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Wild Blog

Wildife and nature blog featuring an eclectic mix of wildlife, birding and conservation content from Ireland and around the world. Be warned there may be opinions flying around here….

Buzzards on patch… what a buzz!

Buzzard pair in West Cork

I’ve always had a soft spot for buzzards. I grew up on the North Wales coast, where buzzards were relatively common. I’d hear their lofty mewling calls as I walked to meet the school bus in the morning, and would watch them soaring overhead in the afternoon as I returned home. They….

Saturday 27 August 2016 is Whale Watch Ireland Day

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) continues it’s annual all-Ireland synchronised whale-watching event in 2016, with this year’s event scheduled for Saturday the 27 August between 2pm and 5pm. Timed to coincide with Heritage Week, the event, supported as always by Inis Cologne, takes place simultaneously at 20 headlands around the Irish….

White tailed eagle: parent feeding chick photo gallery

  On our spring Discover Wildlife Weekend in May I took the group to Glengarrif in Co. Cork to see if we could catch a glimpse of the white-tailed eagle pair that were breeding in the area. We got a bit more than we bargained for — first seeing an adult fly in to….

World class whale watching? Head for Ireland!

Whalewatching in West Cork: Humpback and common Dolphin

I’d had a fantastic day watching all manner of wildlife along the West Cork Coast with guests on one of our custom Discover Wildlife Tours recently. From basking sharks to choughs and jays, wildflowers and butterflies to common dolphins, minke whales, and much more besides… by any measure it had been….

Island Bioblitz — head offshore for a wild weekend!

Island Bioblitz 2016

I’m off to the stunning Cape Clear Island off the coast of West Cork tomorrow to take part in Ireland’s first ever Island Bioblitz. I was a member of the Bioblitz team at Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve in 2012. It was a fantastic event and a great excuse to take time out and spend….

New TV show explores the wildlife of Ireland’s cities

Urban Wildlife in Ireland

A new TV show produced by Crossing the Line Films and due to air on RTÉ over the coming weeks focuses the spotlight on the wildlife living alongside us in Ireland’s busiest cities. Wild Cities, a four part series that starts on Sunday the 08 May at 6:30 pm on RTÉ One, is set on the….

The Wild Postcard Project: boosting awareness of Ireland’s Biodiversity

A new biodiversity art project aimed at Ireland’s youth is looking to spread the word about Ireland’s amazing wildlife far and wide with postcards. Founders Eileen Diskin and Angela Stevenson explain… A survey several years ago in the UK found that the general public is largely unfamiliar with the term ‘biodiversity’,….

Sharks are back!

Basking Shark by AndrewPower

Great news for wildlife enthusiasts — sharks are back off the Irish coast. Basking sharks, the world’s second largest shark species, return to Irish shores every year around the same times as swallows.  Early sightings of these less well known but much larger harbingers of spring trickled in at the end of March from….

And they’re back! First swallows arrive at IWHQ

First swallow of 2016

Yesterday was a special day. A lone, almost insignificant silhouette transformed the usually hum-drum task of dropping the car in to the garage into a wholly noteworthy enterprise. Elegant, streamlined, forked tail streamers fluttering in the breeze… the profile perched on the telephone wire was unmistakable: my first swallow of 2016. Seeing your first swallow of spring….

“Britain’s” Whales: stunning aerial humpback footage, filmed in Ireland

Humpback whales filmed off the south coast of Ireland last year will feature prominently in a new wildlife documentary to air on UK TV network ITV this coming Good Friday (25/03/2016) at 8pm. The film crew captured spectacular drone footage of humpback whales bubble-net feeding off The Blasket Islands in Co. Kerry in….

Live wildlife webcams from CJ Wildlife

Have you ever wanted a sneak peak into the lives of birds on or around the nest? The advent of live web streaming means that it’s now possible to keep a close eye on the nesting efforts of your favourite birds without the risk of disturbance. Thanks to live web cameras set up by….

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 accepting entries

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 open for entries

Arguably the world’s most prestigious wildlife photography competition — the Wildlife Photographer of the Year is now open for entries for its 52nd year. Owned and organised by the British Natural History Museum, the competition is open to amateur and professional photographers around the world, and the entries it attracts each year represent a global showcase….