Ian
McNeill-one of the most experienced field botanists in N.I. and also a
long-standing member of Cookstown Wildlife Trust has produced
'The flora of County Tyrone'. The book launch took place on Saturday
22 May at Cookstown High School. Congratulations to Ian on the
completion of this important work.
Well and intelligently written, often with a fine touch of humour, and
beautifully illustrated, this book will be The reference on
Tyrone's flora for many many years . It is a tribute to Ian's knowledge ,
dedication and eye for detail . There are chapters on the climate,
geology and topography of Tyrone. The known sites of each plant are listed
and maps showing known sites are included. Many are accompanied by
beautiful photographs.
Photographs of the range of habitats in Tyrone are each accompanied by an
interesting and often humorous paragraph or two.
This is a book to pick up and browse through time and time again. It is the
distillation of half a lifetime recording plants in every corner of Tyrone .
At a time of changing climate , movement of plants and animals on a global
scale and alterations in land use , a book of this type is a snapshot of the
plants growing in our area . It will be referred to for 100 years, and
even longer, allowing comparison to be made of alterations in our flora in
the late 20th and early 21st century . It is not just a beautiful book
, it is for naturalists a very important one .
22 April 2010. A rare day flying moth is
plentiful on the lawns in front of Lissan House near Cookstown .
The Chimney Sweeper (Odezia atrata) in Northern Ireland is
mainly known from Tyrone and this would appear to be a new site .
Click
for larger pic.
22 April 2010. Ponds in a disused gravel pit north of
Lough Fea have a large number of Four-Spotted Chaser dragonflies
(Libellula quadrimaculata)
Click
for larger pic.
Our Secretary found a large beetle in early
April 2010.
It turned out to be Dytiscus marginalis- the great diving beetle.
Usually found in weedy ponds but fairly common .
Picture:
First Chiffchaff heard-
In 2009 First Chiffchaff heard- 20 March-so it is a late
season
First Willow Warbler heard - 12 April 2010
In 2009 First Willow Warbler heard 12 April -same date
March 19 2010. Care ~ Death Cap poisoning
See Daily Mail article
March 2010~Frogs
Usually in late February but at the end of this cold
winter, in late March, 10ft. from our back door,
male frogs are croaking in
the garden
pond to attract females. My wife counted
eleven a few days ago, I didn’t believe her but then with little effort I
counted eight.
Frogs are often pictured as being green but ours are dark, more olive black
than green. They sit with only their heads above water, and their large
bulbous black eyes take everything in. All winter,
they have been resting in
a
state of torpor underneath piles of leaves
and decaying material
in mud.
As the days become longer and warmer,
instinct causes increased activity and
they
search for water.
Move close and they submerge. Their bodies can still be seen stretched out
a few inches below the surface.
Apparently,
they can feel
vibrations well with the sensors on
their slippery backs.
Our frogs are wise, there will always be water in this pond, others are not
so lucky
– how often have we
walked along
rutted tracks with puddles full of doomed frog spawn.Three or four days of
dry weather and the puddles will be gone.
So what happens in our pond? The corpulent female frogs lay jelly covered
eggs, anything up to 3000 or 4000 at a time, male frogs clasp the female
from behind and fertilise the released eggs by squirting creamy semen over
them.
Click
for larger image
Frogs become sexually mature at about three years of age, they often return
to
the
sites
where they
originally developed from spawn. Maybe these
really are our frogs, frogs which successfully started life in this pond.
Eleven frogs in a small pond, give or take a few,
isn’t bad--a nice
thought.
Frogs are amphibians native to mainland Britain but probably introduced to
Ireland. According to the fossil record they have a long history of perhaps
200 million years.
Although not quite under threat, they are a protected species,
with
a patchy
distribution in Ireland.
Able to breathe through both skin and lungs, and with eyes and nostrils on
top of their heads frogs can see and breathe even when most of their body is
underwater. Their long sticky
tongues
and wide mouths
are well suited to a diet of insects.
The rafts of
fertilized frogspawn
float to the surface,
surrounded with a clear jelly-like
substance which
swells in the water and initially protects
the fragile embryos but later acts
as a food source. The sun warms the
developing eggs , about
a month passes then tadpoles emerge
from (or eat their
way out of) the jelly-like spawn.
After a few days, the
newly hatched tadpoles
begin to eat algae.
When legs begin to develop
the
tadpoles
become omnivorous and
include decaying matter
from the pond in
their diet. Smaller
weaker tadpoles die-and
also provide food for the larger
stronger ones.
Initially, tadpoles
breathe oxygen dissolved in water using a pair of gills located just behind
the head.
Gradually over
a period of
ten weeks
they lose
their tails and
slowly grow
front and back
legs.
Lungs
develop and the tadpole
becomes a miniature frog,
ready to leave the water and live on land.
Once they leave the pond their diet changes from mainly vegetable matter
to insects, slugs and worms.
The
miniature frog which
hops from the
pool in mid or late
summer is perhaps one
in
a thousand-one
of the few
embryos
remaining from many initial rafts of
frogspawn to have
survived its
predators
and
become a fully formed
frog.
Late August 2009-Common Darter Dragonflies and Common blue Damselflies can be
seen at southern side of Lough Fea on sunny days
Click
for larger images
August 2009-Sadly the
ancient beech in Drum Manor has been felled, the main
trunk appeared to be healthy -but Foresters know best !!
August 2009 - Southerly winds and a particularly suitable winter in areas of
north Africa (e.g) Morocco allowed an unusual influx of Painted Lady
butterflies in May .There are still many in August, perhaps they have bred
here this summer.
Look out for Small Copper butterfly-you might be
lucky enough to see one in your garden.
Click
for larger images
July 2009 - Billy Gray-one of our members entertained an unusual
visitor this month . A neighbour found a dazed kingfisher in her
garden . Billy who has considerable knowledge of keeping birds
looked after the kingfisher as it recovered and fed the beautiful bird
with salmon.
Click
for larger image
Interesting fungus recorded 17/03/2009 in Loughry College
grounds, only found three times in Northern Ireland this century and
not west of the Bann before. Bleach Cup (Disciotis venosa)
frequents woodland in rich mossy soil and has a distinct chlorine or bleach
smell .
Click
for larger image
Moyola Waterfoot.
Land which has come out of
commission has been passed to the Ulster Wildlife Trust who will develop the
area for public use . This ASSI has been initially assessed for development.
The area contains a number of interesting species including Otters, Whooper
Swans , Kingfishers , Diving Ducks , Tree Sparrows , Grey Wagtails, Great
Crested Grebes, Salmon and Water Rails . It has one beetle Dyschirius
obscurus
confined, in Ireland , only to some
sandy areas on the shores of Lough Neagh .
A hide overlooking Lough Neagh has been installed and a series of
information boards to aid recognition and identification of species are
being developed .
Ulster Wildlife Trust
organizes a programme of events
throughout the year. These are free to members , but children under
sixteen must be accompanied by an adult . Adult non-members are
charged £2 and children £1.
Booking is generally required for all events. For further information
or to book a place at
phone : 028 4483 0282 or
e-mail
events@ulsterwildlifetrust.org.
March/April 2010 events include :
Monday 5 April: 2pm-4pm. Eggstravaganza at Kilbroney Park,Rostrevor
Saturday 24 April:10am-12pm. Moths and Mammals at
Balloo Nature Reserve-Bangor
