Fálta Sceach

Hedgerow

We can all see the removal and the cutting back of hedgerows in the Irish countryside. This makes for more efficient farming but creates problems for the birds, animals and insects who made their homes there.

Courtesy of Pete Birch

Hedgerow
Courtesy of Pete Birch

Hedgerow

We can all see the removal and the cutting back of hedgerows in the Irish countryside. This makes for more efficient farming but creates problems for the birds, animals and insects who made their homes there.

Courtesy of Pete Birch

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Fálta Sceach

Tagann beocht sna fálta sceach san Earrach, nuair a líonann an draighneáin an tírdhreach le bláthanna, agus na héin ag cosaint a gcuid críocha go glórmhar don séasúr póraithe. Rinneadh tromlach na bhfálta in Éirinn a phlandáil sa naoú haois déag, cé go bhfuil cuid áirithe a théann chomh fada siar leis na meánaoiseanna.

Tá toir dheilgneacha cosúil le sceach gheal, draighneáin agus cuileann ar na toir is coitianta sna fálta sceach, cé go bhfuil pribhéad, coll, fearsaid agus caor chon le fáil iontu chomh maith. Tá eidhneán a dhreapann trí fhálta go maith d’éin agus ialtóga ar an bhfara, agus tá na caora dubha ar cineál bia amháin atá ar fáil d’éin le linn mhíonna ganna an gheimhridh.

Tá fálta sceach fíorthábhachtach mar ‘chonairí éiceolaíochta’, a cheanglaíonn paistí gnáthóige eile cosúil le coillearnacha agus bogaigh, agus ceadú don fhiadhúlra gluaiseacht tríd na tuaithe. Déanann siad leathadh galair ó fheirm go feirm a chosc chomh maith.

Fruits of the Hawthorn

Carsten Krieger

Fruits of the Hawthorn
Carsten Krieger

Fruits of the Hawthorn

Carsten Krieger

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Hedgerows

Hedges come to life in spring, when blackthorn fills the landscape with blossom, and songbirds noisily guard territory for the breeding season. Most of Ireland’s hedges were planted in the 1800s, although some date back to medieval times.

Thorny shrubs such as whitethorn (also called hawthorn), blackthorn and holly are the most familiar hedgerow shrubs, while privet, hazel, spindle and guelder-rose are also found. Ivy climbing up through hedges is good for roosting birds and bats, and its black berries are one of the only foods available to birds during the lean winter months.

Hedgerows are very important as ‘ecological corridors’, connecting other patches of habitat such as woodlands and wetlands, and allowing wildlife to move through the countryside. They also prevent the spread of disease from farm to farm.