Mooney Goes Wild

During the week, we received a voice note from one of our listeners, Sean Murray. He had observed a family of Robins in his garden, with both Mammy Robin and Daddy Robin feeding the little chicks, and wondered - is it usual for Daddy Robins to feed the young? Dr. Richard Collins and Terry Flanagan give their thoughts on Sean's query...

A new series of Derek's TV show, Back From The Brink, began last night on RTÉ One, in which he explores urban wildlife restoration across Europe. Episode two, airing next Sunday, brings us to Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork, where Peregrines Macheda and Solomon thrive thanks to conservation work by Sam Bayley and Alan McCarthy...

Whale Watch Ireland 2026 takes place next Saturday, with the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group running free expert-led whale- and dolphin-watching events at 18 coastal sites from 17:00–19:00. IWDG Sightings Officer Pádraig Whooley outlines the event’s aims, the importance of sightings data and how listeners can get involved...

Listener Nikola Brady, from Co. Kildare, e-mailed mooney@rte.ie after spotting strange Starling behaviour outside her bedroom window and recording it. Curious, reporter Terry Flanagan visited Nikola to learn more about these scuffling Starlings...

Listener Henrietta Broderick filmed a Honeybee in her Galway garden pacing in tiny circles, releasing a mustard-yellow droplet before continuing. She chats about what she saw, and our panel discuss what the cause of this odd behaviour might be...

Two special performances of The Conference of Birds at the Mill Theatre in Dundrum highlighted the plight of Ireland’s Red-listed birds through theatre, music and art. It was performed by The Elders and Cór na Nóg. Derek, Niall and John MacKenna reflect on the moving show and its BirdWatch Ireland links...

On his way to the RTÉ car park, Derek briefly recoiled after spotting what he assumed was a Brown Rat. Moments later he realised it was actually a Grey Squirrel, and his revulsion disappeared. He asks the panel why his instinctive response to each rodent was so different...

Coral reefs, often called the rainforests of the sea, support a third of visible marine life and host vast hidden biodiversity. A new Nature study reveals living reefs contain previously unknown biomolecules with potential for medicine and biotechnology. Professor Olivier Thomas of University of Galway explains the findings...

Reporter Terry Flanagan visits a walled garden in Stamullen, Co. Meath, with Ciarán de Buitléar. Ciarán grows his food in close partnership with wildlife and nature, and has written a book, Nature's Acre, to encourage others to do the same...

Listener Madeline Carey, from Co. Clare, says a wren has taken over the swallow nest in her garage after 35 years of welcoming swallows. Worried that wrens may harm swallow eggs or chicks, she asks what she can do before the swallows return. Our panel share their advice on the bold intruder...

RTÉ marks International Dawn Chorus Day this Sunday as nature lovers join one of its most atmospheric broadcasts. From midnight to 7am, RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ lyric fm share seven hours of live birdsong, insight and music, capturing the moment Ireland wakes and daylight slowly takes hold...

Cobh natives Jim Wilson and Seán Ronayne return to Cuskinny Marsh, the place that sparked their love of nature. In this Nature on One special, they explore its rich habitats as Seán works to record a year of its wild sounds, reflecting on why this Cork Harbour sanctuary still matters so deeply.

We received an e-mail to mooney@rte.ie from listener Helena Golden in Leitrim, aka the Willow Woman! She joins us on the line to tell us about her passion for weaving using natural materials, her Blue Tit nest box camera, and the cuckoo and woodpecker she has heard recently...

Called the “Ghost of the Sea,” the rare White Skate has reappeared in Kerry after vanishing from much of its range. Sixth-class student Rocco Stallard found a huge Mermaid’s Purse on Camp Beach, evidence that White Skates may be using local bays as a nursery ground, as Ken Whelan and our panel explain its importance...

Marine Biologist Ken Whelan, Vice President of the Atlantic Salmon Trust, chats to the panel about how Christmas Day and April 1st (which is co-incidentally his birthday!) are so important in the life cycle of Salmon...

Happy Birthday to Dr Richard Collins — our brilliant fountain of knowledge, charming gentleman, and cherished friend. From Derek, the Mooney Goes Wild team, and all our listeners, we wish him many happy returns… and yes, his birthday cake even features special swans!

Wild Dublin, a free week-long exhibition running at Rathmines Library until April 27th, showcases artist Fiona Phelan’s work alongside paintings by her primary school students, and celebrates the city’s diverse wildlife. MGW researcher Michèle Browne visited to meet Fiona and the young artists...

Reporter Terry Flanagan meets Dr Fionn Ó Marcaigh in Kildare as he surveys local rookeries for an NPWS nationwide count. Fionn, who is author of Encounters With Corvids, highlights why monitoring rook populations matters...

A Greenland Shark stranded in Co Sligo last week - the first such recording on Ireland’s coast - made news headlines around the world. Leaving Cert students Hammad Chaudhry and James Winters O’Donnell reported it to the IWDG, and they join us to share what they found, while Emilie de Loose of Atlantic Whale Deal provides further analysis...

Ireland’s moths boast wonderful names — from Heart & Dart to Mother Shipton — and much of what we know about the 1,500 species comes from the Farmer Moth Monitoring Scheme, a citizen-science project run by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Project Officer Dr Tim Butter joins us to explain how it all works...

Last Tuesday, Derek and Jim Wilson appeared on the RTÉ Today show on RTÉ One, to chat about birdboxes and nesting season. Whilst in the make-up chair, Derek spoke to make-up artist Kate about a rather aggressive crow that is attacking her window, and waking her each morning! She asks our panel what can be done to get the bird to stop this...

Niall Hatch chats to Derek, Eanna, Richard and Ken Whelan about his recent visit to the Camargue region of France, and some of the wildlife that can be found there, including the fabled horses, lesser flamingos, Chetty's warblers, and 'edible' frogs...

RTÉ Radio 1 has unveiled new signature tunes as part of its refreshed on-air sound. In the Irish Times, Ed Power joked that the new Mooney Goes Wild theme “sounds like it was scored by the people behind the latest Marvel blockbuster” — fitting for a show that brings epic stories from the natural world!

Albatrosses, the world’s largest-winged seabirds, face severe declines, with up to 100,000 killed yearly by longline fisheries. UCC researcher Dr Jamie Darby tracked endangered Antipodean Albatrosses on the remote Antipodes Islands, revealing far higher mortality rates that could push the species toward extinction...

The National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin are a free, year-round haven of global plant collections, including remarkable trees often explored on guided tours. For tonight’s programme, Terry Flanagan visits the Gardens to join guide Eoin O’Reilly, who shows him some of the site’s most spectacular arboreal highlights...