Heritage & Habitat | The Irish Times

Illustration: Michael Viney

No country for cows and badgers: Ireland’s bovine TB problem

Farm patterns, ecology and geography may make Ireland a paradise for the pathogen

Ilustration: Michael Viney

Crayfish plague: no wonder the Irish species is white-clawed

A deadly American import is threatening the final extinction of the white-clawed crayfish

Greenland barnacle geese wintering on Inishkea. Illustration: Michael Viney

Flying form: Ireland’s fantastic feathered immigrants

In a rich roster of species that come to feed or breed are birds of awesome endeavour

East Atlantic bluefin tuna have survived extreme overfishing.

‘King of all fish’ remains safe from Irish anglers

EU extremely unlikely to allow recreational fishing of bluefin tuna, Minister tells anglers

Pike: Illustration: Michael Viney.

Pike no longer deemed to be the unacceptable foe

Arrival of the alien, red-eyed roach changed fish life in Ireland’s lakes and rivers

It is, after all, the wind that swings sheep the right way in fields.

In a time of climate change, will the wind continue to howl?

The magnificent and frightening energy of a gale in full force is something to behold

More than 70 different forms of dandelion have been recorded so far in Co Dublin alone.

Dandelions a marvel of exquisite engineering

Mechanisms enable common weed to maximise light and direct water to roots

Illustration: Michael Viney

The Kerry slug trail leads all the way from Spain

Genetic research on the Kerry slug has found strong links with those in Spain and Portugal

Atlantic rain by Michael Viney

Where does rain, having fallen, actually go?

Michael Viney: We need to tap into our groundwater resource

Dearg-a-daol, devil’s coach horse.

From pond whirligigs to tooth-nosed snout weevils – it’s a busy beetle hunt

Michael Viney: Look out for orange harlequin ladybird – it’s pretty but it’s a pest

Edible crab: Illustration: Michael Viney.

Moulting periods and the constant process of renewal

Another Life: The process of physical repair, of growing on, extends to most forms of animal life

Bees nest

Eye on Nature: Your notes and queries for Ethna Viney

Harvestman spiders in Galway, a dragonfly in Leitrim and a stoat in Co Clare

Illustration: Michael Viney

Poisoned and preyless: obstacles to rewilding Ireland with eagles

Restoring the golden eagle to the west has found the limits to bringing back a carnivore

The speckled wood butterfly

Eye on Nature: Your notes and queries for Ethna Viney

Specled wood butterfly, white plume moth, and a patch-work leaf-cutter bee

“Like our neighbours, we once depended wholly on the stream, piped to the house by gravity from one of its higher pools.”

Nature takes refuge as drought dries the landscape

Access to water, and lack of it, shapes ecosystem for humans, flora and fauna alike

An expert on the whale we featured, plus readers’ nature queries

Eye on Nature: Ethna Viney on moths, hoverflies, caterpillars and sunbathing birds

“The view from the top balcony can be sublime.” Illustration: Michael Viney

Clifftops have given me some of the high point of my life

Michael Viney: The cliffs of Ireland are the island’s last wild land, the views enchanting tourists on the Wild Atlantic Way

Upland peat. Illustration: Michael Viney

For peat’s sake, our uplands need rain – just not too much at once

Drought takes a toll on our peaty peaks – but a follow-up of torrential rain is a landslide risk

What’s this slithering mass of caterpillars? Readers’ nature queries

Eye on Nature: Ethna Viney on dragonflies, damselflies, beetles and cuckoos

Weeping beech: We found a drift of self-sown beech seedlings, a few inches high, and pocketed one for the garden. Illustration: Michael Viney

Michael Viney: The beauty of weeping beeches

Another Life: The weeping beech is the largest growing of all hardy weeping trees

Glucose for a lethargic bee and bird kill in the garden

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