Wexford Natural History Diary May 09

Common Dolphin

Items to Note:

Black-headed Gull

COUNTRYSIDE BIRD SURVEY: A further reminder for those of you completing breeding bird survey squares - you should be considering your second site visit (to be completed before the end of June). Remember that this takes place 4 weeks after your first visit which should have been completed by 15th May. Do remember to also note records of breeding birds that you come across for the current Breeding Bird Atlas (criteria - possible breeding, probable breeding and proved breeding) - those records all help and are invaluable in our understanding of the changes in breeding populations. Any records please forward to the WNFC Records Officer, c/o Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, North Slob, Wexford, who can forward them on to BirdWatch Ireland, the National co-ordinator for the Atlas.

Wood White

WORLD OCEANS DAY: Monday 8th June is World Oceans day - spare a thought for our watery planet - when we pollute our waters we are creating major problems not only for the wildlife that uses our oceans, but also for ourselves - look below in the 'Gallery' - A Gannet caught up in discarded fishing net on the Irish Sea 30th May 2009 - doomed to die...... why are we so careless......

Bee Orchid

THE WNFC ART COMPETITION PRIZE GIVING DAY: on 21st of the Month, - International Biodiversity Day - was another great success. Worthy prize winners attended the celebrations with friends and family at Wexford Wildfowl Reserve and Don Conroy (RTE) kindly distributed the awards that had been sponsored by the Environment Section of the Wexford County Council. Wexford Council Chairman, Peter Byrne added fitting congratulations to the winners and participants of this, the second Children's Art Competition run by the Club.

WILDLIFE RECORDS: Do please continue to submit those wildlife sightings of interest - This months wildlife summary are your records. They have either been communicated to Wexford Wildfowl Reserve on 053-9123129 or received 'On Line' on our club website. Again, many thanks for all of you who have passed on those sightings. Records can also be sent to the Records Officer: Simon Collins, Records Officer, W.N.F.C., c/o Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, North Slob, Wexford. So 'do please keep them coming'.

WILDLIFE ON OUR ROADS: At this time of year there are an awful lot of very young animals and birds adjacent to, and crossing our roads - they are not experienced in the speed of moving vehicles and are very easily run over - sadly it is all too evident with the amount of corpses about - if at all possible, just allow that extra room to allow these vunerable wildlife species to escape.

NEST BOXES: Do remember if you need any Nest Boxes you can arrange with Nicky Walsh (based at Wexford Wildfowl Reserve) by phoning him on mobile 087-2538577 and he will organise directly with you as to whatever boxes you might require.

USEFUL WEB PAGE: Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is now on: www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie  

General News and Views:

THE PAINTED LADY ERUPTION
Have you noticed over the last few days that everywhere one goes there are fast flying pale orange and black butterflies whizzing by. We are witnessing one of the largest Painted Lady butterfly eruptions ever recorded. On 27th May, Mark Easton - BBC - in his ‘the reporter blog’ (see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/  gave a brief outline as to what was happening. Apparently the Spanish researcher Constanti Stefanescu predicted unusually high numbers as he had seen “hundreds of thousands emerging in North Africa in mid February and beginning their long flight north”. During April they were seen in Spain in large numbers and a few weeks later in France….  It is thought that heavy winter rains in Morocco allowed good germination of the caterpillar food plants this year. So these “millions of North African butterflies” are coming from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Over the past few days they have made the most of those easterly winds with many arriving on the 29th May and then, in huge numbers, have moved north and west, through the Bank Holiday week-end, covering the whole Country. It is believed that this will be the “largest migration of the Painted Lady species ever seen” on these Islands. There are literally thousands all over Ireland with reports throughout our own County of these pale butterflies passing continuously, through fields, gardens and towns. In the new ‘Lepidoptera of County Wexford’, it states that “The Painted Lady’s distribution is one of the widest of all butterfly species with representatives on every continent except Antarctica. It breeds in predominantly warm and arid habitats, and, interestingly, it has no hibernating stage in its life cycle” ….. “Painted Ladies have ‘good years’ and ‘bad years’ with 1985, 1995 and 1996 being noted as particularly good years. Since 2002 there has been a run of ‘good years’, though in contrast 2008 was a particularly bad year – with only a small handful of single records in the county”. To date Painted Ladies have been recorded in all but two of the 10km squares in the County – this eruption should help observers find this species in those two remaining squares. To follow this phenomena why not check out: http://www.butterflyireland.com/butterfly_records_2009_&_2008.htm  Any counts and records please inform The Records Officer, Wexford Naturalists’ Field Club, c/o Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, North Slob, Wexford. Tel: 053-9123129.

DAWN CHORUS REPORT: Held on Sunday 17th May turned out to be a great success - for details of the event please look at: http://www.wildside.ie/news.php?art=29&name=2009%20Dawn%20Chorus%20in%20Co.%20Wexford 

CORMORANTS AND SHAGS: Throughout the world there are some 40 species of Cormorant and Shag, but when is a Cormorant actually a Shag? How does one tell the difference between Cormorant and Shag species. There is actually one consistent distinction between Cormorants and Shags and that is 'the crest'. “Cormorant" and “Shag“ were the original common names of the two species found in Ireland and the UK. Recently the 'powers that be' have renamed these species as the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)  and the Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis). "Shag" refers to the bird's crest so when other like type species were discovered by English-speaking sailors and explorers elsewhere in the world, some were called Cormorants and some Shags, and this depended on whether they had a crest (Shag) or not. Occasionally the same species is called a Cormorant in one part of the world and a Shag in another - but the true difference always refers to whether it has a crest or not.

THE SHAME OF PLASTIC BAGS: As a Country we may have taken the decision to reduce our use and reliance on plastic bags - and there is no doubt that it has made a major difference - just look along any of our rivers these days (and for those of you who do not remember the 1980s, our river banks, drains, roadsides and countryside were littered with discarded plastic bags - I can assure you it is a lot better now - yes could still be even better, but we are getting there). However  a recent report on  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/plastic-rubbish267.html  states that in each year "an estimated 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide". This equates to over 1 million plastic bags being used worldwide every 'second'. Now that is scary. Most of these land up in landfills or in water - drains, ditches, rivers, lakes, and the sea. Here they are often mistaken for food, by a wide variety of marine life including whales and turtles, and are eaten. These plastic bags are killing hundreds of thousands of different wildlife species.

And so to the known wildlife highlights of the month:

Recent Bird Reports in the County: 12 Storm Petrels were noted at Carnsore Point on 17th. A Spoonbill was at Tacumshin Lake from 12th to at least 13th. 1 Snow Goose with the Greylags at Our Lady's Island Lake on 17th. 10 Gadwall were at Our Lady's Island Lake on 30th. A Wigeon was at Tacumshin on 30th. There were 5 Gargany at Tacumshin on 4th with 4 noted on a number of dates to 7th and 2 present to at least 10th with birds noted to the end of the month. A Quail was noted at Carnsore Point on 13th and 1 was present on Great Saltee on 23rd with 2 there on 30th. A Honey Buzzard was on the South Slob on 23rd. A Buzzard was noted flying over Coolcotts on 31st. A Marsh Harrier was at Ring Marsh from the beginning of the month to at least 11th (2 present on 2nd) with 1 at Lady's Island on 30th. There was also a Marsh Harrier at Carnsore Point on 7th. A Puffin was noted at Carnsore Point on 17th. . Little Gulls were recorded in single numbers on 7th at Tacumshin Lake and on 13th at Carnsore Point, Lady's Island Lake and Tacumshin Lake. There were 4 Little Terns at Rosslare Point on 4th with 8 in Wexford Harbour on 8th. A Forster's Tern was at Tacumshin Lake from 1st onwards. The Roseate terns at Our Lady's Island Lake laid their first eggs a week earlier than 2008. A Black Tern was at Carnsore Point on 18th. There was an Arctic Skuas at Carnsore Point on 2nd with 2 noted on 7th and 4 on 17th. There were 4 Pomarine Skuas at Carnsore Point on 17th. A Great Skua was noted at Carnsore Point on 18th. There were 40 Whimbrel at Lady's Island Lake on 3rd with 2 noted at Wexford Racecourse on 4th. There were 2 Ruff at Tacumshin Lake on 5th and 10th. A Curlew Sandpiper was noted at Tacumshin Lake on 2nd, 4th and on 7th. A Pectoral Sandpiper was at Tacumshin Lake on 4th. A Short-eared Owl was at Tacumshin Lake on 3rd. 2 Long-eared Owls were at Gorey (believed breeding) on 8th. Swifts were noted in Wexford from 1st with 2 at New Ross on the same date, 1 over Wexford Racecourse on 4th and a count of 29 over Bride Street Church on 24th.  A Cuckoo was at Gorey on 1st; there was 1 calling on Forth Mountain on 24th. 1 was heard on 20th and 29th on North Slob. A 'brown phase' was seen on Great Saltee on 30th - noted heading towards the mainland pursued/mobbed by small birds. A Balearic Woodchat Shrike was at Rathagan from 12th to at least 23rd. 2 Turtle Doves were at Carnsore Point on 31st. A Yellow Wagtail was at Carnsore Point on 17th. 7 Wheatears were on Great Saltee on 3rd. 2 Spotted Flycatchers at Hook Head on 17th with 2 also seen on Great Saltee on 24th. A Garden Warbler was on Great Saltee on 24th. There were 3 Grasshopper Warblers on Great Saltee on 3rd with singles noted on North Slob on 5th and 9th and 1 was at Carnsore Point on 13th and 1 on Great Saltee on 24th. 12 Sedge Warblers were present on Great Saltee on 3rd with report from many localities from 6th.  A Lesser Whitethroat was noted at both Carnsore Point and Fethard-on-Sea on 11th. 7 Willow Warblers on Great Saltee on 3rd. There were 7 Chough on Great Saltee Island on 3rd and 24th. A Redpoll was in Coolcotts on 31st. A single Siskin was in Coolcotts on 1st. Goldfinches are again being noted in excellent numbers at a number of localities throughout the County.

Other Wildlife News in the County: MAMMALS: 3 Killer Whales off Tuskar Rock on 29th. 2 Risso Dolphins seen at Carnsore Point on 4th. 31 Common Dolphins, 2 Harbour Porpoise and a Minke Whale on the Cetacean Survey Rosslare to Pembroke and return on 30th (Common Dolphins and Minke Whale outside Tuskar Rock).  Big Numbers of Common Dolphins off Tuskar Rock on 27th, 28th and 29th (100s). A Hare was seen at Rosslare (edge of Golf Course) on 10th. A Grey Squirrel was noted at Kilmannock on 26th.

BUTTERFLIES: Large White: 1 was noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 24th. Green-veined White: There were 98 noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd. There were 25 at Ballyteige on 3rd. 40 were at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th with 12 at Ballyteige on same date; 10+ were noted on Great Saltee on 24th with 9 at Raven Nature Reserve on 24th and 30 on 31st. Recorded throughout the moth at Coolcotts the highest count was 22 on 25th. Small White: 4 were at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 3 more noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th. Wood White: 4 at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th with 9 present on 24th and 18 on 31st. Orange Tip: There were 4 at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 2  at Coolcotts also on 2nd. There were 5 at Coolcotts on 5th with 2 noted on 8th and 1 on 11th. Common Blue: There were 35 noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd. There were 60+ at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th with 26 present on 24th and 54 on 31st. Holly Blue: 1 was noted at Coolcotts on 5th and 8th with 1 also noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th and 1 also noted on 24th and 31st. Small Blue: There was a single at Raven Nature Reserve on 9th with 8 noted at same location on 24th and 37 on 31st. Small Copper: There were 9 at Ballyteige on 3rd with 5 at Ballyteige on 10th. 2 were at Raven Nature Reserve on 24th. There was 1 at Coolcotts and 1 at Holdmanhill on 31st. Red Admiral: 1 was noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 1 on Great Saltee on 24th. Painted Lady: There were 2 at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 1 also noted at Lacken on same date. 1 was seen at Lacken on 3rd and 1 was also noted at Ballyteige on same date. There were 2 at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th with 1 also noted at Gorey on same date. There were 2 on Great Saltee on 24th. And then the irruption took over with reports from all over the County especially on 28th and 29th - see article above. 7 were noted at Woodgrange on 29th and 2 at Holdmanhill on the same date. There were 3 seen on Inish, Lady’s Island Lake on 29th, with 4 at Coolcotts, 6 at Holdmanhill, 6 at Moortown and 7 at Woodgrange on 30th. Large numbers were seen round Enniscorthy - 100s on the same date. Up to 300 were at Ballyteige on 31st with 15 on Inish and just 2 at Raven Nature Reserve on that date. Small Tortoiseshell: there was 1 noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 2 at Coolcotts on 11th and 1 on 25th. Peacock: 1 was noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd and 1 was at Coolcotts on 21st. Speckled Wood: There were 7 recorded at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 4 at Raven Nature Reserve on 10th.  Also noted were 5 on the 5th at Coolcotts with 8 on 8th, 5 on 11th, 1 on 12th and 1 on 25th. There was 1 noted at Woodgraigue on 24th with 1 at the same location on 30th and 1 at Holdmanhill on 31st. Small Heath: There were 3 present at Raven Nature Reserve on 24th. Wall Brown: 1 was at Ballyteige on 10th. Green Hairstreak: 2 were noted on Forth Mountain on 12th.

MOTHS: There were 3 Common Carpet in Raven Nature Reserve on 9th - also on that date 1 Flame Carpet was noted, 1 Elachista argentella and 40 Micropterix calthella were present. There were also 10 Grapholita jungiella and 3 Glyphipterix simpliciella present on the same date and location. An Angle Shades was seen in Coolcotts on 24th and a Brimstone Moth was noted at Coolcotts on 20th. A Drinker Moth caterpillar was at Lady's Island lake on 16th. There were 5 Cinnabar at Raven Nature Reserve on 31st. 2 Silver Y were noted at Raven Nature Reserve on 31st. A Humming-bird Hawk-moth was at Nethertown on 30th. A Gold Spot was at Coolcotts on 31st.

DRAGONFLIES:  An Emperor Dragonfly was at Raven Nature Reserve on 31st. There were 4 Hairy Dragonflies at Raven Nature Reserve on 9th and again on 24th with 7 present Raven Nature Reserve on 31st. Noted also were 2 Four-spotted Chasers at Raven Nature Reserve on 2nd with 1 noted on 6th and on the 9th and 10 present on 31st. Up to 6 Large Red Damselflies were present Raven Nature Reserve on 24th. An Azure Damselfly was at Raven Nature Reserve on 9th with 33 noted at same location on 31st. A Common Blue Damselfly was present Raven Nature Reserve on 24th and 31st.

REPTILE: 2 Common Lizard present at Raven Nature Reserve on 9th with 1 noted same location on 31st.