Wicklow Nature

Enjoy the digital launch of The Spirit of the River on playback here: bit.ly/33K8faW Enjoy an evening in coversation with @AlanGilsenan1, Niall Hatch @BirdWatchIE and myself in a wide ranging discussion on birds and storytelling.

I haven't been posting much on X during the past year. I have moved my musings, reflections and observations on nature to my new Blue-sky account. bsky.app/profile/wicklownatu… Hopefully you'll find us there in 2025!

It seems to be an amazing year for the frothy white blooms and coral-bell buds of Dropwort. Its Irish distribution is restricted to the Eastern half of the Burren. It is prolific in its abundance on the limestone pavements this year, unlike last year when I only saw a few plants!

The Burren landscape is so beautiful, and at sunset it is just magical.

This fly orchid is at the end of its flowering season with two, still recognisable, flowers clinging to the top of the stem. I counted the remains of a dozen flowers on this single stem. I saw this species flowering here in the Burren in mid-May, so I'm surprised to see it today!

While exploring the Burren today I was amazed to find a single Spring Gentian in flower. When I last visited here in mid-May, this spring specialist was already well past its peak.

Discovered this Pied Wagtails' nest today, which was recently predated. Four eggs were still in the nest, lying under a pile of the parent's feathers. Most likely, a stoat or a pine marten caught the unfortunate bird and dragged it off to feed its young.

This Marsh Violet was a new flower for me. I looked for it last year and found hundreds of plants - but no flowers! It is known as a 'shy flowerer', meaning the plants don't flower every year. I only found 14 flowers amongst dozens of plants with their distinctive rounded leaves.

Although I'm not a moth enthusiast, I do appreciate nice moths. However, I've always wanted to see Emperor Moth, a beautiful day-flying moorland species. I was fortunate to see this beautiful specimen recently caught by @JimFitzharris in a moth trap. The colours are stunning!

Amazed and delighted to see this growing in Wicklow today - Sea Kale! Sea Kale is very rare on the east coast of Ireland, its not very abundant anywhere really, but a little more frequent on our northern coasts. Looking forward to seeing it flower in the coming months.

My new House Sparrow Terrace is a hive of activity with at least one pair and possibly a second. Looking forward to watching their daily family activities from the bedroom window! I love hearing the cheerful 'schreep' calls of the male as he sits outside each morning.

Delighted to see the beautiful and incredibly rare Meadow Saxifrage flowering abundantly again at a site in Wicklow. This species was officially declared extinct in 2017 in Ireland but has made a surprising recovery. All saxifrages are beautiful, but these are especially so!

After days of incessant rain and heavy winds, following storm Kathleen, I took advantage of some fine weather to head to the mountains. Not so much for birds as for some well-deserved headspace! Lots of Ravens, Peregrine, Red Kite, and Willow Warblers to be seen. A nice day out!

Fresh in from Africa, most likely, this Blackcap was singing enthusiastically as dusk set in. Sometime called the Irish Nightingale here in Ireland, its rich melodic song is a wonderful sound in our woodlands. Unusually, this individual is out in the open and not deep in cover.

Despite regularly occurring each year, Cattle Egrets can be hard to catch up unless you happen to be in the area. Delighted to see two recently in wexford, living up to their name - even the cows were watching them! @BirdWatchIE @NatureRTE @Irishwildlife

Once a common garden visitor, greenfinch are sadly far more scarce these days. I often go many weeks without seeing them. But the past few weeks have seen up to seven together at my feeder, including some gorgeous breeding plumaged males.

Great to see my first wheatears of the year today in wexford, freshly in from Africa. Our earliest summer migrants, this is probably my earliest date ever, the next closest date being 16th March. @BirdWatchIE @_BTO

The first coltsfoot flowers of the year. They always turn up where you don't expect them, in this case, on a forest track.

I watched a kingfisher today in the heart of wicklow town. I first saw them here over 30 years ago, and they still breed here. Such site fidelity year after year! One of the easiest and most guaranteed place to watch them wicklow that I know of.

Lesser Celendines, little drops of sunshine scattered throughout the hedgerows. Common and ubiquitous, maybe, but a sure sign spring is here

Hazel catkins are very obvious in the hedgerows at the moment. But the small red female flowers are very inconspicuous and easily overlooked. I love looking for them, they remind me of sea anemones in rock pools!