Mooney Goes Wild

Our roving reporter Terry Flanagan paid a visit to a listener called Margaret Nangle, who has a pre-school in Summerhill, Co. Meath. For many years now, the school has had a nestbox with a camera.

Giuliana Furci, Founding Director of the Fungi Foundation, an associate of Harvard University and a National Geographic Explorer speaks to Éanna all about fungi, fascinating and crucially important organisms that are neither plant nor animal.

On Monday 6th May, in a special collaboration with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), we will give RTÉ Radio One listeners an unprecedented opportunity to get up close and personal with one of Ireland’s most fascinating yet least well-known birds, the Chough.

One of our presenters of the Dawn Chorus, naturalist, author and proud Corkonian Jim Wilson, gives us an overview of some of the species he hopes to bring us during the broadcast.

Niall Hatch is not in studio this week; he’s in the village of Fenit on the shores of Tralee Bay in Co. Kerry. He is at the WildMind festival, a celebration of environmentalism, conservation, sustainability and the natural world, he tells us more about the nature-themed festivities.

Researcher Michele Browne paid a visit to the East Coast Nature Reserve, where Eric gave her a sneak peek at some of the key avian singing stars he hopes to showcase on the Dawn Chorus . . . including, with a bit of luck, the skulking Grasshopper Warbler and the handsome Reed Bunting.

International Dawn Chorus Day will take place on Sunday 5th May, and this year the Mooney Goes Wild team will again be bringing it to listeners across Ireland, the world a celebration of Irish birdsong from midnight through to 7:00am on RTÉ Radio One, in a simulcast with RTÉ Lyric FM. We look forward to the biggest radio event in the natural world.

Derek is joined by Richard Collins, Éanna Ní Lamhna, Terry Flanagan Niall Hatch Jim Wilson, Eric Dempsey and Michele Browne. Topics up for disucssion, The Dawn Chorus, Wildmind in Kerry, Choughwatch 2024, Fungi and nesting.

THIS PROGRAMME IS A REPEAT... The Magpie is much maligned. Biologist Terry Flanagan debunks some of myths and asks just why we have such strong feelings about this beautiful and intelligent creature.

As mentioned above, as part of his work for BirdWatch Ireland, our very own Niall Hatch recently gave a talk all about Ireland’s Garden Birds to the members of the Bray Active Retirement Association in Co. Wicklow. We are pleased to bring you a portion of Niall’s talk

Margaret Tallot, co author of An Bhumbóg Mór Bhuí dicusses her new book which is all about the Great Yellow Bumblebee.

Derek and Richard came upon a rather untidy nest, high on an electricity pylon. It was the nest of a pair of Hooded Crows, we learn all about the nesting habits of these widespread and familiar Irish birds.

Our researcher Michele Browne brings us a selection of the natural history questions that you have posed to our expert panellists. Including a sick Greenfinch.

Niall tells us about a talk on the topic of Irish Garden Birds that he gave to Bray Active Retirement Association in Co. Wicklow.

Derek is joined by Richard Collins, Éanna Ní Lamhna Niall Hatch, Michele Browne and Margaret Tallot. Topics up for discussion inclube birds, quiries from listeners, Dawn Chorus and the Great Yellow Bumblebee.

Terry travelled down to meet with owner Ger Kirwan and general manager Stephen Murphy-O’Sullivan under a very well-known bridge in Aughrim, Co. Wicklow, where they explained the processes involved in the rearing Rainbow Trout Caviar and also the harvesting of the eggs.

Mooney Goes Wild Researcher Michele Browne met with Louise Overy, a shark expert and lecturer at MTU Kerry, they speak about the importance of Tralee Bay as a nursery ground for the above-mentioned cartilaginous fish species, about Angel Sharks, in particular, and about the hunt for Mermaid’s purses.

In Co. Kerry, fishermen are leading the way in the protection of vital sea nurseries in Tralee Bay. Denis O’Shea is Manager of the Tralee Oyster Fisheries Society, and he joins us on tonight’s programme to tell us more.

Niall Hatch tells us on tonight’s programme, the Kestrel is sadly declining in Ireland, to such an extent that it now finds itself on the Red-list of Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland, it is nonetheless still to be found in all 32 counties on this island and is not yet a rarity here.

Brilliant though it is, Merlin still makes mistakes, as we learn courtesy of an erroneous report we received of a Creamy-bellied Thrush, a species usually confined to South America. As our panellists explain on tonight’s programme, we can be absolutely certain that it is impossible for one of these New World songbirds to turn up in Ireland.