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Red Squirrel
Red squirrels are one of the oldest native Irish species, in that they pre-date human history and were common at the end of the ice age when forests covered most of the landscape. As farmers arrived and cleared away the forests for farming and for timber, red squirrels in Ireland became almost extinct and had to be re-introduced from England about 200 years ago. However, in recent years, competition from the grey squirrel has pushed them once more down the road towards extinction. This is an image of a Red Squirrel running up a tree in the Raven Wood.
Copyright John Kennedy
Image is present on following page(s): More factors, Mountbellew Lake
Red Squirrel -
Rapeseed flowers
Rapeseed oil, also known as oilseed rape, is used in the manufacture of biodiesel. It is usually combined with fossil fuel diesel, but can also be used on its own. In comparison to other oil sources, such as soya beans, rapeseed produces more oil per acre of land. Growing biofuels changes land usage patterns. The more biofuels that are grown, the less land there will be for growing food crops. This leads to concerns of future global food shortages.
Copyright Shay Knox
Image is present on following page(s): Food, Food
Rapeseed flowers -
Starling
Starlings are very common in the backgardens of Ireland, especially during winter. They are also one of the loudest to visit your garden.
Copyright Mike Brown
Starling -
Song Thrush
The Song Thrush can sometimes be seen singing from chimney tops and television aerials. The song is loud with short bursts of song lasting up to five seconds followed by a short break and then another burst of song.
Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Flora & Fauna, Birdsongs, Organism Types in Ecosystem
Song Thrush -
Atlantic Salmon
Salmon can make amazing journeys, sometimes moving hundreds of miles upstream against strong currents and rapids to reproduce.
Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Rivers, Rivers, Lough Melvin, Rivers
Atlantic Salmon -
Red Grouse
The population is declining, and the Red Grouse has made it onto the IUCN Red List. They are more affected - than other bird species - to changes in their landscapes. Other possible causes include; disease, fertilisers, predators, hunting and climate change.
Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Island Endemics, Fauna, Arigna Mountains, Upland Areas, Fauna, Cuilcagh Mountains & Blanket Bog
Red Grouse -
Wren
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Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Fenor Bog Nature Reserve, Rivers, Islands
Wren -
Wheatear
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Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Islands, Cape Clear
Wheatear -
Algae - Seaweed
Seaweeds are marine algae. They come in green, brown and red. This algae are found throughout the world's oceans and seas and none is known to be poisonous and many are actually nice to eat.
Copyright Environmental Protection Agency
Image is present on following page(s): Seaweeds, Seaweeds, Seaweeds, Seaweeds
Algae - Seaweed -
Whitethroat
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Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Cape Clear
Whitethroat -
Combine Harvester
Intensive farming has become more prevalent in Ireland but at a price. In 2006 it was reported that 29 species of birds and 120 flowering plants are in serious decline - in some instances - because of the introduction of more intensive farming methods that damage their habitat. Other wildlife, such as the marsh fritillary butterfly, is also under threat.
Copyright the Environmental Protection Agency
Image is present on following page(s): Factors for Biodiversity loss
Combine Harvester -
Badger
The European badger lives in an underground home called a sett. Badgers dig their setts in many different habitats, woodlands and hedgerows are good places to find badger setts.
Image is present on following page(s): Changes to Hedgerows, Royal Canal & Grand Canal, Union Wood, Biodiversity, Glenmoy Bog & the Céide Fields, Birds & Animals, St. Anne's Park
Badger -
Biodiversity Week
Biodiversity Week 17th - 24th May
Biodiversity Week -
Willow Warbler
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Copyright Mike Brown
Image is present on following page(s): Woodlands, flora & fauna
Willow Warbler -
Wood Pigeon
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Image is present on following page(s): Flora & Fauna
Wood Pigeon -
An Irish bog
Peatlands, together with their unique collection of plants and animals, are a seriously endangered European habitat. Ireland is among the last countries in Europe where a wide range of peatlands still exist in their natural state. Peatlands originally covered 17% of the land surface of Ireland, a higher proportion than any other European country, with the exception of Finland. Today less than one quarter of the original peatland area remains in an intact condition. Conservationists predict that if exploitation continues on deeper peat of the midland raised bogs, these will be the first bogs to disappear in this century. Blanket bogs, especially in the West of Ireland, are also under increasing threat.
Image is present on following page(s): The Bogs of Ireland, The Bogs of Ireland, The Bogs of Ireland, Bogs, The Bogs of Ireland, The Bogs of Ireland
An Irish bog -
Ballycroy National Park
Ballycroy National Park was established in November 1998, it is Ireland’s sixth National Park and is located on the Western seaboard in northwest Mayo. It comprises of 11,000 hectares of Atlantic blanket bog and mountainous terrain, covering a vast uninhabited and unspoilt wilderness dominated by the Nephin Beg mountain range. Between Nephin beg and Slieve Carr, at 721metres above sea level, the highest mountain in the range, lie the Scardaun Loughs.
Copyright the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Ballycroy National Park -
Chaffinch
Chaffinch -
Thrush
A Thrush
Thrush -
Where to find Red Deer in Ireland
Copyright Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Where to find Red Deer in Ireland -
Do the right thing
ENFO, Ireland's public environmental and sustainable development information service, produced this poster to encourage people to increase and continue recycling. And Ireland are doing well at recycling - in 2007 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Weee) Ireland reported that 9kg of electronic waste per person was collected and recycled – over double the annual 4kg target set for Ireland by the EU.
Copyright the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Image is present on following page(s): What you can do
Do the right thing -
Cutting Turf
This image of a man cutting turf was taken in 1935 by Dorothy Hartley. It was taken between Athlone, Co. Westmeath and Clonmacnoise, Co. Offaly. Taken from Hartley, Dorothy (1935) Irish Holiday, London, Lindsay Drummond.
Photograph by Dorothy Hartley
Image is present on following page(s): Changes to Irish bogs
Cutting Turf -
Hedgehog
Hedgehogs are a common, mainly nocturnal mammal of Ireland. They are considered the "Gardener's Friend" as their diet consists mainly of slugs, snails, insects, insect larvae, beetles, earthworms and fallen fruit. They will also attack mice, rats, lizards, frogs and snakes. Hedgehogs can be found in hedgerows, fields, open woods and gardens.
Image is present on following page(s): Changes to Hedgerows
Hedgehog -
Freshwater Pearl Mussel
Freshwater Pearl Mussel
Courtesy of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government
Image is present on following page(s): Rivers, River Suir, Flooding, Wildlife on Our Rivers
Freshwater Pearl Mussel -
Earthworm
Worms feed on organic material, break it down and then expel it as worm castings. The castings are in the form of tiny pellets which are coated with a gel. This crumb-like structure helps improve soil drainage and aeration. Worms are constantly tunnelling which also helps ventilate compost and soil and enables water, nutrients and oxygen to filter down. The organic matter also undergoes chemical changes in the process. This makes the nutrients more readily accessible to plant roots.
Earthworm -
A flood in County Clare
Increased climate change means more flash floods could be seen in Ireland. During August 2008 there were numerous high profile floods all over the country.
Copyright the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Image is present on following page(s): More factors
A flood in County Clare -
Butterfly
Butterfly-pollinated flowers tend to be large and showy, pink or lavender in colour, frequently have a landing area, and are usually scented. Since butterflies do not digest pollen (with one exception), more nectar is offered than pollen. The flowers have simple nectar guides with the nectarines usually hidden in narrow tubes or spurs, reached by the long tongue of the butterflies.
Courtesy of Wexford County Library
Butterfly -
River
Agriculture remains an integral part of life in Ireland, and 63 percent of the land is farmed. The EPA’s Millennium Report said the amount of artificial fertilizers used in Ireland increased significantly during the twenty years up to 1980. There is a concern that pollution levels of the inland waters will increase substantially in the next few years if the problem is not stemmed soon. Water quality surveys prove that the quality of the inland waters has decreased since they were first assessed in the 1970s. Fish begin to die because there is a lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. One of the worst cases of fish kills recently occurred in a stream that feeds into the Shannon River in County Offaly in June 2000, which had a dead fish count of 2,000.
Courtesy of Betsey Hickey
Image is present on following page(s): More factors
River -
Robin on a rock in the Iveagh Gardens Dublin
The Robin stays in Ireland all year round and its song is one of the most recognised of the bird world.
Copyright John Kennedy
Image is present on following page(s): Birdsongs
Robin on a rock in the Iveagh Gardens Dublin -
Hedgerow
We can all see the removal and the cutting back of hedgerows in the Irish countryside. This makes for more efficient farming but creates problems for the birds, animals and insects who made their homes there.
Courtesy of Pete Birch
Image is present on following page(s): Fálta Sceach, Fálta Sceach, Fálta Sceach, Fálta Sceach, Fálta Sceach, Factors for Biodiversity loss, Fálta Sceach
Hedgerow -
Common frog
The Common Frog is the most widespread of Ireland
Courtesy of Lorcan Scott Duchas
Common frog -
Lichen - Sea Ivory
Costal rocks are the best place to find this type of lichen. Other types can be found growing on rocks in different areas.
Copyright John Kennedy
Image is present on following page(s): Flora
Lichen - Sea Ivory