Here in county Clare we are just about to see another bird species going extinct in the county. Ten years ago our close neighbours in County Limerick saw the lose of their Yellowhammer population. Here in Clare we have a couple of pairs of these fantastic colourful birds holding on in a small region of the north east Burren but not for long. I was back at a small farmstead north of Tubber earlier this week and where there are normally 10 to 15 birds, only one male was found in the farmyard. Intensive agricultural changes in farming to fields of common ryegrass where fields are now heavily fertilised for consumption of the grass by milking and beef cows/cattle are the main reason for the loss of this species throughout our country. In times gone by when we diversified in our farming practises species like the Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow and many more common bird species survived on mixed grasses with seeds being plentiful from a broader range of grass types. Now it is all a monoculture and the fields are the same shade of green no matter where you look. In my lifetime Yellowhammer is another bird species I will see go extinct along with the Corn Bunting, Tree Sparrow and Corncrake in Ireland. Unless drastic measures are taken within our Agri sector I'm afraid these and many other forms of biodiversity are doomed along with civilisation.
Last man standing, a lone Yellowhammer near Tubber on the fringes of the Burren National Park John N Murphy
No comments:
Post a Comment