the sappers mark

As we come to the end of autumn, reflections on October. Mushrooms, migrants and more.AcknowledgementsSeán Lysaght for discussion on Irish names for redwing and fieldfareRedwing, Paul Kelly, XC1083947. Accessible at https://www.xeno-canto.org/1083947  Whooper Swans, Paul Kelly, XC1086575. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/1086575  River effects at https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07044052

The Irish for September is Mean Fomhair, meaning middle autumn or middle harvest.  What can we see this month that makes it September and not another month? AcknowledgementsPhil BarnettRobin - Molly Bell, XC986244. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/986244 Swift - Molly Bell, XC924454. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/924454 Swallow - Paul Kelly, XC1017558. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1017558 Swallow - Paul Kelly, XC1017558. Accessible at Robin Irish Wildlife Sounds, XC621371. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/621371. Willow Warbler - Colm Philpott. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/1133423. John Keats - To Autumn

As summer draws to a close, the swifts will soon disappear south, which makes this the right moment to close season 2 of Stopping By Hedgerows with an episode devoted to them.AcknowledgementsSwift Conservation Ireland - https://www.swiftconservation.ie/Lough Carra Catchment Association https://loughcarra.org/SwiftsMolly Bell, XC924454. Accessible at https://www.xeno-canto.org/924454  Mr Mark Shorten, XC574312. Accessible at https://www.xeno-canto.org/574312 https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=NHU05100172SwallowsPaul Kelly, XC1017558. Accessible at https://www.xeno-canto.org/1017558 House MartinPaul Kelly, XC737839. Accessible at https://www.xeno-canto.org/737839

Neighbours that I often take for granted, but in this podcast I give some time to consider crows.AcknowledgementsClaudia Wascher, The mind of a crow https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/cambridge-festival-the-mind-of-a-crow#:~:text=As%20a%20result%2C%20corvids%20have%20evolved%20a,using%20deceptive%20approaches%20that%20obscure%20their%20intentions.Bird, C. D., & Emery, N. J. (2009). "Insightful problem solving and creative tool modification by captive nontool-using rooks." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 106(25), 10370–10375.Bird, C. D., & Emery, N. J. (2009). "Rooks use stones to solve the Aesop's fable story." Current Biology, 19(16), 1410–1414.Anil Ananthaswamy⁠: Ravens can plan for future as well as 4-year-old children can ⁠https://www.newscientist.com/article/2140668-ravens-can-plan-for-future-as-well-as-4-year-old-children-can/RecordingsRooksColm Philpott, XC1027679. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/1027679Colm Philpott, XC995276. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/995276Irish Wildlife Sounds, XC647763. Accessible at  https://xeno-canto.org/647763Oscar Campbell, XC669774. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/669774Hooded crowIrish Wildlife Sounds, XC647763. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/723068 Hooded crows flying to roost: https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=NHU05104073 JackdawColm Philpott, XC1092962. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/1092962 RavenIrish Wildlife Sounds, XC735515. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/735515Colm Philpott, XC1164860. Accessible at https://xeno-canto.org/1164860Sillage cutting https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=NHU05005011 

A walk of a thousand paces, part nature observation, part a mythology of my own creation. Looking at the landscape through a different lens. AcknowledgementsMy thanks to Phil Barnett, Louise Mee and Micki Colbeck, whose generous reading improved this piece.This piece was deeply inspired by the Metrical Dindshenchas, a text compiled between the 11th and 14th centuries that records Ireland’s much older oral traditions.  https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500C.html This episode draws inspiration from the Songlines of the Australian First Nations peoples, the oldest continuous narrative geography on Earth. I acknowledge their custodianship of a landscape where every path carries a living voice. https://deadlystory.com/page/culture/Life_Lore/Songlines Acknowledgement is also given to the enduring creation narratives of the Haida Nation, who celebrate the figure of Raven, the masterful trickster whose curiosity coaxed humanity into being from a simple clamshell.  https://moa.ubc.ca/2020/01/the-raven-and-the-first-men-from-conception-to-completion/ Ethiopia, women washing at a well.  https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07015046Flowing river. https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=07031097 Wind. https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=NHU05012151 Raven. https://xeno-canto.org/346231 Wren alarm call. https://xeno-canto.org/692833 Song Thrush. https://xeno-canto.org/1082934 Stone Chat. https://xeno-canto.org/1135845 Chiffchaff. https://xeno-canto.org/566729 Willow Warbler. https://xeno-canto.org/1133423Cuckoo. https://xeno-canto.org/653108 Long-tailed Tit. https://xeno-canto.org/1080201 Buzzard. https://xeno-canto.org/510736 Badger. https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search?q=NHU05079106

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