In Your Nature – Details, episodes & analysis

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We all need a holiday from time to time but there's no doubt that travelling comes with a cost, and we're not just talking about to your bank balance! Travelling comes with an environmental impact but "eco-tourism" or "sustainable tourism" offers an opportunity to lower that impact significantly. However, with these terms becoming buzzwords in recent years, it is important to avoid accepting them at face value. So, how can you distinguish a true eco-tourism option from greenwashing? In this episode, Niall and Ricky hope to clarify this often confusing matter so that you can confidently make more eco-conscious travel choices going forward.

There's no denying that any form of travel will have an impact on the environment but that is not to say we can't all make more positive and responsible choices. As Niall and Ricky describe, eco-tourism should benefit the communities, habitats and species of an area more than it takes away from it.

At the 2024 Global Bird Fair in Rutland, United Kingdom, Niall spoke to some people involved in true eco-tourism to illustrate how that works in practice. They include Sandra Morocho from the Quijos Valley in Ecuador, the place that holds the world record for the number of bird species within 24-kilometres in 24-hours - a staggering 493! He also speaks to Chandika Jayaratne of Jetwing Eco Holidays in Sri Lanka, an initiative aimed at providing an enjoyable tourist experience while in turn, giving back to local initiatives.

Of course, you don't have to travel abroad to enjoy an eco-tourism experience! Niall and Ricky explore some examples of nature-focused trips worth considering in Ireland including BirdWatch Ireland's Cape Clear Bird Observatory in Co. Cork and the Wild Mind Festival in Fenit Co. Kerry.

In keeping with tradition, Niall and Ricky choose a Bird of the Week and this time, the White-tailed Eagle seemed particularly fitting. Formerly lost from Ireland and Scotland, the spectacular raptor now attracts tourists to places like Killarney and the Isle of Mull owing to a successful reintroduction initiative.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils, The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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This episode of In Your Nature comes from across the pond as Niall records from the 2024 Global Bird Fair in Rutland, United Kingdom. Known to many as "Glastonbury for birders", the Global Bird Fair sees conservation organisations, photographers, authors, artists ecotourism companies and many more join together to celebrate their shared love of birds. Over a July weekend, attendees are treated to a jam-packed schedule of talks, workshops, film screenings and other events, all themed around birds and wildlife conservation.

This year, Niall took the opportunity to interview some of the interesting birders that he met at the event. This includes Chief Executive of BirdLife International, Martin Harper, who spoke about the impact that the Global Bird Fair has made on conservation projects worldwide owing to the fundraising element of the event. He also caught up with Head of Communications and Awareness at the Hellenic Ornithological Society/ BirdLife Greece, Roula Trigou. She likens the Global Bird Fair to an annual family gathering, where people who are fighting for the same cause join together. For her, the event perfectly illustrates how birds connect our world. Laura Kammermeier from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology also took some time to speak with Niall about Cornell's many inspiring and educational initiatives including the highly popular Merlin Bird ID app, as well as Birds of the World – a subscription-based online resource and the world’s largest, most comprehensive, scholarly resource for birds.

Meanwhile, Rachel Bigsby is looking at birds from a different perspective, quite literally. The wildlife photographer spoke with Niall about how events like the Global Bird Fair can help new photographers get to grips with techniques and ethics, while she also reveals the Northern Fulmar as the seabird that kickstarted her passion for photography.

No matter where you travel to, you're almost guaranteed to bump into someone else from Ireland and the Global Bird Fair is no exception! Niall caught up with ornithologist Seán Ronayne of Irish Wildlife Sounds to talk about his early days of sound recording, a hobby that has since led to his highly-regarded documentary, Birdsong, album Wild Silence and a soon-to-be-released book, Nature Boy.

In keeping with tradition, Niall and Ricky choose a Bird of the Week and of course, they couldn't do an episode on the Global Bird Fair without mentioning the event's emblem, the Osprey.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils, The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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This weeks' episode brings us part-two of the Ireland vs New Zealand Bird-off. Originally broadcast as part of Radio New Zealand’s 'Our Changing World', produced by Co. Kerry native Claire Concannon (now ensconced in NZ), Ricky Whelan has been pitching his wits against New Zealand native and ornithologist Jamie McAulay, in a ferociously competitive and hilarious competition.

With thanks to Radio New Zealand for allowing us to re-broadcast this episode.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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Season 8 of In Your Nature podcast is starting-off with something slightly different -  part one of a competition between Ireland and New Zealand to see which countries birds will win out in a series of categories in an inter-island bird-off! Originally broadcast as part of Radio New Zealand’s 'Our Changing World', produced by County Kerry native Claire Concannon (now ensconced in NZ), our very own Ricky Whelan will pit his wits against New Zealand native and ornithologist Jamie McAulay.

With thanks to Radio New Zealand for allowing us to re-broadcast this episode.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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This weeks episode is all about Swifts, specifically Swifts in Co. Offaly. 

Since 2017, BirdWatch Ireland has been coordinating county Swift surveys. Co. Offaly was the first ever county to commission a Swift survey and this season, they commissioned a re-survey of the county.

Niall sat down with Jaroslaw Majkusiak, BirdWatch Irelands' 2023 Co. Offaly Swift Surveyor to find out how Swifts have fared between 2017 and 2023, the conservation pressures impacting Swifts and how local communities can turn the tide for Swifts.

Bird of the Week this week is the Grey Wagtail a dainty little bird of our rivers and wetlands and close relation to it's urbanite cousin the Pied (Willy) Wagtail.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council.

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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For this weeks episode of In Your Nature podcast, we take a close look at Moths, a vast and diverse group of insects. Ricky also speaks to Amanda Pedlow, Heritage Officer at Offaly County Council, an avid citizen scientist and moth trapper on the joy of moth trapping and recording. 

Topics include the lifecycle of the moth, their importance in the wider food chain, the conservation issues they face, and the process of moth trapping. Niall and Ricky also nominate several species they believe are well deserving of a closer look.

Bird of the Week is the Nightjar, a species which feeds on moths, and was once found in Co. Offaly.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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In this episode we take a closer look at hedgerows, an iconic part of the Irish landscape, and discover how important they are for pollinators and the farming community.

Ricky speaks to Ruth Wilson who is the Farmland Pollinator Officer (All-Ireland Pollinator Plan) at the National Biodiversity Data Centre, a post funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). 

Bird of the Week is the Long-tailed Tit, an adorable and gregarious species.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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This weeks In Your Nature podcast topic is the Pine Marten. Dr. Denise O'Meara of South East Technological University sat down with Ricky to chat about the Pine Martens' ecology, the reasons behind their amazing comeback in recent years, and how the Pine Martens comeback has helped the Red Squirrel population to begin to slowly recover in parts of Ireland.

Bird of the Week is the Coal Tit, a species which like the Pine Marten can be found in mixed coniferous and even Sitka Spruce plantations.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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This weeks episode focuses on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or H5N1, more commonly referred to as bird flu. The impact of the H5N1 has been particularly pronounced in the last two years, impacting seabird colonies on a pretty much global scale.

At the outset of the episode Niall explains that while bird flu is a pre-existing virus, the virulence of the H5N1 strain is due to intensive and unsanitary farming practices in many poultry farms in south-east Asia. 

To provide more context around this topic, Niall Hatch interviewed Dr. Steve Newton and Brian Burke, both of BirdWatch Ireland. Steve and Brian work on some of Ireland's largest tern colonies on behalf of BirdWatch Ireland and have been at the coal face of this problem.

Steve details how H5N1 has impacted Lady's Island Lake and Rockabill Island, the two colonies with the largest Roseate Tern populations in Ireland, with Rockabill being the most important Roseate Tern colony in north-western Europe. This species is one of the most endangered seabirds world-wide. 

Brian talks about the Dublin Port tern colony, a large principally Common Tern colony in Ireland's largest port, and the impact of the virus at this site, and the measures taken here as at the other two colonies to mitigate the spread of this disease.

Brian also goes on to talk about the Kilcoole Little Tern colony, Ireland's largest colony of this seabird, which despite a slightly rocky beginning with two positive cases of avian flu, has escaped the virus this season, and went on to have a successful breeding season.

 Steve and Brian discuss the implications of H5N1 for the wider avian community particularly as we come into the winter season, and the need for greater government and departmental support. 

This weeks Bird of the Week is the Gannet, Ireland's largest breeding seabird with a wingspan of over 6 feet. It was unfortunately heavily impacted by avian flu in 2022. When diving for prey, Gannets will dive at a speed of ~60km/hour and are specially adapted for this behaviour. This species, pre avian flu, were increasing in population and are, despite the set-back from avian flu, a good news story in the world of conservation. 

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.

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This weeks episode features Elaine O'Riordan, who is studying the ecology of the European Hedgehog in an Irish context for her PhD in the National University of Ireland Galway. 

Elaine has run the Irish Hedgehog Survey for the last number of years, looking at how citizen scientists can feed into our understanding of the population of Hedgehogs in Ireland. 

Ricky and Elaine chat about the various species of Hedgehogs worldwide, their diet, dependence on our gardens, hibernation and how citizen science can play a role in better understanding this fascinating mammal. 

Bird of the Week this week is the Bullfinch. A stunningly beautiful bird, Niall fills us in as to how it benefits hugely from 'No Mow May' feeding on Dandelions, and will also benefit from fruiting trees such as cherry, plum and apple trees.

In Your Nature features Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity Officer with Offaly County Council and Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly. The series is supported by Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath County Councils and the Heritage Council. 

For more about BirdWatch Ireland, visit www.birdwatchireland.ie.