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Re: Nature News

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 9:39 am
by Séimhe
record number of Roseate Tern nests on Chloch Dábhiolla (Rockabill Island).
https://birdwatchireland.ie/all-grown-u ... y-to-ring/

Re: Nature News

Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2021 8:55 pm
by Uncle Frank
Chinese people need to stop buying ivory and all that stuff. They are going to be responsible for wiping out some of the rarest creatures on the planet, and for what? Placebo medicines and aphrodisiacs.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2021 10:34 pm
by CelticRambler
Headline (for once) pretty much says it all: LED streetlights decimating moth numbers in England
The abundance of moth caterpillars in hedgerows by rural roads in England was 52% lower under LED lights and 41% lower under sodium lights when compared with nearby unlit areas.

In grass margins, moth caterpillar numbers near LEDs were a third lower than in unlit areas, whereas sodium lights had little effect on abundance. The white LED lights are more energy efficient but produce more blue light, say scientists, which is the colour predominantly seen by insects.
I wonder if cheap solar garden LEDs contribute to that problem, especially in suburbia where gardens represent such a significant proportion of the available green space?

Re: Nature News

Posted: Thu Sep 09, 2021 10:34 pm
by Del.Monte
Pity that the same couldn't be done for places like Ireland's Eye and Dalkey Island but that would require a level of organisation that doesn't seem possible down here.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 2:44 pm
by 765489
Amazing to think chiff chaffs and sparrows live to be over 10 years old. I thought they would have had a short life span.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:35 pm
by Del.Monte
He'll have some stories to tell his pals about the humans - probably dine out (on clams) for the rest of his days.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 4:47 pm
by isha
For a long, long time I have bigly believed in the superpower of dirt. Stay a bit dirty, people!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... BN?ocid=st
Playing through the greenery and litter of a mini forest's undergrowth for just one month may be enough to change a child's immune system, according to an experiment in Finland.
Image

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 6:28 pm
by isha
Plover1958 wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 6:12 pm I know it's news but it's not news. :D
My late mother always maintained playing in leaves and soil built up our resistance to infection. She called it 'clean dirt'.
My kids used to suck on small pebbles when they were in the garden. One lad we used to have to squeeze his fat cheeks at night before bed to evacuate his stash. Apparently as a child I used to eat worms. My mother said I was horrifying - she caught me more than once going round with a few of them half out of mouth. I ain't saying I'm tough...but I'm tough!! :lol:

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:10 pm
by Uncle Frank
It is the modern cleaning agents like bleach that lower the immune system too. They kill all known bacteria including the ones that are actually good for you. The more your immune system fights things off the stronger it gets, if children are raised in a clean room type environment their immune system never gets any exercise so to speak. Modern cleaning products can irritate the respiratory sytem also.

I read that a good way to combat hayfever is to get out in nature more often. Growing a beard is even better, a moustache traps pollen and releases it into your nose slowly over time which helps you to build a resistance, Sorry to the ladies, it's no help to you.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:21 pm
by CelticRambler
Plover1958 wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 6:12 pm I know it's news but it's not news. :D
Nah - not news at all! As mentioned in the article, the pseudo-sterility of modern (urban) environments is thought to be responsible for a lot of the asthma and allergies that affect modern children; and the lack of exposure to long days messing about outside is definitely linked to increasing levels of myopia in adolescents.

When we lived in suburban England, even though our children had a relatively greater exposure to "dirt" than most of their classmates, they were still regularly sick with various minor illnesses. We moved to France, and they never had a day off school again due to sickness.

This would have been a typical day for them back then:

Image

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:26 pm
by Uncle Frank
Do kids still climb trees? That is a great way to get 'clean dirty' :P
Would a parent today faint if they saw their child 50+ feet up in the branches like we used to climb I wonder?

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:36 pm
by 765489
isha wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 6:28 pm Apparently as a child I used to eat worms. My mother said I was horrifying - she caught me more than once going round with a few of them half out of mouth. I ain't saying I'm tough...but I'm tough!! :lol:
I've been trying to figure out for the last few minutes why would someone do such a thing.... I've given up. Apart from maybe mimicking a bird of some sort.. :lol:

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:51 pm
by isha
Ncdjd2 wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:36 pm I've been trying to figure out for the last few minutes why would someone do such a thing.... I've given up. Apart from maybe mimicking a bird of some sort.. :lol:
I was a crawling baby and toddler, and following her around as she gardened. I gave it up it seems when I got past that stage and was a bit squeamish of worms for a while. I guess baby me thought they looked tasty and were nice and chewy. Probably salty too but I can't recall 😝

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:13 pm
by 765489
isha wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:51 pm I was a crawling baby and toddler, and following her around as she gardened. I gave it up it seems when I got past that stage and was a bit squeamish of worms for a while. I guess baby me thought they looked tasty and were nice and chewy. Probably salty too but I can't recall 😝
Ah ok, I was had it in my head that you were a teenager doing that. 😜

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:10 pm
by 765489
Second population of rare fern discovered in Killarney National Park https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/se ... onal-park/

Re: Nature News

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:20 am
by Osciiboscii
Didn't have my phone with me, but there were 2 buzzards today; had been 1 earlier in the year and hadn't seen it for ages. 1 was on paling stick, the other hovering around.
Walking around by the ditches, something black hopped up and disappeared just as quickly. Katie was confused...😄

Re: Nature News

Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:25 am
by Osciiboscii
Screenshot_20211009-112336_Gallery.jpg
....Katie

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:39 pm
by Del.Monte

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:20 pm
by dawg
Osciiboscii wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:25 am ....Katie
Love her :D .... Have been around boxers ever since the age of
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.
.
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Nothing :!:



Double sized Katie ... just Because :lol:
Katie the boxer - double sized.jpg
Katie the boxer - double sized.jpg (38.92 KiB) Viewed 6581 times

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:28 pm
by Osciiboscii
Double sized Katie ... just Because :lol:
Katie the boxer - double sized.jpg
[/quote]

Because she's worth it😍
She is a rescue from Cork SPCA, got her 2 years ago as a companion to Amy, who was pts 2 months ago. I've had boxers for 26 years. Always 2 at a time.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:27 pm
by Del.Monte
Image

Alarming decrease in House Sparrow population.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ps-by-247m

Anecdotally the House Sparrow population in Enniscorthy is quite strong whereas a few years back it seemed to have declined.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:21 pm
by 490808
Ten years ago we had no sparrows in the garden, maybe saw a couple once or twice a year in the garden over a 10 year period before that.

Over the last 5 years they have built up their numbers massively, we regularly have 50 + on or around our bird feeders. I estimate we have gone from a local population of near zero to one of around 100.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 8:58 pm
by Del.Monte
Debate on banning slug pellets to protect hedgehogs: https://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/a ... 56194.html

In pre-enlightment days, fado, fado I was guilty of using slug pellets but I long since resorted to beer traps and egg shells. There's far too many poisons being used in gardens, farming, local authorities etc. and it's long overdue for some action and less talk. Irish Rail are a major contributor to this and I will return to the subject with some pics later this week.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 9:22 pm
by 765489
I use Growing Success slug pellets. Have been using them years and the only ones from all the organic shit going around that I can say work as good as conventional pellets. Says on the box they are hedgehog and bird friendly. I do have a couple of old boxes that contain Methiocarb / metaldehyde but only ever use them in the Polytunnel where nothing can get into it. We never really used slug pellets when we were farming full time. If we were growing outdoor lettuce maybe but we'd use them very sparingly.

There are already alternatives available to the commercial sector such as pellets with ferric phosphate, which causes the slugs to burrow under the ground to die rather than laying on the surface of the soil for birds and hedgehogs to pick up. Not sure of the extra cost with these ( if any ). Will be phased out in the UK in 2022 so it's the way it's going.

I for one would welcome it.

Why would Irish Rail be using slug pellets Del ? Just out of curiosity.

Re: Nature News

Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 9:42 pm
by Del.Monte
Not slug pellets with Irish Rail - rat/rodent poison in bait points in places all over the rail network where there is nothing for rodents to get into. Nice little earner for Rentokil or whoever .......