Stopping By Hedgerows

Mostly ignored, but silently growing all the time. The grass under our feet can be an unexpected source of much interest.AcknowledgementsIdentification guide to Ireland’s Grasses, National Biodiversity Data Centre.Grass by Carl Sandburg first appeared in ‘Cornhuskers’ in 1918.

It is always special to welcome the swallows back after their long journey from the south. They have cpatured our imaginations for millennia, and there is much to learn about these fork-tailed beauties. AcknowledgmentsThe relationship between nest location selection of Barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) and human activity and residence - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50149-6 The Barn Swallow, Angela K. Turner - https://books.google.ie/books/about/The_Barn_Swallow.html?id=jsxXFkHXKXAC&redir_esc=y

Some birds have a simple calls but these often hold an iconic position in our collective memory. Let's listen to these two-note troubadours. AcknoweldgementsGreat Tit https://xeno-canto.org/788731 Coal Tit https://xeno-canto.org/717705 Blue Tit https://xeno-canto.org/1070960 Common chiffchaff https://xeno-canto.org/637792 Willow warbler https://xeno-canto.org/915783Cuckoo https://xeno-canto.org/673118 Corncrake https://xeno-canto.org/810279 Phil Barnett, for his discussion on thsi topicRóisín Costello, Of corncrakes and Irish. https://irishpages.org/down-to-earth/?v=25400724d737https://www.corncrakelife.ie/Ręk, P. (2013). Acoustic location of conspecifics in a nocturnal bird: The corncrake Crex crex. Acta Ethologica, 17(1), 31–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-013-0155-3 

I explore how Ireland’s historical maps serve as more than just navigational tools, revealing the deep, often complex stories etched into our landscape. By retracing the steps of 19th-century surveyors, I examine the intersection of culture, colonial history, and personal memory.AcknowledgementsJim O’Connor for his local knowledge. https://www.facebook.com/jim.oconnor.33633344/posts/pfbid02mCyZZhexCAt3y76JnBtTcDqaiGgASsbGfQjwEK7GWCHLTFz3DUuKXDVxQ21HJ8E7l?comment_id=3294401454051542&notif_id=1769102767301634&notif_t=comment_mention&ref=notifWilliam Anthony Smith, Thesis for PhD NUI Maynooth 2008 https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/7778/1/Smyth%202008.pdfTailte Eireann https://osi.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=1d1c28801e5542f88960fda8e9f6d686O’ Donovan Field Name books https://www.mayo.ie/library/local-history/publications-photographs/historical-artifacts?fbclid=IwY2xjawPgRPdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETB5WEJIZFg2OVRHMXdMWmlZc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhIylqYHwQqypXOBIGt1nUHS04dcuCZdPwJoGe7wO45k3HdW-rPzOCUumLP9_aem_ulbBLqJG3kdck6XmgJkkjgDigital Archive of Ireland’s Ordnance Survey - https://dri.ie/os200/spotlight/os200Hubert Dreyfus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_DreyfusThe Bog Shaman. Manchán Magan on John Moriarty https://open.spotify.com/show/31m0uD97rsj9i4q1ROdjvz?si=471f5663980f457c https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07037386https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=0009008https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07038006

Spring a time of birth and life, but also of death. Seeing the signals, listening to the sounds.AcknowledgementsBirdWatch Ireland, Buzzard Species Focus (2011)https://birdfact.com/articles/buzzard-nestinghttps://historycooperative.org/cailleach/https://simonbarnesauthor.co.uk/books/birdwatching-with-your-eyes-closed/Collared Dove https://xeno-canto.org/621403 Great Tit https://xeno-canto.org/1073555 Chaffinch https://xeno-canto.org/717558 Chiffchaff https://xeno-canto.org/561607 Willow Warbler https://xeno-canto.org/561607Cuckoo https://xeno-canto.org/673118 Buff tailed bumble bee https://plant-evolution.org/buzz-pollination_sounds/080109-002.mp3 

We depend on the ground beneath our feet more than we realise, and it has moved more than we can imagine.AcknowledgmentsMusic by Camron RooLivingstone, S.J., Cofaigh, C.O. and Evans, D.J.A. (2008) Glacial geomorphology of the central sector of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet. Journal of Maps, 4 (1). 358 - 377. ISSN: 1744-5647Geology of South Mayo Bedrock Map Series Sheet 11

As the wheel turns toward St. Brigid’s Day and the ancient festival of Imbolc, I mark the traditional arrival of spring with a visit to a local holy well. Join me as we explore the intersection of landscape, ritual, and history. A special note of thanks to Jim O'Connor for his knowledge and poetry reading.AcknowledgementsPoetry remains the copyright of Jim O’Connor Cameron Roo - musicJohn O’Donovan’s 1838 Ordnance Survey Letters of County Mayo, edited by Rev. Michael O’Flanagan (1927) Vol 2 page 456.Celeste Ray, Sewanee, The University of the South https://new.sewanee.edu/our-faculty-staff/celeste-ray/ Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 472.https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/Voices from festival in Mali celebrating goddess NyaleTribal deer dance North America Church bells - Ammassalik, Greenland

During a trip to the hazel forest I got lost, little did I know I was not the first. No affiliation with Netflix or the show!AcknowledgmentsCameron Roo - MusicSean LysaghtPhil Barnetthttps://www.logainm.ie/en/ https://irishpagan.school/irish-for-fairy/https://www.irishagroforestry.ie/silvopasture-cattle

As the year turns, let's turn our ears beyond the patch to listen to something different. A special episode to explore a year in Vermont with Micki Colbeck.

In the summer, I walked down to my favourite place in the world to listen and to observe. Being not doing.

Exploring the history of our hedgerows and what they say to us.Acknowledgementshttps://www.mayo.ie/heritage/mayo-hedgerow/https://www.mayo.ie/getmedia/3c367b71-7008-46d9-a62a-c055fd2beb68/County-Mayo-Hedgerow-Survey-Report_Final.pdf

In 2018, the buzzard's shadow once again fell upon our corner of the west of Ireland. These are my reflections on their homecoming.AcknowledgementsBirdWatch Ireland, Buzzard Species Focus (2011)https://birdfact.com/articles/buzzard-nestingColm Philpott https://xeno-canto.org/979487 Oscar Campbell https://xeno-canto.org/582314 Harry Hussey https://xeno-canto.org/578537 

Abandoned cottages speckle the Mayo countryside. Combining the hard evidence of census records, maps and onsite investigations with imagined, fact-based dialogue, I attempt to bring one home, and the people who lived there, back to life, if only for a few moments.Acknowledgementshttps://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/viewPatrick Kavanagh’s wonderful poem, If ever you go to Dublin Town

In search of the well of the eels that gives Pollanaskan townland its name.AcknowledgementsThe GeoHive map view is a great resource from the government agency, Tailte Eireann and can be accessed at geohive.ieMaps of drainage systems, such as the Moy, can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency's Geoportal at gis.epa.ieFor exploration of place names, begin at loganim.ie

A walk in the rain to date a local hedgerow using Hooper's Law. AcknowledgmentsHooper's hedgerow history hypothesis - UK NAEE https://share.google/ni1jkJMDkiSCZl4uKMax Hooper Obituary- https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/09/max-hooper-obituary Hedgerow surveying handbook - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6863a03d08bf2f5376121a64/hedgerow-survey-handbook__corrected_01.07.25_.pdf Hedge Britannia - https://hedgebritannia.wordpress.com/tag/hoopers-law/Teagasc - https://teagasc.ie/crops/forestry/advice/forest-protection/ash-dieback/

It is September and the swallows have begun to leave, we are an island of comings and goings.Acknowledgements:Thanks to Sean Lysaght and Phil Barnett.Kate St.John: https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2014/06/16/the-importance-of-tail-streamers/ Ornithology, Third Edition, Frank B. GillCzech Academy of Sciences, The extraordinary life of swallows: https://www.avcr.cz/en/news-archive/The-extraordinary-life-of-swallows.-What-do-we-know-about-them/

As the seasons change, a special episode with Phil Barnett to explore the inkling days.

This week, I delve into the changes that have occurred in a single field over the last 200 years in the west of Ireland.Acknowledgements:Thanks to my neighbour Pat for the invaluable chats.Thanks to GeoHive managed by Tailte Éireann for the map data. https://www.geohive.ie/Cameron Roo, for the music, https://www.youtube.com/@RoocasterAll errors are my own, and I remain, as always, open to correction. Thanks for stopping by.

Searching for the forgotten wolves in the landscape of the west of Ireland and through time.Acknowledgements:Kieran Hickey, Wolves in IrelandYellowstone Forever (for their blog on wolves and ravens)The Proceedings of the Royal Society, for the paper "Social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American crows")Sean Lysaght, for confirming the etymology of drumlinCameron Roo, for the music, https://www.youtube.com/@RoocasterAll errors are my own, and I remain, as always, open to correction. Thanks for stopping by.