Nature on your farm.

Base price · 21-06-2020 11:04am

ganmo wrote: »

The fur on him in the first pic is cub like

He looks awfully big for a cub. Must be lots of food in the area to get him that big.

Rows Grower · 21-06-2020 12:23pm

ganmo wrote: »

The fur on him in the first pic is cub like

My thoughts exactly.

Rows Grower · 21-06-2020 12:30pm

Base price wrote: »

He looks awfully big for a cub. Must be lots of food in the area to get him that big.

There are reports of cubs are being born earlier every year for the last couple of decades so he could easily be 6 months old.

As well as the fur, to my eye his actual stockiness is a sign that it is a cub as well. Once they have a good food supply and of course good genetics they often tend to pack on a lot of muscle early in life before they start to get leaner later on.

That's just my own opinion from my own personal experiences and I have not one shred of scientific evidence or data from studies to back it up.

AckwelFoley · 21-06-2020 12:42pm

https://youtu.be/lOKuCHhp6Jk

Caught this on our security cameras a few weeks ago.

Beautiful bird

ganmo · 21-06-2020 12:47pm

Have a few mushrooms here too

Lime Tree Farm · 21-06-2020 2:29pm

ganmo wrote: »

Have a few mushrooms here too

When they are younger, they are supposed to edible. Though I wouldn't be taking that chance.

ganmo · 21-06-2020 3:13pm

I've a video of a hedge alive with bees too that I'll have to post here too

_Brian · 21-06-2020 11:01pm

Have put some of these up before.

https://youtu.be/_vo4kJtIBgs

https://youtu.be/Na-dN1VPUi0

https://youtu.be/bGo0d1CgTJM

https://youtu.be/6o1gphz04uU

https://youtu.be/iSXgS98oP88

https://youtu.be/VLvdvXDR1Kc

whelan2 · 22-06-2020 11:47am

A fox club.

I almost thought it was a statue it didnt move until I got right up beside it

Buford T. Justice XIX · 22-06-2020 4:10pm

https://twitter.com/BSBI_Ireland/status/1273961001352859648?s=19

minerleague · 22-06-2020 4:51pm

Was watching ecoeye on rte last week ( repeat?) about decline in bird numbers in the last 20 years and loss of habitat was given as the main cause. later on there was an ad for one of the discount supermarkets ( family x saved this much etc) and i wonder do non farmers see the link between cheaper commodities (food, clothes etc) and farmers worldwide having to chase every acre

kollegeknight · 23-06-2020 10:55am

Brother found this walking to his site. Water flowing a little on the road from a drain. About 50 meters away from a stream. Black with a pale belly.

Anyone know what it is?

forgottenhills · 23-06-2020 11:03am

kollegeknight wrote: »

Brother found this walking to his site. Water flowing a little on the road from a drain. About 50 meters away from a stream. Black with a pale belly.

Anyone know what it is?

Would that possibly be a slow worm? A legless lizard not native to Ireland by released in the Burren in the 1970's.

Slow worm in Ireland.

Base price · 23-06-2020 11:04am

kollegeknight wrote: »

Brother found this walking to his site. Water flowing a little on the road from a drain. About 50 meters away from a stream. Black with a pale belly.

Anyone know what it is?

It's hard to see properly and at first I thought it was an eel but the shape is wrong. I think it might be a New Zealand flat worm.

kollegeknight · 23-06-2020 11:23am

Base price wrote: »

It's hard to see properly and at first I thought it was an eel but the shape is wrong. I think it might be a New Zealand flat worm.

I had thought the same, about another 50 meters, I spread slurry on a silage field and thought it might have brought it up.

But my brothers boot is about 30cm and google says they grow to 17cm

kollegeknight · 23-06-2020 4:00pm

I popped over looking for it. Itâ€™s still alive and hasnâ€™t moved from there. It has fins and tail looks like an eels.

They are hardly common around here. So would I be right?

Odelay · 23-06-2020 4:14pm

Pick it up and let us see

Lime Tree Farm · 23-06-2020 5:58pm

kollegeknight wrote: »

I popped over looking for it. It’s still alive and hasn’t moved from there. It has fins and tail looks like an eels.

They are hardly common around here. So would I be right?

I think you are right that it's an eel. They can travel over land from steams to ponds. I remember seeing some in a fresh water concrete cattle trough, (scary looking creatures).

Base price · 23-06-2020 6:18pm

It’s a eel. Pick it up and put it back into the stream if you can keep hold of it. They are very slimy and difficult to hold. It won’t bite you. Btw they are protected and unfortunately numbers are decreasing.

kollegeknight · 23-06-2020 7:00pm

Definitely an eel. Gathered him in a bucket to show the small lads at home. My 5yo loves nature so w do extra school work based on animals we meet.

My OH and mother were the only ones screamish.

Back in the stream now.

Say my name · 23-06-2020 8:16pm

kollegeknight wrote: »

Definitely an eel. Gathered him in a bucket to show the small lads at home. My 5yo loves nature so w do extra school work based on animals we meet.

My OH and mother were the only ones screamish.

Back in the stream now.

Why didn't you eat him?

Lime Tree Farm · 23-06-2020 8:26pm

Say my name wrote: »

Why didn't you eat him?

The taste better if you cook them first.

Directions
Clean and skin the eel, and then cut it into chunks. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, seasonings, oil, garlic, onion, and pepper. ...
Dredge the marinated eel in flour. In a saute pan over medium heat, sear the eel until golden brown, about 7 minutes.

kollegeknight · 23-06-2020 8:27pm

Say my name wrote: »

Why didn't you eat him?

Are they not protected now?
To be honest, I’ve only eaten them once as a young lad.

I’m surprised anything is living in the stream with all the forestry in our area.

Lady Haywire · 23-06-2020 8:40pm

I'm pretty sure eel is protected now!
I've eaten it before in sushi, very oily & strong but I quite liked it. Apparently there's big ones in the lake beside me, but not fished for very often as they have to do it at night.

Say my name · 23-06-2020 8:40pm

kollegeknight wrote: »

Are they not protected now?
To be honest, I’ve only eaten them once as a young lad.

I’m surprised anything is living in the stream with all the forestry in our area.

I'm with you.

I just had to get that question out of my system based on if my father seen that it'd be his first question.
I wouldn't have a clue what to do with an eel or haven't even eaten one.
It's a thing that the present generation wouldn't have a clue about. Either catching or preparing or eating.
It's the changes in land and water management both urban and rural that must have numbers down.

My father lived on them in drains in the Sow river in this county as a teenager.

Rows Grower · 23-06-2020 9:09pm

That poor shagger was born all the ways over in the Saragossa sea near the Bahamas before it made its way here to Ireland and will travel back there again to spawn.

Base price · 23-06-2020 9:09pm

They have a remarkable life. They are born in the Sargossa Sea and spend up to two years drifting on the currents before making their way to our/European rivers to live in freshwater streams and rivers for up to 15 years after which they head back out to the open ocean to the Sargossa Sea to spawn and die.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/nature-diary-european-eels-1.3464652

kollegeknight · 23-06-2020 10:44pm

Say my name wrote: »

I'm with you.

I just had to get that question out of my system based on if my father seen that it'd be his first question.
I wouldn't have a clue what to do with an eel or haven't even eaten one.
It's a thing that the present generation wouldn't have a clue about. Either catching or preparing or eating.
It's the changes in land and water management both urban and rural that must have numbers down.

My father lived on them in drains in the Sow river in this county as a teenager.

The only experience was a Sligo man was married to a neighbour and when he came home from England every year, he’d go fishing for a few weeks.

So i got to try some when be brought it to the neighbour. That was at least 25 years ago.

Just saw a bold fox crossing the front window.

A neighbour caught and dispatched, a mink and 4 cubs. They killed 11 of his pigeons.

Base price · 23-06-2020 10:55pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

The taste better if you cook them first.

Directions
Clean and skin the eel, and then cut it into chunks. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, seasonings, oil, garlic, onion, and pepper. ...
Dredge the marinated eel in flour. In a saute pan over medium heat, sear the eel until golden brown, about 7 minutes.

As a young child I tasted fried eel cause my Grandad was eating it at the time. In more recent times I ate jellied eel and tbh I wouldn't try it again.

Water John · 23-06-2020 11:09pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

The taste better if you cook them first.

Directions
Clean and skin the eel, and then cut it into chunks. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, seasonings, oil, garlic, onion, and pepper. ...
Dredge the marinated eel in flour. In a saute pan over medium heat, sear the eel until golden brown, about 7 minutes.

If deciding to eat, kill it first. Skinning alive would be cruel!!

Remember a short story in school of silvery eels crossing the road making their way to a stream.

Genghis Cant · 23-06-2020 11:18pm

kollegeknight wrote: »

Are they not protected now?.

They are indeed protected.
I think around 07 a bye law came in allowing you to keep 1 eel under 12". It lasted to 2012 and from then it became illegal to fish for or be in possession of any eel .
A wonderful creature. There's as much not known about them as there is known about them!

Base price · 23-06-2020 11:33pm

In my Grandparent's house, the scullery door had a short iron spike near the top that was used to pull the skin off eels. From memory they used to slit the skin near the head, catch the flap of skin on the iron spike and pull the eel through the skin iykwim. I've remember seeing the operation as a child.

Lime Tree Farm · 24-06-2020 12:04am

Base price wrote: »

In my Grandparent's house, the scullery door had a short iron spike near the top that was used to pull the skin off eels. From memory they used to slit the skin near the head, catch the flap of skin on the iron spike and pull the eel through the skin iykwim. I've remember seeing the operation as a child.

I used to hear you couldn't kill an eel.

This from the internet: But, why do eels move after death? The movements are caused by muscular contractions, and they may occur at the time of cooking an eel. Eeels have a special type of nervous system which makes it react to heat or other sensations after its death.

Eels have their brains in their heads and their nerve endings wherever they need sensation. However, eels have a secondary 'heart' in their tail, just behind the last vertebra.

vincenzolorenzo · 24-06-2020 9:09am

My dad often told the story that many years ago when they were kids there was work going on in the canal up the road from them, presumably Board of Works. They were putting some sort of electrical charge into the water (no idea why) and the fish would all float to the top. They were down watching and one of the men gave him a 'dead' eel. He wrapped it around the handlebars of the bike and headed off up the road. Half way home he could feel something moving on his arm and there was the eel back alive. Needless to say the bike was abandoned and he legged it!

Base price · 24-06-2020 11:02am

vincenzolorenzo wrote: »

My dad often told the story that many years ago when they were kids there was work going on in the canal up the road from them, presumably Board of Works. They were putting some sort of electrical charge into the water (no idea why) and the fish would all float to the top. They were down watching and one of the men gave him a 'dead' eel. He wrapped it around the handlebars of the bike and headed off up the road. Half way home he could feel something moving on his arm and there was the eel back alive. Needless to say the bike was abandoned and he legged it!

They used to stun the fish with electricity and collect them when they were dredging the canals. They would move the fish to a section that had been previously cleaned before dredging the next section.

forgottenhills · 24-06-2020 1:27pm

When I was young we had a worker on the farm who used to fish for bream. He would catch the odd eel so my mother would cook it fresh whenever that occurred. I still an remember after all these years that a fresh fried eel is absolutely delicious! The best tasting of all coarse fish imo and I have tried quite a few in my time.

I used to fish the odd time in a local river myself when I was a teenager. Coarse fishing for perch or pike. I once landed an eel and it was a nightmare as the hook was caught right down his gullet and getting him off the line was an ordeal. Once off the line I just let him go and he plopped back in the water. It was like wrestling with a slimy snake.

Base price · 24-06-2020 5:51pm

forgottenhills wrote: »

When I was young we had a worker on the farm who used to fish for bream. He would catch the odd eel so my mother would cook it fresh whenever that occurred. I still an remember after all these years that a fresh fried eel is absolutely delicious! The best tasting of all coarse fish imo and I have tried quite a few in my time.

I used to fish the odd time in a local river myself when I was a teenager. Coarse fishing for perch or pike. I once landed an eel and it was a nightmare as the hook was caught right down his gullet and getting him off the line was an ordeal. Once off the line I just let him go and he plopped back in the water. It was like wrestling with a slimy snake.

We used to catch a lot of them in a local river and as you say they are a nightmare to control. A tip is to pull handfuls of grass and cover them. They relax, stop wriggling about and are easier to unhook.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 24-06-2020 9:37pm

Never heard a squirrel before. https://twitter.com/DaniConnorWild/status/1275349417508384768?s=19

Base price · 24-06-2020 9:46pm

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

Never heard a squirrel before. https://twitter.com/DaniConnorWild/status/1275349417508384768?s=19

It's body language is avoiding/moving away from the microphone. I wonder (in squirrel speak) if it's saying - F'off, this is my nut and you ain't getting it

Birdnuts · 24-06-2020 9:56pm

Great to see the Reds making a comback - they probably would have been totally wiped out if the Grey's had got across the Shannon back in the day to invade their last strongholds like the Burren etc.

Thargor · 24-06-2020 10:05pm

Birdnuts wrote: »

Great to see the Reds making a comback - they probably would have been totally wiped out if the Grey's had got across the Shannon back in the day to invade their last strongholds like the Burren etc.

Saved by the pine martens:

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-red-squirrel-extinct

Lime Tree Farm · 26-06-2020 9:28pm

Bird Songs - I thought this was a nice one.

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

Lady Haywire · 26-06-2020 10:21pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

Bird Songs - I thought this was a nice one.

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

Huh. Never knew a jay sounded so similar to a buzzard flight call!

Say my name · 26-06-2020 10:28pm

I saw a white moth last night hovering over pasture.
It was the size of a butterfly. But most impressive the way it could hover just above the grass in the one spot.

Looking at in the nightlight you could be forgiven thinking it was a fairy.
But Google today says it must have been a white ermine moth.

Lime Tree Farm · 26-06-2020 10:55pm

I thought I heard the sound of a Curlew in flight today - the call sounded like at 1.34 onwards in this video - not the full call of the migrant Curlews we hear in Winter. Native Curlews are in decline - be great if it was a Curlew call that I heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws7jH6wNKN4

Lady Haywire · 26-06-2020 11:04pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

I thought I heard the sound of a Curlew in flight today - the call sounded like at 1.34 onwards in this video - not the full call of the migrant Curlews we hear in Winter. Native Curlews are in decline - be great if it was a Curlew call that I heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws7jH6wNKN4

1.34 is also a robin, I was confused for a second there until I seen you meant the alarm call.

Say my name · 26-06-2020 11:32pm

Lime Tree Farm wrote: »

I thought I heard the sound of a Curlew in flight today - the call sounded like at 1.34 onwards in this video - not the full call of the migrant Curlews we hear in Winter. Native Curlews are in decline - be great if it was a Curlew call that I heard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws7jH6wNKN4

There's a local to me posted a sound like a corncrake on other social media. Turns out it was a whitethroat churring.
I heard a young owl last night a few fields over as well.
Another one dung beetles seem to be doing well this year too.

Wildly Boaring · 26-06-2020 11:40pm

Base price wrote: »

They used to stun the fish with electricity and collect them when they were dredging the canals. They would move the fish to a section that had been previously cleaned before dredging the next section.

Still do

I've done river works, say minor diversions or minor dredging.

You liaise with Fisheries. Once they permit the work you block the stretch from above.
Next morning or day later the Fisheries will come down, you block the bottom. They'll stun and safely move anything that's left.

HillFarmer · 27-06-2020 4:54am

With the greens now in government whats the overall view on this thread?

For me, even though I'm a farmer I'm pretty happy tbh and am hopeful we will see bio diversity take a much bigger step forward.

However I think i'm pretty alone in this having spoke to a few farmers locally.
I looking forward to new schemes to increase nature as much as possible over the next 10 years.

Say my name · 27-06-2020 8:41am

HillFarmer wrote: »

With the greens now in government whats the overall view on this thread?

For me, even though I'm a farmer I'm pretty happy tbh and am hopeful we will see bio diversity take a much bigger step forward.

However I think i'm pretty alone in this having spoke to a few farmers locally.
I looking forward to new schemes to increase nature as much as possible over the next 10 years.

For me personally it's all optics. Virtue signalling and attacking the other side to justify yourself by the Greens.

I've never been in reps or any of the schemes up to now. Yet I know and have always known the value of hedgerows and waterways fenced off.
You do it off your own bat. If you're waiting for a scheme. You're waiting for these self important "advisors" fresh out of college to come on your farm and tell you what to do.
Nobody wins except the advisors. The farmer resents being told what to do and just does the bare minimum to cover their ass.

Some farmers are like advisors. Thinking there's a never ending supply of money going to be coming from on high. When the reality is that pot is getting smaller every year. And farmers are being asked to do more for the same money that they used to get. Not to mention administration and their advisors taking from that pot too.

Doesn't impress me.

Nature on your farm.

Comments