In Your Nature

Send us Fan Mail Season 8 of In Your Nature podcast is starting-off with something slightly different -  part one of a competition between Ireland and New Zealand to see which countries birds will win out in a series of categories in an inter-island bird-off! Originally broadcast as part of Radio New Zealand’s 'Our Changing World', produced by County Kerry native Claire Concannon (now en...

Send us Fan Mail This weeks episode is all about Swifts, specifically Swifts in Co. Offaly.  Since 2017, BirdWatch Ireland has been coordinating county Swift surveys. Co. Offaly was the first ever county to commission a Swift survey and this season, they commissioned a re-survey of the county. Niall sat down with Jaroslaw Majkusiak, BirdWatch Irelands' 2023 Co. Offaly Swift Surveyor to find o...

Send us Fan Mail For this weeks episode of In Your Nature podcast, we take a close look at Moths, a vast and diverse group of insects. Ricky also speaks to Amanda Pedlow, Heritage Officer at Offaly County Council, an avid citizen scientist and moth trapper on the joy of moth trapping and recording.  Topics include the lifecycle of the moth, their importance in the wider food chain, the conservatio...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we take a closer look at hedgerows, an iconic part of the Irish landscape, and discover how important they are for pollinators and the farming community. Ricky speaks to Ruth Wilson who is the Farmland Pollinator Officer (All-Ireland Pollinator Plan) at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, a post funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)...

Send us Fan Mail This weeks In Your Nature podcast topic is the Pine Marten. Dr. Denise O'Meara of South East Technological University sat down with Ricky to chat about the Pine Martens' ecology, the reasons behind their amazing comeback in recent years, and how the Pine Martens comeback has helped the Red Squirrel population to begin to slowly recover in parts of Ireland. Bird of the We...

Send us Fan Mail This weeks episode focuses on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or H5N1, more commonly referred to as bird flu. The impact of the H5N1 has been particularly pronounced in the last two years, impacting seabird colonies on a pretty much global scale. At the outset of the episode Niall explains that while bird flu is a pre-existing virus, the virulence of the H5N1 strain is du...

Send us Fan Mail This weeks episode features Elaine O'Riordan, who is studying the ecology of the European Hedgehog in an Irish context for her PhD in the National University of Ireland Galway.  Elaine has run the Irish Hedgehog Survey for the last number of years, looking at how citizen scientists can feed into our understanding of the population of Hedgehogs in Ireland.  Ricky and Elaine ch...

Send us Fan Mail This weeks' episode features Dr. Alan McCarthy of BirdWatch Ireland discussing Hen Harriers, their ecology, pressures facing these birds, conservation efforts for this species, and his PhD research on this enigmatic species.     Alan's PhD research focused on both breeding and wintering aspects of Hen Harrier ecology in Ireland. Among other things, his research focused o...

Send us Fan Mail This weeks episode features Rob Gandola, Senior Science Officer at the The Herpetological Society of Ireland. Rob explains why ponds are essential for wildlife, how they can benefit us in terms of flood protection and recreationally, and provides tips for creating ponds of any size in our own gardens. Rob also explains the importance of ponds in the fight against climate change, w...

Send us Fan Mail In this weeks episode Niall and Ricky are bringing us the dawn chorus from BirdWatch Ireland's East Coast Nature Reserve (ECNR) in Newcastle, Co. Wicklow. Due to its diversity of habitats, the ECNR supports a wide range of species, from wrens, blackbirds, and robins to more locally confined species such as the sedge warbler, and so the soundscape in this episode is rich and t...

Send us Fan Mail In this weeks episode, Ricky and Niall bring us something very new - an Avian Eurovision Song Contest! The pair have selected 12 contestant birds. Nine of these are based on the Eurovision 2022 finalists national birds, with the other three national birds hand-picked by Ricky and Niall.  The birds representing each country are; European Robin - UK; Blackbird - Sweden; Italian Spar...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode Ricky and Niall have a look at the application of working dogs to wildlife conservation projects in Africa. Ricky speaks to Rory Hennebry owner and operator of Munster Canine and Lead Trainer at K9 Wildlife Project a charity set-up to train dogs for wildlife conservation operations internationally.  Rory specialises in training working dogs for a myriad of t...

Send us Fan Mail In this the first episode of our new In Your Nature spring season, Ricky and Niall merge the diverse habitats of our bogs with the rich bird life found within them.  They discuss a broad range of bird and bogland species with the conversation going from childhood memories of the bog to cuckoos and then onto the threats facing our hen harrier populations. The chat covers a myriad o...

Send us Fan Mail In our final episode of 2022, we turn our attention to Marine Conservation with an interview with Sinéad Loughran - Fair Seas and BirdWatch Ireland Marine Policy Officer and Advocacy Officer. We look at the lack of protection for marine habitats and the need for more & better legislation, policies and protections. We look at the pressures on our sea life and the opportunities...

Send us Fan Mail In our penultimate episode of the season we visit Dublin Bay and discover just how important it is for winter waterbirds (ducks, waders, geese) and breeding terns during summer.  We speak to Helen Boland and Tara Adcock of The Dublin Bay Birds Project about 10 years of work, observing, tracking and monitoring the bird life of Dublin Bay. We look at the benefits for the birds choos...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we speak to Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity - Pippa Hackett.  For context, Pippa Hackett rapidly ascended the political strata in Ireland. An organic farmer, Pippa quickly became the Green Party Agricultural Spokesperson after joining the party, she then secured a council seat in Offaly (the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael heartland). Following that she w...

Send us Fan Mail We return to conservation with raptor expert John Lusby and discuss Ireland's smallest breeding bird of prey, the Merlin. These tiny but deadly falcons have an interesting ecology in Ireland straying somewhat from the norm seen in the rest of Europe. Found in remote, difficult terrain and at low density, the Merlin is notoriously tricky to monitor. However, John has been usin...

Send us Fan Mail We depart from our primary topic of birds in this episode to explore the world of Spiders. Who better to talk to on the topic but Collie Ennis, spider expert, Research Associate at Trinity College and Scientific Officer with the Herpetological Society of Ireland (www.thehsi.org/).  From a spiders life-cycle, to murderous mates and sub-aquatic species we learn heaps from a wonderfu...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of our winter season we take a deep dive into garden bird trends, who's on the up and who's not! In our first ever live episode we get in the the room with BirdWatch Ireland colleague Brian Burke - Scientific Officer and Garden Bird Survey Coordinator and talk shop about the birds we all see in our gardens on a regular basis. We look at the Garden Bi...

Send us Fan Mail In the final episode of the current season, we get an insiders take on Irish birding culture. Ricky chats to seasoned birder Niall Keogh on how folk go from occasional birdwatchers to die-hard twitchers. We talk, listing, patch birding, sea watching, twitching, the culture and the terminology that goes with the territory.  Bird of the Week is the flamboyant Hoopoe. In Your Nature...

Send us Fan Mail In Your Nature takes us to Cape Clear Island in south-west Cork. Cape Clear is a legendary spot among Irish and British birders and is home to BirdWatch Ireland's Cape Clear Birds Observatory, established over 60 years ago.  Niall chats to long-standing observatory warden -Steve Wing on the history, life, culture and goings on of obs and island life as well as the odd remarka...

Send us Fan Mail In Ireland we are lucky to host five breeding Tern species, namely; the Common, Arctic, Roseate, Little and Sandwich Tern. In this episode we look at these gracious birds in detail and chat about their identifying features, ecology and breeding sites.  We chat to Dr Stephen Newton - Senior Seabird Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland on Tern conservation in Ireland over thr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we take a close look at the Barn Owl and speak to John Lusby - Raptor Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland on conservation efforts to help the species in Ireland.  Our interview with John reflects on well over a decade of Barn Owl conservation projects in Ireland. We discover how fortunes have changed for the species, aided by a surprising source. We look at...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we look closely at Bird Flu, with the current outbreak having ripped through seabird colonies across the UK and with the first confirmed cases in ROI. Ricky and Niall look at the origins, effects and probable outcomes of avian influenza in our bird communities.  Bird of the Week is back with Great Skua, aka "Bonxie" under the spotlight.  In Your Nature is...

Send us Fan Mail In Your Nature is back with its summer season and we're kicking off with an episode all about "riverbirds".  We focus on five river specialists, the Kingfisher, Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Sand Martin and the Common Sandpiper. Niall and Ricky discuss the identifying features, ecology and interesting adaptations these species have developed for life on the river.  In Your...