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Birds.

The bird song in this wood in Spring is enchanting and melodic, in hyfy is unequalled, free to all but seldom availed of. 40 minutes before sunrise, unless delayed by fog or wind, the Blackbird leads in; the song thrush, wood pigeon, robin, mistle thrush, willow warbler and wren follow, in that order usually and the dawn chorus is at full volume when joined by the chiff-chaff. By late morning the duties of finding food cause a drop in the volume but blackbirds and thrushes sing regularly again towards dusk with the cooing pigeon, the rasping magpie and others adding bursts of song through the day. Attempts at out-singing the opposition is in the interest of impressing a mate and laying claim to territory. Calls are also used as an alarm of impending danger. The trees here provide territorial song posts, nesting sites and roosting places in winter. The seeds, the fruit, the aphids under the leaf, and the insects offer a varied menu. There are no hard and fast rules in nature, each species exploits the possibilities in its surroundings but harmony amongst different species is enabled by nature, which has designed that different species will have different requirements, building with a style of its own and showing different preferences in food selection, e.g great tits forage at the ground level and lower branches, while blue tits roam the tree canopy.

The work of nest building comes after the mate has been chosen. It strengthens the bond between the couple as the female does most of the work (what's new!). The exception is the wren - the male builds a number of nests and the female chooses one (what's new!!), in which to lay her eggs.

Breeding seems to be triggered when glands react to increased daylight hours and nature cleverly introduces a second cue - the amount of food available to the hen bird. When Spring warms tile countryside, a flash of insects emerge from hibernation or are hatched out. The song-birds will respond to a cold spell by postponing egg-laying in the absence of their staple foods.

The Bird breeding season is generally over by July's end and the new crop of youngsters are almost indistinguishable from the adults who now may moult. This is essential in order to repair and replace damaged flight and other feathers for the hazards which lie ahead in migration and winter conditions.

Birds are at risk from predators at this time and begin to fall silent, the territorial song with which they mark their presence is suspended. There are a few exceptions - the song of a solitary blackbird or thrush may still be heard, the wood pigeon persists with cooing and the cheeping sparrow and screaming swift's can still be heard, relatively though this is a very silent woodland now.

For interesting further information "Bird Life in Ireland", by Don Conroy and Jim Wilson is available widely and "The Irish Wildbird Conservancy" ++353 (0)1 2804322 is a voluntary wild bird conservation organisation providing regular information on bird life.

[The Rabbit] [The Badger] [Ivy] [Honeysuckle] [Moss] [Common Oak] [Pedunculate Oak] [Lichens] [Common Lime]
[The Hedgehog] [The Bramble] [The Chiffchaff] [The Frog Hopper] [Hawthorn] [Tree Roots]
[The Wood Mouse] [The Pigmy Shrew] [The Sycamore] [The Guelder Rose] [The Ash] [Gorse] [Hazel] [Tootworth]
[Goat Willow] [The Rowan] [Common White Beam] [Spindle] [Dog Rose] [The Blackthorn] [Birds] [Grasshoppers & Crickets] [Dragonfly & Damesify] [Feral Goat] [Silver Birch] [Pine Martin] [Fungi] [Lough Carra] [Brown Trout] [The Mute Swan]
[The Otter] [Limestone] [Holly] [The Fox] [The Mighty Oak] [Common Polypody] [Treecreeper] [The Irish Stoat]
[The Hornbeam] [Bats]