Get closer to the wild side of Ireland
Against all odds a mini-heatwave seemed to have descended on Ireland. The sun blazed out of a sky for once devoid of cloud as we met up in the car park at Barleycove beach in West Cork. It was early June and we were looking for butterflies. Our target species for the day was the [...]
Butterfly enthusiasts Abigail Brewer, Damaris Lysaght and Ciaran Cronin are leading a guided butterfly field trip in West Cork on Saturday 08 June. The day is open to everyone of all knowledge and experience levels, and offers a great opportunity to get out in the field with experts to search for butterflies. The team is [...]
One of the most appealing things about nature is that you never really know what to expect. Every time you venture outdoors there’s a sense of heightened anticipation as you wonder what you might encounter. In Ireland at least that sense of the unknown tends to include the weather. This morning, for example, it was [...]
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has opened up a research charter scheduled for tomorrow morning to non-members. The formerly “members only” research trip is hoping to find and photograph the humpback whale confirmed in the area yesterday afternoon, and is scheduled to leave Reen Pier, Union Hall, West Cork at 9am sharp… details [...]
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 [...]
Yesterday I dropped everything and went hightailing down to Mizen Head — Ireland’s most southerly point — with a birding friend for an opportunity that was just too good to miss. Ducks. Yes, that’s right, ducks. And pretty unusual ducks at that. While the two chaps in the photo (a very dodgy-scoped effort taken hand-holding [...]
The Art of Identification A forty-year perspective on birding and Field Guides With Killian Mullarney Friday 01 February 2013, Cork International Airport Hotel Doors open 7pm, talk commences at 8pm Join Killian Mullarney, renowned bird artist and and international authority on bird identification in Cork on 01 February for this not-to-be-missed talk on a fascinating [...]
The influx of waxwings continues, with reports of these striking birds coming in from all over the country. I finally managed to hook up with a small flock in Clonakilty, County Cork over the weekend… and what a lovely lot they were too. Here are a few photographs. The waxwing irruption seems to have been [...]
Whale watching in West Cork is in the news again after this incredible shot made the front page of several national newspapers today. A humpback breaching off the West Cork Coast (c) Simon Duggan, All Rights Reserved It is a once-in-a-lifetime moment captured by whale watcher and long time Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) member Simon [...]
I was getting settled at my desk yesterday morning, pondering what to write for my Irish Independent wildlife column, when the phone beeped. It was a message from Padraig Whooley, sightings coordinator with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, telling me that a suspected fin whale had live-stranded in Baltimore, West Cork. He’d be passing my [...]
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