Mooney Goes Wild

We received an interesting email about a robin nesting in a barber shop in Dublin. Naturally, Terry Flanagan had to go off and investigate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Niall has travelled far from Greystones for this week's episode as he dialls in from Egypt! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Of the many public parks across the city of Dublin, Blessington Street Basin is special. Its lake attracts many birds of different species, including swans and ducks. A brand new duck-food vending machine has been installed and Terry Flanagan and Richard Collins went along to try it out for themselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listener Paddy Ennis sent us an incredible video that highlights the intelligence of a Rook, one of the most common and familiar members of the crow family in Ireland, devising an ingenious solution to the problem of extracting nuts from Paddy’s hanging garden bird feeder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past couple of weeks, unusual weather conditions prompted the arrival of large numbers of Hoopoes in the southern counties. These migratory birds look more like cartoon characters than a creature one might encounter in real life. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We received another intriguing photo from listener Ger McEvoy, featuring a small bird that is famously very hard to spot...the Jack Snipe. Niall tells us all about one of the most secretive birds in Ireland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have regularly reported on the havoc that has been wrought on the woodlands of Killarney National Park by an invasive alien species - the Common Rhododendron. However, two new flailing machines may improve the situation. Eamonn Meskell, Divisional Manager with the National Parks and Wildlife Service tells us more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

April is one of the most exciting months of all for nature. Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, butterflies are taking flight and migrant birds, such as the Cuckoo and the Swallow, are due to arrive any day now. In celebration, Éanna recites Robert Browning's 1845 poem, 'Home-Thoughts, from Abroad'.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listener Libby O’Toole sent us a very interesting email with photos of a very intricate wasps' nest in her glasshouse. As ever, Éanna is on the case. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Common Crane is an exceptionally rare bird in Ireland. However, these huge, long-necked and long-legged birds were once widespread on the island. There have been sightings in recent years and digital creator, wildlife filmmaker and ornithologist Fionn O'Donoghue managed to film one in Kilkenny. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A campaign has recently been launched by UCC Marine Biologist Danielle Orrell to try to find hatching grounds of Flapper Skates (or mermaid's purses) off the south coast of Ireland. Keen to discover more about them and how you can get involved, we dispatched Terry Flanagan to Cork to meet Danielle. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Community-led actions have been instrumental in protecting the dunes of the Maharees Tombolo in Kerry. Michele Browne meets Eleanor Turner (Biodiversity Officer for Kerry Coco), Dr. Therese Higgins (Lecturer in Wildlife Biology at Munster Technological University) and Martha Farrell (Co-founder of the Maharees Conservation Association).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mooney Goes Wild listener Roland Umanan took a stroll in Merrion Square Park and found an interesting quote from Oscar Wilde: “The birds sat on top of the trees and sang so sweetly...” So, do birds actually sit? Richard and Niall discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Easter Monday (21st April 2025), we will bring you a special two-hour Nesting Season special. Derek Mooney and his panel of ornithological experts will broadcast live on RTÉ Radio One between 09:00 and 11:00 and tell you all about what the birds are up to. Make sure to tune in! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For a very long time, Ireland was famous amongst ornithologists for the fact that it had no woodpeckers. That all changed 20 years ago, when small populations of Great Spotted Woodpeckers began a natural colonisation of our island. Eric Dempsey and Niall Hatch discuss the 'drumming' birds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On tonight’s programme, Terry Flanagan tells us about one of Ireland’s most abundant and best-known plants, the dandelion, and the surprising benefits it brings to Guinea Pigs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before the dawn of modern medicine, many wild animals harnessed the power of nature’s pharmacy. In his fascinating new book 'Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves', author Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long. He speaks to Éanna. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently, the University of Galway launched its Pocket Forest project, which has involved the planting of a new 100m2 native woodland on campus. Recently, Terry Flanagan visited the University of Galway campus and met up with Dr. Caitriona Carolan, ecologist and Lecturer in Environmental Science and Biodiversity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Across the world, one of the best known natural history facts about Ireland is that our island is completely devoid of wild snakes, which in global terms is highly unusual. So why doesn’t Ireland have any snakes? Was it because, as the famous story goes, all of them were expelled by St. Patrick in the 5th century? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his evocative and thought-provoking new memoir 'Swimming Upstream: one man’s fight to save the Atlantic wild salmon', Patsy Peril recalls a life deeply entwined with Irish wildlife. Patsy speaks to our resident expert in all things piscine, Ken Whelan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The largest land-based carnivore on the planet, the Polar Bears is admired globally. But have you ever stopped to wonder why almost no snow or ice seems to stick to their fur? Julian Carolan is a PhD student at Trinity College Dublin and he is the lead author of a recently published paper that provides the answer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the past 14 years, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland has run a special New Year Plant Hunt. Bridget Keehan, Ireland Officer for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, speaks to Éanna Ní Lamhna about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the joys of early spring is seeing Common Frogs coming out of hibernation, triggered by the warming conditions and increasing day-length. Dermott Doran is a farmer in Co. Kildare who created a pond on his land where more and more frogs have been turning up to mate. Terry Flanagan went to see it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of his documentary on Harper's Island Wetlands nature reserve, which willl broadcast this St. Patrick's Day at 3pm, Jim Wilson fills us in on the wildlife that can be found there and explains the inspiration behind the reserve’s centrepiece: its fantastic, state-of-the-art birdwatching hide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mid-March is when our first migrant breeding birds begin to arrive back to Ireland including the Sand Martin, Swift, Swallow, Cuckoo and Ringed Plover. We are asking Mooney Goes Wild listeners to take part in a wonderful ‘citizen science’ project by reporting their first sightings of these birds. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.