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Irish Times
3 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Birdwatching in Ireland has changed remarkably in the past century and a quarter – for good and bad
One hundred and twenty-five years ago this year, a seminal book was published with the simple title The Birds of Ireland. Its authors, Richard J Ussher and Robert Warren, had produced the first systematic account of all birds known in Ireland up to the end of the 19th century. The results of their extensive research show a stark contrast with the birdlife found in Ireland today. The book was published in 1900, when Ireland was slowly recovering from the shock of the Great Famine some 50 years earlier. Poverty was widespread and most people still scraped a living from small patches of farmland. Ussher however, was from the landed class. His family home near Dungarvan , Co Waterford, was at the centre of a large estate that he had inherited from his father. Warren was a keen birdwatcher living in Co Mayo and they were both part of the Victorian craze for recording rare species and collecting specimens. In fact, Ussher had been a passionate egg collector in his youth and his unique collection of more than 4,000 eggs, together with many whole nests, is held by the National Museum of Ireland today. By the late 1800s he had turned to more scientific activities and was carrying on an extensive correspondence with bird enthusiasts, hunters and landowners all over the country, collecting information on every bird species that had been recorded to date. Most of this correspondence Ussher's and field notebooks are in the collections of the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin where they can be accessed online . READ MORE Principally written by Ussher, the book was based on his extensive field research and that of his correspondents. It included, for the first time, tables covering the status and distribution of all bird species in every county of Ireland. It is remarkable how much change there has been in the status of some birds over the period since he undertook this monumental work. [ Identify Ireland's most common garden birds – with pictures and sound Opens in new window ] Farming became increasingly mechanised in the 1950s and 1960s. A switch from haymaking to silage allowed mowing to take place earlier and more frequently in the summer. More artificial fertiliser was applied to farmland to produce faster-growing grass and crops with a higher yield. This permitted much more intensive grazing pressure and higher densities of livestock. A side effect of the more intensive cultivation and the use of chemicals was a decline in the farmland insects and soil invertebrates, with consequent impacts on insectivorous birds. All of this rapid habitat loss was reflected in dramatic changes in the populations of some bird species recorded by Ussher. The corncrake was described as 'common and widespread' in 1900 but had become confined to a few offshore islands and coastal fringes of the northwest a century later. The corn bunting was common right around the coast in 1900 but became extinct as a breeding species in Ireland in the 20th century. The corncrake was 'common and widespread' in Ireland in 1900 Twite, which was breeding in two-thirds of the country in 1900 and described as 'locally common', is now known in just 1 per cent of Ireland. Ring ouzel, now considered to be functionally extinct here, was present in two-thirds of the country in 1900 and seen in 'every quarter of Ireland'. Yellowhammer, now on the red list of birds of conservation concern, was 'very common everywhere' at that time. By contrast, some bird species have markedly increased in Ireland since the time of Ussher and Warren. The fulmar, which was described as 'a rare and accidental visitor' in 1900, first bred in Ireland in 1913 and rapidly spread around the coast, nesting on steep cliffs. [ How to build a bird-friendly garden Opens in new window ] One positive change for seabirds was the cessation of hunting and collecting of eggs from cliffs, which allowed some species, such as gannet, then breeding 'in only two colonies in the southwest', to recolonise numerous areas on the east and west coasts. The buzzard had already become extinct in 1900 when it was described as just a 'casual visitor'. Since the 1970s it has recolonised and gradually spread across the whole country, helped by a reduction in poisoning and persecution. [ Nearly 250 white-tailed eagle chicks released into wild via Kerry scheme Opens in new window ] For the little egret there were 'three records only' in 1900 but this species has become extremely common and widespread today, and often breeds in mixed colonies with the grey heron. Similarly, the great spotted woodpecker colonised Ireland naturally in the early 21st century, having been just a 'rare casual visitor in winter' a century earlier. If Ussher was birdwatching today, he would hardly believe his eyes. Richard Nairn is an ecologist and author whose latest book is Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland. Ella McSweeney returns later this month
Time of India
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
How the Trump administration uses a flawed DHS report to justify sweeping US education visa restrictions
The Trump administration has used a report by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement new restrictions on immigration and international student visas. The DHS overstay report, which is published annually, has been cited as justification for a travel ban issued on June 4, 2025, and is expected to support further proposed restrictions targeting student visa holders. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now According to a National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) analysis, the DHS overstay report does not contain actual overstay rates, but rather upper-bound estimates of individuals whose departures from the US could not be verified. Despite this, the administration has relied on the report to enforce bans on immigration and student entries from 19 countries. Overstay figures include inaccurate and outdated records The DHS report includes individuals who have overstayed their visas as well as those whose departures were not recorded. Demographer Robert Warren explained that the figures include "both actual overstays and unrecorded departures," as quoted by Forbes. The DHS itself acknowledges that some individuals listed as overstays may have departed the country or changed their legal status but are still classified as overstays in the report. In some cases, the report lists people as overstays due to data matching issues. As time passes, DHS systems often update and correctly identify these individuals as having lawfully remained in or departed from the US. For instance, the "suspected in-country overstay" rate for student and exchange visitors at the start of FY 2023 was 3.5%. Fifteen months later, this figure dropped by 42%, to 2.03%, as reported by Forbes. International students misclassified and misrepresented The DHS report also overstates figures due to individuals changing immigration status within the US. These include people who married US citizens, applied for asylum, received Temporary Protected Status, or obtained lawful permanent residence. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In one example, cited by Forbes, a protest leader named Mahmoud Khalil was arrested under the assumption that he was on a student visa, though he had already become a lawful permanent resident through marriage. In the FY 2023 report, overstay rates for students from several countries were based on small numbers. Cuba and Burundi had only 24 alleged overstays, and Laos had just 12. Despite the minimal figures, these countries were included in the travel ban. Fluctuating data cited to justify proposed visa rule changes The Trump administration is expected to use the DHS report to support a proposed rule to eliminate the "duration of status" policy for students and exchange visitors, replacing it with a fixed time period. A similar rule was proposed in 2020. According to Forbes, the 2020 proposal would limit stays to two years for students from countries with a student overstay rate above 10%. However, NFAP notes that these overstay rates vary significantly from year to year. For example, Kenya's overstay rate dropped by 40% between FY 2022 and FY 2023, while Rwanda's rate fell by 44% over the same period. This inconsistency makes it difficult to use the figures for long-term policy decisions, according to data cited by Forbes. Travel ban based on inconsistent and inflated data The June 4, 2025 travel ban applies to 19 countries. Twelve are fully restricted from obtaining US immigrant and temporary visas, while seven face partial restrictions. As reported by Forbes, the proclamation cited overstay rates as a reason for the ban, even though many of the individuals listed had either left the country or changed their status lawfully. NFAP found that more than 70 countries not included in the travel ban had higher student overstay rates than some of the banned countries, including Iran and Venezuela. Liberia and Djibouti, for example, had higher B1/B2 visa overstay rates than several nations included in the proclamation. As quoted by Forbes, the NFAP concluded that "the overstay report allowed for a veneer of data to justify predetermined policy decisions." TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us .
CTV News
27-06-2025
- CTV News
Accused is a no show at sentencing hearing on assault and firearms-related offences
The London court house, as seen on Nov. 4, 2024. (Bailey Shakyaver/CTV News London) A 24-year-old man who pleaded guilty to assault and possession of an imitation firearms failed to appear for his sentencing hearing on Friday at the London Courthouse. Randeep Singh entered his guilty pleas in this case in November. He was arrested after a road rage type incident in the Mornington Avenue area in east London in September of 2022. After his arrest, officers executed a search warrant and seized replicas at his home. Singh was ordered and expected to show up for his sentencing hearing and when he didn't, Justice Brian White issued a bench warrant. Singh's lawyer Robert Warren also removed himself from the case and requested to be off the record.
