Conservation efforts to save the corncrake from extinction in Ireland appear to be paying dividends. Authorities reported a significant increase in the number of calling male birds during their 2014 corncrake population census, up to 230 from 185 birds recorded last year. The largest concentration of corncrakes was in Donegal,….

Ireland’s largest little tern colony at Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, has enjoyed a record year in 2014 according to conservationists monitoring the site. Wardens recorded 120 breeding pairs nesting at Kilcoole this season, smashing the previous record of 106 pairs from 2006. According to figures reported on the Kilcoole Little Tern Conservation blog….

The National Biodiversity Data Centre announced on its Facebook Fan Page yesterday that it has received a record of a Black Arches moth (Lymantria monacha) from Camolin Woods in Co. Wexford. This is the first record of this species occurring in Ireland for 100 years. It was last recorded from a….

The natterjack toad, the most threatened of only three native amphibian species to occur in Ireland, is making a comeback in its traditional strongholds on the Kerry coast according to a recent report by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). An ongoing habitat creation scheme established by the NPWS back in 2008 seems to….

A new humpback whale for Irish waters has been added to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s (IWDG) photo-id catalogue for the species. West Cork whale watching operator Colin Barnes of Cork Whale Watch found the lone humpback during an afternoon whale watching trip out of Reen Pier near Union Hall.  According to….

In the wake of the unfortunate live stranding of 13 long-finned pilot whales in Co. Donegal last week, The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) — a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to whale and dolphin research and conservation — has called for clarity from state agencies in terms of which authority has responsibility for managing….

Four of thirteen pilot whales that stranded overnight on a beach in Co. Donegal have died. The other nine have been successfully re-floated by a local rescue effort that involved up to 100 people at its peak according to reports. The whales were spotted on Ballyness beach at Falcarragh, Co Donegal at 8am….

A gardener at a Dublin park has rediscovered a bumblebee species last recorded in Ireland in 1926. Eddie Hill, who is an avid bee recorder, and regularly submits bee sightings to the National Bumblebee Monitoring scheme, noticed some odd looking bees feeding on flowers at St. Enda’s Park in Rathfarnam. After studying photographs and two….

One of the first two white-tailed eagles to hatch in Ireland in more than a century has been found shot dead in Co. Tipperary. The male bird was one of two chicks reared successfully by a pair of re-introduced eagles at a nest site on Lough Derg near Mountshannon in….

Coillte, the state-owned forestry organisation, has closed Gougane Barra Forest Park in County Cork, and plans to fell around 16,000 trees in the forest — mainly Japanese Larch — to prevent the spread of disease. The disease, known as “Sudden Oak Death” in the USA,  is caused by a fungus-like plant….

Irish Wildlife, the membership magazine of the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT), has won the “Customer Magazine of the Year” category in the prestigious Irish Magazine Awards 2013. Irish wildlife is a quarterly magazine that showcases wildlife, nature and conservation issues, feature articles and news from all over Ireland. Its unique….

The Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark has teamed up with Leave No Trace Ireland to promote responsible outdoor recreation at the iconic tourist hot spots on Ireland’s west coast. A graffiti incident at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare earlier this year is a stark example of the kind….