Wildlife News
Wildlife related news from around Ireland and global wildlife news that impacts Ireland.
Oak Processionary Moth confirmed in Ireland
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine confirmed earlier this week that colonies of the invasive Oak Processionary Moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) had been discovered on four oak trees in a Dublin housing estate. The caterpillars and the trees have been destroyed in an attempt to eradicate the pest before….
Avian Influenza hits Irish seabird colonies
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI H5N1) has hit Irish seabird colonies this breeding season after running rampant through similar colonies in the UK earlier this year. The disease, which can infect a wide range of bird species, appears to have hit breeding Gannet colonies particularly hard. Gannets, our larges seabird,….
Humpback Whale Catalogue breaches 100 animal milestone
The Irish Whale And Dolphin Group’s (IWDG) Humpback Whale Catalogue has broken the 100 individual milestone. On the 20 July IWDG researcher Nick Masset photographed two new Humpback Whales off the coast of West Kerry, and HBIRL#100 and HBIRL#101 took their respective places in the photo ID catalogue that documents….
Irish eagle numbers boosted
Ten new White-tailed Eagle chicks arrived in Ireland from Norway last week to bolster population numbers as Phase II of the ongoing White-tailed Eagle reintroduction programme got underway. The ambitious reintroduction programme, a joint initiative between the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Golden Eagle Trust, began with….
David Lindo (AKA The Urban Birder) to open Cape Clear Wildlife Festival
Birdwatch Ireland’s Cape Clear Bird Observatory celebrates its 60th birthday this year, and to mark the occasion the island is hosting a nearly two-week-long wildlife festival from Monday 02 September to Saturday 14 September. Well known British “celebrity birder” David Lindo, The Urban Birder, swaps his familiar cityscapes for the….
Minister halts plans to allow hedge-cutting in August
Minister for Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD has announced that she will not exercise her discretionary powers under the new Heritage Act to allow hedge-cutting to proceed in August this year. “Hedgerows are a very important wildlife habitat, providing food, shelter, corridors of movement, nest and hibernation….
Smart technology reveals new gull behaviour
Attaching sensors to animals in order to study their movements and record aspects of their behaviour has become commonplace over recent years. However, because they need to be lightweight, these automated bio-loggers typically have limited battery capacity. That’s a challenge, particularly when you want to use power-hungry data collection methods….