Search Results ... (626)
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Frog among the bog mosses
Frog among the bog mosses
An adult frog among the bog mosses in Liffey Head bog. The tadpoles live in the bog pools where they feed on tiny aquatic insects. The presence of multicoloured Sphagnum moss is a sign of an actively growing blanket bog. ( Richard Nairn)
copyright R. Nairn
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Hedgehog swimming
Hedgehog swimming
Hedgehog swimming on the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve
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Hedgehog
Hedgehog
Hedgehog[Erinaceidae family]
Lorcan Scott Duchas
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Hedgehog (Gráinneóg)
Hedgehog (Gráinneóg)
Picture shows a Hedgehog
Original work carried out under contract to South Dublin County Council
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Badgers
Badgers
The Euroasian badger, Meles meles, belongs to one of the largest families of carnivores the Family Mustelidae which has 65 species. Its relatives include other animals found in Ireland the stoats, pine martins and otters in addition to the skunks, ferrets and minks. Its range is extensive, badgers can be found all across Europe and Asia, bounded by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and by latitudes at 60 and 35 degrees. Badgers are elusive creatures, only coming out at night, and therefore relatively little is know about their complex social behaviour. Generally badgers live in social groups of 6, but up to 23 individuals in a group has been recorded. Badgers inherit their living areas, or setts, from their parents, as a result some setts can be centuries old. One excavated sett in England revealed 879m of tunnels, 50 chambers and 178 entrances!
With kind permission of the Irish Wildlife Trust
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Common Hawker
Common Hawker
Photograph of a Common Hawker resting on a branch with wetland grass in the background. This dragonfly is black and yellow in colour with four large tranparent wings.
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Bog Deal
Bog Deal
In the foreground of the picture is bog deal. These are the stumps of pine trees found deep within peat and would once have lived on the bog when its surface was drier, forming a forest of Scots Pine. In the background of the picture is a cut over bog, with a pool and shrubby vegetation. Bogs are very important habitats, and very few intact bogs now remain in Ireland. Bogs can provide us with a glimpse into the vegetation and climate of the past. However, once the climate began to get wetter, pine seeds could not germinate on the wetter bog and the roots of existing trees drowned as the bog began to grow again. These trees stumps still exist in the bog because the low oxygen conditions in peat prevent decay.
Michael Viney
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Mixed Bog Plants
Mixed Bog Plants
A particular community of characteristic species exist on Lowland blanket bogs. Plants such as the easily identifiable cottontails (Eriophrum spp.) with their fluffy white flowers in the summer months exist alongside the deep rooting Purple Moor grass (Molina caerulea) which creates characteristic tuft and is a straw colour in this image. These species are generally representative of wetter areas. In the back ground of this picture you can see Bog myrtle (Myrica gale) which can be identified by its reddish brown upright branches. The plant also carries tiny yellow resin glands on its bark and leaves which gives another clue to its identity. These plants have developed mechanisms to cope with the low nutrient waterlogged environment. For example, Bog myrtle has a bacteria in its roots that allows it to get more nitrogen which essential for plant growth.
With kind permission of the Irish Wildlife Trust
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Badger sett
Badger sett
Picture of a badger sett on the slopes of Lybagh mountain over 2000 feet above sea level.Lugnaquillia, is enveloped by cloud in the backround. Although surrounded by granite mountains, the summit is formed of mica schist. (Richard Nairn)
copyright R. Nairn
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Groundwork
Groundwork
This picture was taken in oak wood of Killarney National Park where people pictured are volunteers invited each year to come and help remove Rhododendron through the Groundwork programme. Rhododendron grows in dense thickets of up to 6m tall. It blocks out all light to the ground layer in a forest and as a result trees and plants cannot grow, preventing the regeneration of the oak woodland. There are over 200 different varieties of Rhododendron in Ireland. Originally from the Caucasus, Rhododendron was brought to Ireland and planted as a cultivar in the large estates and gardens of the countryside. One variety, Rhododendron ponticum found the climatic conditions and poor peaty soil of Irelands oak woodlands an ideal habitat, and is causing a large problem in many areas of the country
With kind permission of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Groundwork