Beautiful autumnal skies greeted the walkers participating in the Carlow Walking Festival in Borris as we ambled along the 6km Barrow walk, guided by Una Halpin of Wildways Adventures. We all received fantastic autumnal ID guides and we and scrutinised the verges of the tow path for seasonal flora and fauna. Sloes, Blackberries and the invasive Himalayan were all spotted as well a Comma, Polygonia c-album, warming its delicate wings on a rock.
My second walk on Sunday was guided by Mary White of Blackstairs Ecotrails through the best Beech Scott's pine wood in Carlow . as we walked, our guides told us about healing properties Herb Robert and the now banned St. John's wort. Female holly plants were sagging with bwerries We learnt about how black napweed pollen attracts butterflies and bees,herbalists use black beret mends trouble with the water as well as how to make Gorse flower icecream Infuse in water Of the most intreset wzsd the rray of fungi. In Ireland we have 33 butterfly's species 127 breeding bird secies 800 wild plants Over 4000 and growing fungus Next up is Carlow is Oak Park Forrest Park.
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It is always amazing to stumble upon a wildlife event, something unplanned not sought after and unique. This evening, I witnessed a stunning aviation display by a flock of swifts diving over the yellow gorse on the mountain side. Individual birds past my head and glided along the contours of the peak, hunting airbourne insects in the fading russet light.
At other times they stretched high into the sky whirling in great arcs high above my head. The unseen behaviour cues, the acrobatic elegance of these birds all captivated me and has lead me to a new fascination with these lithe and swarming birds. The East Coast Nature Reserve at Blackditch Wood, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow is an important refuge for wetland plants and birds. There are three main habitats on the reserve: calcareous fen (a rare type of bog), grassland and woodland. The fen is the most important habitat for rare flora, whilst the grasslands and pools provide crucial nesting and feeding areas for birds.
This week in the last of the summer sunshine I am going to explore the three main areas and investigate the wildlife! On today's walk the dragonflies had me captivated! There are two issues I am drawn to comment on today. The first one is the flaunting of Luke Ming Flanagan of the EU habitats directive. Despite his position as MEP, this cowboy politician is cutting turf from a bog and encouraging others to follow suit. Thankfully there was plenty of erudite comments on his Facebook page. Please presurise him on social media to leave his parochial politics in the past. https://www.facebook.com/Lukemingflanagan The second issue is that the department of Agriculture is looking for a contractor to cull 12,000 badgers. Despite the lessons learned in England our government and against any scientific evidence of a link between TB stead and badgers the government looks set to spend taxpayers money on a spurious scheme http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/27/badger-cull-claims-flawed-vets-say As always keep the pressure up on social media and support conservation of Irish wildlife and landscapes. The Wild West of mayo infiltrates your mind. With the right conditions the landscape is a mixture of endless blanket bog and bare mountains. On this trip the sun was splitting the stones and big sky and big landscape were all around. The rawness of the landscape is unforgiving. It invades the mind and pulls focus from the close flatness of bogs to the wide expanse of sea and sky. The lines of all blend into each other and the rough terrain owns your journey. The river systems of the Moy and various wild water cut through the landscape like veins and arteries. Fish leap and swifts sweep the surface looking for rising insects. The turf cutting is in evidence all over NW Mayo. Evidence from the picture show the damage done to an environment. Around protected areas such as around the Ceirde fields an array of wild flowers bloom in the summer sun. Outside the wonderful ice house the view of the Moy estuary is a dream stay. Floor to ceiling windows allow the river to be watched at all times in the evening. The television is off and I sit watching the ebb and flow of the tide and the wildlife revealed. The Irish Times recently ran a competition to find the best place to go wild in Ireland with Erris in NW Mayo coming out on top of the exciting list. Inspired by this,I ventured to Ballina in Mayo seeking to experience some of the true wilderness that Ireland has to offer. I was not to be disappointed with the rugged landscape and wildlife exceeding my expectations. I will be following up this with details of various aspects of the trip, central to this site including landscape, flora and fauna. The next posts will be anecdotal slices of wild Ireland and hopefully they will cheer and inspire.The first post is about the magical mayo landscape. Watch this space. After visiting Copenhagen in the last week and visiting their national museum to view the mythic relationship between people and wetlands I am again visiting the East Coast nature reserve in Newcastle Co Wicklow. Much like the Danes, the Irish have a mythical and spiritual link to the bog and wetland. In Irish prehistory, The wetland represents a liminal link between this world and the next. The door to the world of the spirits is open here. Numerous archaeological finds indicate the spiritual link between realms. Swords and ritual objects have all been placed with ceremony in wetlands. Ritual sacrifice enacted and bodies placed in wetlands and discovered as Bog bodies in Ireland and Denmark. Countless generations of Irish saw wetlands as significant places in their cultural iconography. Even today Seamus Heaney writes of the omphalus of the world in his poem bogland. I search the water edges for my favourite of mammals the otter. The elusiveness of the creature is refreshing today reminding me that it is a creature of the boundary, slipping from our sight into the boundless world of water and reed. The otter is defined by its abscene and mystery, by it's disregard of boundaries. As I watch swans and ducks glide into view and out of sight amongst the tall elegant reeds and fish pop at the surface, I imagine the two worlds coalescing silently. The wetland is a magical place, hidden and secret. This is perhaps why it is vital to preserve these liminal spaces so we have access points to our own spiritual past. The new marina in Greystones opened in 2013, however a planned development of apartments at the location hasn't gone ahead in our NAMA enabled times The good news is that the patch of wasteland destined to be urbanised has been left fallow and nature has moved in. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at this exclusion zone as seen behind the marina area and examine what species have rewilded the old builders yard. The area has been fenced off from humans and (perhaps) predators and below are some of the species of plants that I have seen so far. A few garden escapees. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/white-tailed-eagle-chick-hatched-in-clare-is-sibling-of-shot-bird-1.1803765 One of the greatest wildlife watching days to date occurred today in the beautiful setting of the Laune river, co Kerry. It was the day when I witnessed my first wild otter in Ireland. The beautiful sunshine and lack of fish had led me to a quiet moment on the bank in my deck chair. Suddenly my eyes caught the movement of a wake of water heading across the Laune. Grabbing my glasses I managed to catch a glimpse of a sleek back sliding out into the bank. Like that the otter was gone. I couldent believe my eyes. I doubted what I had just seen as trick of the new spring sunlight I dropped the fishing gear and scoped out the bank and was able to discern a couple what I think were otter access points in the far bank. I decided to investigate at closer quarters. Heading back over the bridge I entered the fossa way and was walking with purpose along the man made walkway when there was a disturbance in the water beside me. To my disbelief there was an otter who I had inadvertently disturbed from fishing amongst the tangle of flooded branches. The otter swam out of the channel lopping up and down and blowing out those distinctive bubbles that I had heard about on spring watch and read about in books. I manage to fumble some photos before the supine shape disappeared from sight. Exhilarated I searched the water to no avail. Had I seen the last if the otter? To see an otter in broad daylight is rare and I felt immensely privelage do to witness this. I crossed at the bridge and following a hunch that only nature lovers will understand, I walked back up to the spot that on the previous day I had found old otter spraint. Suddenly a splashing broke the silken silence if the stream. In the distance and otter was attacking a large fish which I presume must be a salmon. The thrashing and bashing went on for about a minute. Tail and head flew in and out of the water. Eventually all went silent. The otter had a substantial feast and I had an equal feast of nature that can be said to be once in a lifetime event. Wondrous. The shooting of the first juvenile of the Sea Eagle project in Lough Derg is a national disgrace. Whatever side you are on, be it local farmer to a member of the Sea Eagle project staff, the implications for Ireland on the international scene are grave. The international perception of Ireland as a green and emerald jewel has been tainted by the malice and ignorance of an individual or group of individuals. This parochial and selfish act has no regard for the greater good of this country. It damages good farmers identities as guardians and curators of our countryside. The low minded cultchie attitude is prevalent in many educated people. In a debate, the first recourse is to community and local level politics. This disregard for the wildlife wealth of this nation is sickening. It highlights woeful ignorance of the prevailing scientific and economic data and a imbecilic level of discourse. We are a country not a county. With so much great about this country revolving around our rural spirit as exemplified by the GAA, it is vital that County Tipperary takes on the mantle and purpose to bring the perpetrators to justice. The bird was shot in County Tipperary and as such the local politicians should vocalise en mass regarding their abhorrence to this event. The cost to farmers is negligible compared to the economic benefit in ecotourism for a local area. Prove me wrong. BBC Article A rare eagle has been found shot dead in north County Tipperary. An x-ray of the male white-tailed eagle showed its body holding between 45-50 shotgun pellets. A post-mortem examination showed the impact broke one of the bird's legs and wings, but it managed to survive several weeks before dying. The bird was one of two young, reared by a mating pair at a nest on Lough Derg in County Clare. It was part of a project aimed at re-introducing the species to Ireland. It successfully flew from its nest in July 2013 along with its sibling and was last seen at Lough Derg, County Tipperary, in January. The Irish government said its body was found after information was supplied to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht's National Parks and Wildlife service. The death has caused outrage amongst conservationists and politicians in the Republic of Ireland. "I am shocked by this crime," said Fine Gael TD Jimmy Deenihan. An x-ray of the male white-tailed eagle shows some of the shotgun pellets "The birth of this bird was a special day for nature conservation in Ireland. So much work has gone into reintroducing this species here, and there has been wonderful cooperation by many different groups to achieve successful breeding." Reintroduction project manager, Dr Allan Mee, said it was "heart-breaking". "It is absolutely incomprehensible that someone would shoot one of these magnificent birds, but even more shocking is that one of the first two Irish-bred eagles has been shot only seven months after leaving the nest," he said. White-tailed eagles are protected under the Republic's Wildlife Act (1976) and it is an offence to shoot or otherwise harm the species. The Irish white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction programme released 100 of the birds between 2007 to 2011. Only one pair has bred so far. After seeing a wonderful photograph of an otter in Kilcoole, i'm putting this picture up to remind me of my tough task to photograph an otter in the wild this year
This is my fist trip of 2014. The wonder of Kilarney wildlife awaited. i was initially here on a fishing trip, but it was evident the full extent of the storms had wreaked havoc in this neck of the woods.
The river Laune has doubled its size and had inundated fields and fishing haunts at the fishery locations. The river is running very high with all the excess rainfall from the previous month. One of the shocking effects is to see old and majestic trees felled by the surging storms that battered Kerry. There are many felled trees all over the park leaving an eerie feeling to some of the pictures I took. Have a look below and wonder at the awesome power of nature. Reen Harbour , Union Hall West Cork One of the all time highlights for any aficionado of the natural world is to witness the grace and beauty of a whale. On a bracing Saturday morning aboard the Holy Jo we embarked on a crystal clear day from Reen Pier, Union Hall in West Cork. The viewing precedent had included an otter, harbour porpoises, common dolphins, minke whales and fin whales.
Colin, our skipper is passionate about the whales. This is not a tourist boat, but a boat run by a committed and avid whale enthusiast. He strives to give his customers some of the top whale watching sights and he delivers a stunning experience. Chasing gannet flurries on the horizon I felt like Tintin on an adventure that evoked comic books of my youth. We sighted gannet activity and drove through the aqua marine water. The water was spitted with diving gannets; white bullets. Common dolphins circled the sprat balls and we witnessed a lunge feed by a fun whale, displaying its pectoral fin. While in pursuit of wildlife, common dolphins, around 20 in number, rode the bow wave in sheer pleasure. The most amazing thing was that if you leant over you could her their high-pitched calls to each other. In my excitement I lost my lens hood! This is a truly magical experience and it would be great if all those who love Irish wildlife can promote this ecotourism hotspot on our emerald isle. The jewels are swimming not far off our coast. Here's the link to the Facebook page for Cork Whale Watching https://www.facebook.com/CorkWhaleWatch?fref=ts Roaming around one of my favourite spots I discovered a splendid display of fungi in the woods!
One of the species is Gamoderma which is a hard bitter mushroom used to promote health and longevity in traditional Chinese medicine. proponants claim that it can relieve fatigue, keep cholesterol in check, curb hogh blood pressure, tame inflamation, build stamina ans support the immune system . After a few weeks off I decided to revisit the dodder rive at Ballsbridge on a lovely sunny day. The recent work on the river bed and subsequent redevelopment is still disturbing the river. However the water level had risen from the low summer drought. It will be interesting to see how the winter rainfall affect the river's course. As usual the native heron was present and I was lucky enough to capture him with a fish in his mouth. I witnessed many small fish leading clear of the water. With so much prey in the vicinity I wondered if a kingfisher would appear. Soon the tell tale blue flash whizzed past me. I settled into a quiet stretch of the river near to what I hoped would be a good perch for the bird. .http://www.wildlifelens.co.uk/kingfisher-photography/ Last week two White tailed sea eagles fleged from their nest on an island on Lough Derg. This pair of juvenilles are the first sea eagels to be born in Ireland in over 100 years. I decided to head off to Mountshannon in East Clare to see if I could catch a glimpse of these majestic birds. On the quay I met with Nigel Beers-Smith who has been ensconced since mid february on the dock, monitoring, photographing and documenting the new lives of the new family. He is planning to wrtie a book about it and you can find out more about him and his efforts at www.whitetailedseaeagle.com I also met up with the charismatic wildlife photographer Michael Finn who has a huge expertease in wildlife photography. You can see some of his wonderful images at www.imagesofirishwildlife.ie. Unfortuatley I didnt catch a glimpse of the eagles after 3 hours. Nigel informed me that there is no set time or pattern to their appearance. They have been seen from 4.30 am untill 11 pm. The adult eagles have their favouite pearches, the male on the left of the island and the female on the right. The nesting location is in the middle of the island at the tallest tree. The eagles have been recorded taking 3ft pike a s prey. They also fish arounf the reed beds that surround the island. With a wingspan of 8m these birds are stunning and I hope to visit Mountshannon again to see the eagles. Dungarvin is a lovely seaside town in SE Ireland. Its tidal estuary is home to migrating populations of Brent geese in the Winter but it is a wonderful environment to catch some of nature's narratives. Primarily I was fascinated by the Grey sea mullet at low tide who fed around the sand bars close to the quey. I photographed these fish,, allegedly hard to fish for due to their spookish nature, swimming around close to the quay. I had a great experience this evening while trying once again to photgraph bats, this time near Kilruddery estate in Wicklow. THe bats were feeding at the tree edges and i lay in the field as they whizzed above my head. The bat is more maouervable then the bird and a few passes were inches from my prone torso. All in all very exciting Earlier I had stumbled upon a couple of rabbits. Holding still the rabbits did not bolt and allowed me to photograph them in the dying evening light. Lovely bunnies. |
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