Wildlife news, views, comment and opinion – November 2009:

Sunset 25th November

 A 'Very Happy Christmas' and 'Prosperous New Year' to all our readers, their families and their friends. Goodness there is just so much 'Gloom and Doom' everywhere. If it isn't the economy or the state of the Country, it is climate change. And we are certainly witnessing that with the current spell of gales, rain and floods. On the North Slob the rainfall reached 242.4mm (9.54inches) – which is certainly one of our wetter months on record. Mind you the rainfall in August 1997 reached a whopping 322.4mm (do you remember that Bank Holiday Monday?) and in 2002 we had 255.8mm of rain in November and that had followed an October with 236.5mm – so maybe we should be relieved it wasn't as bad as it could have been…. However when the 'Gloom and Doom' is upon us it does drive down those spirits…. Then on top of that we have the added problems of our 'lack of light' (S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder – or Winter Blues) as the days become shorter it does not help ones efforts to try and maintain a positive outlook on the winter months ahead.

Great Northern Diver

However on the 21^st of this month, and for a change it actually falls on this date, we will have: 'The Shortest Day of the Year' – yes the Winter Solstice is almost upon us. Here in Co Wexford the sun will rise at 8.33am and will set at 4.14pm. Then the days will start lengthening….. Apparently it takes around 6 weeks for the 'worst' weather to arrive after the Solstice – hence the usually colder January and early February – BUT – the days will be getting longer and our spring followed by summer will be on its way – early predictions are that 2010 will be one of our hottest years yet; why?  The effects of the current El Nino year will be upon us – yes, there is always something else just around that corner.

A wet North Slob

For a moment though, let us think of our wildlife trying to cope with these adverse conditions as they struggle to survive in our ever changing world. Winter for them is such an annual hardship and a real struggle – where to obtain food to maintain energy, where to sleep and ever watchful for danger from predators. Now is the time to seriously think of providing that much needed food and water to a bird table. Some years ago I did a weight study on the local Tree Sparrows on the North Slob. I was fascinated to note that these birds, like so many of our other small and local birds, don't actually gorge themselves first thing in the morning. Oh yes they feed up, but really quite carefully from first thing in the morning right up to an hour before sunset – then there is a rapid increase in weight just prior to going to roost. Why not make the most of the food supply in the morning? Because, of course, if they fatten up early in the morning, and through the day, they are more sluggish and therefore at greater risk from a marauding Sparrowhawk or Kestrel – the later the small birds can leave that necessary 'feed up' the less chance of being caught – yes agility and experience do count……

Shag with netting round throat

WILDLIFE RECORDS: Our thanks to those that provided the wildlife records for this month's wildlife summaries for County Wexford. They were communicated by phone to Wexford Wildfowl Reserve on 053-9123129 or received 'On Line' at www.wexfordnaturalists.com. Records can also e submitted to our Records Officer: Simon Collins, Records Officer W.N.F.C., c/o Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, North Slob, Wexford or by email to infoATwildside.ie. These records are all collated and saved to enhance the knowledge of our County's biodiversity.

'THE LEPIDOPTERA OF COUNTY WEXFORD: Another reminder – that useful Christmas stocking filler and at just €10 a useful Co. Wexford butterfly and moth guide, published by the Wexford Naturalists' Field Club (WNFC) and available in the Wexford Book Centre, the Wexford Book Shop and at Wexford Wildfowl Reserve. All proceeds go towards the running of the WNFC. Again many thanks for all your support during the past year.

WILDBIRD OF THE MONTH: Do you have a spare half hour this month? – Not sure what to do; or where to go; why not take a drive down to the picturesque Kilmore Quay. Yes, I know, it is one of those places that one tends to visit during the summer. However at the moment there really is a quite superb display of one of our more unusual winter wildlife visitors – Great Northern Divers – Latin name Gavia immer, Irish name Lóma Mór and American name Common Loon - are normally seen, in winter, just off our coastline, in one of the Counties bays or maybe out in Wexford Harbour – however at the moment there are anything from 6 to 10 or more of these birds using the calmer waters of the enclosed harbour at Kilmore Quay to dive and search for food. Normally seen as only a distant shape out on the sea, this really is a real chance to see these beautiful birds at close quarters. Great Northern Divers nest in Iceland, south Greenland, Canada and in northern United States of America. They migrate south in winter and those from Iceland and Greenland winter off the coast of north-west Scotland, south-west England and our own coasts of Ireland. They primarily eat fish, but their diet can vary depending on the locality and season with crustaceans and molluscs being regularly taken. Certainly when watching them in Kilmore Quay the birds can be seen regularly bring up crabs to the surface where they are mutilated before swallowing. They are predominantly silent in their winter quarters, but in breeding areas their wailing and haunting calls are one of the most beautiful and evocative calls of the wild. (Do please note the number of these delightful birds recorded around our coast in the WILDBIRD RECORDS report: http://www.wildside.ie/news.php?art=40 ).                                                                                          

WILD SONGBIRD - FIVE SPECIES FROM AMERICA FIT IN A SECOND BREEDING SEASON: In October of this year biologists, for the first time, documented a second breeding season during the annual cycle of five songbird species that spend summers in temperate North America and winters in tropical Central and South America. It was known that these species, that migrate at night breed during their stay in temperate regions of the United States and Canada. However it wasn't known that these bird species squeezed in a second breeding season during a stopover in western Mexico on their southward migration. Professor Sievert Rohwer, from University of Washington said "It's pretty much unheard of to have a nocturnal migrant with a second breeding season. It's a pretty special observation. We saw these birds breeding and we were completely surprised." For the full story log on to: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/second-brood.html#cr . Have any of our migrant song birds similar hidden breeding strategies?

CLIMATE CHANGE, CARBON SINK A COMPLEX STORY? SO WHO CAN WE BELIEVE? WHAT REALLY IS GOING ON?: A recent report by Louise Gray, Environmental Correspondent in the UK's Telegraph stated: "The Earth is losing its ability to absorb dangerous levels of carbon dioxide as mankind pumps more pollution than ever into the atmosphere" Louise Gray states that findings of a new study by Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey and University of East Anglia measured levels of pollution from a global network of monitoring stations and they  "found carbon dioxide emissions from cars and factories increased by almost a third between 2000 and 2008, the fastest increase in man-made emissions ever recorded. Scientists fear the rapid increase in greenhouse gases could be made worse as the world no longer has the ability to absorb as much carbon dioxide. However previous studies did questioned whether the world was losing its ability to absorb pollutants in "carbon sinks" like oceans and rainforests.

Current pollution equates to 1.3 tons of carbon per head for each person on the planet and increases atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide to 385 parts per million, up 38 per cent from pre-industrial levels. Professor Corinne Le Quere, from University of East Anglia, who led the study, said the situation could get worse as the world loses the ability to absorb greenhouse gases in natural "carbon sinks" like oceans and forests. The report, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, found that over the past half century the average "airborne fraction" of carbon remaining in the atmosphere had probably increased from 40 to 45 per cent because the oceans were less able to absorb the greenhouse gas. Professor Le Quere said "The only way to control climate change is through a drastic reduction in global CO2 emissions," However an earlier study by Dr Wolfgang Knorr, from the University of Bristol, found no evidence the world is losing its ability to absorb carbon. The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, found only tiny fluctuations in the amount being absorbed despite the massive hike in emissions over the last 50 years. Professor Knorr said the two studies showed how difficult it is to calculate how much carbon dioxide is being absorbed by the Earth. Although his results showed no difference for now, he said the oceans may lose their ability to soak up carbon in the future. Professor Knorr said "Our apparently conflicting results demonstrate what doing real science is like and just how difficult it is to accurately quantify such data" Do log on to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6590272/Pollution-increases-as-world-loses-its-ability-to-absorb-carbon-dioxide.html for the complete report. Yes, most disturbing and wouldn't we REALLY like to know what is actually going on.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST RUBBISH DUMP:  The North Pacific Ocean is now commonly referred to as the world's largest rubbish dump with an area the size of the continental United States covered in plastic debris. The most common identifiable items found are items from the fishing industry such as line, light sticks, oyster spacers, and lighters. Sadly there is no easy solution - each one of us must examine our footprint on the earth and how the lighter or bottle cap we throw into the rubbish bin can ultimately end up in the stomach of an albatross, thousands of miles away. Until we learn to do more with less, seabirds and other marine animals will continue to dine on our rubbish with as of yet unknown consequences. Do please have a look at http://news.discovery.com/earth/garbage-patch-ocean-cost.html and think about the effects that we are having on our planet.

ANOTHER REASON TO GIVE UP SMOKING: Cigarette ends are another problem in today's world. Recent research led by Elli Slaughter and team member Richard Gersberg of San Diego State University, have shown that this decidedly common place litter has been found to be toxic to saltwater and freshwater fish. Even with a small amount of un-burnt tobacco clinging to it, a single cigarette end soaked for a day is enough to turn a litre of water a sickly yellow brown and kill 50 percent of fish swimming in it. Without tobacco, it takes about 4 smoked filters to do the same job. To date no research has been done to test just how much poison leaches from cigarette ends into ponds, lakes, streams and the ocean. However we humans are inadvertently carpeting the planet in cigarette ends and according to one estimate, some 4.5 trillion filters from spent smokes make their way into the environment every year. When immersed in water, each one becomes a time-released capsule of compounds like nicotine, cancer-causing benzenes, heavy metals and other dangerous compounds. Richard Gersberg said "I've been a biologist for thirty years. I've even smoked some cigarettes, but I never thought about the chemicals that could leach out, - in my view, cigarette butts are more toxic than a bunch of plastic floating around in the ocean," he said. "You might as well have small vials of toxins -- trillions of them -- in the water." Kathleen Register, executive director of Clean Virginia Waterways, USA said "In beach cleanups around the world, cigarette butts are the number one thing volunteers pick up," she added. "So obviously we have an enormous education challenge to inform people about this problem." For the full report why not log onto: http://news.discovery.com/earth/cigarette-butts-tobacco-fish.html

WILD HEDGEROWS RECPIE:  For those of you that like garlic the leaves of Wild Garlic, or Ramsons as they are often known, make lovely mild garlic flavouring to any dish. However do be 'minimalistic' in the gathering of the leaves, by taking just one or two leaves from each plant, so as not to damage or destroy the plant itself. The leaves can then be chopped up and added as flavouring to the proposed dish (Richard Mabey's - Food For Free).