A young hen harrier has been found shot dead near Waterville in Co. Kerry. The satellite tagged bird-of-prey, a young female dubbed “Heather” by local schoolchildren, was part of a joint project by regional development organisation IRD Duhallow and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Heather became an online star via the….

Looking at weather maps lately has been a depressing affair. Ireland has been permanently obscured beneath a swirling, seething mass of rain and wind, and as usual our little patch of the south west coast seems to be getting more than its fair share of the onslaught. Yesterday was a….

Ireland’s largest conservation charity, Birdwatch Ireland, has responded strongly to recent comments by Limerick Co. Councillor John Sheahan calling for an “Open Season” on the protected hen harrier — one of most threatened birds. “Cllr. Sheahan’s ill-informed and short-sighted statement shows how far we have to travel as a state….

Last night I penned this email to Cllr. John Sheahan, Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, in response to his outrageous call for an “Open Season” on hen harriers in the county. This morning I received an email with the following standard letter attached, clarifying Cllr. Sheahan’s position: Reply to “OPEN SEASON” remark….

I’m at a loss to understand what Cllr. John Sheahan could have been thinking when he made his “Open Season” on hen harriers statement (as reported in the Limerick Leader and outlined on this site here). I felt compelled (along with many other people I’m sure) to write to Cllr…..

Councillor John Sheahan, Cathaoirleach of Limerick Co. Council, has called for “Open Season” on the hen harrier, a protected bird of prey that breeds in the county. Cllr. Sheahan, who is a member of Fine Gael, said that unless the restrictions on land use in EU sanctioned Special Protected Areas (SPAs) in….

Birdwatch Ireland (BWI) has called on An Garda Siochána to launch an immediate investigation following the recent shooting of a hen harrier at a winter roost site in County Kerry. Hen Harriers are a species of high conservation concern in Ireland and are listed on Annex I of the EU Birds Directive…..

A high-tech project to help scientists discover more about Ireland’s declining Hen Harrier population is underway in the Duhallow region thanks in no small part to support from the local community. The cutting edge satellite-tracking project is a collaboration between IRD Duhallow (the community focussed Integrated Rural Development body for….

The languid flight of the hen harrier, gliding with wings held in its characteristic shallow V, has become a rare sight in Ireland. Historically one of our most persecuted birds of prey, the hen harrier’s habit of taking free-range domestic fowl (which led to the bird’s common name) did little….