Poisoned !

 

 Sadly we have another case of a village animal being poisoned by our abundant plantlife, this time a dog which was seen eating something low down  in the grass along the path at the back of the Manor House. Thankfully it survived, though the vet's bill was enormous. Of the seventeen or so plants identifiable along that path the one that stands out as particularly poisonous is the Lords and Ladies, Arum maculatum.  Its bright red berries, though not often consumed, are very posionous and must be avoided.

  Lords and Ladies' Berries. Photo. John Elliott

Also in full bloom along the stream is our other very poisonous plant, Hemlock Water Dropwort, which was responsible for the poisoning of a lamb in the village last year.

Readers of Saturday's Echo will have noted the vet's weekly column which includes a note on this plant-

The most tragic poisoning I have ever treated in my 26 years as a vet was a young Labrador that had eaten Water Hemlock root and developed almost immediate seizures - despite days of intense treatment we were not able to save that dog.

Hemlock Water Dropwort. Photo. John Elliott

 

 

 

 

My Cuckoo flies south.

 

  Cuach Torc.

 The latest bulletin from the BTO.

 After a bit of a hiatus, Irish Cuckoo Cuach Torc is on the move again. He has flown 773 km (480 miles) south from Bosnia & Herzegovina to southern Greece. He has spent the last couple of days in the countryside around the town of Gytheio, on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula. Will he be the next to attempt to cross the Sahara?

 

New Tagged Cuckoo.

 

    Cuach Torc.

 

 Following the untimely death of Cuach Carron, which never managed to leave the area where it was born, I have adopted a new Cuckoo,  Cuach Torc, which comes from southern Ireland, and is now well on its way to its African wintering grounds, Here is the latest bulletin from the BTO.

After about a week on the Adriatic coast close to Ravenna in northern Italy, Cuach Torc has flown 530 km (329 miles) south-east, across the Adriatic Sea.

Having initially made landfall on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, he has since moved further inland into Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He is now nearby the town of Bileca in East Herzegovina, close to the border with Montenegro.