The Swift

Swifts (Apus apus) are birds that can be seen flying at high speeds and screaming as they fly in these summer months, as they catch flies in the Cabragh Wetlands. They are experts at this and parent swifts returning with food for their young reveal a large bulge below the beak due to a mass of insects packed into the throat pouch glued together in saliva.

The family scientific name, Apodidae, comes Ancient Greek, meaning "without feet", since swifts have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead on vertical surfaces. This is because it would be too difficult, if not impossible, for swifts to take off from the ground due to their short legs. Due to this swifts even sleep and mate on the wing. Swifts have a worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate areas, but like swallows and martins, the swifts of temperate regions are strongly migratory and winter in the tropics.

Swifts have a characteristic shape, with a short forked tail and very long swept-back wings that resemble a boomerang. They are all dark apart from a whitish chin. Swifts use the same nest year after year, merely adding fresh material. This is caught in the air. As a result, building is erratic being most frequent when there is sufficient wind to sweep suitable material into the air. The nest is glued to a vertical surface with saliva, which is the basis for bird's nest soup.

Water, Water Everywhere

It may be stating the obvious to say that water is an essential ingredient in the wetland system, but how many of us think about the implications of this? Water is the primary factor controlling the environment and the range of habitats that surround us. Flora and fauna have evolved to give and receive within a wetland community, with plants like the iris contributing by oxidising the water, in turn allowing other plants and creepy-crawlies to survive and flourish. The purity of the water supply is the prime reason why the Cabragh Wetlands supports such a variety of species.

Wetlands are an important feature in the landscape for a variety of reasons, yet 50% of all wetlands in Europe have disappeared in the last century. In Ireland about one million acres of wetland have been drained in the past 150 years. Pure, fresh water is a precious resource; only about 1% of the earth’s water is available for drinking at any one time, with another 2% locked up in the ice-caps.

Piped water has made life very comfortable for us. We turn on our tap and there it is. Up to 40% of the water we use is flushed down the toilet – a hugely disproportionate amount. Added to this is all the detergent we use to keep our homes clean and germ-free, and which is then returned to the water-table. Water from our toilets and sinks goes directly into the earth or to a treatment plant to be cleaned at great cost.

Earth is finding it difficult to cope with our demanding lifestyles, and hence water quality is suffering. The fewer toxins that go into the earth, the better it is for both the environment and people. There is a range of eco-friendly products now available, from washing-up liquid to toilet cleaner, and a couple of bricks in your cistern will save a surprising amount of fresh water.

In May 2006 the European Community adopted an action plan to meet the target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 – a major undertaking. When we learn to see wetlands as a resource rich in biodiversity, we will begin to appreciate their true value and worth. It is a bad start to hear that Ireland came last in a European poll asking the public for their understanding of biodiversity.

Summer Camp 2008

The annual summer camp for primary school pupils in 2nd to 5th classes takes place once again from July 7-11 2008 from 9.00a.m. to 2.30p.m. each day. This camp entitled "Detective in the Wild" allows children to get to grips with the natural world and delve into the secrets of the local wilderness looking at history, flowers, animals, birds and insects and the many habitats of North Tipperary. Cost of the course is €70 including the cost of trips. Please note that numbers are limited and places are allocated on a first come first serve basis. For application forms please contact James Duggan Tel 0504 23831

Hear the Dawn Chorus

Come hear Nature's greatest symphony (if you can get out of bed!)

BirdWatch Ireland National Dawn Chorus Day 2008 - Sunday 18^th May

Meet at 5:00am in car park at Cabragh Wetlands, Thurles. All events are open to the public and are free of charge; it is not necessary to be a member of BirdWatch Ireland to attend. Children are very welcome, but must be supervised by a parent or guardian. Please note that dogs and other pets are not permitted.

Greylag Geese

Recently a small flock of Greylag geese can be seen in Cabragh Wetlands each day on the flooded grasslands and are easily visible from the pathways. These geese are the ancestors of most domestic geese. The geese are migratory, moving south or west in winter,. This species is one of the last to migrate, and it is thought that "greaylag" signifies in English "late", "last", or "slow", as in laggard, a loiterer, or old terms such as lagman, the last man, lagteeth, the posterior molar or "wisdom" teeth (as the last to appear), and lagclock, a clock that is behind time. Thus the Greylag Goose is the grey goose, which in England when the name was given, was not strongly migratory but lagged behind the other wild goose species when they left for their northern breeding quarters.

Graveyards - Full of life!

Graveyards instinctively suggest places of sadness and gloom, but the older ones especially can be teeming with life. Apart from the occasional outing with the mower or strimmer, habitats remain relatively untouched for year after year, allowing colonies of plants, insects, birds and mammals to establish a permanent base. Graveyards in towns can provide oases for species struggling to survive, and in some rural areas are the last examples of ancient grassland meadow. Don’t keep those old graveyards too neat and tidy!

To develop this theme, Dr Siobahn Geraghty, North Tipperary Heritage Officer, will be giving a talk at the Cabragh Wetlands on Wednesday 21^st May at 8.00pm sharp. The title is appropriate: “Graveyards: Full of Life”.

The evening is organized in conjunction with the Holycross Tidy Village Committee which, like so many other groups around the county, does such vital work in keeping up appearances and preserving valuable habitat. We invite all other such groups and those interested in graveyards to come along to the Cabragh Wetlands to hear Siobahn’s talk. She is an expert in the unusual subject of archaeo-botany, and it really does promise to be a fascinating event.

There is no charge for the talk, though donations will be welcome. This is a chance to hear about an important and unusual topic, and no doubt Siobahn will be willing to take a few questions on her wider role as Heritage Officer.

Garganey Duck

The sighting of a pair of garganey duck at Cabragh Wetlands highlights the importance of preserving a network of such wildlife havens, which species can use as stepping stones to re-establish themselves and gradually extend their range and breeding colonies. For most of the last century garganey (anas querquedula) were no more than rare wanderers in most of the British Isles, with breeding confined to the fens of the Norfolk Broads in the east of England. In the 1960’s a few were visiting Wexford, but not breeding, and in 2005 there were estimated to be just 130 pairs spread thinly across these islands at the western limit of their extensive Eurasian range.

Now there is a pair at Cabragh, which provides their ideal habitat – still water, flooded ditches, wet meadows and a surrounding of lush, rushy marshland into which they can scurry and hide if disturbed. They are the second smallest European duck, graceful but with rather dull plumage. The drake has a conspicuous white stripe over his eye.

Don’t be put off if they fail to quack at you in the expected duck-like manner. The male advertises himself with a cracking sound, which has been likened to breaking ice, or running your finger along the teeth of a comb. You might even mistake its call for a woodpecker.