Get closer to the wild side of Ireland
In general Ireland’s local authorities seem to see roadside verges and hedgerows as areas to be trimmed and tamed. You see evidence of verge cutting and the decimation of hedgerows everywhere as you drive around the country. Neatly side-stepping the law in the name of health and safety, local authorities relentlessly slash hedges, ripping them [...]
The team of volunteer experts at Colebrooke Estate in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland were crowned “All Ireland BioBlitz Champions” for 2013 over the weekend with an impressive closing tally of 1,086 species in 24 hours. Colebrooke beat Lough Key Forest Park, Co. Rosscommon (959 species); The Burren National Park, Co. Clare (947 species) and Wicklow National [...]
An area covering more than 11,000 hectares of the Nephin Beg range in North West Mayo has been designated as an official “Wilderness Area” following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Coillte (the Irish forestry service) and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The document commits both parties to work [...]
An investigation has been launched by authorities following the discovery of 32 dead mute swans at a lake in Co. Donegal. Conservation rangers recovered the birds earlier this week from New Lake in Dunfanaghy, which is a Natura 2000 “Special Protection Area” (SPA) under the EU Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Reports suggest that many [...]
The first white-tailed eagle chicks to be born in Ireland in over 100 years have hatched at two sites: one in Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry, the other in Mountshannon on Lough Derg in Co. Clare. The good news gives a much-needed boost to the beleaguered White Tailed Eagle reintroduction programme managed by the Golden Eagle [...]
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has expressed concern at the possibility of what it describes as a “significant bycatch” of dolphins in Irish waters by foreign fishing vessels. Autopsy results on five of a group of 13 common dolphins that washed up dead in Co. Mayo in late January have confirmed that the [...]
Concern is growing over three bottlenose dolphins observed in the Ralty River, near Durty Nellies pub, Bunratty. The dolphins, which were first observed in the shallow creek on Sunday 31/03/2013. “The group remain in apparently good condition with no obvious signs of distress,” said the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group today. “There is growing concern that [...]
A new humpback whale for Ireland was spotted just off the coast of West Cork yesterday (Mon 18/03). Micheal Cottrel, owner of Baltimore Sea Safari confirmed the humpback sighting, and photographs obtained by Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) members Simon Duggan and Youen Yacob allowed the IWDG to confirm the young animal as a [...]
The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has published the results of its National Newt Survey for 2012, and reveals that to-date no newts have been recorded from Counties Louth or Tipperary. 2012 was the third year of the survey, which is supported by Dublin Zoo, Fota Wildlife Park and The Heritage Council and the IWT is [...]
Reports today have confirmed that a white-tailed eagles found dead in Co. Cork in January was illegally poisoned. The body of the female bird, released in Killarney National Park in 2010 as part of an official reintroduction project, was discovered washed up on the seashore at Glengariff in West Cork on the 18 January. Test [...]
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