Exciting and fun things to do on a budget over the festive season
Christmas activities can be expensive for families so we’ve picked some that are free or won’t break the bank
BirdWatch Ireland
Irish birdwatchers discover robin in Co Cork which had flown from France
Robins, one of Ireland’s most common garden birds, normally stay just a few kilometres from where they hatch as chicks
When to cut hedgerows? Road safety concerns pitted against nature
Road Safety Authority argues it should be left to council officials to decide if and when it is necessary to cut back hedges and verges
‘It’s an assault on the community’ - two Dublin councils receive 346 complaints about seagulls
Dublin and Fingal county councils received complaints about seagulls, ranging from strewn rubbish to dead birds, across their areas, from Fairview Park to Donnybrook
Seán Ronayne: ‘I never had dreams of making lots of money ... I knew what made me happy, and that was nature’
The ornithologist and wildlife sound recordist is the subject of a remarkable new feature-length documentary, Birdsong
Numbers of ‘oiled seabirds’ rises as source of pollution remains a mystery
Guillemots and razorbills worst affected by oil as State and NGOs scramble to save birds
Nature Diary: Calling all dawn chorus watchers
‘It’s the male birds who do the singing in most species except the robin’
Rats causing havoc on offshore islands, which provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for the invaders
One study has described rats and other mammalian invaders as ‘the greatest threat to island biodiversity’, but there are causes for optimism
Conor Pass bought by State for ‘less than €6m’, paving way for Ireland’s first marine national park
Details of Co Kerry amenity announced in Dingle to coincide with Earth Day
Future of hen harrier in doubt as survey shows alarming decline in numbers
Under 100 hen harrier breeding pairs left in State, survey finds
Pole-wrecker woodpeckers blamed for power outages as crews repair damaged electricity infrastructure
The great spotted woodpecker, new to Irish woodland in recent decades, is causing major headaches for the electricity supply network and even power outages in some areas
For wintering waterbirds it’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’
Birdwatch Ireland data shows in the 1990s 1.5m migratory wintering waterbirds were observed; today it has slumped to just 750,000
Environmental Pillar calls for establishment of €8bn climate and nature restoration fund in budget
Extra funding should be provided to support farmers in nature restoration and increasing staff in State agencies involved in climate and ecology
Decision by An Bord Pleanála to block section of greenway welcomed by Birdwatch Ireland
Planning agency agreed that Drogheda to Mornington section of Boyne Greenway would have detrimental impact on migratory seabirds
Game clubs kick back against duck species ban based on ‘ideology’
National Association of Regional Game Councils claim move is not for protection of birds but motivated by animal rights agenda
Hunting of four duck species outlawed as conservationists seek further bans
Scaup, Goldeneye, Pochard and Pintail duck species ruled off-limits to hunters but BirdWatch Ireland wants the Shoveler and Golden Plover protected too
Una Mullally: Too many conifers, too many sheep, too few birds
Ireland needs to reach a point where wild ecosystems function top to bottom
Early departure of puffins after nesting on Skellig Michael leaves experts confused
Uncertainty surrounds departure but ‘favourable’ breeding season recorded
What challenges face the Unesco-designated Dublin Bay Biosphere - and how best can they be met?
Catering for a growing urban population alongside a large natural bay with key protected species is no mean feat
‘He was hitting me ... it was like a horror movie’: Seagulls posing problems in Drogheda
Described as ‘a species in crisis’ by BirdWatch Ireland, gulls are protected by European and national wildlife directives
Ireland consistently in favour of nature restoration law, Ryan says - as critical European Parliament vote looms
Rejection of law at Thursday’s vote would be a big blow to the European green deal
Native woodpeckers: Their meal was a large caterpillar spiced up with a beakful of winged insects
The joy of discovering the homebred woodpeckers: ‘I heard a curious sound coming from a mature alder tree’
Planning Bill would cause ‘erosion of environmental democracy’, Dáil committee hears
Environmental groups argue that draft Bill would make it more difficult for public to hold authorities to account
Michael Viney’s final Another Life column – more than 45 years after the first
Another Life: On the eve of its writer’s 90th birthday, the long-running natural world column draws to a close
BirdWatch chief executive salary previously ‘way too high’ says incumbent
New chief executive says reforms have addressed failings laid out in report by Charities Regulator
How to look out for our wild birds: clean your feeder, be careful with breadcrumbs, seeds and peanuts are better
The Irish Garden Bird Survey reveals changing patterns of different bird species in Ireland
Report finds litany of financial oversight failures at BirdWatch Ireland
Former chief executive used conservation charity credit card to pay for wife’s car repairs
Avian flu devastates Irish seabirds as Europe-wide outbreak threatens to worsen
Concerns are growing that highly contagious disease is about to hit flocks of commercial captive birds. So how worried should the public be?
Global survey finds 63% of Irish birds are in decline
Expansion and intensification of agriculture putting pressure on 73 per cent of avian species, BirdLife International says
Small but welcome rise in number of corncrakes — survey
National Parks and Wildlife Service records 5% increase in the number of birds in 2022
BirdWatch Ireland condemns Minister-approved destruction of seagull eggs in north Dublin
Order allowing eggs or nests to be destroyed until next April in Balbriggan to reduce seagull attacks and noise
Eye on Nature: A starling with a very strange beak and a mystery moth
Your notes and queries for Eanna Ní Lamhna
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