The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has decided that a temporary closure of the hunting season for wild birds will start on Wednesday 8th December 2010 due to the severe recent and continuing freezing weather conditions across the State. The Department consulted with the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC), other … Read more
Recently, a group of American birdwatchers were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime sighting when they observed the rare Peruvian Long-whiskered Owlet, a species previously seen only by a handful of people. This owlet is so rare that it wasn’t even discovered until 1976, and since then, the bird seems to generally prefer to be out of … Read more
An expedition in northwestern Colombia by the conservation organisation Fundacion ProAves has discovered two previously unknown colonies of one of the world’s rarest, most endangered birds – the Baudo Oropenduala (Psarocolius cassini). The expedition was funded in part by American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organisation. Prior to this new discovery of … Read more
EarthOCEAN, a media company that uses cutting-edge new media technologies to communicate science, environmental and wildlife topics in ways that inspire and inform, has debuted a ground-breaking documentary film that investigates the imperiled status of the world’s rarest porpoise. The film entitled, ‘Vaquita – Last Chance for the Desert Porpoise’, is available online at www.vaquita.tv. … Read more
The recently founded Clare Farm Heritage Tours Co-op is now offering guided tours of the beautiful and unique Burren environment with its abundance of archaeological monuments, pre-historical sites and examples of traditional farming. The co-operative of nine North Clare farmers continue a tradition of farming in the Burren which dates back over 6000 years. More … Read more
The European Commission today approved grants to restore raised bogs in County Westmeath and to improve water quality in the Special Conservation Area river, the Upper Blackwater in County Cork. The grants will be paid to Coillte in Westmeath and ‘Integrated Resource Development’ in Cork. Ireland’s raised bogs represent some of the finest examples of … Read more
Clare County Council announced today that despite the rainfall in the last week, water supply to consumers continues to be vulnerable. The local authority says a hose pipe ban introduced two weeks ago in the Ennis area, North Clare and Tulla will remain in force until further notice. Most water supply sources throughout the county … Read more
New research reveals that Europe could not feed itself on fish from EU waters for more than 189 days a year, and so from today would be dependent on fish caught elsewhere. Consuming far more than our depleted European seas can produce is making the EU increasingly dependent on fish from elsewhere, according to a … Read more
A new study involving conservationist Dr David Roberts from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, has revealed that thousands of rare flowering plant species worldwide may become extinct before scientists can even discover them. Combining their own methodology with data from the online World Checklist of Selected Plant Families at … Read more
Local authorities in the Dublin Water region (South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council) are calling on all water users to play their part in conserving water. They have issued an urgent water conservation message to all water users due to the dramatic increase in demand … Read more