October 8th Dodder Walk

On Saturday October 8th the Dublin Branch went on 90 minute River Dodder guided walk by Kevin Flood, meeting at the iron bridge on the Dodder opposite Donnybrook Bus garage, Beaver row, Donnybrook. Highlights included lots of wildlife, the Dartry dye works, an original tram depot, Famine plinth, Classon’s bridge,... original Dublin laundry chimney, remains of old water mills and river diversions, and lots more. There was a good turn out, and the weather was perfect for walking. All in all a great day was had. Thanks to Brendan for photos.

July 9th - Bull Island Wildflower walk

On Saturday 9th July, the Dublin Branch went on its by now annual walk to Bull Island to see the amazing variety of wildflowers that can be seen there at this time of year. The day was lovely and warm, and led by Niall Mac Coitir, those attending saw at least twenty different kinds of wildflowers . As well as many members of the pea family, such as restharrow, bird's foot trefoil, kidney vetch, and common vetch (which can thrive in the poor, sandy soil), and the sweet smelling ladies bedstraw, the group saw no less than five different species of orchid.

The orchids encountered were pyramidal orchid, common spotted orchid, some last surviving early purple orchid, marsh helleborine, and in a first for the Bull Island walks, - the beautiful and elusive bee orchid!

Truly a day to remember.

pyramidal orchid

Marsh helleborine

bee orchid

Yellow rattle

July 5th - Green Drinks: "What can be done to keep the bee"

This July the Dublin Branch gathered to hear Kieran Flood, IWT Conservation Officer talking about the important issue of the threats facing our pollinating insects, especially bees, and asking the question: "What can be done to keep the bee?

According to Kieran, bee numbers have been declining in Ireland, Europe and beyond, due to loss of habitat and insecticides. This is a matter of major concern as so many of our plants cannot bear fruit unless they are pollinated, including many important food crops. There is an attempt to tackle this problem with an All Ireland Pollinator Plan - an island wide plan to help protect our bees.

Kieran outlined that while the honey bee is important in pollination, the bumblebee also plays a vital role in the pollination of many wild flowers. The talk then delved a little deeper into the wonderful world of Irish bumblebees, of which there are twenty species in Ireland! Kieran went through some of the more common species, which can be distinguished by their distinctive markings - as shown in the handy diagrams below.

5th & 19th June - Trips to Ireland's Eye

This year the Dublin Branch of IWT arranged two trips to Ireland’e Eye – on 5th and 19th June.
We had a tremendous response – both outings were fully booked up and not everybody could be accommodated. Ireland’s Eye: two glorious contrasts. Day One bathed in sunshine, birds hatching their eggs, some chicks roaming around, their parents screeching and warning us to stay away from their offspring. Day Two bathed, literally, in rain, chicks grown, their parents less agitated, hovering anxiously and keeping a watchful eye on our group. Everybody obviously enjoyed the first tour, but despite the weather the good-humoured group on the second trip also appeared to have a good time, appreciating the unique charm of this little gem of an island.


We saw the usual suspects; guillemots, gannets, terns, all the different gulls, of course, cormorants and shags, oystercatchers and ringed plovers, rock pipits, a few puffins and two peregrine falcons. Our thanks to John Fox (Birdwatch Ireland) who provided us with details of their nesting, feeding, migration, habitat, behaviour and lifespan.  

Barbara

5th & 19th June - Trips to Ireland's Eye

This year the Dublin Branch of IWT arranged two trips to Ireland’e Eye – on 5th and 19th June.
We had a tremendous response – both outings were fully booked up and not everybody could be accommodated. Ireland’s Eye: two glorious contrasts. Day One bathed in sunshine, birds hatching their eggs, some chicks roaming around, their parents screeching and warning us to stay away from their offspring. Day Two bathed, literally, in rain, chicks grown, their parents less agitated, hovering anxiously and keeping a watchful eye on our group. Everybody obviously enjoyed the first tour, but despite the weather the good-humoured group on the second trip also appeared to have a good time, appreciating the unique charm of this little gem of an island.


We saw the usual suspects; guillemots, gannets, terns, all the different gulls, of course, cormorants and shags, oystercatchers and ringed plovers, rock pipits, a few puffins and two peregrine falcons. Our thanks to John Fox (Birdwatch Ireland) who provided us with details of their nesting, feeding, migration, habitat, behaviour and lifespan.  

Barbara

15 May 2016 - Ballyboughal Hedgerow Walk

Ballyboughall Hedgerow Walk (Slí na Sceacha’) 15 May 2016

Nature smiled on us in every way on our second visit to Ballyboughal, Co. Dublin.
With blue skies and beautiful sunshine our marvellous guide Ann Lynch of the local Hedgerow Society took a group of over 30 adults and children on a wonderful walk through the hedges of Ballyboughal providing us with plenty of information on what was all around us as we went along.

In true Irish fashion the walk ended at a pub, O’Connor’s (we stayed outside), where we were joined by the Mayor of Fingal David O’Connor who expressed delight at the large group and thanked Ann for hosting us.

Barbara

Ann showing us one of the many wildflowers to be seen

3rd May - Green Drinks - Hedgehog Rescue

The Dublin Branch of IWT this month heard from Yvonne McCann from Hedgehog Rescue Dublin talk about the how the organisation got started, the threats facing wildlife (both natural and human caused) and the trials faced by wildlife rehabbers in Ireland. Practical advice was given on the night about what to do if you come across a hedgehog casualty with added insights into the rehab process.

Hedgehogs face a variety of threats, from strimmers, to traffic, to disturbance during hibernation and need all the help they can get. Yvonne and her friends in Hedgehog Rescue work entirely voluntarily and rely on donations and the help of friendly vets for support. You can find Hedgehog Rescue Dublin on Facebook.

12th March - Trip to St. Enda's

On Saturday 12th March, the Dublin Branch went to visit St Enda's: Carmel, our guide, was excellent. She took us through all the important rooms in the Pearse Museum, engaging with everybody and keeping information at just the right level. After a brief visit to the so-called Nature Room we went round St Enda's Park where Carmel showed us the various follies. Certainly the most interesting of these were the 'Summerhouse', the 'Hermit's Cave' and 'Emmet's Fort', which she unlocked for us so that we could have a good look around this astonishing little building. A very interesting day out.

St. Enda's Museum

Carmel in front of the hermit's cave

21st February Birdwatching Broadmeadow Estuary

On Sunday 21st February the Dublin Branch went birdwatching in Broadmeadow Estuary. Despite terrible weather, our guide Sean Fox showed us quite a few species of birds, including brent geese, teal, black-tailed godwit, stonechats, little egrets, cormorants, and of course the mute swans for which the estuary is famous. Highlight of the trip however, was the sight of a sparrowhawk hovering over the motorway in search of prey. Alas the weather was too wet for the kingfisher which Sean assured us was a regular visitor.

As the morning wore on the wind and rain eased off, and we were able to look through our binoculars and telescopes without getting fogged up. The sun fitfully came out and we had time to look at the swans at close quarters as they gathered around us looking for some bread to eat. There was no need to panic, however, as Sean informed us that the old story about swans being strong enough to break a  man's leg was nothing but a myth!

Photos courtesy of Brendan

2nd February - Green Drinks The Pine Marten

This month the IWT Dublin Branch heard Ruth Hanniffy, Ireland Projects Support Officer in the Vincent Trust give a talk on these fascinating and little known animals, that are making a bit of a comeback in Ireland, and may just be helping to control the grey squirrel!

Once common throughout the country, by the 20th century the pine marten had become extinct from the majority of Ireland, surviving only in a few isolated and fragmented populations mainly in the west. The main reasons for the species’ decline were related to hunting for its fur; loss of habitat through the destruction of forests; direct and indirect poisoning and persecution as a potential predator of livestock/game populations. As all of these factors declined, so has the pine marten recovered so that it has extended its range across most of Ireland. However, the most recent estimate is that there are only about 2,700 individuals on the island, so it is still Ireland's rarest mammal and will remain vulnerable for the foreseeable future.

The spread of the pine marten has coincided with the decline of the grey squirrel, which is now missing from large parts of its former range in the midlands, roughly the same areas where the pine marten is now expanding. It is thought that the pine marten may have a hand in this, by predating on the greys more than the reds, as the greys are heavier, and live more on the ground, making it harder for them to escape. At the moment however, this is only speculation, and further investigation is needed. Ruth will shortly be beginning studies on behalf of The Vincent Trust trying to get further evidence of what exactly is going on, by studying the interaction of both red and grey squirrels with this elusive creature. You can learn more about the pine marten at : http://www.mammals-in-ireland.ie/species/pine-marten

January 23rd - Trip to National Botanic Gardens

On Saturday January 23rd the Dublin Branch took a trip to the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin. Our guide Niamh was a mine of information about the many interesting things to be seen in the gardens, even in January. For example, there was already a beautiful display of snowdrops, rises and other bulbs, and Niamh showed us the shrub wintersweet, which flowers in January with a delicious, delicate fragrance. Mistletoe could also be seen growing on some of the trees, one of the few places in Ireland it can be seen. Niamh informed us however, that it is a bit of a pest and needs to be cut back regularly to avoid damaging its host tree. A tree looking beautiful at this time of year was the myrtle with its striking cinnamon coloured bark, looking a bit like a eucalyptus.

Mistletoe growing on a poplar tree

Myrtle tree

After a while Niamh took us into the warmth of the glasshouses, which was very welcome on a cold January day. There we learnt that all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. According to Niamh, cacti are only seen in the Americas, which means you will never see them appearing in a spaghetti western! We also learnt many other interesting facts, such as teabags are made out banana leaves, and that vanilla comes from the seedpod of an orchid. Even in winter there were many orchids in flower in the orchid house, giving a gorgeous display. Finally Niamh showed us the carnivorous plants, like the pitcher plant, and our own native butterwort, which trap insects with their sticky juices, and slowly digest them. Alas there were no venus flytraps on display, as apparently people can't resist poking them to make them snap shut, and the plants become exhausted and die. Overall, the group were very happy at all that they saw, and agreed that a trip to the Botanic Gardens is highly recommended!

Learning about exotic plants in the warmth of the greenhouse

Learning about orchids

Some of the many ferns to be seen in the glasshouse

Green Drinks 5th January - 'Our Grass has always been this Green'

This month Dublin's Green Drinks heard IWT's Padraic Fogarty talking about how agriculture has shaped our landscape for centuries, but in its modern form just how environmentally friendly is it? Despite the official image of Ireland promoted by the government in its Origin Green labelling programme, with its slogan that 'our grass has always been this green', a lot of modern agriculture is having a destructive impact on our environment. Farmland biodiversity has been declining for the last three decades, which makes a mockery of the idea that Irish food is sustainably produced.

While Origin Green does monitor carbon emissions, it does nothing to stop the pollution of our watercourses from farm run-off, the decline in farmland birds, the needless culling of badgers, or the degradation of our uplands. For example, pollution of our rivers from silage and slurry run-off threatens the survival of species, such as the rare fresh water mussel, and the continuing destruction of our hedgerows is depriving many wildlife species of desperately needed habitat.

Pádraic also talked about what's in store for nature as government plans for ever-increasing production are rolled out, and about the ways we can accommodate the needs of farming and nature conservation. However, it is obvious that at the moment, environmental concerns are not given anything like the weight they should by politicians and civil servants, and conservation agencies remain badly underfunded. Unless things change we are facing a serious biodiversity crisis on this island.