THE
PEOPLE'S MILLENNIUM FORESTS : EVENTS
WOODLAND
BIRDS AND ANIMALS:
Many
woodland creatures are shy or nocturnal, coming out only at night.
The woods may seem empty when you visit them but if you are silent
and listen carefully, you may hear the calls of the birds or see
the tracks of animals.
Woodland
birds include the owl, sparrow hawk, treecreeper, wood warbler,
woodcock, crossbill and jay. The jay - a member of the crow family
- is a large, noisy, grey bird with pink and blue colouration,
and has recently been found in parts of the west of Ireland where
it was absent heretofore.
The
most common woodland owl is the long-eared owl. This has bright
orange eyes, an orangy face and long tufts on its head. The treecreeper
hops up tree trunks using its long, thin bill to catch insects.
The woodcock is coloured different shades of brown that make very
good camouflage. The wood warbler, a rare bird, is bright green
and yellow and sings tseep-tseep followed by a trill.
The
beak of the crossbill is crossed to allow it to eat the seeds
of conifers. The sparrow hawk is a bird of prey that swoops down
to catch wood pigeons and other small creatures.
Red squirrels, badgers, hedgehogs, pine martens, shrews and bats
are all woodland animals.
Is
the bat an animal or a bird? Although it flies, it is really a
mammal, that is, it suckles its young. Dracula films have given
bats a bad name but they are small, delicate creatures that sleep
upside down in sheltered areas and rarely interact with people
directly.
The
red squirrel and the pine marten are expert tree climbers. The
red squirrel lives almost entirely in the trees. The pine marten
is the only hunter that can catch a squirrel in the treetops.
Badgers
live underground in setts that they dig out with their big paws.
Everyone knows the hedgehog rolls into a ball and sticks out its
spines when scared. Be careful how you touch it! Shrews look like
tiny mice with long noses but they belong to a separate species
of insect eaters and are Irelands' smallest mammals.
Back
