In Your Nature Ep 25 - Birding Culture

In our end of year Christmas Special, Niall and Ricky consider what birds Santa might be enjoying at his bird table in an exploration of some of the hardiest species that call Finnish Lapland home.

There is something in Santa’s bag for everyone in this episode, from fit finches to tough tits and canny corvids! 

We hope you enjoy it, thanks for listening and happy Christmas! 

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

This week In Your Nature focuses on the topic of invasive species, looking specifically at two new kids on the block, the Quagga Mussel and the Alpine Newt*, two recently discovered unwelcome colonisers! 

Ricky speaks to alien invasive species expert Dr. Jan-Robert Baars, Lecturer and Assistant Professor at the School of Biology and Environmental Sciences at University College Dublin (UCD). Jan is an expert in the field with particular interest in invasion biology. Jan’s work together with colleagues in UCD and the Herpetological Society of Ireland have been monitoring Quagga Mussels and Alpines Newts since they’ve established and now appear to be thriving here in Ireland. 

The Rose-ringed Parakeet is our Bird of the Week, a charismatic yet invasive species now gaining a foothold in Dublin and some of our other urban centres. 
 
Learn more about the species featured in this episode at the links below...

-        Quagga Mussel

-        Alpine Newt

*The Alpine Newt is not currently recognised as an alien invasive species in Ireland. More here. 

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

This week Niall and Ricky are feeling the chill prompting the question, where do our summer migrants to Ireland go to get some winter sun? They discuss a list of species across the bird families that up sticks in autumn and leave in pursuit of an endless summer of sorts.

A story of migration but focusing on the where and why of these massive journeys.

Blackcap is our Bird of the Week, a species once considered a summer migrant that has now become a winter resident through a fascinating turn of events!

Learn more about the species featured in this episode at the links below...
- Corncrake
- Manx Shearwater
- Swallow
- Swift
- Cuckoo
- Red-Necked Phalarope
- Chiffchaff
- Willow Warbler
- Puffin

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

The wildlife and wild places of Connemara are the topics of this weeks episode. John Lusby, Raptor Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland discusses some of the iconic bird species (with a focus on breeding Golden Plover) which use this landscape, and conservation efforts underway to understand and protect them.

John has nominated a bird of prey (surprise surprise) for Bird of the Week, so we're talking all things Kestrel!

To find out more about some of Co. Galways beautiful and important areas for biodiversity, visit County Galway Biodiversity Story Map page: Galway Biodiversity StoryMaps (arcgis.com)

This episode was produced in partnership with Galway County Council and with the support of the National Parks and Wildlife Service under the National Biodiversity Action Plan (2017-2021).

Learn more about the species featured in this episode at the links below...
- Golden Plover
- Kestrel 

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

This weeks' episode brings us part-two of the Ireland vs New Zealand Bird-off. Originally broadcast as part of Radio New Zealand’s 'Our Changing World', produced by Co. Kerry native Claire Concannon (now ensconced in NZ), Ricky Whelan has been pitching his wits against New Zealand native and ornithologist Jamie McAulay, in a ferociously competitive and hilarious competition.

With thanks to Radio New Zealand for allowing us to re-broadcast this episode.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

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 ensconced in NZ), our very own Ricky Whelan will pit his wits against New Zealand native and ornithologist Jamie McAulay.

With thanks to Radio New Zealand for allowing us to re-broadcast this episode.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

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 out how Swifts have fared between 2017 and 2023, the conservation pressures impacting Swifts and how local communities can turn the tide for Swifts.

Bird of the Week this week is the Grey Wagtail a dainty little bird of our rivers and wetlands and close relation to it's urbanite cousin the Pied (Willy) Wagtail.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

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 conservation issues they face, and the process of moth trapping. Niall and Ricky also nominate several species they believe are well deserving of a closer look.

Bird of the Week is the Nightjar, a species which feeds on moths, and was once found in Co. Offaly.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

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). 

Bird of the Week is the Long-tailed Tit, an adorable and gregarious species.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

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 Week is the Coal Tit, a species which like the Pine Marten can be found in mixed coniferous and even Sitka Spruce plantations.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.