Welcome to Glanmire Bird News 2005

Failte go Scéalta Éaníní Gleann Maghair 2005

Deireadh Fómhair/October 2005 - The Magic of the Call of the Corncrake
Iúil/July 2005 - Swallows Signal Summer
Meitheamh/June 2005 - A Stroll in the John O'Callaghan Park
Bealtaine/May 2005 - The Waxwings Visit Glanmire
Aibreán/April 2005 - A Native Irish Tree in Your Garden
Márta/March 2005 - Folklore and Birds
Feabhra/February 2005 - A White Christmas
Eanáir/January 2005 - The Haunting Sounds of Nature

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Deireadh Fómhair/October 2005

The Magic of the Call of the Corncrake

For a good while now I have been thinking how nice it would be to hear the Corncrake (an Traona). Do bhí glór an Traona le cloisint i mórán páirceanna sa tuath i rith an tsamhraidh caoga bliain ó shin. Today you have to go to very specific areas in the country in the early summer to hear the call of the corncrake -áiteanna ná baintear an féar iontu go dtí deiradh an tsamhraidh - chun ligint do sna gearrcaigh fás beagán. A visit to the Birdwatch Ireland headquarters in Banagher and many unsuccessful searches, phone calls and text messages later - I finally received a text that a Corncrake had been reported on Oyster Island in Sligo Bay - two miles down the road from where I was staying. Chuaigh me síos díreach an oiche sin (mo oiche dhearanach sular chuas abhaile go Gleann Maghair arís). On getting out of the car at Rosses Point I was delighted to hear immediately the incessant call 'crake crake -- crake crake ...'. An rud a chur ionadh orm ná go raibh mé fós níos mó ná leath mhíle slí ón Traona. As I came closer to the west side of the island the call became much louder - even echoing off the walls of the houses on the mainland behind me. Bhí an t-amhrán ag láidriú is ag ísliú an t-am go léír fad is a bhí an t-éan ag casadh tímpeall chun a insint do sna cearca ina thimpeall cá raibh sé. Some elderly people walking the prom stopped to listen to a sound that they immediately recognised but had not heard since their youth. Níos déanaí san oiche do sheas na daoine agus iad ag teacht amach as an tigh táirbhne chun éisteacht leis an Traona - na seandaoine á rá leis na daoine óga cad é an glór ait a bhí ann. The calling went on non-stop all night long, I finally got back into my car, back to the hotel for a few hours sleep before heading home to Glanmire.

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Iúil/July 2005

Swallows Signal Summer

To many people the mention of Swallows is synonymous with summer. Barn Swallows (Fáinleog) begin to arrive in Ireland in mid April and the last few are gone back to South Africa (7,500 miles away) by mid October (small numbers of Swallows have been known to over-winter in the South of England). These are the months of the year when there are sufficient insects in the air to feed these birds. In olden times before people understood the phenomena of bird migration it was believed that Swallows spent the winter concealed in the mud at the bottom of our lakes. The rearing of young is timed for the height of the summer when insects are most numerous. On a good year a pair of adults can rear up to three broods. Swallows nest under a roof often against a rafter, whereas their near-relation the House Martin (Gabhlán binne) nests against a rough outside wall of a building - the House Martin's nest is constructed of up to 4,000 beak-fulls of mud and can be built in as little as 10 days. On alternate days the House Martin gets its mud from a different source giving extra strength to the nest. Another relation - the Sand Martin (Gabhlán gainimh) constructs a nest by burrowing a tunnel into the face of a sandy cliff - Sand Martins nest each summer in the sand quarry which is now Pynes Valley in Ballyvolane. At a glance it is possible to mix up Swallows with Swifts (a different species entirely). Swifts (Gabhlán gaoithe) are masters of the air, they even sleep on the wing using the warm night updrafts over towns and cities to reduce effort while sleeping. Swifts only land to nest and even then the nest is on a cliff edge so that the bird can take off again (its very short legs do not permit it to take off from the ground). A Swift even gathers its nest building material from airborne items such as feathers. A good location to see Swifts in Glanmire is in the evening, high over the pool of water between the John Barleycorn Hotel and the John O'Callaghan Park.

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Meitheamh/June 2005

A Stroll in the John O'Callaghan Park

On walking through the John O'Callaghan Park recently I was delighted to see a Tree Creeper (an Snag). This small brown bird with a curved beak has a very regular pattern of behaviour - it flies down to the lower trunk of a tree and then creeps all the way up the tree searching for insects as it goes. On reaching the top it flies back down to the bottom of an adjacent tree (it can't creep down the tree trunk) and begins all over again. As I reached the point where the Glashaboy and Butlerstown rivers meet - a large pool of swirling water - I was surprised to see a cormorant (an Broigheall) descend from the trees into the water - it seemed almost out of place so far up river. This is a large black bird that likes to snorkel while looking for fish. On the bank of this pool stood a tall motionless grey Heron (an Corr riasc) waiting to reach out its long neck and snatch an unsuspecting fish. On seeing me it flew off a little and began to prance elegantly to and fro on the silty ground among the trees. Next, to my delight I heard a familiar metallic zzz zzz coming down stream - a bright blue and orange coloured Kingfisher (an Cruidín) flew along over the river in front of the John Barleycorn - is it nesting in the area? A kingfisher's nest comprises of a three foot deep tunnel into the sandy bank of the river, with a small cavern at the back. Further up the Butlerstown river I saw a pair of Dippers (an Gabha dubh) - surely preparing to nest on the nearby river banks. Why not call into the Glanmire Library in the Hazelwood Centre and take a look at some of the excellent bird books there?

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Bealtaine/May 2005

The Waxwings Visit Glanmire

The waxwings (sciathán céarach) mentioned last month did visit Glanmire before heading back to Lapland for the summer, probably not to return to our area for years to come again. A flock of 80 birds were seen feeding on the half mile stretch of red catoneastor berries opposite the Cheshire Homes near Dunkettle. Now that it is spring the chiffchaff can be heard singing in the car park at St. Joseph's church again having returned from Africa as it does every year without fail. Soon all the other summer birds will be here and nesting will begin - look out for the Sparrowhawks (spioróg) and see if they will nest in the woods at Riverstown again this year. The mild weather at the end of March also saw the emergence of the bumble bees and the bats from their winter shelter. There is no doubt but Glanmire is a beautiful area - its natural beauty comes from its many rivers, glens, its extensive woodlands and of course the fabulous Glashaboy estuary. These woodlands and rivers are home to many natural Irish plants, animals and birds which developed over millions of years and so are very precious. In Glanmire we are lucky to have native Irish red squirrels, stoats, badgers, bats, jays (scréachóg) and lizards in the woods, dippers (gabha dubh), grey wagtails (glasóg liath), trout and salmon in the rivers, and many types of waders, swans (eala) and ducks (lacha) in the estuary. In these days of rapid housing development it would be a great pity not to protect the precious habitats that we have in our area.

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Aibreán/April 2005

A Native Irish Tree in Your Garden

As it is now spring there is much movement of birds again - the winter visitors - many ducks, geese, swans, thrushes, starlings (in huge awesome flocks) and northern gulls move back up to Scandinavia, Greenland, Russia etc. to breed and the summer visitors - swallows, warblers, corncrakes, nightjars, cuckoo, terns etc. will over the coming months begin to arrive from Africa. This winter there was a large influx of small finch birds called waxwings to Ireland. In our own area they were seen in Midleton, Cobh, Douglas, Togher and Ballincollig. These birds normally reside in remote forested habitats in Scandinavia, however when they arrive in Ireland they usually turn up in urban areas. Large Influxes of waxwing occur about once a decade and this year was certainly one of those years. In February there was also great interest in a large white Snowy Owl which turned up at Lough Foyle in county Derry. This year the second week of March was 'National Tree Week' - why not plant a native Irish tree in your garden this spring? An ash or whitethorn tree provides a whole living space for many different types of birds. Both the tree and the type of birds living in it will vary with the seasons and the tree will of course remove some of that unwanted C02 from the atmosphere. Over the next few months listen out the fabulous dawn chorus which you may be lucky enough to be able to hear from your bedroom window as the daylight approaches. See if you can distinguish the song of the robin and the blackbird - a helpful hint is that in the evening the blackbird's song is usually the last song heard - right up to when it is almost totally dark - the male can often be heard singing from a chimney pot.

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Márta/March 2005

Folklore and Birds

Prior to the recent few decades the vast majority of Irish people lived a lifestyle which was immersed in nature - housing, transport and occupation brought people face-to-face with nature everyday. It is no wonder then that previous generations had so many sayings and beliefs about birds, plants and animals. There is an old Irish folk-tale that way back in time the oyster catcher (a very common wader easily seen in the Glashaboy estuary) once foolishly gave a loan of his webbed feet to the seagull (an excellent swimmer). The tale goes on to say however that the seagull never returned the loan and for ever after the oyster catcher's call is a forlorn screech (a good description) from the edge of the water - Iasacht an roilligh don fhaoileann iasacht na fillfidh go deo. Martin O'Direan in a poem encouraged people to persist when things are not working-out by pointing out how the small lonely sandpiper (a small lone wader often to be seen in the shallow water around the Glanmire Interchange) perched on a rock at the edge of the tide fails time-and-time again to profit from the incoming waves - however his expertise and persistence does ultimately enable him to have his fill - Minic a dhearcais ladhran tra ar carraig fhliuch go huaigneach. Mara bhfuair eadail on toinn ni bhfuair guth ina eagmais. In the west of Ireland the fishermen - before the arrival of modern weather-forecasting - would predict the oncoming weather based on the flight patterns of the sea birds. An understanding of the weather was of-course a life-and-death matter for fishermen in small currach boats. To this day people predict the severity of the on-coming winter by the abundance of berries on the trees for the birds to feed on. Many of us are familiar with the sight of swallows swooping low over the ground as an indicator that there is rain on the way. Farmers also believed that it would soon rain if the call of the curlew was heard. Other well known occurrences of birds in folklore are swans and the Children of Lir (whooper swans can often be seen in Rostellan lake in winter), the robin and the crown of thorns and the wren and the betrayal of Christ.

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Feabhra/February 2005

A White Christmas

This year we certainly had a white Christmas in Glanmire - the whole landscape was changed overnight. The full moon made the snow-covered fields and trees on the surrounding hills seem even more remarkable at night. Did you notice how still everything appeared in the snow, there was hardly a bird to be seen - just the occasional crow or sea gull flying by? A closer look at the holly and whitethorn revealed blackbird, redwing and fieldfare busily devouring the red berries to keep warm. Santa's robin made an appearance in the snow-white garden hoping that human presence might turn up some eagerly awaited food. Robins have always followed large mammals probably even as long ago as the ancient Irish Elk - hoping that the disturbed ground might reveal insects and worms. Did you know that all of these birds are members of the thrush family? The bullfinches never strayed far from the crab apple trees on the "rocky road" walk near the Glanmire by-pass. The wren and the dunnock were lurking in the undergrowth waiting for the snow to melt. In the harbour the waders were foraging as ever at the waters edge - the oyster catchers (known locally as winerels), bar-tailed godwit, curlew, dunlin (known locally as sea-lark), lapwing (green plover) and ring plover. Wigeon (pronounced locally as 'wygeon') and teal duck swam tamely along the shore. As soon as the snow melted the smaller birds - great, blue and coal tits, linnet, chaffinch and goldfinch magically re-appeared - flying about at a frantic pace as if celebrating the availability of food again.

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Eanáir/January 2005

The Haunting Sounds of Nature

At this time of the year with daylight hours at their shortest we adapt our lifestyle and daily behaviour accordingly. Many of our normal pastimes are put on hold for a few months and for many of us a walk in the open air is limited to the weekend. Observing birds at this time of the year can be challenging due to shorter and darker days and the low angle of the sun. It is possible however to compensate very well by making more use of our hearing since every bird species has a unique call and song. These sounds seem to be magnified and even more striking in the darkness when our imaginations are most active. We all have a great capacity to remember 'in the back of our minds' different sounds and to associate them for years afterwards with places, scenes and things. On a calm quiet winter's night on a walk up any of the hills out of Glanmire you are likely to hear the distinctive repeated screech of a snipe (an gabharin rua) over the fields. You may also hear the totally different eerie high-pitched screeches of a lapwing (an pilibin). At dusk you could hear for miles around the deep hollow calling of a pair of large black ravens returning to roost. On walking around the village of Watergrasshill at night you may be startled by the haunting blood-curdling screech of a barn owl flying overhead. Passing near a marsh such as at Cuskinny in Cobh you could hear the frightening high-pitched pig-like squeal of a small water rail - or see the dinosaur-like silhouette and hear the primitive deep croaking call of a grey heron. With all of these haunting sounds to be heard on dark nights is it any wonder that in past times our ancestors had so many beliefs and stories about ghosts and fairies?

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Mí na Nollaig/December 2004 - item 1

The King of All Birds in Glanmire

Early on St. Stephen's day the welcome lie-in following Christmas could be interrupted by the sound of a small group of wrenboys knocking at the door and singing ...

"The wren, the wren, the king of all birds.
On St. Stephen's day was caught in the furze.
Up with the Kettle, down with the pots.
Give us our penny and let us be off."

With their faces blackened, their unusual dress with holly and ivy they would be unrecognisable. From a sprig of holly would hang a dead wren - caught in the earlier hunt. The singing might be accompanied by some traditional music. Territories were respected - for example the Mayfield wrenboys would not come down to Riverstown. As always the younger groups had to look out in case they came across the older boys who might take their money. Later that day the Riverstown lads could be seen walking up Barnavara hill heading in to the Coliseum to spend their spoils at the pictures. It is believed that the wrenboy tradition pre-dates Christianity with the pursuit and capture of the wren related to the pagan custom of sacrificing a sacred symbol at year's end. Other lore suggests that a wren betrayed the hiding place of St. Stephen before he was stoned to death and became a martyr. Another legend holds that during the Viking raids of the 700's, Irish soldiers were betrayed by a wren as they were sneaking up on a Viking camp in the dead of night. They were about to strike when a group of wrens pecked on the Vikings drums and awakened them.This mythological association with treachery is a probable reason why in past times the bird was hunted by Wrenboys. In contrast the wren has also been revered in Ireland as the "king of the birds." An Irish folktale tells of a contest held among birds to see which could fly the highest and should be accorded this title. The eagle (we had eagles in Ireland in the past) soared higher than any other bird, but lost the contest when a clever wren, who had been hiding on the back of the eagle, flew off the eagle and soared higher in the sky. Note that it is easy to understand why the wren is associated with betrayal - In any garden or woodland today the wren keeps up a very noisy clicking fuss while there is any human or bird of prey in the vicinity.

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