The Curious Case of the Jawless Living Fossils.
Beneath the surface of the River Blackwater and its tributaries swim fish that have no scales, no bones and no jaws. This curious group of species, known as lamprey, are not very well known to the Irish people, yet they have existed in Irish freshwaters for millions of years; well before man ever colonised the landscape. The earliest known occurrences of lamprey in the fossil record go back over...
Tomorrow's future guardians of the environment
A lot of fun learning about nature was had at this year's IRD Duhallow's Nature Camp. Children are receptive to environmental education if it is interesting and entertaining. Up to 17 children attended this years’ camp and were entertained by a number of fun outdoor activities including pond dipping for aquatic invertebrates, bug hunting with nets, small mammal trapping, scavenger hunts...
Return of the Skydancer
Satellite tagged hen harrier returns to nest in Kerry Hen harriers are one of Ireland’s threatened birds of prey and an icon of the Irish uplands. In springtime the ‘skydancing’ of the ‘white hawk’ as the male hen harrier is sometimes known as locally is one of the most awe-inspiring sights in nature, the male rising to sometimes great heights before plummeting to the ground in a rolling display...
RaptorLIFE Newsletter - Winter 2017/2018
Winter is a great time for wildlife spotting. Less greenery and the need to constantly forage for limited food means birds and mammals are easier to see at this time of year. The RaptorLIFE team are also busy out and about! Satellite tagged hen harrier RaptorLIFE have been monitoring hen harriers during both their breeding and wintering seasons. However one of the biggest gaps in our knowledge...
Controlled burning demonstration
Cork Wildfire Co-operative Group, of which RaptorLIFE is a partner, organised a vegetation management and controlled burning demonstration at Millstreet Country Park. The demonstration was conducted to show landowners how to burn safely for the sustainable management of our uplands. RaptorLIFE were proud to participate in this initiative and plan on putting into practice some of the techniques we...
Inspiring Environmental Awareness in Our Communities
Check out the ESAI website for an article on RaptorLIFE in the 2017 ESAI Spring newsletter http://us9.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4f5195295381516c8d91f2230...
Ballydangan Bog Project
RaptorLIFE visited Ballydangan Bog Project to view first hand the excellent work being carried out on their project. Ballydangan is a 240 ha of restored high bog in County Roscommon, with three other bogs being managed too. The project aims to reverse the decline of red grouse in This is achieved through a range of best-practice red grouse conservation strategies including heather management,...
RaptorLIFE Newsletter - Summer 2017
The long days of summer are finally here, and the countryside is alive with colourful flowers and animals busily tending to their young. The RaptorLIFE team have also been busy! The following provides a short update on what we have been up to.. Prey monitoringThe team have been busy recording both the number and types of small mammals and birds on all our project farms. This allows us to...
Ladybirds and citizen science talk
Come join us for a free talk by Gill Weymen. Held at IRD Duhallow from 7pm and refreshments will be provided. WE will follow the talk by a hunt for native ladybirds in the grounds of of the James O'Keeffe Institute and will record our findings as part of the 2017 All Ireland Ladybird Survey.
Free Talk: Angling and our Rivers in Duhallow
Come join us for a free talk by Tom Ankettell from the Duhallow Angling Centre of Excellence. Held at IRD Duhallow from 7pm and refreshments will be provided. An evening to learn all about an area of outstanding angling and freshwater species!
RaptorLIFE Newsletter- Spring 2017
Spring is finally here, birds including robins, song thrushes and mistle thrushes are already singing, the buds of birch, oak and hazel are bursting, and flowers are blooming. The RaptorLIFE team are also rearing to go! The following provides a short update on what we are up to. Creation of wildlife corridor RaptorLIFE has started work on a joint project with Coillte to create a wildlife...
Owls and Merlin in Duhallow Talk
Come join us for a free talk by BirdWatch Ireland's John Lusby! Held at IRD Duhallow from 7pm and refreshments will be provided. An evening to learn all about our native owls and merlin!
RaptorLIFE Newsletter - Winter 2016/2017
Winter is here, our native deciduous trees have lost their leaves, winter migrating bird species, such as redwings and Brent geese have arrived, and mammals are slowing down their activity. However, there is no rest for the RaptorLIFE team! The following provides a short update on what we have been up to. Fencing of river banksOur crews have been working hard fencing the banks of the Araglin and...
Hen harrier tagging project roundup 2016
HEN HARRIER PRODUCTIVITY AND NEST SUCCESSA total of 39 sites were monitored across all regions as part of the satellite tagging projects with the highest fledging success rates in the Ballyhouras and the lowest in the Slieve Blooms. A high failure rate in the Blooms, with three pairs failing early in the season and predation proven or suspected in another four cases, contrasted with good nest...
Article in the Irish Examiner
By excluding livestock from rivers, fencing reduces pollutants such as bacteria, nutrients, and silt getting into the water. Since June, IRD Duhallow have erected 9.2km of new fencing and 17 cattle drinking troughs, with more lined up, at no cost to landowners. As an added incentive, landowners in the GLAS agri-environmental scheme receive payment for the fencing work done by IRD Duhallow....
Hen harriers flew it at the BT Young Scientists
A big congratulations to Jack Murphy, Michael Sheehan and their teacher Derry Donovan for their fantastic achievement. IRD Duhallow and RaptorLIFE are proud to have been involved in the mentoring of this project. The students picked up a total of 3 awards: Best in Group - Biological and Ecological, Runner up over all in the whole event and the EPA award for Best Environmental project. This again...
RaptorLIFE inspiring our young Water Explorers
The pupils of the 5th and 6th classes in the girls national school, under the guidance of the Green Schools Co-ordinator Úna Meehan, were narrowly beaten (by half a point!) into second place in the Water Explorers Program. The Water Explorer Program is a fun interactive educational resource program, aimed at National School children to learn about water issues and to act on them. http://www....
Article in the Corkman
It may look beautiful but Japanese knotweed is proving to be a major environmental headache in both Cork and Kerry. However, help is at hand as Dr Ilse Corkery, RaptorLIFE Project Scientist at IRD Duhallow has, with her team completed an intense couple of months treating Japanese knotweed in Duhallow. As part of their work, “Do not cut” signs were erected throughout Duhallow including roads in...
RaptorLIFE Newsletter – Autumn 2016
Autumn has definitely arrived with swallows and martins preparing to leave and rowan trees and hawthorn laden with fruit.It’s a busy time of year for the RaptorLIFE team. The following provides a short update on what we have been up to. Hen harrier monitoringA big thank you to all the volunteers who gave up many hours of their time to help out with hen harrier monitoring over the last few...
Revealing Our Raptors Event
Come join us for Revealing our Raptors! Held at IRD Duhallow from 1.30 - 4.30pm. A day to learn all about our native birds of prey, a free event suitable for all ages!
Introducing Fionn (male, tag no. 160250)
This male was tagged on 7/7 at a site in the Ballyhoura Hills, North Cork, at approx. 28 days old. It’s nest site was in dense heather/gorse among 2nd rotation conifers, quite close to a used track high up the mountainside. This male was one of a brood of 3 that fledged successfully from the nest. After fledging he remained in the nest area for some weeks when he could be heard calling/begging...
Introducing Fraoch (female, tag no. 160251)
This female was tagged on the 15th of July at an approximate age of 24-26 days. The nest was located at a traditional bramble and rush site in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in Co. Cork. Monitored by both staff and volunteers as part of IRD Duhallow’s RaptorLIFE project, the chick was in a brood of 2 and was the heaviest of all the 10 chicks tagged this year. The nest was located in a firebreak...
Not every chick will make it….
As part of this research 10 hen harrier chicks were tagged from ten different nests within the Slieve Blooms, Ballyhouras, Knockmealdown and Mullaghareirks mountains. Recent analysis of the incoming tracking data shows that that at least five of these birds are alive and well. Unfortunately, some of the tags are recording little to no activity (movement) indicating that these birds may have died...
Tracking Irish hen harriers - tagging
Studying Irish hen harriers can be challenging. Many of us have taken part in the most recent national survey (2015) and enjoyed some great days out, perhaps the first sky-dancing male of the season or finding a pair at a new site or the first food-pass and female returning to a nest site. All this helps to give us a more or less complete picture of the status of Irish hen harriers and population...
Welcome to Hen Harrier Tracker
RaptorLIFE have been busy this summer monitoring hen harrier – a big thank you to all the volunteers who gave up many hours of their time to help out! The season culminated with a total of ten chicks satellite tagged, with four of those from the Duhallow region. This is a joint project between RaptorLIFE, the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Irish Raptor Study Group. All three...
Article in the Kerryman
Short-eared owls nesting next door to Kerry? SIR, I would like to let readers of The Kerryman know more about a very rare bird – the short-eared owl – whose last confirmed breeding location within the Republic of Ireland was in Kerry in 1985. Short-eared owls have been seen on a number of occasions in East Kerry this summer by the RaptorLIFE project at IRD Duhallow (based in Newmarket). The...
Article in the Corkman
FIGHTING THE INVADERS The Himalayan balsam, which was originally introduced as an ornamental plant has left its presence known as it is now classified as an invasive alien species of EU concern. However as part of IRD Duhallow’s conservation work, the RaptorLIFE project is fast tackling the invasive species along the 126 kilometres of river, with the ultimate long term aim of eradicating it...
Article in the Evening Echo
Computer games are often blamed for children spending less time outside. However, the new app Pokémon Go, is taking the world by storm and may in fact be good for promoting nature. It has already contributed in a small way to public engagement with nature. While searching outside for computer generated Pokémon, many gamers have also encountered real-life animals along the way. The hashtag #...
Freshwater workshop - 11am Saturday 13th August 2016
FREE EVENT - Led by Freshwater Ecologist Dr. David McCormick When: Saturday 13th August 2016 - 11am to 4pm Where: IRD Duhallow, James O'Keeffe Institute, Newmarket, Co.Cork - 11am Presentation on Freshwater Ecology - 12pm lunch provided - 12:30 Interactive fieldtrip to investigate native fish and freshwater insects REGISTRATION REQUIRED: If interested please contact the IRD...
Tackling Himalayan balsam
According to the World Conservation Union, invasive alien species are the second most significant threat to biodiversity, after habitat loss. Most introduced species do not become permanently established in their new environment, and of those that do, most never become a problem. However, the odd introduction thrives and flourishes in their new location, and out-competes native plants and...
