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Wildlife News

Wildlife related news from around Ireland and global wildlife news that impacts Ireland.

All Ireland Pollinator Plan good news for bees…. and for people

A new island-wide plan to halt the decline in Ireland’s bees and other pollinators was officially launched yesterday by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Backed by by 68 governmental and non-governmental organisations across the Island of Ireland, the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 identifies actions we can take on our farmland, public….

Whale Watch Ireland 2015

On Sunday 23 August, as part of Heritage Week 2015, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group is hosting its annual shore-based all-Ireland whale-watching event, Whale Watch Ireland. Taking place at 20 land-based vantage points around the coast of the Island of Ireland, the event aims to raise awareness of the 24 species….

Rare beluga whale sighting off Antrim coast

A rare beluga whale, a species usually only found in Arctic and sub-arctic waters, was captured on camera off the Antrim coastline late last week.   This is the first confirmed report of this rare cetacean in Irish waters since the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) started keeping systematic sightings records in 1991 and….

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland Events in West Cork

Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland

Saturday Evening Talk at Butlerstown Maria Long of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) will be giving a talk in Butlerstown, West Cork this Saturday evening about the BSBI, what it is, what it does, and why it’s important. It will be a great opportunity to learn about plant….

Sad news as Irish white-tailed eagle chick dies of natural causes

Eagle chick dies of natural causes in Co. Cork

News broke yesterday of a devastating development for the family of white-tailed eagles in Glengarriff, Co. Cork when it was announced that the 10 week old chick had died in the nest of natural causes just days before it was expected to fledge. One of five pairs of white-tailed eagle breeding in….

Irish white-tailed eagles hatch chicks in four counties

White tailed eagle chick mountshannon

The Irish white-tailed eagle reintroduction project has received a much-needed boost with news that five pairs, spanning four Irish counties, now have chicks in the nest. According to a press release issued by the Golden Eagle Trust, of the eight pairs that attempted to breed this year, eagle chicks have now….

Nature Alert: make your voice heard in the EU review of conservation legislation

NatureAlert Protect EU Conservation Legislation

The European Commission is currently reviewing EU legislation as part of a Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) — and vital EU conservation laws like the Birds Directive and The Habitats Directive are coming under scrutiny as part of that process. NGOs across the EU are concerned that this review could potentially lead….

Resident killer whales could die out due to pollution

Killer Whales in Ireland under threat from marine pollution

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) has expressed concern that Ireland’s only resident group of killer whales (Orcinus orca) could be dying out due to the long term effects of marine pollution. Known as the Scottish west coast community group, the killer whale pod is the only known resident pod….

White-tailed eagle found poisoned at Connemara nest site

A female white-tailed eagle was found dead at a nest site in Connemara earlier this month by National Parks and Wildlife Service Conservation Ranger Dermot Breen. Mr Breen found the six-year-old female dead on the nest on 01 April, and a post-mortem later confirmed poisoning as the cause of death — the 13th….

Hoopoe invasion of Ireland’s south coast

Hoopoe invasion of Ireland -- photo by Andrew Malcolm

Headlands and coastlines in Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Wexford have been invaded by a rather colourful continental interloper this spring. The striking hoopoe (Upupa epops) is a rare visitor to these shores, with very small numbers (less than 10 birds in total most years) reported in Ireland during spring and autumn as migrating birds stray….

Guerilla conservation group realeases bears in Co. Kerry

Eurasian Brown Bear

A group of extreme conservationists is secretly releasing brown bears into Killarney National Park in Co. Kerry an anonymous source revealed this week.

Ireland’s first basking sharks of 2015 spotted off West Cork

Basking Shark Dursey Island, West Cork

The first reported Irish basking shark sighting of 2015 was logged on Monday 09 March. The sharks, one large and one smaller animal, were spotted from shore by observer Bridget Healy, just off the coast near Ardfield in West Cork. Basking sharks, the second largest fish in the sea after the whale shark, are annual spring….