Spring is arriving earlier each year and it is turning the tight relationships between birds, trees and insects on their head.

The amount of change is significant, said Dr Alison Donnelly of Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for the Environment. Beech trees growing on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, now begin breaking leaf a full month earlier than they did 40 years ago, she said.

Birds that migrate from the sub-Sahara now tend to arrive about seven days earlier than in the past, including the common cuckoo, bard swallow and sand martin. But this is late compared to their main food source, the insects, whose numbers rocket weeks earlier as they feed on sap delivered by the opening leaves.

Have you spotted any anomalous bird, insect or tree behaviour?

All ‘What the hell is up with this bird/insect/tree, Broadsheet?’ sightings to: broadsheet@broadsheet.ie

Warm Spring Upsets Links Between Birds, Insects And Trees (Irish Times)

pic

 

Eircom Boss Steps Down For ‘Personal Reasons’ (Donal O’Donovan, Irish Independent)

Meanwhile, an excellent point…

 

Howzat.

A perfectly-timed shot at the cricket ground in Trinity College, Dublin, about an hour ago.

This could be one of the great Summers.

Thanks Barry Keane

UPDATE: It didn’t happen today. As commenter Minderbinder points out, it’s from June 2011. The pic below was taken by our man Oisin at 4.40 this afternoon. Compare and contrast the trees.

Apologies to all. It could still be one of the great Summers though.

Today the state has been ordered to buy Irish Life for €1.3 billion off state-owned Irish Life & Permanent.

Last November we were told potential buyers had been scared off fearing reputational damage and fines arising from the hooky €7.2bn back-to-back loans by IL&P to Anglo.

A promised investigation by the Central Bank also posed a potential headache for our old friend Kevin Cardiff.

So, will today’s sale stop the probe?

Answers to the usual address.

(Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)

Broadsheet.ie