spring
How to watch Basking Sharks
“Shark-infested waters” isn’t a term you normally associate with the Irish coastline, yet in late spring and early summer the Irish coast is one of the best places in Europe to see one of the world’s largest sharks.The basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) is the largest fish in the North Atlantic, and second largest….
Whales and eagles star on wild West Cork weekend
I’d been afraid to look at the forecast all week. The weather is the bane of anyone organising an outdoor-based activity in Ireland, and the last few weeks had been dreadful. There was no real sense things were going to improve either… but with a Discover Wildlife Weekend planned I simply had to bite….
Hoopoe invasion of Ireland’s south coast
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….
Ireland’s first basking sharks of 2015 spotted off 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….
Watch out for hibernating hedgehogs
This weekend, while out in the garden clearing a build-up of dead leaves and layers of last-season’s montbretia foliage, I uncovered a prickly, but very welcome surprise. A hibernating hedgehog! Its spines flexed involuntarily, once… twice… and then it was still again. I whipped out the smartphone and took one quick photograph (above), before replacing the leaf-litter, tucking….
A wonderfully wild weekend
Like it or not… when you’re watching wildlife in Ireland you’re inevitably watching the weather. With our Discover Wildlife Weekend looming I’d spent the last week watching the weather forecasts with growing trepidation. Would the weather gremlins play ball? West Cork is a truly spectacular wildlife location, but so much depends….
Brimstone Butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni)
The butter-yellow wings of the male brimstone are a true herald of spring, and are credited by some as the inspiration behind the word “butterfly”. These pretty yellow butterflies are quite common, especially around open woodland, and are often the first butterflies to be seen in spring. Brimstones emerge from….