Simple Pleasures

[Mooncat]

Tangential to the bird stuff, but I've always wanted to know more about trees and plants. Just what is around and how to recognize them. Lo and behold there's an app that identifies them for you (Plantnet). It's not an amazing app, but it's free and no ads. Now I'm out on the regular trying to identify what trees are in the neighbourhoods and parks, and being able to recognize them by their leaves, bark and such. Very therapeutic.

Always wanted to know more about birds too and I see there's also a bird identification app...

[Snare]

Can't go wrong with the Merlin Bird ID app

[Carnage]

I went looking for it there but the reviews are saying that a recent update banjaxed it, so I didn't bother.

[StoutAndAle]

Tangential to the bird stuff, but I've always wanted to know more about trees and plants. Just what is around and how to recognize them. Lo and behold there's an app that identifies them for you (Plantnet). It's not an amazing app, but it's free and no ads. Now I'm out on the regular trying to identify what trees are in the neighbourhoods and parks, and being able to recognize them by their leaves, bark and such. Very therapeutic.

Always wanted to know more about birds too and I see there's also a bird identification app...

My wife picked up "Finding The Mother Tree" in Vancouver last year. She said that it was great, in terms of expanding knowledge in that area. The author is a Canadian scientist so you shouldn't have much trouble finding it. Also - you said you work in a library so you should be fine! 

[StoutAndAle]

Can't go wrong with the Merlin Bird ID app

That's the one my missus uses - no issues reported. (Apple iOS version)

[The Great Cull]

On the bird front again, a mate at work was telling me he'd gotten footage of a woodpecker on his trail camera (something I've also recently purchased to see deer in the local woods). I initially dismissed him, telling him there are none in this country. Well it turns out I'm wrong. Not only was I wrong but within days I could hear one of them in the woods beside my house and have seen him too. Apparently some of them have managed to make it here from the UK and Europe and have been successfully breeding here.

So if you're walking in a wooded area and hear an odd creaking/tapping noise remember its more likely a woodpecker than the Predator.

[Anvil]

I still use an 1970s Reader's Digest Book on the Birds of Britain and Ireland my dad bought new for identifying birds.  I am a bit behind the times! 

Yeah, just to echo what everyone is saying, nice to see wildlife in and around the house, expect rodents and pigeons (basically rats with wings). I don't mind the crows too much! 

Went to make a coffee after I posted yesterday and while waiting for the kettle saw a very fluffy baby sparrow on the shed window sill being feed by its mum.  Also love watching the sparrows have dust baths (great excuse not to brush up) and have a couple of bird baths and they are great to watch as well especially when a blackbird gets in them!

Love watching bees as well.  Think I have spotted an Ashy Miner Bee and a Tree Bumblebee in the garden so far this year. Have a more up to date book for bumblebees, but need something that covers all the other bees in Ireland.   

[The Great Cull]

I still use an 1970s Reader's Digest Book on the Birds of Britain and Ireland my dad bought new for identifying birds.  I am a bit behind the times! 

Yeah, just to echo what everyone is saying, nice to see wildlife in and around the house, expect rodents and pigeons (basically rats with wings). I don't mind the crows too much! 

Went to make a coffee after I posted yesterday and while waiting for the kettle saw a very fluffy baby sparrow on the shed window sill being feed by its mum.  Also love watching the sparrows have dust baths (great excuse not to brush up) and have a couple of bird baths and they are great to watch as well especially when a blackbird gets in them!

Love watching bees as well.  Think I have spotted an Ashy Miner Bee and a Tree Bumblebee in the garden so far this year. Have a more up to date book for bumblebees, but need something that covers all the other bees in Ireland.   

The birds AND the bees.... yeah yeah. Dirty fecker. 

[Bürggermeister]

Clare Daly losing her seat..

Similarly, Wallace

[Anvil]

On the bird front again, a mate at work was telling me he'd gotten footage of a woodpecker on his trail camera (something I've also recently purchased to see deer in the local woods). I initially dismissed him, telling him there are none in this country. Well it turns out I'm wrong. Not only was I wrong but within days I could hear one of them in the woods beside my house and have seen him too. Apparently some of them have managed to make it here from the UK and Europe and have been successfully breeding here.

So if you're walking in a wooded area and hear an odd creaking/tapping noise remember its more likely a woodpecker than the Predator.

I remember reading about the woodpeckers.  Antrim was one spot where have been spotted and the Wicklow Mountains.  Where I live we have enough headers that if I do hear something banging it's head of a tree, it is more likely to be a human! 

[Trev]

I remember reading about the woodpeckers.  Antrim was one spot where have been spotted and the Wicklow Mountains.  Where I live we have enough headers that if I do hear something banging it's head of a tree, it is more likely to be a human!

The father in law is down in Wexford and he's always got woodpeckers at his birdfeeders, so I guess they're making their way down the east coast

[Mooncat]

Tangential to the bird stuff, but I've always wanted to know more about trees and plants. Just what is around and how to recognize them. Lo and behold there's an app that identifies them for you (Plantnet). It's not an amazing app, but it's free and no ads. Now I'm out on the regular trying to identify what trees are in the neighbourhoods and parks, and being able to recognize them by their leaves, bark and such. Very therapeutic.

Always wanted to know more about birds too and I see there's also a bird identification app...

My wife picked up "Finding The Mother Tree" in Vancouver last year. She said that it was great, in terms of expanding knowledge in that area. The author is a Canadian scientist so you shouldn't have much trouble finding it. Also - you said you work in a library so you should be fine! 

I just checked and we do indeed have in in the collection  Ordered!

[The Great Cull]

Daim bars

[Snare]

Harper's Island near Cork city is a fantastic gift that keeps on giving. I've loved getting an insight into the sand martins they're encouraging there where they built artificial sand burrows and planted cameras. So I've been watching developments over the last 2 months. Theu have a live stream on youtube but this gives a flavour of what's going on
https://m.facebook.com/harpersislandwetland/

Woodpeckers have been in Killarney for a good while at this stage and there was a report last week of expanding to another area down there so it's not just a recent expansion matter. Great to see them being widespread then.

[Eoin McLove]

I was out for a stroll in the bush the other morning and passed a little outcrop of trees. A strange popping sound caught my ear so I stopped the podcast and rambled over to the trees, scaring off a wallaby which was nice to see in its own right. After standing and watching for a few minutes I noticed that the tree was swarming with tiny little birds and they were eating the nuts and or leaves from the trees which accounted for the unusual sound. That was a first for me. The birds were miniscule. Perhaps some type of finch?

In that same walk I stopped for a chill out I  the granite peak, as you do,  and saw three echidnas waddling in convoy. Beauty.

Today's pleasure- getting the dinner into the slow cooker and it's not even eleven in the morning. Three nice lumps of osso buco, dusted with flour, fried off a bit in the pan and turfed in with diced veg, red wine and a couple of tins of tomatoes. It'll be a mighty feast this evening