Laudato Si
I recently received what I considered to be quite an unusual request to present at a conference. It wasn’t the standard environmental or ecological conference I usually attend, but a …
Domeara Archive
Heritage Week
As part of Heritage Week (a week-long series of events that showcases Ireland’s natural and cultural heritage), I organised an “Otter Walk” along the King’s Channel, Waterford. The event …
The Sea Garden
I’ve lived near the coast all my life, but it took me until recently to start eating seaweed. I was aware that seaweed was edible but I was never quite …
The Saltee Islands
The Saltee Islands are situated about 5 km from Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford. The two islands are called Great and Little Saltee, and are privately owned. The Great Saltee …
Waterford Estuary Otter Survey
I was recently awarded a grant from The Heritage Council to conduct an otter survey along the Waterford Estuary. This project will study the distribution of otters in the Waterford Estuary combining …
How to Look for Signs of Bats
This is a guest post written by Andrew Harrington. Andrew has also written other posts on this blog. So, you might have figured out by now that I quite like bats, …
The Pine Marten of the Mourne Mountains
The Mourne Mountains situated in the south eastern corner of Northern Ireland are a granite mountain range. The area is popular with tourists, hillwalkers and those interested in wildlife. The …
The stench of compatibility: How otters identify one another, and potential mates by smelling their poop
Otters don’t tend to be very visible to us, but they are more abundant than we might perceive them to be. Otters mostly live in isolation of one another, …
The Bat with the Identity Crisis
The Bat with the Identity Crisis or “Will the real Myotis nattereri please stand up?” By Andrew Harrington. There is a misfortunate bat species that is going through a bit …
How to Look for Squirrels
The Eurasian red squirrel is, in my opinion at least, one of the cutest additions to the Irish countryside. The little ear tufts of the red squirrel help differentiate …
The Montado, the Mouse and Landscape Connectivity
It’s been quite a few years since I visited Portugal during my third year field trip as part of my undergraduate Applied Ecology degree in University College Cork. It …
Feeding the Buzzards
Birds of Prey in Ireland About 100 years ago, Ireland was devoid of large birds of prey like buzzards, red kites and golden eagles. Their populations were decimated by …
Podcast from my Interview on Near FM’s Enviro Show
I was recently invited to participate on the Enviro Show hosted on Dublin’s Community Radio Station, Near FM. We chatted about red squirrels, grey squirrels, pine marten, invasive species …
How to Look for Pine Marten
The pine marten (Martes martes) is making a recovery across Ireland, and is one our most beautiful but elusive mammals. It is notoriously difficult to see as it tends …
How to Look for Otters
In the first of a new series of posts about “How to Look for Mammals“, I take a look at one of our semi aquatic species, the Eurasian otter. …
How to Look for Mammals
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to present a workshop at the National Biodiversity Data Centre on Saturday September 13th on the art of “Tracking Ireland’s Mammals”. This was …
Wind Turbines Pose Risk to Bats
The Drive for Green Energy We need sustainable, affordable and clean energy production to fuel the economy, and the drive towards more environmentally friendly energy production versus coal and …
Attraction in the World of Bats
We spend much of our lives attempting to figure out the opposite sex in the hopes that it will lead to increased opportunities to attract a mate. But even when in a relationship, looking …
A Positive Cycle for Conservation in Ireland
Liam Lysaght, the director of the The National Biodiversity Data Centre (an organisation that collects and manages data relating to Ireland’s biodiversity) based in Waterford, is about to embark on a one …
What a difference a shrew makes
Last year, I wrote an article about how we used pine marten (Martes martes) scats or faeces to detect the DNA of small mammals that the pine marten had …
The Blog Awards Ireland
Blogging is increasingly seen as an important tool for businesses to engage with customers, and bloggers have a growing influence on purchasers. But scientists are also increasingly engaging across the …
Are Irish badgers a distinct subspecies?
I recently got the opportunity to contribute to an article with Allan McDevitt about the species status of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in Ireland. In this article, we examine …
Nietoperek Revisited
This post was written by Andrew Harrington You might remember last year Denise wrote an article on this blog about the Nietoperek bat reserve in Poland, which is one …
The Urban Otter
The banks of our own lovely Lee are not just a pretty place for a walk, the Lee is an important place for the otter, often described as our …
The “Infallible” DNA Test
Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and pine marten (Martes martes) produce scats (faeces) that look quite similar. There are a list of rules, suggestions, smells and descriptions used by field naturalists …
It may be time to squirrel proof your bird feeder
Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) were introduced into Britain and Ireland in the late 1800s and early 1900s from North America. The species is classed as invasive, and it has …
The history of the red squirrel in Ireland
While I was researching the history of the red squirrel in Ireland for my thesis, I came across some wonderful old papers and books relating to the history of …
Another colourful mink
American mink are not native to Ireland, but feral populations have become established as a consequence of mink fur farming in Ireland. Generally, feral mink are black in colour, …
Timing and defining the Killarney shad
Killarney National Park situated in South West Ireland is famous for containing some unusual species that are not found elsewhere in the country including the Kerry spotted slug (Geomalacus maculosus), a …
From faeces to species: genetic identification of otters from spraints
Non-invasive genetic monitoring involves the use of DNA to survey a target species without directly trapping or observing it. The technique is particularly useful for rare, elusive or secretive …
Monitoring small mammals using predator scats
Ireland has few species of small mammals, and only some of these are native. The pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus) and the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) are considered to be …
Calling into question the accuracy of the ‘Standard Otter Survey’
We are required to survey otters across Europe as the species has been designated as being of conservation concern, under the EU Habitats and Species Directive. This means that …
Hedgerow cutting: an eco-worrier response
The Wildlife Act 1976, amended 2000, prohibits the cutting of hedgerows in Ireland during the period of March 1st to August 31st. However, under section 40 of the Wildlife …
The extinction of the Irish brown bear
A new study by Saoirse Leonard and co-authors from the Institute of Zoology, London and the University of Liverpool model the potential survival of brown bears in an Irish …
Eye of the Tiger
A new study on the genetic structure of the Indian tiger has found that the current tiger population now only retain a small proportion of the historical mitochondrial DNA …