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
  
  

Rathlin Island yields 28 sponge species new to science

Dr Bernard Picton is curator of marine invertebrates at the Ulster Museum. He is also an outstanding underwater marine photographer.

His team's recent dives in the region of Ireland's tallest underwater cliffs at Rathlin Island, as part of a research programme, have confirmed 128 species of sponges, almost one third of all species known from Ireland and Britain. This includes 28 species that are new to science.

• See Picton's photos on the online Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland at www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife.

Information derived from another stunning article by Michael Viney in his 'Another Life' column, p9 of the Irish Times Weekend Supplement, 3 March 2007.

The invasive Wiggly Wigglers

Not of Irish stock but deserving of mention is the invasive Heather of the family Wiggly wiggler. The Wiggly wigglers have invaded my commutes, driven out my agrestic ignorance, preyed on my interest in hedgerows and made extinct Ireland's once prevalent species Boredom commuting. An intriguing species, the Wiggly Wigglers display a weekly ritual of bonding by infighting and feasting on honey and they insist on equal rights to rant for each member of the family group.

This reluctant urbanite now knows more than she ever thought she could.... about ploughing. And hedgerows. And honey. And pondlife. And, crucially, about how falling off ladders can be very, very funny. Ok, so I concede to breaking Only One Ireland's Irish-posts-only bloglaw by doing this but, since the Wiggly wigglers podcast arrived here on the great ship iPod, Only One Ireland's environment has been enriched. So this is an Irish shout-out to Heather, Farmer Phil, Ricardo and the rest of the Heredfordshire Wiggly Wigglers. I hope you can hear me above your current debate (it's about cats...).

• Read Heather's Wiggly Wiggler blog (yes, we do have the same taste for blog templates...)
• Subscribe to the Wiggly Wigglers podcast

Mountains on our doorstep

The Dublin mountains have recently come under the wing of a vet called Mark D'Alton. Clearfelling by Coillte, the Forestry Board, has recently led to the south Dublin hills sporting a hairless and, well, 'mangey' look. These felled plantations are Coillte's business, so periodic tree harvesting is inevitable. But D'Alton could see these mountains held more promise. Why should they merely be used as breeding sows for timber?

After all, Dublin's reluctant urbanites need somewhere to escape to on weekends and long summer evenings. And where are the mountain bike tracks we seek, the running routes we want, the walking ways we need...? Could we not work with Coillte to develop these hills as recreational nature parks? Is this not exactly what our fattened society needs - to see some green and work off some inches?

And so to D'Alton the Dublin Mountain Initiative was born. In late 2006, his group along with Coillte, some local authorities and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, posted a tender for development of "Strategic Plan For The Development Of Outdoor Recreational Facilities in the area known as the South Dublin Hills". The plan aims to link all existing and potential outdoor recreation components in the South Dublin Hills area over a 10 year period.

Many groups and individuals have willingly fostered D'Alton's novel Dublin Mountain Intiative. With so much support and sense, this pig may yet fly.

• Irish Mountain Running Association's coverage of Mark D'Alton's Dublin Mountain Initiative

Dick Warner, of the waters and the wild

Dick Warner, environmentalist, contributes to the Irish Examiner and is widely recognised for his television documentaries, Spirit of Trees, Ironing the Land, and Waterways. The latter has an accompanying book, also called Waterways, which traces his watery journey by steam launch through the north-west of Ireland, down the rivers Shannon and Erne, drenched in the reedy landscapes and wildlife.

There's only one Eanna Ni Lamhna

She recently sang "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly" in the middle of a shopping centre with as much gusto (but not as much success) as her regular radio broadcasts. Her up-for-anything approach and bubbling enthusiasm breathes life into wildlife and nature. According to Amazon this broadcaster, writer, botanist, entomologist, field naturalist, President of An Taisce, Honorary Member of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council and former diver is also "noted for her matter-of-fact knowledge, humour and folklore-laden take on Irish wildlife". Particularly interested in creepy-crawlies and bats and with a solid knowledge of all things wild. As she travels the country she takes people on nature walks, saves seals, performs general wildlife detective duties and deals with all sorts of enquiries from the general public. Altogether great fun and definitely someone you'd enjoy taking for a pint in the local. Just don't ask her to sing.

Look out for her with co-conspirator Derek Mooney on RTE Radio’s ‘Mooney’ show (also available on podcast via iTunes) or get a copy of one of her books:

• Straight Talking Wild: More Wildlife on the Radio, Townhouse, Dublin, 2006
• Wild and Wonderful, Townhouse, Dublin, 2004
• Talking Wild: Wildlife on the Radio, Townhouse, Dublin, 2002

Ireland's writers, broadcasters, photographers, naturalists

As if peering into a pond, look closely at Ireland's media and Ireland's extensive network of contributers to environmental awareness and conservation becomes clearer. Some of these people are listed below. My plan is to develop this list and write an entry for each individual over time:

• Michael Viney, natural historian, writer. He may regale us with blustery tales of his life in the west or in a mere three words set us straight on our wildlife observations. Another Life and Eye on Nature are his Irish Times columns. Read a well written review of one of his books.
• Dick Warner
• Eanna Ní Lamhna
• Derek Mooney, television presenter, broadcaster, most importantly of the excellent Mooney Goes Wild
• And his merry men Richard Collins, Eric Dempsey, Terry Flanagan - read their profiles here
• Sylvia Thompson, reviews, news, ideas - in her Horizons column in the Irish TimesMike Brown, photographer, author
• Simon Berrow, Project officer with Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife association
• Pádraig Whooley, sightings coordinator of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group
• Gordon D'Arcy, naturalist and artist
• Leitrim organic centre (full of great people, and excellent vegetarian chefs!)
• Vincent Hyland

Book: Images of Irish Nature

By photographer Mike Brown, self-published, November 2006. Available in Easons.
According to an Irish Times review, this book is "full of images of dimensions of nature that happen so quickly we rarely get a chance to observe them properly". Many of the photos were taken in Counties Cork and Kerry between 2004 and 2006. His subjects include foxes, the wood white butterfly, basking shark, whitethroat, convolvulus hawkmoth, cuckoo pint plant, otter and hen harrier.
This follows Mike Brown's first book 'Ireland's Wildlife' published in 2004, and his subsequent involvement in RTÉ's Wild Trial series which, with varying degrees of success, challenged Irish personalities to master the art of wildlife photography.