Ireland's Wildlife Year is a superbly illustrated survey of the four seasons in the Irish natural environment. It traces the development of plants and trees, the movements of birds and animals and the changing face of the Irish landscape over one calendar year. There is nothing understated about the seasonal changes in Ireland. This book, driven by the stunning nature photography of Billy Clarke, Eric Dempsey and Carsten Krieger, tracks those changes as they affect plants, trees and shrubs, bird and animal life, the general landscape and the natural environment. Contributors are outstanding experts in their fields. Eric Dempsey writes about birds; Declan Doogue about flora; and Professor Tom Hayden of UCD about fauna.
Call it a daily meditation on the world around us for nature-lovers and nature newbies alike, An Irish Nature Year gleefully explores the small mysteries of the seasons as they unfold – Who’s cutting perfect circles in your roses? Which birds wear feathery trousers? And what, exactly, is an amethyst deceiver?
A beautiful picture book tracking nature through the seasons in Ireland. It explores nature in your back garden as well as weird and wonderful natural phenomena, such as the metamorphosis from Tadpole to Frog; the Red Deer rut in autumn; or a starling flock in winter.
In A Natural Year, critically acclaimed travel writer Michael Fewer celebrates the everyday wonder of Irish nature in these beautifully written diaries, observed from his homes in south Dublin and rural Waterford, in which he delights at the startling beauty and extraordinary complexity of the natural world through the tranquil rhythms of the passing seasons. Fewer’s infectious passion for his subject simply inspires our own observation, and suggests how careful study of the natural world around us can be a sure antidote to the stresses of modern life. At a time when it’s essential for us to understand the crisis that faces our wildlife and environment, we need to know more about the natural world around us, the treasures that are being needlessly lost, and the threat to our very way of life. A Natural Year will open eyes and hearts to a greater understanding of the world around us, and its innate beauty and fragility.
Get closer to the wild side of Ireland From humpback whales to dandelions, Ireland's spectacular landscapes and varied habitats are home to a wonderful diversity of life. This book, and subsequent volumes in the series, is a celebration of all things wild on the island of Ireland. It features a selection of the long-running profiles of Irish wildlife that have been running on the back page of Ireland's Own magazine since 2001, punctuated by selected natural history articles that have featured in a variety of high-profile publications including BBC Wildlife Magazine, The Countryman, Wild Ireland, The Irish Independent, The Evening Echo, The Irish Examiner, Ireland's Wildlife, The West Cork Times and others. About Ireland's Wildlife Lifelong wildlife enthusiast Calvin Jones set up Ireland's Wildlife in 2011 to encourage people to get closer to the wild side of Ireland. The site has grown to become one of Ireland's leading wildlife and nature resources, featuring an eclectic mix of wildlife content from feature articles to how-to's to gear reviews and more. Calvin also helps people get more hands-on experience with nature by running Discover Wildlife Experiences on the West Cork stretch of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way, and through his work with primary school children as a Heritage Specialist on the Heritage Council of Ireland's Heritage in Schools scheme. In this volume: The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Ireland's best kept wildlife secret Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) Ivy (Hedera helix) Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) Pine martens offer red squirrels a lifeline Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) Stoat (Mustela erminea) Batty about bats Leisler's Bat (Nyctalus leisleri) Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) In defence of weeds Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) Acorn Barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) Garden wildlife: it's a jungle out there! Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia) Common Frog (Rana temporaria) Otter (Lutra lutra) Otters: a breathtaking wildlife experience The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) Chemical warfare in the Irish countryside Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) Jay (Garrulus glandarius) Anticipation junkie Common Newt (Triturus vulgaris) Long Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) Peacock butterfly (Inachis io) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Pike (Esox lucius) Pygmy Shrew (Sorex minutus)
The essential photographic guide to Ireland's wildlife. Collins Complete Irish Wildlife describes almost all the mammals, birds, fish and butterflies of Ireland likely to be encountered by the keen amateur naturalist, as well as all the common and widespread flowers, trees and shrubs. With over 1,000 colour photographs, this comprehensive guide illustrates every species described. The introduction by Ireland's best known wildlife expert, Derek Mooney, sets out where you can find the best of Irish wildlife. Reptiles and amphibians, insects and spiders, molluscs and other invertebrates are also featured, and species are organised taxonomically. Each section is coded with a symbol for quick reference and species are grouped according to natural relationships and similarities. Collins Complete Irish Wildlife is a book no nature lover should travel without.
Discover creatures big and small with this fun and engaging baby board book. My First Book of Irish Animals is filled with different kinds of wildlife from the hedgerows and woodlands to skies and seas. Babies will learn to recognise native Irish animals with this compact book.
Complete Irish Wildlife describes almost all the mammals, birds, fish and butterflies of Ireland likely to be encountered by the keen amateur naturalist, as well as all the common and widespread flowers, trees and shrubs. With over 1,000 colour photographs, this comprehensive guide illustrates every species described. The introduction by Ireland's best known wildlife expert, Derek Mooney, sets out where you can find the best of Irish wildlife. Reptiles and amphibians, insects and spiders, molluscs and other invertebrates are also featured, and species are organized taxonomically. Each section is coded with a symbol for quick reference and species are grouped according to natural relationships and similarities. With its handy format and PVC wallet, Complete Irish Wildlife is a book no nature lover should travel without.
Periodic comprehensive overviews of the status of the diverse organisms that make up wildlife are essential to determining trends, threats and future prospects. Just over 25 years ago, leading authorities on different kinds of wildlife came together to prepare an assessment of their status of a wide range of organisms in Great Britain and Ireland in The Changing Flora and Fauna of Britain, also edited by Professor David L. Hawksworth CBE. Now, in The Changing Wildlife of Great Britain and Ireland, he has gathered together some of the original and also new contributors to review changes since that time and look to the future. Contributions range from viruses, diatoms, fungi, lichens, mites and nematodes; through butterflies, dragonflies, flies and slugs; to flowering plants, ferns, mammals, birds and fish. The state of knowledge in different groups is assessed, and the effectiveness of statutory and other measures taken to safeguard wildlife considered. The picture is far from bleak, ameliorating sulphur dioxide levels have benefited sensitive lichens and mosses in a dramatic way, water quality improvement has been beneficial, there have been few certain extinctions and rediscoveries of species thought to have been lost. Biodiversity Action Plans have also benefited targeted species, but habitat restoration and management for some is not always good for others. But there are worrying trends in declining populations, with an increasing number being regarded as threatened or endangered, especially in agricultural areas, and where woodland management has changed, particular threats from introduced species, and concern over the effects of climate change. Some of the smaller organisms remain poorly known, a situation unlikely to change as expertise in many is scant or being lost. This stock-check and look to the future will be a key source book to conservationists, naturalists, and professional biologists for many years to come.
This is the story of life in Ireland – a story half a billion years in the making. With its castles, crannogs and passage tombs, Ireland is a land where history looms large, but the saga of life on this island dates back millions of years before the first people set foot here. In Life in Ireland, Conor O’Brien guides the reader on a journey around the island to explore the history of natural life here, from the Jurassic Coast of Antrim to the great Ice Age bone-beds of Cork. Along the way, we’ll meet some of the astonishing creatures to have called Ireland home through the ages: shelled monsters; huge marine lizards; armoured dinosaurs; giant deer; mighty mammoths. Vital strands in the story of life on Earth have left their mark here, including some of the first creatures to crawl onto land or take to the wing. This epic journey will take us from the first fossils to the present day, to see how our wildlife has adapted to the human age and explore what the future might hold for life in Ireland.
