Archive for October, 2007
Athlone Advertiser, Ireland - Oct 4, 2007
While discussing her garden with a client lately I got distracted when I spotted a swallows nest immediately outside her patio doors, resting between the house and the down pipe. This nest was the hive of activity with mammy swallow feeding her young and directing traffic as the young birds flew in and out of their house. It looked like any home full of active teenagers.
No doubt that nest is empty now as those swallows have most probably joined the many other birds exodusing the country for warmer climes. I?m sure that you have seen, as I have, many birds lining up along the telegraph wires (in the birdie ?departure lounge?) preparing to leave us for the winter. Sometimes I envy these emigrants heading for the sun though it is sad to see them leaving already.
While we are on the subject of seasonal matters, now is the time to pick, eat and store your apples. Only late ripening varieties will keep well and the longer you keep the fruit on the tree the better it will store.
Try to catch eating apples before they fall to the ground and bruise as bruised apples will rot quickly. Carefully pick only perfect apples for storage and place them in a softly lined container for collection. Do not throw fruits into the container as they may get damaged in the process.
Place picked apples in a cool, airy room for approx 24 hours after picking in order to allow them to sweat a little. Once 24 hours have passed wrap each fruit individually in newspaper or greased proof paper. I have also known fruits to store well when placed in sealed polythene bags that have been pierced with a few holes to allow excess gases to escape.
Different varieties mature at different rates so I would suggest that you store varieties separately. Store in a cool, frost free shed or garage or similar.
Inspect stored fruits from time to time and remove any that show signs of rot. If you take care when selecting apples to be stored and then care when storing them you could be eating apples well into the new year.
As an aide from fruits but still on the theme of trees, you can determine the health of your trees (ie all trees including fruit trees) by examining their leaves.
A natural green colour indicates the presence of sufficient minerals to maintain a healthy tree. Discoloured leaves with a purplish hue indicate a phosphate deficiency while a yellow hued leaf with green veins indicates the lack of magnesium. Potassium deficiency shows itself as scorch marks along the edges of the matured leaves. Once you identify the problem you can solve it.
Happy gardening!
Anne.
Garden Checklist.
• Lift and store begonias.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs.
• Divide herbaceous perennials.
• Prepare sites for new fruit trees and fruit bushes.
• Prune currants and gooseberries.
• Take hardwood cuttings from mid October onwards.
• Layer rhododendrons and azaleas.
• Remove annuals from beds once last flowers fade.
• Remove fallen leaves from rockeries and lawns.
• Clear dead leaves from ponds.
• Prepare beds for new roses.
• Divide overgrown lilies.
(Publication Date: 05/10/2007)
October 8th, 2007
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus - Sep 30, 2007
By Jane Stylianou
The amazing movement of birds around the globe has fascinated people for centuries
BIRD MIGRATION has fascinated people for centuries. No humans can equal the movements of some birds on migration. For example, no human population moves each year as far as the Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) which breeds in the Arctic and winters in the Antarctic, travelling between the poles twice a year.
As long ago as Old Testament times, people were aware that some birds came and went according to the seasons. The best evidence can be found in this quote from the book of Jeremiah: ‘Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming.’ It also appears that migratory quails provided food for the Israelites as they wandered in the Sinai desert.
Both ancient Greek and Roman writers commented on the movement of birds. Homer described the Trojan army as being like ‘cranes fleeing from the coming winter and sudden rains’. Aristotle was one of the first writers to make a serious attempt to explain migration: he realised that some birds remained throughout the winter while others moved south.
Aristotle may have been observant, even noticing that birds put on weight before setting off on migration, but he didn’t quite get it all right. He seemed to believe that some birds turned into others – for example redstarts (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) became robins (Erithacus rubecula) in the winter. His belief that swallows (Hirundo rustica) hibernated during the colder months was still a common explanation for their disappearance in autumn right up to the nineteenth century. The fact that they were often seen over water as autumn approached led to this theory. It was believed that the birds congregated on reeds until finally their accumulated weight bent them into the water, submerging the birds, which then settled for a long winter’s (underwater!) nap. To support this, it was claimed that fishermen sometimes found swallows in their fishing nets.
Even where it was accepted that large birds such as storks and cranes moved between continents it was not believed that small birds could do so. Another theory was that the larger species carried smaller birds such as warblers and thrushes on their backs. Native Americans believed that geese carried tiny hummingbirds in this way.
Eventually, such myths were dispelled and it was shown that all kinds of birds could make huge journeys in search of the right conditions to ensure the correct food supplies at all times of the year. As bird specimens were collected for museums, the general patterns became known. The places where swallows were shot in Europe and Africa showed the progression of their journeys. However it was not until birds were marked in an individually identifiable way that exact patterns were revealed.
At the start of the twentieth century, a scientific programme of bird ringing was introduced. This began a worldwide ‘field experiment’ that is still in progress and expanding more than 100 years later. This system of marking an individual bird has made a great contribution to clarifying facts about migration. Over 200 million individual birds have been ringed worldwide, helping to reveal a network of migration routes encompassing the globe used annually by over 50 billion birds.
Ringing can only be carried out by certified, trained and licensed ‘ringers’. They usually work at places where lots of migrants pass, and use nets with a very fine mesh, which they set up between bushes to catch the passing birds. Unlike their illegal Cyprus counterparts the bird-trappers, ringers employ skill and experience to ensure that the birds are not harmed or distressed. They are untangled from the nets carefully, identified and a small number-bearing, aluminium-alloy ring is fitted onto one leg. There are different sized rings for different birds. Each number is unique, showing where and when the bird was found. Before the bird is released it is measured and details about its size, weight and age are recorded. The rings are lightweight and have no adverse effect on the birds. This means that when a ringed bird is re-trapped or found dead it can be identified.
A ringing scheme has operated here in Cyprus for many years. Hundreds of birds are usually ringed each year – ranging from birds of prey to warblers. Local populations of some birds e.g House Martins (Delichon urbica), Cyprus Warblers (Sylvia melanothorax) and Sardinian Warblers (Sylvia melanocephala) have also been ringed to help with population studies. Birds ringed in other countries have been recovered here. In 2005, a Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) ringed in Israel was discovered, as was a Barn Swallow from Finland and several warblers ringed in Hungary.
Ringing shows that most of the migrants that pass through Cyprus spend the summer in central and eastern Europe, some reaching as far as Finland. Many scientists feel that as ringing relies on the unlikely event of a bird being either re-caught or found dead, its usefulness will be superseded by other methods such as satellite or radar tracking. Yet ringing undoubtedly still has a role to play in aiding scientists solve such mysteries as how birds find their way and how they know when to time their migration.
n If you want to know more about Cyprus’ birds or are interested in joining BirdLife Cyprus please contact P.O. Box 28076, 2090 Nicosia, telephone 22455072 or e-mail birdlifecy@cytanet.com.cy
In addition join us over the weekend of 6th and 7th October at events for Eurobirdwatch. These include a display of bird ringing; also for a walk at Phassouri reed beds on 21st October. Call 99059541 for details.
October 5th, 2007
Saigon Times Daily, Vietnam - 23 hours ago
In olden times, Yen sao also known as Bird’s Nest and Swallow’s Nest, was a rare delicacy only prepared for kings and queens. Today, the dish can be enjoyed by everyone in a number of restaurants around town.
Yen sao is believed to be a nutritious dish that benefits the lungs, blood and skin. It is an especially popular dish among the wealthy who seek to flaunt their wealth and good taste.
The price tag for yen sao is especially steep because of the difficult process required to obtain the nests. Collectors risk their lives to gather the highly sought after nests in caves and on cliff ledges.
There are two types of swallow’s nests: white and “red.” The white ones are more common and less expensive, while the red ones are rarer and pricier. Experts explain that the red nests achieve their distinct color from a mixture of blood and saliva, while the white ones are constructed solely from saliva.
Swallow’s nests that are gathered in the caves on cliff ledges of Hoi An and Nha Trang are famous for their quality. This delicacy can also be harvested in many cities including HCMC.
Houses designed especially to attract swallows have been built in the cities and made the dish more accessible to everyone. The swallows live in these houses are not fed, but leave their shelters in the morning to search for food and come back in the afternoon. The owners of these houses only have to gather the nests here instead of climbing the natural cliffs.
In HCMC, one can taste a bowl of Yen sao soup starting at VND250,000.
To try this one-time royal delicacy and modern day cure-all visit:
River View Restaurant: RF Floor, 21 Nguyen Trung Ngan St., Dist.1, HCMC. Tel: (08) 910 6488.
Yen Sao Restaurant: 168 Calmette Street, Dist. 1, HCMC. Tel: (08) 914 2755.
Pham Le
October 4th, 2007
Comox Valley Record, Canada - Sep 28, 200
By Sandy
Fairfield
Sep 28 2007
Barn swallows are the most widely distributed and most abundant swallow species in the world.
These swallows breed in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. In North America their breeding grounds start in southern Alaska and cover most of Canada and the United States. With the exception of a small year-round population in Central America, they migrate to spend the winters in South America.
Originally Barn swallows were cave dwellers, but now almost exclusively nest in man-made structures.
As their name suggests, a favourite nesting habitat for these birds are agricultural buildings, especially barns. They have, however, adapted to other buildings, using overhangs under bridges and buildings to construct their nests.
Barn swallows are slender songbirds with a variety of vocal communications, and are about the size of a sparrow. Long, forked tails are unique to this species of swallow, making them easily identifiable in flight.
Barn swallows have beautiful, steely-blue iridescent wings, backs and tails; breasts and bellies are buff to reddish-brown; and their throats and foreheads are a deep chestnut colour.
Females will actually seek out a mate with long tailfeathers or “streamers,” and in addition prefer a mate with deep-chestnut plumage. Long, pointed wings, together with their long forked tails, make these birds streamlined acrobatic flyers — they need this agility during flight as they feed, drink and bathe on the wing. Small, weak feet are used only for perching; they rarely walk on the ground.
Food for the Barn swallow consists of a variety of flying insects, including beetles, grasshoppers, moths and large amounts of mosquitoes. These communal feeders will often be seen following a farmer as he ploughs the field, stirring up lots of insects for them to eat.
Barn swallows are usually monogamous, and mating pairs will often return yearly to the same breeding colonies. It is not unusual for as many as eight mated pairs to share the same barn. The male will serenade the female with outstretched wings, performing aerial displays to show off his tail and plumage.
Both birds are involved in nest-building, which can be a long process. Cup-shaped nests are constructed from grass and mud that is lined with fine straw, horsehair and feathers. It may take them over a thousand trips to collect mud — which is formed into a pellet and carried in their beaks — to construct the nest.
Construction often takes eight 14-hour days before the nest is completed. Both birds will take part in incubation and feeding of the young, who are born blind and covered only with sparse tufts of down.
Barn swallows will often have two broods in one year, and this year conditions were perfect for many species to produce more than one brood.
MARS received two young Barn swallows in the past few weeks, which were both late-bloomers from a second brood.
Unfortunately, only one bird was healthy and just seemed to be abandoned. It was obviously still being fed and was extremely hungry.
With no other young birds in our centre, volunteers had to provide the swallow with both flying lessons and an introduction to “flying food,” neither being an easy task! Once the swallow had mastered flight and feeding, it was sent to Victoria to catch up with other swallows, which had already migrated from the Comox Valley.
• • •
With shorter days approaching for commuter travel, we remind people to watch for wildlife on the roads — use caution when wildlife crossings are posted. Now is also a great time to watch for unusual birds, as the fall migration is well underway.
• • •
Tickets are now on sale at Crown Isle and at MARS for its annual Harvest Banquet.
For further information or to report injured wildlife, call 337-2021 or visit www.wingtips.org.
Sandy Fairfield is the educational co-ordinator for the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS). The MARS column appears every second Friday.
October 1st, 2007
Next Posts