************************************** Tuesday 3rd March 2020 ***********************************
Our Louth branch invite you to join them for an evening at The Spirit Store, Dundalk to discuss “Yellowhammers:Their Ecology and conservation by Peter Phillips”
The yellowhammer is a colourful member of the bunting family and, as its name suggests, its plumage is dominated by yellow. Males in particular are a very striking bright yellow, and in breeding plumage can appear almost canary–like, but with narrow black lines around the eyes and cheeks and a rustier breast. Females are much duller than the males, but are still obviously yellow, with brown face markings and brown streaking on the body, while juveniles tend to be a streaky brown with very little yellow showing. They can however be separated from most small brown birds by their combination of a rich chestnut rump and white outer tail feathers. The main cause for the yellowhammer’s plummeting numbers is the intensification of agriculture and the dramatic decline in arable and mixed farmland (more than 91% of Irish farmland is now under grass). Other contributory factors are the destruction and over-management of our hedgerows, and the widespread use of herbicides to kill weeds, robbing seed-eating birds like the yellowhammer of their natural winter food supply.
