Dr Eugenie Regan from the National Biodiversity Data Centre introduces us to Ireland's three species of earwig.Earwigs are an unloved group of insects. They generate reactions of disgust from the general public, are considered by most a pest, and are surely one of the reasons that insects have a bad name. But they are also a fascinating animal. For example, did you know … [Read more...] about Irish Earwigs: the caring nature of a much maligned insect
Wildlife Surveys
Ireland’s nature and biodiversity featuring invasive alien
Earlier today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the fifth of their four-yearly State of the Environment reports “Ireland’s Environment 2012: An Assessment”. I read the press release, scanned through the main points with interest, and went straight for my main area of interest, Chapter 6, Nature and Biodiversity… I was greeted by a merlin, hawthorn blossom (I … [Read more...] about Ireland’s nature and biodiversity featuring invasive alien
Ireland’s BioBlitz 2012 kicks off today!
The final countdown is on for Ireland’s island wide BioBlitz 2012, with four sites across the island competing for Ireland’s biodiversity crown. Killarney National Park took the title last year, and I’m off to Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve in West cork later today to do whatever I can to help bring the title back down south. We’re competing against Phoenix Park in Dublin, … [Read more...] about Ireland’s BioBlitz 2012 kicks off today!
Stranding: learning from the death of a harbour porpoise
It was Sunday morning, and it was raining. Not just any kind of rain... it was that sneaky, endemically Irish drizzle that saturates you before you realise you’re getting wet. It was misery incarnate. Miserable or not, we had a job to do. I grabbed the gear, threw it in the car and off we went. We only had a quarter of an hour drive to the small inlet on the West Cork coast. … [Read more...] about Stranding: learning from the death of a harbour porpoise
Hop to it: report your Irish frog sightings
To mark World Wetlands Day on Thursday the 2 February the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) is launching its annual 'Hop To It Frog Survey'. The survey helps the IPCC to map the distribution and habitat preferences of the Common Frog (Rana temporaria), Ireland’s most widespread and familiar amphibian species. To do that they need help… and they’re calling on … [Read more...] about Hop to it: report your Irish frog sightings
