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Wildlife News

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

Ireland’s Wildlife’s new Official Bird Food Partner

Ireland's WIldlife Official Bird Food Partner

Ireland’s wildlife is delighted to announce a brand new partnership with Europe’s leading wild bird food supplier. CJ Wildlife is now our Official Bird Food Partner, and will supply food, feeders and other products to help us attract even more of our feathered friends and other wildlife into the Ireland’s….

Pine marten populations on the rise says new research

Irish pine marten populations recovering

A new study by researchers at NUI Galway and Waterford Institute of Technology shows that populations of the pine marten, one of Ireland’s most elusive mammals, have recovered to healthy levels in areas of the Irish midlands.The research, which will be published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research, used….

Irish wildlife documentary wins 3 international awards

Colin Stafford-Johnson on a river in Ireland

“On a River in Ireland” — the international title of the series aired locally as “The Secret Life of the Shannon” — has won three awards at the prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, including the “Grand Teton Best of Festival” award. Popularly dubbed the “wildlife film-making Oscars”, the Jackson….

Deadly amphibian fungus absent from Ireland

Smooth Newt Ireland

New research published by the Herpetological Society of Ireland has confirmed that the deadly chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) is absent on the island of Ireland. That’s good news for Ireland’s only 3 amphibian species, the common frog, the smooth newt and the natterjack toad. Along with climate change and habitat loss,….

Captive bred corncrakes could boost wild population

Corncrake chick

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Irish Grey Partridge Trust are working together on an innovative trial to breed the endangered corncrake in captivity for the first time in Ireland. Fota Wildlife Park in Co. Cork is assisting in the experimental captive breeding programme. A pair of corncrake….

Ireland’s first Urban BioBlitz to take place in Limerick City

Ireland's Urban BioBlitz, Limerick

Members of the public in Limerick City and surrounding areas are being invited to join wildlife experts and ecologists this weekend in Ireland’s first ever Urban BioBlitz. Hosted by Limerick City Council, Limerick City Centre Tidy Towns Group and the National Biodiversity Data Centre, the Limerick Urban BioBlitz aims to identify and….

National Whale Watching event on Sunday 18th August

As part of National Heritage Week 2013 the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) is hosting its annual shore-based whale watching event, Whale Watch Ireland 2013. The event takes place on Sunday 18 August 2013 between 2pm and 5pm at 16 headlands around the Irish coast (see details below). It’s….

First Irish white-tailed eagle chicks fledge at Mountshannon, Co. Clare

White tailed eagle fledgling at Mountshannon, Co. Clare

Irish born white-tailed eagles are on the wing again for the first time in more than a century. A pair of reintroduced adult eagles successfully reared two chicks at a nest site on Lough Derg, near Mountshannon, Co. Clare. Both chicks fledged successfully last week in what is a momentous….

New humpback whale recorded in Irish waters

New Irish Humpback Whale

Ireland’s 2013/14 “Large Whale Season” got off to a flying start last week with a brand new entry to Ireland’s humpback whale catalogue. Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) member and keen whale watcher Nick Massett observed and photographed the whale — the 23rd humpback recorded in Irish waters, and….

Birdwatch Ireland responds to Cllr.’s “Open Season on Hen Harrier” remarks

Female Hen Harrier

Ireland’s largest conservation charity, Birdwatch Ireland, has responded strongly to recent comments by Limerick Co. Councillor John Sheahan calling for an “Open Season” on the protected hen harrier — one of most threatened birds. “Cllr. Sheahan’s ill-informed and short-sighted statement shows how far we have to travel as a state….

Peregrine falcons shot in Co. Tipperary

Female peregrine found dead in Tipperary

Peregrine falcons nesting in south Tipperary have been deliberately shot in a spate of attacks over recent weeks according to a report from Bridwatch Ireland. The birds, two of which died and one which sustained permanent injury, are believed to have been shot in three separate incidents. The body of….

Leader of Limerick County Council calls “open season” on endangered hen harrier

A female hen harrier takes to the air

Councillor John Sheahan, Cathaoirleach of Limerick Co. Council, has called for “Open Season” on the hen harrier, a protected bird of prey that breeds in the county. Cllr. Sheahan, who is a member of Fine Gael, said that unless the restrictions on land use in EU sanctioned Special Protected Areas (SPAs) in….