25 June

In recent weeks you might have been hearing the male cuckoo calling in Baltrasna. He's most clearly heard in the early morning when there are fewer noises to compete with.

Our monthly expedition will take place on Saturday, 25 June at 12 noon. We hope to include a walk to an area of abundant orchid growth. These no longer grow on the south bank, due to the development of the towpath and the impact of mowing, but appear in a few places along the north bank.

On our walk along the canal we should see some butterflies that appear in midsummer, including the Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

Last month we saw the Spring Hawker (Hairy Dragonfly) patrolling its territory along the canal bank. We can expect to see an even larger dragonfly (Common Hawker or Brown Hawker) and possibly some colourful smaller dragonflies, such as the Ruddy Darter.

There should again also be an opportunity to view some moths before we set out on our walk. Several moths have been recorded for the first time in the area this month, including this Aristotelia ericinella that feeds on heather.

May expedition

For our May expedition we were blessed with better weather and more things to see and discuss. During the month Peter and Eugene had completed our construction project (grant aided by Waterways Ireland). The bird boxes and bug hotels were treated by the young people on a Friday evening. 

They were placed along the canal and in members’ gardens. In the week preceding the expedition, a very large bug mansion was placed on the high bank near the bridge and two smaller ones along the canal towpath. These represent a huge effort on the part of Peter and Eugene and we were very pleased to receive colourful signage from Waterways Ireland. Thanks to Waterways Ireland we also now can put up signs at both ends of the walk to warn walkers and cyclists of the event.

 

 Our expedition began by spending 10 minutes looking at the moths which had been trapped overnight in the Roes’ garden beside the canal. The trap was opened in the shade of a tree and we were able to see a wide variety of moths in terms of colour, shape and size. 

The smallest one was an Epiblema scutulana, which feeds on thistles.

It doesn’t have an English name; its scientific name refers to it feeding on roots and then to its pattern resembling a Roman shield. 

It has a bird-dropping style pattern and is, therefore, confident of not being predated by birds. We passed the resting moth round the group in an egg box. A White Ermine was passed around the group in a bug viewer.

 

Despite it being sunny, we were disappointed to see few butterflies and bees. Eoin was the most successful recorder as he had been allotted the Hairy Dragonfly (Spring Hawker). Its presence and the upward growth of horsetail gave us a chance to talk about relics from the age of the dinosaurs.

Among the other things seen and discussed were:

• hawthorn in full bloom;
• Common Frog
• flag iris at the edge of the canal (the only iris native to Ireland);
• bog bean in the water.
  

Further out in the canal were the first leaves of the water lily.

Most of the newly-blooming flowers were yellow, including silverweed and bird’s foot trefoil, which attracts the Common Blue butterfly. Anther interesting yellow flower that appears on the boreen and in members’ gardens is wood avens (the only one of the three avens native to Ireland that we can see here — the others being mountain avens and water avens).

We discussed the pervasive and damaging presence of bracken, which looks like an attractive fern but which suppresses wild flowers and produces carcinogenic spores in autumn. Members were encouraged to try to eliminate it in their gardens by repeated cutting (it can take up to six years to eradicate).

   

Date: 28 May 2016 Time: 12-1.15

Attendance: 19 (including 8 children)

What we observed and talked about —

Amphibians: Common Frog

Bees: Bombus lucorum, Bombus pascuorum

Birds: Blackbird, Great Tit

 

Butterflies: Green-veined White, Orange-tip, Small Tortoiseshell

                   Speckled Wood, Wood White

Damselflies: Common Blue Damselfly

Dragonflies: Spring Hawker

Flowers: Marsh Marigold, Dandelion, Nettle, Lady’s Smock, Silverweed,

               Wood Avens, Dog Violet, Vetch, Red Clover, White Clover, Sedge,

               Water Mint, Bindweed, thistles, Flag, Buttercup, Common Plantain,

               Bird’s Foot Trefoil, Water Lily, Meadowsweet, Bog Bean, Herb Robert

Macro moths: Alder Moth, Muslin Moth, Pale Tussock, Small Square-spot,

                       White Ermine

Micro moths: Epiblema scutulana

Plants: bracken, bulrush, horsetail

Trees: elder, hawthorn, willow

April expedition

 Our April expedition took place on a disappointingly cold day with a sharp wind. It was, therefore, inevitable that we would see very few bees and butterflies. We did, however, photograph two bumblebees (Bombus lucorum) during the event. 

There’s always something to enjoy and we had time to examine flowers.

1. Lady’s Smock (sometimes called Cuckoo Flower) is a larval food-plant for the Orange-tip and Green-veined White butterflies. Members of the group pointed out that some of the flowers are white, while others are lilac pink — both are attractive to the butterflies.
   

 

2. Dandelion is a good plant for early pollinators. We blew some dandelion clocks and marvelled at the ease with which the dandelion spreads its seeds.

3. Marsh Marigold is another bright yellow plant and grows at the edge of the water.
   

All plants have Latin names and these make them recognisable across the world:

• Lady’s Smock is Cardamine pratensis (showing that it grows in meadows);
• Marsh Marigold is Caltha palustris (showing that it grows in marshy ground);
• Dandelion is Taraxacum officinale (indicating its traditional use in herbal medicine).

It’s not necessary to remember these names but with a little understanding interesting connections can be made.

We also looked at trees along our route:

1.                  a row of conifers, much loved by the seed-eating goldfinches;

2.                  willow, which with early flowers full of pollen is great for insects and other invertebrates (creatures without a backbone);

3.                  hawthorn, which is good for May blossom and in autumn has red haws popular with some birds;

4.                  elder, which has June blossoms and berries in autumn;

5.                  ash, which we identified as suitable trees for bird-nesting boxes as there was a lot of birdsong — we spotted robins, chaffinches, blue tits, blackbirds and a song thrush.

 

 Date: 30 April 2016 Time: 12-1

Attendance: 27 (including 14 children)

What we observed and talked about —

Bees: Bombus lucorum

Birds: Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Robin, Song Thrush

Flowers: Marsh Marigold, Dandelion, Nettle, Lady’s Smock

Plants: bramble, ivy

Trees: birch, elder, hawthorn, willow