhills · 06-08-2020 4:54pm

I believe that the odd lorry driver that delivered around rural parts used to keep a shotgun in the cab for those type of opportunities back in the day (pheasants on roads or to be seen across the ditch from the cab's high vantage point). I wonder if some still do.

My dad used to shoot a few and indeed pheasant is quite tasty (if you don't mind biting into the odd bit of shot).

NcdJd · 06-08-2020 5:07pm

Usually there are a few bred around here and let out for shooting. None bred this year though but still a lot about. Had this lad in earlier in the year. Apparently it has mutant genes.

Rows Grower · 06-08-2020 5:23pm

blue5000 wrote: »

A friend of mine did a PhD on red arsed bumble bees, think it was on the burren and Aran islands.

I did a training course on bee keeping many years ago and the tutor was a wealth of knowledge, he had a great way of explaining things and then if asked a question from any of the group on any aspect of what had been discussed he was able to go into minute detail.

I was in awe of the man and tried to articulate it one evening by telling him he must be one of the greatest experts on bees in Ireland. In his typical humble manner he explained that bees were only a hobby for him and he was only scratching the surface of what was to be learned about them.

I thought he was joking when he told me there were some people who had done their PHD's on just bees knees but he wasn't.

893bet · 06-08-2020 5:38pm

A real shame to shoot a pheasant IMO.

Asus1 · 07-08-2020 5:12pm

Look closely and you'll see it.The edges of the field was alive with noise today but could only find 1

Base price · 07-08-2020 5:25pm

Asus1 wrote: »

Look closely and you'll see it.The edges of the field was alive with noise today but could only find 1

I think it's called a common green.

forgottenhills · 08-08-2020 10:47pm

893bet wrote: »

A real shame to shoot a pheasant IMO.

Pheasants are essentially being farmed in this country so although I don't personally shoot any creatures I don't see a huge problem in game shooting under controlled circumstances.

kollegeknight · 08-08-2020 11:05pm

Asus1 wrote: »

Look closely and you'll see it.The edges of the field was alive with noise today but could only find 1

I used to love searching for them. Hobby as a child catching them.

kollegeknight · 08-08-2020 11:07pm

Game camera arrived. But the owls have moved on. I knew about 2 weeks ago, the hatchlings were doing a bit of flying.

They disappeared for a few months last year too. So maybe next spring.

I’ll see what wildlife is up around the bog.

dodderangler · 09-08-2020 3:38am

Was talking to the farmer who rents the land beside mt permission recently and he swears he seen the elusive black panther! I've heard several stories over the years about this panther but I've never seen it and I've walked the land for 26 years.
Anyone else seen or heard the tales of the elusive Black panther ??? Never any pics but the ones I have seen look like a black feral cat. A big healthy overfed black feral cat

dodderangler · 09-08-2020 3:45am

NcdJd wrote: »

Usually there are a few bred around here and let out for shooting. None bred this year though but still a lot about. Had this lad in earlier in the year. Apparently it has mutant genes.

Those pics are of a hand reared pheasant called a melanistic michigan blue pheasant. Rich gun clubs buy them for the lucky hunter to shoot.
I jjst don't bother hunting them anymore. Theyre all hand reared and arent exactly terrified of humans so you can get fairly close to them before the dog rises it.
A true wild pheasant will see you from 3 fields away and run or.fly off . Thats a true hunt there. But alot of clubs release these birds a week before the season and near the feeders too. So easily shot. Its not hunting imo. But alot of work goes into the rearing of the birds and pest control etc so its a reward for the club members . Id rather hunt snipe and woodcock or even wood pigeon. At least they're wild.

tabby aspreme · 09-08-2020 6:08am

There were always proper wild pheasants here, no local gun club and plenty of cover in a bog to raise young, but since a pair of buzzards started nesting in the bog, they have gone, along with the 200 or so crows that were in the same bog,

Base price · 09-08-2020 1:59pm

Anyone know what this plant is.

Little Miss Fairy · 09-08-2020 2:44pm

Base price wrote: »

Anyone know what this plant is.

Think it could be foxglove

Base price · 09-08-2020 3:02pm

Little Miss Fairy wrote: »

Think it could be foxglove

Thanks. I just googled how to collect foxglove seeds and it's them alright. TBH I never noticed the seed heads on them before probably because I stopped using herbicides around the yard in the last couple of years. I use the strimmer to control most areas and let other parts go wild.

Water John · 11-08-2020 1:51pm

This is interesting a Biodiversity Farm of the year. Hadn't heard of it before. Now, I don't generally agree that everything has to be a competition. I would be quite happy with a regular feature article on a farmer engaged in some good aspects of biodiversity. Anyway it will highlight the area in a positive way.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/could-you-be-this-years-biodiversity-farmer-of-the-year/

ganmo · 12-08-2020 9:44pm

Any ID for this bloke?

Base price · 12-08-2020 10:16pm

ganmo wrote: »

Any ID for this bloke?

Looks a bit like this fella http://www.irishmoths.net/pages-moth/m-672.html

Water John · 12-08-2020 11:21pm

Ah, a West Cork moth.

Base price · 12-08-2020 11:34pm

Water John wrote: »

Ah, a West Cork moth.

Ha, ha

Buford T. Justice XIX · 18-08-2020 11:34pm

I came across this wee lad tonight while feeding the cats. Fine healthy lump he is too.

Water John · 18-08-2020 11:36pm

You gave him a rub too. I think they have lots of fleas.

Dinzee Conlee · 19-08-2020 6:01am

Seen this lad when I was out over the weekend, never seen one like it before..

Meleftone · 19-08-2020 6:24am

Thats a Six-spot Burnet Moth

Lime Tree Farm · 19-08-2020 9:25am

Buford T. Justice XIX wrote: »

I came across this wee lad tonight while feeding the cats. Fine healthy lump he is too.

It is safe to feed cat food to hedgehogs, I gave some to a little small fellow, he sniffed it out on the grass and ate it.

Rosahane · 19-08-2020 9:43am

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

It is safe to feed cat food to hedgehogs, I gave some to a little small fellow, he sniffed it out on the grass and ate it.

Cat or dog food either wet or dry are good for them. Not bread or dairy though!

Lady Haywire · 19-08-2020 9:46am

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

It is safe to feed cat food to hedgehogs, I gave some to a little small fellow, he sniffed it out on the grass and ate it.

Was only reading on it last night, anything with a higher meat content than fillers of grains so the dry cat food might be better.

https://twitter.com/dancingtrsrs/status/1295754339584282624

Base price · 20-08-2020 3:44pm

The Dept of Heritage is to pay farmers to rewild land - https://www.farmersjournal.ie/government-to-pay-farmers-for-small-scale-rewilding-565017

Dinzee Conlee · 20-08-2020 5:49pm

Base price wrote: »

The Dept of Heritage is to pay farmers to rewild land - https://www.farmersjournal.ie/government-to-pay-farmers-for-small-scale-rewilding-565017

Any chance you could paste the article Base?

Base price · 20-08-2020 6:13pm

Dinzee Conlee wrote: »

Any chance you could paste the article Base?

Farmers will be paid to rewild land on a small scale by the Department of Heritage, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.
The Department will support rewilding options which support biodiversity and habitat creation, documents from the Department show.
It has defined small scale as one hectare of land. The Department will “actively promote and support farm forestry/rewilding options that do not affect agricultural production and support biodiversity and habitat creation.
“We will incentivise the option of small-scale (eg 1ha) forestry/rewilding,” it said.
The Department will also review the protection, including the enforcement of relevant legislation, of the country’s natural heritage, including hedgerows, native woodland and wetlands.
Land use plan
As was contained in the programme for government, a review is to be carried out of national land use including farmland, forests and peatlands “so that optimal land use options inform all relevant Government decisions”.
Policy co-benefits, such as rewetting or forest regrowth to mitigate flooding risks in river catchments will be considered
The review will balance environmental, social and economic considerations and involve a process of evaluation of the ecological characteristics of the land, according to the Department.
“It will include consideration of emissions to air and water, carbon sequestration, as well as climate adaptation challenges.
“Policy co-benefits, such as rewetting or forest regrowth to mitigate flooding risks in river catchments will be considered. All stakeholders will be consulted.
“Such a review would allow knowledge transfer to policy makers, advisory services and landowners, to assist farmers in making an informed choice as to how best to use their land while also benefiting from available supports and incentives,” it said.
Biodiversity survey
The Department will also carry out a “baseline biodiversity survey on every farm” to inform future policy development and is to complete a national hedgerow survey. This was part of the programme for government talks earlier this year.
Department documents also show that the National Parks and Wildlife Service is to be reviewed.

ganmo · 20-08-2020 6:21pm

Base price wrote: »

Farmers will be paid to rewild land on a small scale by the Department of Heritage, the Irish Farmers Journal can reveal.
The Department will support rewilding options which support biodiversity and habitat creation, documents from the Department show.
It has defined small scale as one hectare of land. The Department will “actively promote and support farm forestry/rewilding options that do not affect agricultural production and support biodiversity and habitat creation.
“We will incentivise the option of small-scale (eg 1ha) forestry/rewilding,” it said.
The Department will also review the protection, including the enforcement of relevant legislation, of the country’s natural heritage, including hedgerows, native woodland and wetlands.
Land use plan
As was contained in the programme for government, a review is to be carried out of national land use including farmland, forests and peatlands “so that optimal land use options inform all relevant Government decisions”.
Policy co-benefits, such as rewetting or forest regrowth to mitigate flooding risks in river catchments will be considered
The review will balance environmental, social and economic considerations and involve a process of evaluation of the ecological characteristics of the land, according to the Department.
“It will include consideration of emissions to air and water, carbon sequestration, as well as climate adaptation challenges.
“Policy co-benefits, such as rewetting or forest regrowth to mitigate flooding risks in river catchments will be considered. All stakeholders will be consulted.
“Such a review would allow knowledge transfer to policy makers, advisory services and landowners, to assist farmers in making an informed choice as to how best to use their land while also benefiting from available supports and incentives,” it said.
Biodiversity survey
The Department will also carry out a “baseline biodiversity survey on every farm” to inform future policy development and is to complete a national hedgerow survey. This was part of the programme for government talks earlier this year.
Department documents also show that the National Parks and Wildlife Service is to be reviewed.

What I see happening
- dept of heritage pay for the rewilding
- after 2 years the place is overrun with thistles and rag worth
- gets reported to the dept of ag
- landowner has to decide which department to piss off

Water John · 20-08-2020 6:21pm

Looks like a lot of jobs there, surveying every farm. And who'll pay, towser?

Base price · 20-08-2020 8:57pm

Water John wrote: »

Looks like a lot of jobs there, surveying every farm. And who'll pay, towser?

There are nearly 400,000 km's of hedgerows in Ireland. How many people would it take to survey them in one or two years?

Nature on your farm.

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