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2018 is the 61st year of long term ecological research in Burrishoole #BurrishooleLTER @MarineInst. I'm going to pin this tweet here and at the end of every month add some phenological happenings 🌿🐛📈🐟💦🦆🦉🦇🕷🍃🌼🌙🌝❄️, including our main jobs. Stay tuned 👇🏼
@MarineInst This will coincide with our monthly staff meetings (last wed of each month) so I can get everyone's observations @FishEcoEvo @elizabethtray3 @B2020project
JANUARY: the low point of the annual DOC (dissolved organic carbon) export from peatlands into the rivers and lakes . Here's a comparison of January and august water colour #BurrishooleLTER 
JANUARY: first daffodils. Admittedly, probably some cultivated Narcissus sp. bred for early flowering.....nevertheless, very pretty
JANUARY: in fish news, our traps have been expectionally quiet for the month, with very few fish moving. Just a couple of jerks moving out to sea, avoiding a resident otter.
Kelts!!!!! Not jerks. Although they may well be little jerks . You never know with a fish. Something to do with their expressionless faces and lack of eyelids 😂😂
JANUARY: for most of the year our automatic lake stations run off solar energy. By Jan, the short days and cold temps means a heavy lifting job to replace them. Each station needs 6 x 12 volt batteries to log continuously every 2 min #burrishooleLTER
JANUARY: main jobs include stripping (removing eggs and milt by hand) salmon and establishing the hatchery populations for sea ranching next year. @MarineInst @FishEcoEvo
JANUARY: once eggs are fertilised, they need some babysitting, especially in the first couple of days when mortalities can be high. Here is Ronan Grealis @FishEcoEvo picking dead eggs out. (Photo, F. Egan)
JANUARY: last years hatchery eggs are this years smolts (migrating as 1+ fish), but a couple of months before they go, they get a coded micro tag injected into their nose . Here's Joe, liz and Ger microtagging @MarineInst @FishEcoEvo @B2020project
FEBRUARY: Its the first of February and the first day of Spring in the Irish calendar so happy Lá Fhéile Bríde #burrishooleLTER
FEBRUARY: Dunnocks singing yesterday and today (thanks Karl Philips @FishEcoEvo @MarineInst . (Photo from rspb) goo.gl/images/jHQyeM
FEBRURY: Snow! Video from @elizabethtray3 on the way down to the @MarineInst Newport #burrishooleLTER
FEBRUARY: Plenty of lovely Salmon parr with well defined parr marks moving through the Srahrevagh river trap (upper catchment) - perhaps on the way to the lower river stretches of the lake for some more nutritious food (photo: Cat Waters @FishEcoEvo ) @MarineInst
FEBRUARY: as well as fish, lots of frogs move through the Srahrevagh river trap. This is the month they are all in the move, looking for 🐸❤️💚💙 and suitable ponds for spawning. Cover the water tanks!
FEBRUARY: new moon 🌘, incoming tide🌊📈 means the start of the glass eels arriving to freshwater after a long migration across the Atlantic 🌎🌍 #burrishooleLTER @LeseurFloriane @B2020project @Mkkl_bio (vid tks to Liz Ryder @FishEcoEvo )
Here's another picture
FEBRUARY: all the 🐸🐸🐸 on the move means lots of new spawn everywhere. Here is the first bit we have seen on the #greatwesterngreenway #phenology @HerpSocIreland
FEBRUARY: longer days mean that sunset over the black lakes coincides with some of us cycling home at 17:30. Beautiful photo (@Mkkl_bio @B2020project)
MARCH: waiting for #stormemma to make an appearance on St. Davids day. No snow so far but it looks like it's on its way
MARCH: #stormemma landed overnight❄️❄️❄️❄️ sneachta
MARCH: perhaps one of our quieter months. The traps are very quiet, kelts have mostly gone, Smolts haven't started yet....pretty chilly in the water (photo from Cat Waters at the Srahrevagh river trap @FishEcoEvo ).
Here's the Srahrevagh river trap also called the Rough river). It's on a second order stream, up behind lough feeagh, and is the site of many excellent common garden #fishsci experiments....#burrishooleLTER fisheye.ucc.ie/publications/
MARCH: eggs that were laid down in January (see Jan thread) are hatching into little alevins this month . (Photo Joseph Cooney)
MARCH: as the weather warms (a little) , reports of bats out and about from Karl @FishEcoEvo and @Sarah_Ryan_AJ ....no coincidence then that this is the first day I noticed midges 😐😐
MARCH: In bird news, three whopper swans went over us today while we were out on Lough Feeagh - getting ready to head back to Iceland - thanks Karl for info, and Ger Rogan for this photo .taken just below the salmon leap #phenologynews
MARCH: and the chaffinchs have strated singing :) :)
*whooper swans (obviously) 🤦🏼♀️
MARCH: not often we see our Campbell-stokes recorder covered in snow (especially in March) but #stormemma and the #beastfromtheast resulted in this beautiful photo from the Newport manual weather station (tks G. Rogan, @MarineInst ) @MetEireann
MARCH: how could I have missed St. Patrick's day ☘️☘️🍀💚💚🇮🇪🇮🇪 when some of the @MarineInst kids take to the Main Street of Newport for the annual parade (photos from @Mkkl_bio )
MARCH: sun is out 🌞🌞along with my camellia
MARCH: 🎶🎶🎵 blackbirds singing in the dead of night 🎶🎵......well at least in the evening time outside the office last week. Wheatears have also arrived in the valley (photos from @BirdWatchIE , info from Karl , our resident bird info supplier 👀)
APRIL: salmon are looking silvery up the catchment , getting ready to move (photo from Cat @FishEcoEvo )
APRIL:Although the cold weather anomaly over Northern Europe is making its presence felt climate.copernicus.eu/resources/data…
APRIL: did I mention lambs? Lambs everywhere this month 🐑🐑
APRIL: along with the lambs come Chiffchaffs singing (photo from @BirdWatchIE , note from K. Phillips)
APRIL: salmon kelts still moving downstream through the Salmon Leap trap, including this 76 cm beautiful MSW female #burrishooleLTER @MarineInst #fishsci @FishSciBot
APRIL: depending on the date the eggs were laid down, salmon in the hatchery have hatched and their individual self contained alevin rations have been almost used up... nearly time for first feeding
APRIL: first willow warbler was heard on Saturday at the Srahrevagh river trap ....and now we have a dedicated #phenology section on our notice board 😀😀
APRIL: first signs of surface warming on Lough feeagh - also the first swim of the year in the lake (my very brave 9 yr old) @NETLAKE @GLEONetwork
APRIL: first swallow spotted in furnace, just in time for our open day today 😀
APRIL: cuckoo calling on the west shore of Lough feeagh 🎶🎵 photo from @BirdWatchIE
APRIL: Atlantic salmon smolts are on the move out to sea . We would expect 5000 - 8000 in a year. This is from about 500 adults spawning in the winter of 2015/2016. freshwater survival is on average 1% in #Burrishoole @MarineInst
MAY: The house martins have arrived! they are currently around the back of the @MarineInst lab making nests - hope to see them out the front shortly. Photo from Karl Philips @FishEcoEvo
MAY: and the beautiful Prrimroses are out everwhere 💐🌼🌼🌼
MAY: first returning salmon of the year, back to Burrishoole to spawn at the end of this year. First of many hopefully. Photo from @MarineInst
MAY: adults coming back, Smolt's going out, some with tags. All hands on deck. Here's the receivers going out in clew bay ready for the smolts going past for @AislingDoogs @MfrcGmit . Tks Joe Cooney for photo #fishsci
MAY: told you it was a busy month! Here are the first lot of hatchery reared salmon fry 🐟🐟going outside to big ponds today. About 10,000 of them in here
MAY: 🕰 for some Lepidoptera 🦋🐛. Here is a beautiful female Emperor moth Saturnia pavonia . They like hanging out on the front steps of the office. Apparently, the males can smell them from 7 miles away!!!#phenology
MAY: time for the hatchery Smolt's to be released into the coastal lagoon, Lough Furnace. Here a great video from @Mkkl_bio @B2020project @MIFundingOffice @MarineInst @cfes_dkit dropbox.com/s/nebam6mbmivd…
MAY: wild sea trout Smolt's also on the move downstream through the salmon leap trap. Not many migratory trout in Burrishoole anymore, so these are precious #burrishooleLTER @MarineInst #fishsci @AST_Salmon
MAY: Butterflies! I think this is either a Small White
(Pieris rapae or Bánóg Bheag) or a Green-veined White (Pieris napi or Bánóg Uaine). Hard to see on this photo (bottom right apple blossom), but they love our crab apple and apple blossom. tks irishbutterflies.com
(Pieris rapae or Bánóg Bheag) or a Green-veined White (Pieris napi or Bánóg Uaine). Hard to see on this photo (bottom right apple blossom), but they love our crab apple and apple blossom. tks irishbutterflies.com
MAY: and with the recording of the butterflies (although they have been around a while), our spring #phenology notebook is complete) . Karl will have to think about what to put on the next one for the summer months @FishEcoEvo
MAY: start of the summer rise in DOC (dissolved organic carbon). After a bit of a dry spell, last nights flood gets DOC moving from the top of the catchment down to the sea (L to R) @PROGNOSproject @MarineInst #LOAC #carbon
MAY: Pat Hughes with the first return of a ranched (hatchery reared) salmon back to the traps. @MarineInst Just in time for the opening of the #burrishoolefishery marine.ie/Home/site-area…
MAY: lots of Chaoborus and big fat Daphnia in Lough Feeagh this month @MarineInst @B2020project @CalderoPM
MAY: we happened to pick the hottest day of the year so far to start the annual macroonvertabrate sample 😎😎🧚🏼♀️ 16th year on 16 index sites around all the #Burrishoole catchment @MarineInst
JUNE: 🌞 is out and so are the moths. Lots of popular hawkmoths looking a bit disorientated. Also this one that looked like a twig until it flew off. What is it called @SteveOrmerod @SteveThackeray ? #moths #phenology #summerishere
JUNE: Lough Feeagh stratification ramping up #BurrishooleLTER @MarineInst @CalderoPM @McCarthy_V @B2020project
JUNE: continuing the both theme, here’s an eyed hawk moth on the wall of the @MarineInst Newport. Thanks Karl Philips for the photo @FishEcoEvo
JUNE: as well as fish, our traps also sometimes catch unfortunate ducklings, separated from their mother. Luckily help was at hand, and Mary, Karl and Patrick reunited the family @MarineInst @FishEcoEvo
JUNE:#stormhector nearly got meromictic L. furnace to overturn, with big spring tides bringing oxic saline water into the hypolimnion. This happens on the rare occasions we get prolonged dry weather #lake365 @GLEONetwork @MarineInst More from Sean Kelly publish.csiro.au/mf/MF17199
JUNE: brings the first anglers to the Burrishoole fishery, which once had a summer catch of >500 grilse and >100 springers when commercial draft nets operated in the 1950s. Great stories in Sean Nixons book. @MarineInst @FishtheNess #fishsci @AST_Salmon
JUNE: brings our @MarineInst summer bursary students to the catchment, to help out with summer jobs and gain valuable work experience @MfrcGmit @NUIG_SNS @QUBBES #lake365
JUNE: the elver trap between Furnace (coastal lagoon) and Feeagh ( freshwater lake) has a fairly regular catch of glass eel / bootlace eel at this time of the year. Heading into freshwater to spend anywhere between 15 and 50 years #BurrishooleLTER #fishsci @MarineInst
JULY: like the rest of the country, we are experiencing NOT NORMAL weather this month, with a dry spell for the last 15 days. I love reading the weather reports from @MetEireann (Newport station is actually @MarineInst Burrishoole) met.ie/recent-warm-we…
JULY: even if salmon wanted to go upstream to freshwater, they wouldn’t be able to through the salmon leap trap #bonedry . Some moving through the mill race though @MarineInst #summer18 #fishsci
JULY: hedgerows smell lovely this time of year with the #honeysuckle everywhere
JULY: taking advantage of the sunny day to do our second round of surface water #methane sampling for the @GLEONetwork #metox project @TonyaDelSontro @MarineInst
JULY: cumulative rainfall this year so far (red) - higher than average (other years in grey 2006-2017) in the first bit of 2018 - dry since mid-May at NewportAWS. For an interesting long term perspective, listen to @cmurphy2904 bit.ly/2LkkqjD @MarineInst @MetEireann
AUGUST: back after an excellent 2 weeks holiday. Here in Burrishoole, it eventually started raining properly on Wed 1st August after a prolonged, unprecedented dry period and now there are fish 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟 everywhere
AUGUST: combining #burrishooleLTER annual electro fishing surveys (28 years running) with density quantification for the experimental section of the Srahrevagh river where several experiments are running. 2 sites down, 41 to go @MarineInst #salmon #trout @FishEcoEvo #fishSci
AUGUST: text book depletion (removal) sampling, lots of lovely trout @MarineInst @FishEcoEvo #fishsci #salmon #trout
AUGUST: this little 1st order stream is one of our LTER juvenile fish index sites. It is packed full of 0+ and 1+ trout, even after the long drought we just had #trout #salmon #LTER #fishsci #freshwater #biodiversity @MarineInst
AUGUST: dinner of mackerel and blackberries as autumn approaches in #Mayo. The mackerel are very close to shore in #clewbay #wildatlanticway #foraging #yummyfood
AUGUST: Fuschia and Monbretia flowering all over the #burrishoole valley . Autumn definitely on its way 😕🍃🍂🌺🌷
AUGUST: the last of the swifts nesting at the office have left. ON their way to tropical Africa now for the winter. ThanksKarl @FishEcoEvo for updating our phenology board
AUGUST: lots of rain=> lots of water=> lots of fish moving upstream. In Burrishoole, we have a run of wild fish and ranched fish. Some ranched fish are kept as broodstock for next year, the rest are culled @MarineInst #fishsci #salmon
AUGUST: a “priest” is used to cull the excess fish. (It’s a big heavy stick). I often wondered where the name came from. Trusty Wikipedia=> The name "priest" comes from the notion of administering the "last rites" to the fish or game. Photos from Pat Nixon @MarineInst
AUGUST: “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”... To Autumn by Keats #rosehip #blackberries, #apples and #crabapples
AUGUST: just like the Swifts, the last of our bursar students are all leaving us this month 👋 Back to their studies in @MfrcGmit @NUIG_SNS @QUBBES and @EnvSc_ITSligo . Many thanks to all of them for the hard work @JoeChambers96, Fearghail, Colin and Louise. @MarineInst
SEPTEMBER: returning salmon are starting to look a little raggedy now....never mind the @MarineInst staff after a loooong summer with lots of fish everywhere 😂😂
SEPTEMBER: yellow salmon to match the very humic (brown) water in the Altahoney river #salmon #fishsci #electrofishing #BurrishooleLTER @MarineInst
SEPTEMBER:.......fieldwork this time of the year is a bit of a challenge, with the 🌧🌧🌧 and the midges . Luckily we have talented and happy co workers to keep the conversation lively. @lucylou1782 and Andrew @WATExR under the midge nets 🙂@MarineInst @FishEcoEvo
SEPTEMBER: European silver eels are starting to move out of Burrishoole (29 this morning), heading to the Sargasso Sea, as #WGEEL2018 @ICES_ASC @eifaac meet in poland to discuss the current stock status @estitxu_diaz @EvaThorstad @alanwal50912551 @MarineInst #burrishooleLTER
SEPTEMBER: #StormAli mixing it up a bit earlier than usual🌪💨🌪🌊 on Lough Feeagh #burrishooleLTER @MarineInst purple is water temp at 42m, olive green at 32m, bright green at 27m @MANTEL_ITN @B2020project @231Harriet @JorritMesman @jondoubek
SEPTEMBER: busy in the Smolt unit grading fish to take out small fish that aren’t likely to smolt next year @MarineInst @FishEcoEvo Tks Fintan for the photos #fishsci #aquaculture #smolts #BurrishooleLTER
SEPTEMBER: Feeagh is fully mixed, ready for another winter of an #isothermal water column #BurrishooleLTER . usually happens in October, but the windy weather last week sped things along
SEPTEMBER: here is the wind that mixed the lake...as demonstrated by our resident human Kite Karl @FishEcoEvo. Thanks @Mkkl_bio @B2020project for the video. Top wind speed that day was 67 knots (124 km/hr) at the Newport AMS on 19th sep, during #stormAli gph.is/2NHSKKZ
OCTOBER: time for some remodeling of our hatchery, to make way for an experimental #recirculation system for fast growing of salmon Smolts @MarineInst #fishsci @BordIascMhara #fishsci #aquaculture
OCTOBER: tuna fishing for the Blue Fin Tuna project. 14 tagged in 2 days- great work from the crew including Joe, Alan and Dave @MarineInst video from Joe Cooney
OCTOBER: rivers in full flood (left) and super high spring tides (right) combine to fill Lough Furnace to the brim @MarineInst Burrishoole.marine.ie that’s the end of our years #electrofishing #salmon #watereverywhere
OCTOBER: Lough furnace this afternoon. Over the last 24 hours, it has been filled with freshwater from the north 💦💦and tide from the south 🌊🌊Tks Mary Dillane for photo #coastallagoon #burrishooleLTER data from burrishoole.marine.ie/Furnace.aspx
OCTOBER: #StormCallum photobombs our #lake365 on Lough furnace #burrishooleLTER @MarineInst @GLEONetwork
OCTOBER: first sign of holly berries in the valley
My 6yo daughter : do you notice that the leaves are only spiky at the bottom but not at the top?
Me: why’s that?
Her: so the giraffes can eat the top
Me: have you seen many giraffes around?
Her: yes I saw one last week 🤔🤔
My 6yo daughter : do you notice that the leaves are only spiky at the bottom but not at the top?
Me: why’s that?
Her: so the giraffes can eat the top
Me: have you seen many giraffes around?
Her: yes I saw one last week 🤔🤔
OCTOBER: lots of pheasants wandering around the Burrishoole catchment this month. Any ideas why? @BirdWatchIE lovely photo from @elizabethtray3 @MarineInst @MfrcGmit
OCTOBER: after a successful @B2020project meeting , I’m temporarily leaving 🇮🇪 for 17 hours to deliver some broken parts of our automatic monitoring stations to our great electronic engineering colleague Martin Rouen lakelandinstrumentation.co.uk
OCTOBER: late season draft netting in Bunaveela to catch some taggable trout for Ross Finlays Cullen fellowship project @MIFundingOffice . Photo credit: R. Poole @MarineInst #telemtry #trout #fishsci #mayo
OCTOBER: big #trout on left, #ArticCharr on the right. Kind of cheating here because the photo of the Charr was from last year. No luck catching any today apparently 😕 #salmonid #salmotrutta #fishsci photo credit: Ross Finlay @MarineInst @uccBEES
OCTOBER: first dusting of snow on the #Nephins behind the @MarineInst office, Ben Gorm and Buckagh. The reek really got it though ❄️🌨❄️
OCTOBER: in between the showers, beautiful 🌈🌈 over #LoughFeeagh #burrishooleLTER @MarineInst photo credit: Jessie Troy #mayo #Newport #WildAtlanticWay #hailstorms
OCTOBER: yesterday was a scorcher 😂😂🌞🌞🌞 6 hours of sunshine at the Furnace manual weather station @MetEireann @MarineInst #BurrishooleLTER
NOVEMBER: salmon (mostly our hatchery stock here) returning to their place of origin in time for spawning. @MarineInst #salmon #fishsci
NOVEMBER: back to the microscope for winter #zooplankton enumeration. #BurrishooleLTER backlog of monthly samples. Quite a treat to do a sample every morning while listening to the radio 🙂#minibeasts #freshwater #cladocera #copepoda #Lakes
NOVEMBER: a little break from normal operations @MarineInst to do a quick #beachclean around Ardagh, Roigh Pier and Rockfleet castle with @BordIascMhara #fishingforlitter #cleancoast @WATExR @B2020project @FishEcoEvo
DECEMBER: days very short now as we approach the winter solstice 🌙🌝. The @GLEONetwork tree is bare of leaves. Here’s a beautiful sunrise caught by @JoshkaKaufmann @FishEcoEvo
DECEMBER: samples to be sorted, each containing a sample from every fish moving through our traps ➡️ a massive pedigree reconstruction of our #burrishooleLTER salmon population: collaboration with the @FishConGen team @uccBEES @MarineInst @FishEcoEvo
DECEMBER: a big job this month is stripping the hatchery fish for eggs and milt, crossing and producing the next generation. Here’s Alan, Pat, Michael and David getting the eggs out of a batch of hen salmon @MarineInst #fishsci #salmon #YearoftheSalmon
DECEMBER: #herecometheboys one male is crossed with one female producing a traceable family through the rearing process @MarineInst #fishsci #YearoftheSalmon
DECEMBER: winter storms rolling in this month - currently #stormdeirdre is battering Ireland. Image from earth.nullschool.net @cambecc @MarineInst @MANTEL_ITN @PROGNOSproject
DECEMBER: this version is particularly accurate "Wind + Misery (Wind Chill & Heat Index) @ Surface" for those looking after the rough river trap this weekend @JoshkaKaufmann @ElizabethRyder7 @FishEcoEvo @McginnityPhilip😐😐
DECEMBER: Happy Christmas from Lough Feeagh and the @MarineInst #BurrishooleLTER monitoring site ( a small portion of us here: Joe, Mary, @CalderoPM and @edeeyto ). 2018 has been a great year with lots of papers, collaborations and data......
DECEMBER: and here’s a little 🎄🎄🎁 from #BurrishooleLTER for those who like long term data. Daily surface water temperatures from August 1960 for Lough Feeagh /Mill Race @MarineInst @GLEONetwork #LTER @EPAClimateNews @AdamLeadbetter #openaccess data.marine.ie/geonetwork/srv…
DECEMBER: Christmas party time for all the kids in Furnace. Santa did a great job 🎅👏🏼👏🏼 Here’s our ace bird spotter Karl with his seasonal plumage 😂😂 @FishEcoEvo @MarineInst
DECEMBER: coring returning #atlanticsalmon to get out their micro tags. Central to the marine mortality assessment of hatchery stocks #fishsci @MarineInst
DECEMBER: Here comes summer- winter solstice over Lough Furnace this morning. #WinterSolstice2018 @MarineInst #BurrishooleLTER
DECEMBER: salmon spawning in the headwater streams of Burrishoole. Here’s a spent female on her way back down to the less turbulent waters of the Black River or Lough Feeagh @FishEcoEvo @MarineInst #fishsci #salmon #jobdone
@elizabethtray3 DECEMBER: HAPPY FISHMAS ! 🎄🎄🐟 everyone smiling because its tea break on Christmas Eve and 🎅 is on his way 😂😂😂. This thread will finish on dec 31st with a little surprise with help from @lesleyknoll @SarahDPrince until then, have fun🇮🇪🍸🎁 @MarineInst
DECEMBER: finishing up the year with is excellent @GLEONetwork thread from @lesleyknoll #lake365 . A year of Lough Furnace @MarineInst #BurrishooleLTER
DECEMBER: and so that’s the end of a “year in the life of” the research station here in Burrishoole. It’s been a great year. Thanks to all my friends in the @MarineInst Newport for providing photos and info. Will try and capture the thread for future reference #climatechange
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