Ireland Flora & Fauna

Ask About Ireland's illustrated Introduction to the Flora and Fauna of Ireland, by Michael Viney is an enjoyable, informative read. Topics covered include:

• Howth Peninsula
• The Birds of Ireland
• Selected Wild Flowers of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
• The Flaming Wheel nature essays about the countryside of Wicklow and Dublin
• The Tobacco Growing Industry in Meath
• The Wildflowers of Bull Island: The Grassland Dunes
• Wild Plants of the Burren
• Wild Wicklow
• Wildlife of the Parks of South Dublin County
• Trees of Woodstock Arboretum, Kilkenny
• Flora and Fauna of Wexford Sloblands
• Flora and Fauna of Wicklow
• Flora of Wicklow
• Habitats of Carlow
  
  

Ireland's peatlands under threat

According to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) it has recently become apparent that the Irish government

"are slowing down on their designation of Irish peatlands as Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs). This inaction means that sites that are currently proposed as Natural Heritage Areas under national legislation (link), are in fact not protected at all".

The IPCC is particularly concerned about fens. Developers are at liberty to destroy them, which they often do:

"Two proposed NHA fens in Waterford - Kilbarry Bog and Ballina Lough have been
badly damaged. Even more depressing is the case of Girley Raised Bog in Co.
Meath, a designated NHA where a developer inserted drains all over the site"

The IPCC's Peatlands Under Threat Campaign aims to review the status of every peatland site in Ireland including

• a review and update of the boundaries, names, habitat and species designations of all existing and new peatland Special Areas of Conservation (SACs - a European Network of protected areas)


• a comparison of the IPCC's information on the boundaries, names and quality of all existing and new peatland Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) with similar information arising by a recent survey by the National Parks and Wildlife Service

Arising from these reviews the IPCC aims to publish a new strategic action plan to ensure longterm protection for Irish peatlands.

• Read the Irish Peatland Conservation Council Action Plan 2005


• Join the IPCC to support and get regular updates on their work

Icelandic whooper swans winter in Ireland

Three species of swan occur in Ireland the Whooper, Mute and Bewick. Of the five breeding populations of whooper swan (found from the Mediterranean to Asia) those that choose to overwinter in Ireland hail from Icelandic stock.

Starting early November, they make landfall in such places as Loughs Swilly and Foyle in Counties Donegal and Derry. From these northern regions, they disperse south along the coast, and to inland freshwater lakes, marshes and farmland.

In January 1995, Ireland's seasonal population of whooper swans was estimated at 16000 birds. It is said that 5 per cent of the world's whooper swan overwinter in Upper Lough Earne in County Fermanagh and 6 per cent at Lough Neagh, in County Tyrone. Open fields, meadows and bogs near Newgrange in County Meath also provide wintering grounds for a flock of between 30 and 230 swans. In spring they turn tail again, leaving Ireland for Iceland.

• Listen to the Mooney Goes Wild radio programme 'The Whooper Swan - from Iceland to Ireland' (listed on the page as programme 4)
  
  


• What birds to see where and when - Birdwatching in Northern Ireland

Sonairte - Ireland's National Ecology Centre

Sonairte, Ireland's National Ecology Centre in Laytown, Co Meath, is an environmental visitor centre comprising an organic garden, riverside nature trail, renewable energy interactive park, wind, rain and solar exhibits. Ireland's only ecology centre, it aims to show schools, the public and business, practical and economic ways of adopting lifestyles that avoid damaging to the environment. This is achieved through the promotion of ecological awareness and education in areas such as sustainable living, organics, conservation, and alternative technology.
Find out more at http://community.meath.ie/sonairte/