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Episode Notes
Welcome to our annual marathon broadcast of the Dawn Chorus. For six hours here on RTÉ Radio 1 and across Europe with our partners in the European Broadcasting Union we will take you on a magical journey from darkness into light, as the birds wake up and burst into song.
Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) Lasair choille - Photo - Eric Dempsey
It is indeed a privilege for us here at RTÉ to share this wonderful experience with listeners at home and indeed far beyond our shores through the medium of radio.
Robin (Erithacus rubecula) Spideog - Photo - Eric Dempsey
And we are delighted that you can be with us for this year's programme, during which we will explore the shared natural heritage of the Celtic world. Joining us are our colleagues from BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Wales and BBC Scotland. So wherever you happen to be around the globe – and however you happen to be listening to us – we wish you a very good morning.
Donal Lunny - Photo - Derek Mooney
The birds won't be the only ones making music today, as we’ll be joined by Paddy Glackin and Dónal Lunny – two of Ireland’s most acclaimed traditional musicians – bringing us a selection of tunes in celebration of our feathered friends.
Paddy Glackin - Photo Derek Mooney
To ease us into the day we will be broadcasting some documentaries from the Mooney Goes Wild archive about three very special birds: the Eider duck, the White Stork and the Curlew.
Derek noticed this swallow while waiting to have the NCT completed on his car. It just goes to show that nature is all around us. We just have to keep our eyes and ears open for it.
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Mooney Goes Wild Special - The Curlew
The Curlew
The Curlew was once a common and familiar sight in the Irish landscape, breeding in upland bogs and traditional meadows in the summer, then flocking to coastal estuaries, beaches and mudflats in the winter. Sadly, today this charismatic bird finds itself threatened with extinction, its population plummeting rapidly.
Photo - Getty
The Common Eider
Cherished and respected by mankind for centuries, supremely adapted for life in cold northern waters and the subject of some of the very earliest conservation measures in the world, the Common Eider is a remarkable bird but more people know about its feathers than the bird itself. So treasured is the Eiderdown, and so labour-intensive is the annual harvest of it, depending on the size of your bed, an Eiderdown quilt can sell for as much as €15,000 in some Dublin outlets.
That its feathers are far more famous than the bird that bears them is something of a pity: it deserves to be better known for its own sake. It is tough, it is beautiful, and it sounds like nothing else in all of nature.
In this special Mooney Goes Wild programme, Derek snuggles up with the Common Eider.
(Photo courtesy of Gudrun Gauksdottir, Chairperson of the Association of Eider Farmers)
The White Storks of Rühstädt in Germany
In this special edition of Mooney Goes Wild Derek travels to the picturesque village of Rühstädt in Germany.
(Photo - Getty Images)
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 - OUR CONTRIBUTORS
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 BBC Wales
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 BBC Scotland
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 BBC Radio Ulster
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 Richard Collins
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 Terry Flanagan
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 Éanna Ní Lamhna
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 Eric Dempsey
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 Karen Tomkins
THE DAWN CHORUS 2021 Serge Kergoat