Sphagnum Moss
Welcome to 2024’s Creature Calendar
Our gardens are a vital resource for wildlife, providing corridors of green space between open countryside, allowing species to move about. In fact, gardens across the UK provide more space for nature than all the National Nature Reserves put together. So why not try to improve your garden for wildlife by planting native plants and trees, providing some water
and shelter, letting some areas grow wild or installing nest boxes? Recording wildlife is also important, why not get out and about in 2024 and let us know what you see? You can find out more at www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/biodiversity
Sphagnum Moss Puffin Nicknamed ‘sea parrots’ - and sometimes ‘clowns of the sea’! - Atlantic puffins have black and white feathers and a large parrotlike beak. They are small seabirds measuring around 25cm in length. Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming. A puffin’s beak (or bill) changes colour during the year. In winter, the beak has a dull grey colour, but in spring it blooms with an outrageous orange! It’s thought that the bright colour helps puffins assess potential mates. Puffins are fab flyers, flapping their wings up to 400 times a minute and speeding through the air at up to 88km an hour. Wow! What’s more, these brilliant birds are great swimmers, too! Using their webbed feet as a rudder, puffins can dive down 60m under water in search of fish.
When starting a puffin family, they dig out a burrow using their sharp claws and beak, usually in a grassy bank or rocky crevice. At the back of their burrow home, they build a nest lined with feathers and grass where the female lays her egg. Both parents take it in turn to incubate the egg for the next 36-45 days before the baby puffling hatches! For more information visit: www.rspb.org.uk and remember to get involved in the Big Garden Bird Watch at the end of the month, from from 26 - 28 January. Find out more here: www.rspb.org.uk
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Colour and decorate me to show everyone why I get called ‘the clown of the sea’!
Sphagnum Moss Hedgehog Hedgehogs will be coming out of hibernation soon. Hedgehogs usually hibernate from November through to mid-March, but they can sometimes be seen out and about during this period changing nesting sites.
of leaves for them to hibernate in, and by gardening organically pesticides such as slug pellets are very harmful for hedgehogs.
Hedgehogs eat beetles, caterpillars, earthworms and slugs, so can be a real help to gardeners. Did you know hedgehogs can travel around one mile every night through our parks and gardens to find food and a mate? So, if you have an enclosed garden you might be getting in the way of their plans!
If you see a hedgehog that looks unwell it might need a helping hand. Sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs are susceptible to hypothermia. Staggering is a sign of hypothermia and so is ‘sunbathing’ as they spread themselves out in the sun in an attempt to get some heat into their bodies.
You can help in your own garden by creating a hedgehog hole in your garden fence to create one big hedgehog highway, building a hedgehog home or leaving piles
For more information visit: www.hedgehogstreet.org
For more information visit: www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/ found-a-hedgehog
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Draw around your hand to finish my spines
Sphagnum Moss Grey Seal Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are the larger of the two UK seal species. In fact, grey seals are the largest land breeding mammal in the United Kingdom, with males weighing up to 300kg. The grey seal can be distinguished from the UK’s other seal species, the common seal, by its larger size and longer head. If you can get a close up view you can spot further distinguishing characteristics, with the grey seal nostrils being parallel, rather than v-shaped as in common seals. This might be a clue as to how they got their scientific name Halichoerus grypus – meaning hook-nosed sea pig!
Grey seals around our coasts will spend most of their time at sea, in search of prey. Yet they come ashore in the autumn to form breeding colonies on rocky shores, beaches and on small largely uninhabited islands. Look out for these large sea mammals when visiting Brown’s Bay Beach or Portmuck Harbour in Islandmagee. Did you know the young are called ‘pups’ and you can adopt a seal pup by visiting: www.explorisni.com/ seal-adoption
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List as many words that rhyme with ‘Seal’ as possible: 1. Deal
Sphagnum Moss Barn owl Barn owls can be spotted at any time of the year and have a distinctive white heart-shaped face and black eyes. They are mainly nocturnal but on still, moonlit evenings you might be able to spot a barn owl hunting over field edges and roadside verges. Barn owls hunt for small mammals, such as house mice and wood mice, making them a great friend to farmers and homeowners alike. Did you know barn owls don’t actually hoot, they screech? So, throughout history, barn owls have been known by many different nicknames, such as ‘screech owl’ ‘ghost owl’ and ‘church owl’. The barn owl is one of Northern Ireland’s most iconic species but unfortunately one of the most endangered, with less than 50 breeding pairs estimated to be left in Northern Ireland.
One of the reasons is lack of suitable nesting sites. With the help of local schools we have installed three custom built barn owl boxes across the Borough for these beautiful birds, and continue to monitor them. The barn owl is now one of our rarest and most endangered birds, red-listed on the Irish Birds of Conservation Concern and protected under the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985. Nest sites are protected all year round even if they are not in use. If you see a barn owl please report it, this will add to valuable research. For more information visit: www.ulsterwildlife.org/barnowl
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Wordsearch
Bee Bird Whale Hedgehog Bug Squirrel Barn Owl Hermit Crab
B E R L W H A L E B A S A V J G D Q F E R L Z B U W B M U E N O E B H B I B O B O B S Q U I R R E L W R S U K Y D X I B L N C A I G L O U E G G O H E G D E H B I J Q S U T N X Z O H E R M I T C R A B
Sphagnum Moss Bees There are hundreds of bees in Northern Ireland including bumblebees, honeybees and solitary bees. Bees are very important for the environment and for people too, and have recently been declared the most important living beings on earth. Did you know pollinators are essential for the production of food and contribute an estimated £1.8bn to the UK’s farming economy every year? Bee numbers have dramatically declined by almost 90% in the last few years. The uncontrolled use of pesticides, deforestation and lack of flowers are the main reasons for their extinction. We are working to raise awareness of bees and provide habitat by planting large urban wildflower meadows. Our meadows are sown with native wildflower seed
mix including corn poppy, ox-eye daisy and field scabious, which are all brilliant for bees. You can help bees in your own garden by eliminating pesticide use, letting a few areas go wild, and by planting pollinator friendly plants. Bees need a wide range of plants that flower from spring to autumn to feed from. These include alyssum, cornflower, sunflower, michaelmas daisy and sweet william for nectar in summer; bluebells, rosemary, geranium and honeysuckle in spring; and ivy can provide food in early and late parts of the year. A full list of plants that bees will love is available at: www.rhs.org.uk
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Crossword
Across Across 1 What sound do I make? (4)
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2 What 1 What sounddo doI make? I make?(5) (4) 3 What am I? (3) 2 What do I make? (5) 3 What am I?pattern (3) 4 What is on my back? (6) 4 What pattern is on my back? (6)
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1 Where do I live? (7) 1 Where do Iruns live?our (7) house? (5) 5 Who 5 Who runs our house? (5) 6 What shape are honey cones? (7) 6 What shape are honey cones? (7)
Answers: 1 Buzz, 2 Honey, 3 Down, Bee, 4 Stripe, Down, 1 Beehive, 5 Queen, 6 Hexagon Answers: Across, 1 Buzz, Across, 2 Honey, 3 Bee, 4 Stripe, 1 Beehive, 5 Queen, 6 Hexagon
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Sphagnum Moss Corncrake Although they’re related to coots and moorhens, you won’t see a corncrake near water. In fact, you probably won’t ever see one at all, as they’re notoriously sneaky birds that spend their summers skulking around patches of nettles in remote parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. But if you’re in the right place at the right time, you’re almost guaranteed to hear one, as they sing their loud and persistent ‘crex crex!’ calls both day and night.
Corncrakes are only in the UK for a few months and spend the winter with elephants in the Congo! Because they’re so hard to see, they’re counted as ‘calling males’ during nocturnal surveys. Enjoy a walk in the countryside and you may be lucky and hear their call.
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Spot the 5 differences
Sphagnum Moss Butterfly Northern Ireland is home to around 25 species of butterfly including peacock, ringlet, greenveined white, meadow brown and orange tip. Butterflies live in a wide range of habitat including meadows, grasslands, forests, hedgerows, parks, gardens, sand dunes and sea cliffs.
butterflies as well as other mini-beasts such as beetles and spiders.
Your garden, no matter how small, can help butterflies by offering supplies of nectar. Butterflies particularly love buddleia, lavender, marjoram and verbena - why not plant some in your garden or in pots on your windowsill?
Great places to go on a butterfly hunt in the Borough include Diamond Jubilee Wood Whitehead, Carnfunnock Country Park and Peoples Park Ballymena. Bring a picnic, make a day of it and share your photos on social media using #MEAdventures.
You can also help butterflies by using peat-free compost and not using pesticides - they kill
Almost half of our butterflies are priority species so all data recorded is important. Find out more and report your sightings at: www.bigbutterflycount.org
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Colour by numbers
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Sphagnum Moss Bat Did you know there are over 1,300 types of bat in the world but only 8 bat species are native to Northern Ireland? All of our bats are small, shy, harmless mammals. The smallest, the pipistrelle, weighs as little as a 2p coin and is known to gobble up more than 500 insects in an hour! Blind as a bat? Contrary to what some people believe, bats are not blind and in fact are believed to have better eyesight than most humans. The best time to see bats is at dusk on warm and dry summer evenings. International Bat Night occurs on the last Saturday in August each year and is a great opportunity to get out and look for
these fascinating mammals. Some great places to see bats are Ecos Nature Park, Galgorm Wood and Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen. How many can you see or indeed hear? To really experience the bat’s world it’s worth borrowing a special detector to hear the highfrequency clicks and buzzes of bats using echolocation to hunt. Bats and their roosts are protected by law in the UK and Ireland as they are vulnerable to disturbance. This means it is a crime for someone to hurt or kill a bat, or to destroy their roost. For more information you can visit The Northern Ireland Bat Group: www.bats-ni.org.uk
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Dot-to-dot
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Sphagnum Moss Red squirrel The red squirrel is one of our most iconic mammals immortalised as ‘squirrel nutkin’ by Beatrix Potter. Red squirrels play an important role in regenerating woodlands as they bury nuts and seeds which grow into future trees that sustain a host of native woodland dwellers such as pine martens and jays. Red squirrels eat a variety of seeds, nuts, funghi, bark, buds and berries. Red squirrels do not hibernate, in very cold weather they will stay in their nests for a day or two, but they cannot survive for longer periods without food. The red squirrel is believed to have been present in Ireland since the end of the last Ice Age but unfortunately they are currently in decline. Did you know grey squirrels are a major threat to the survival of the red squirrel
population? Greys are larger than reds and can out-compete them for food, and also carry a viral disease (Parapox virus) which can be fatal to reds if transmitted. North-east Antrim has one of the largest number of red squirrel only areas in Northern Ireland. Red squirrels were recently reintroduced to Carnfunnock Country Park and are also present at Straidkilly Nature Reserve in Glenarm. Seeing a flash of red for the first time is a very special moment and something that everybody should experience – and now you can! Autumn is the best time to see them as there are fewer leaves on the trees, making them easier to spot as they gather food ahead of the winter. Why not take a walk and see what you can see?
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Colour me in
Sphagnum Moss Turtle Dove The turtle dove is a small pigeon, just a little bit smaller than the collared dove. Its upperparts are distinctively mottled with chestnut and black, and its black tail has a white edge. Turtle doves are migratory, heading off to Africa in the winter, flying over 5000 miles to get there. When they arrive in the UK in spring, they build nests in hedgerows and scrub and wellwooded parks. They prefer thorny species, such as hawthorn, and will often build nests among climbers, including honeysuckle. They eat seeds, and feed on the ground in weedy areas or in the short stubble after a harvest. Adults feed on cereal and wildflower seeds but feed their young pigeon milk
- a regurgitated, milky substance from a food-storage organ called a crop. The Turtle Dove’s gentle purr is an evocative sound of summer but has become increasingly rare following rapid and sustained population declines. One cause of the decline is thought to be lack of seed and grain during the breeding season, resulting in a much shorter breeding season with fewer nesting attempts. A good place to look out for turtle doves are our Parks and Open Spaces, such as Bashfordsland Wood in Carrickfergus.
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In the festive song ‘12 days of Christmas’, how many Turtle Doves were given? Illustrate below:
Round Leafed Sphagnum Moss Sundew
Sundews (Drosera rotundifolia) are one of the most fascinating plants found on our shores, commonly found on heathland, peatland, and bogs, nestled in sphagnum moss or at the edge of wet pools and muddy edges. These wonderful little plants can often be overlooked due to their small stature and unassuming nature. Sundews are one of only a handful of carnivorous plants found in the UK and Ireland and it’s this fact that makes them so interesting. These plants are often found in nutrient poor soils so have adapted to overcome this by trapping insects and digesting them to top up their reserves. The green and red leaves of the Sundew are tipped with beautiful red spiked tendrils that have a
sticky ‘dew drop’ like end, these dew drops glisten in the sun and are attractive to passing insects. This dew is a very sticky substance and helps trap these insects, the long tendrils then begin to curl around and ensnare the insect, eventually the entire leaf will close over, and enzymes are released to allow the plant to digest the insect. It’s the Sundews incredible ability to lure that helped it gain a reputation as a love charm! These wonderful plants are commonplace in the Antrim Hills, in the Garron Plateau near Dungonnell reservoir where there are large expanses of blanket bog and can often be found glistening in the early morning sunshine.
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Draw some bugs for us to snack on!
Sphagnum Moss Smooth Newt Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) are one of only two native species of amphibians found in Northern Ireland, they are afforded legal protection and due to their vulnerable status, they are a Northern Ireland priority species. Smooth newts are easily identified being seven to eleven centimetres long, dark grey/brown in colour, with small black spots and orangecoloured bellies. Although often referred to as common newt this couldn’t be further from the truth and like so much of our wildlife, they are sadly no longer common. The main reason for this decline is a lack of suitable habitat, with smooth newts requiring ponds and pools for breeding, then feeding on invertebrates in wet tussocky
grassland, hedgerows, and marshy ground. Later in the year smooth newts will hibernate under wet logs, rocks, etc. There are a number of ways in which you can help newts, ranging from very simple like leaving an area of your garden, big or small, a little less tidy, longer grass, fallen logs, wet corners are all excellent habitat for newts and can help make a real difference. To the larger options like creating a wildlife pond this doesn’t have to be very big to encourage newts and there are lots of handy guides online. Although newts are declining one great place to spot them is Keeran Moss, recent habitat management works carried out by RSPB NI CLMS has helped create several pools of varying size all excellent for the smooth newt.
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Colour me in
For more information Sphagnum Moss For more information on the wonderful wildlife in the borough visit our website by following the link below.
www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk/biodiversity
T: 028 9335 8233
E: biodiversity@midandeastantrim.gov.uk