Get closer to the wild side of Ireland
This column was first published in the Weekend Magazine of the Irish Independent on Saturday 04 February 2012. One of the things I like most about living in Ireland is the changing seasons. The tropics are over rated. Don’t get me wrong, a bit of predictable sunshine now and again certainly wouldn’t go amiss, but [...]
Stop the presses! News just in that I’m going to be writing a regular wildlife column for the Irish Independent newspaper. I’m still finalising the details in terms of column frequency and other logistics with the Independent’s editorial team, but the first column, dubbed “Unseasonal Shenanigans” will feature on page 21 of the newspaper’s Weekend [...]
To mark World Wetlands Day on Thursday the 2 February the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) is launching its annual ‘Hop To It Frog Survey’. The survey helps the IPCC to map the distribution and habitat preferences of the Common Frog (Rana temporaria), Ireland’s most widespread and familiar amphibian species. To do that they need [...]
I stumbled across this video on Twitter yesterday. It offers a bit of insight into the manufacture of high end binoculars and optics for birding and nature watching from the perspective of a pair of Swarovski Optik’s flagship binoculars — the EL Swarovision range. While this is a Swarovski video, I’m sure there are parallels [...]
SWAROVSKI OPTIK’s EL Swarovion range of binoculars represent the pinnacle of optical performance, and are widely acknowledged as being among the best binoculars that birders and wildlife enthusiasts can buy. Now the Austrian manufacturer is introducing a brand new lightweight model to it’s flagship Swarovision lineup with the new EL 32 Swarovision. The compact binoculars [...]
Spring, it seems, has come early to Ireland this year. On Saturday the 07 of January I spotted a clump of frogspawn in a roadside ditch beside a small lake not far from the house. Frogspawn, in West Cork, laid the first week of January. That’s just nuts! Common Frogs normally emerge from hibernation around [...]
It’s not always practical to tote a pair of full size binoculars around with you. No matter how “ergonomic” and comfortable your regular bins are, there are times when you just have to leave them at home. Wildlife encounters, however, can happen any time, anywhere. From waxwings dropping in to feast on rowan berries in [...]
I’m the first to admit that I’m very keen on birds… and that perhaps my bias is reflected at times, both here and on the Ireland’s Wildlife page on Facebook. I’ve been a birder since I first picked up a pair of binoculars more than 30 years ago, and while I have a profound fascination [...]
Wolves… the very word evokes a sense of wonder, admiration and fascination, albeit tempered with a healthy undercurrent of instinctive apprehension. Awe and fear: that’s a pretty evocative combination. When I heard about “Wolves in Ireland – A natural and cultural history” by Kieran Hickey, published by Four Courts Press, I couldn’t wait to read [...]
Do you have a wildlife nut in your family? Are you struggling for inspiration for a suitable Christmas gift for someone in your life who is literally “for the birds”? Well, fear not – we’ve got a suggestion. Why not get them a gift that will not only delight them, but will also help contribute [...]
