Mooney Goes Wild

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...

The dawn chorus, nature’s great global sunrise concert, returns for International Dawn Chorus Day on 3 May. Mooney Goes Wild will broadcast live from midnight to 7am, with Derek Mooney in RTÉ and Jim Wilson and Niall Hatch in Cobh, joined by contributors nationwide and listeners’ own birdsong recordings...

Niall Hatch recently saw six dead Pine Martens while driving from Wicklow to Tipperary, highlighting how strongly the once-rare species has rebounded. He later spotted a live one near Loughlinstown, a rare record inside the M50, which particularly interests Éanna Ní Lamhna given past absence reports...

Jim Wilson, Cork-based author, broadcaster and wildlife photographer, has captured striking Kingfisher images at Cuskinny Marsh, Co. Cork. On the programme he explains how careful planning, close observation and a dedicated hide made these stunning shots possible...

Early spring is a busy transition for birdwatchers, with summer migrants arriving as winter visitors depart. Brent Geese, iconic in Dublin, are gathering in Ballyfermot’s Le Fanu Park to feed before flying to Arctic Canada. Terry Flanagan meets Eric Dempsey there to explore their habits and migration...