Good news from the ponds

Marie has been working with Senan Gardiner, IWT's former Education Officer, getting 2 schools to create wildlife ponds. On Friday, they went to St Ursulas School and below is a photo with pupils from Ms Twomey's Class depositing frogspawn ( from Marie's pond) into their school pond. This group of girls have an impressive knowledge of wildlife, showed us several projects of birds  they carried out  counts in the school yard. Last year we had visited the pond and planted some natives such as bogbean and flag iris. The resident goldfish were re-homed among pupils, leaving a new home for the frogspawn.

They also went to St Saviours NS, where a newly-dug pond (by local IWT volunteers, Leighton and John) has had a few teething problems. They visited 6 classes with the frogspawn, and addressed concerns of some teachers about safety around the pond. By the time they left, both teachers and pupils want the pond, and the frogs!!

New wildlife pond

Over the last two Mondays, a new wildlife pond has been created by IWT local volunteers in conjunction with St. Saviours School, Ballybeg. Leighton Roche, John Hoban and Marie Power worked with Senan and the 4th class pupils of Mr Gough's class to create a wildlife pond in the school grounds. The pond is planted with bogbean, iris and oxygenating hairgrass, and it is hoped will support frogs and newts in time. Water and web of nature classes were carried out with the class to help explain the ecological context for the pond.

Some new planting, as well as biodiversity classes were carried out in St. Ursulas School. The pond created there a few years ago, was populated with goldfish , so these are now removed to another location and native plants - iris and water forget-me-not - were introduced to increase the biodiversity of the pond.

A protective grid is now being sought to prevent accidents. If you know anyone who has one to spare, or who can make one, we would like to hear from you.

Special thanks are due to Leighton and John who did the hard work of digging the pond!

May apologies

With apologies to punters and for the record, successful May outings took place

....on Sunday May 15th. Pond Dipping and a woods habitat exploration followed by a two hour walk along a section of the legendary Bothar na mBan gorm near the Harristown Passage Grave. The location was Belle Lake on the Waterford to Dunmore East road. This was a fascinating insight into local ecology and history. Walk leader for the day was Alan Walsh.

....and on May 22nd , the Cheekpoint and Faithlegg Development Group and the Irish Wildlife Trust joined forces to experience the Dawn Chorus. Denis Cullen, Birdman with the Irish Wildlife Trust lead a dawn chorus stroll though the Glazing Woods, the Marsh and the Rope Walk.

Wildlife and winter weather

Many people have contacted us with concerns about wildlife during the recent cold snap, to know how wild animals and birds are coping with the cold conditions and how they can help wildlife.
The reality is that there are and have been impacts on birds, resident and migratory and many of the impacts won't be fully realised until spring when numbers of young may be reduced. It is also true that all of our native wildlife is adapted to cold weather, such as thicker coats in winter time, e.g. deer or hibernation e.g. hedgehogs. However, wild animals, birds and insects need habitat / cover to hibernate/nest/forage in, so we humans can help by leaving as much habitat as possible, especially linking habitat such as hedgerows, rivers and streams. This means that there is plenty of cover for wildlife , and importantly, that wildlife can move about safely between feeding and breeding grounds. Without "linkages" such as hedgerows and linear woodlands, animals can be left isolated on "islands" without sufficient food.
These are the things we need to consider when building roads etc, which deplete the habitat available to other species

Another way in which we can help is by having wildlife-friendly gardens with logpiles, leafpiles, areas of longer grass and undisturbed corners for small mammals and insects to shelter/over-winter/nest in. Plenty of trees provide protection and shelter, and native trees in particular are a good source of food, e.g.holly, hawthorn.
Waterbirds such as duck, geese, swans and waders such as oystercatchers are affected by lack of access to open water.
Garden birds can be helped by giving water and food - provide seed and nut food, moist bread, mealworms, apples, cheese and fat from meat etc. Do not put out dry porridge or rice as it affects their digestion. A water-bath is essential for birds for drinking and bathing. Keep it frost free in the mornings. And remember, if you start to feed birds, keep it up - they will come to depend on your garden/food supply!

Frogs hibernating in ponds will suffocate unless water kept ice-free. A labour-saving way to do this is to leave an old football floating on the surface and simply remove it when ice forms.

Deer are apparently suffering adverse effects in Scotland as they come down from highlands and come into closer contact with humans / cars etc. In Scandinavia, they use railroads to travel along, so the potential for fatalities is high.

If you have any tips for caring for wildlife, we would love to see them posted on this blog, so get in touch

The picture above is from Birds and Bloom...a useful website on this and other issues.

Thanks to Marie for the words of wisdom!