Horizons

Listen to the early birds: One of nature's greatest sounds, the dawn chorus, is celebrated by wildlife conservation groups in many countries at the beginning of May. In Ireland, on Sunday, May 15th, Birdwatch Ireland invites adults and children (no pets allowed) to join them in greeting the dawn chorus in various parks, woods and gardens around the country.

Locations include Ardgillan House, Balbriggan (meet in the car park at 5.30am), Newbridge House, Donabate, Co Dublin (meet in the car park at 5.30am), Marlay Park, Rathfarnham (meet in the Grange Road car park at 4am), Burren National Park (meet at Grotto, Corofin at 5am), NUIG Dangan Sportsgrounds, Galway (meet in the car park at 5am), Glendalough, Co Wicklow (meet in the upper lake car park at 5am). For list of other dawn chorus events, see www.birdwatchireland.ie and www.idcd.info

Keeping up with the bees

Honey is the only food which doesn't need any digestion in the body, ie it is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. Almost all bacteria dies when it comes into contact with honey, thus making it a valuable healing substance as well as a tasty thing to eat.

Philip McCabe, president of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Association, will discuss these and other facts about honey bees and their effect on mankind in a talk at Airfield Trust, Upper Kilmacud Road, Dundrum, on Tuesday at 8pm. Admission to the lecture is €8. For booking, tel: 01-2984301; email: booking@airfield.ie

The Federation of Irish Beekeeping Associations will also host the World Conference of Beekeepers - Apimondia 2005 in the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin on August 21st-26th.

A taste of tradition

Féile na Tuaithe is a two-day festival celebrating traditional Irish crafts and food producers on May 14th and 15th at the Museum of Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Central to the event is a traditional market with home baking, glasswork, woodwork, baskets, cheese, fish, chocolate and Fairtrade produce. The lecture programme includes a talk by Peter Cowman from the Living Architecture Centre on the sustainability of the traditional Irish cottage on Saturday at 3.30pm and another by Pat Malone from the Irish Seedsavers' Association on creating an orchard on Sunday at 3.30pm. Admission is free to all events but booking is required for the lectures. Tel: 094-9031773 for more details.

Watching the whales

Congratulations to Conor Ryan and Peter Wilson from Cobh who have just received the inaugural award for amateur naturalists/young professional naturalists in the Irish Naturalists' Journal. The two teenagers carried out a six-week study of the movements of the killer whales (Orcinus orca L) in Cork Harbour in June and July 2001, and described in detail the behaviour of the whales, including diving, cooperative hunting, feeding, inquisitive behaviour, spy hopping and tail slapping. More details of the Irish Naturalists' Journal from its chairman, Dr Brian Rushton, School of Environmental Science, University of Ulster, Coleraine. Email: BS.Rushton@ulster.ac.uk