Panel: Niall Hatch

Reporter: Terry Flanagan

In addition to listening to us on RTÉ Radio One at 22:00 every Monday night, don't forget that you can also listen back to each of our programmes any time you like at www.rte.ie/mooney. There, you will find an extensive archive of past broadcasts, conveniently split into different topics and segments.

Tonight’s programme features a report from our roving reporter Terry Flanagan about Starling murmurations, surely amongst the most impressive spectacles in all of nature. With that in mind, our suggestion this week from the extensive Mooney Goes Wild archives is a segment we first broadcast about murmurations in January 2024.

In this clip, Derek speaks to RTÉ’s Northern Correspondent Conor Macauley, who had paid a visit to the Albert Bridge in Belfast to witness the phenomenon for himself, following the return of the birds after an unexpected absence caused by changes to the bridge’s lighting.

To listen to this programme from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/22341232-starling-murmurations-return-to-belfast-city-skyli/

Name That Tune!

It’s still very early in the season, but have you noticed that birdsong is becoming more and more noticeable with each passing morning? We still have a couple of months to go before the dawn chorus will hit its peak, but the increasing amount of daylight is already prompting many birds to start singing, as their breeding hormones surge and they prepare to claim territories, see off rivals and attract mates.

Derek recorded one such avian performer in his garden last week: a male Song Thrush, already in fine voice and singing its heart out. On tonight’s programme, Derek and Niall chat about the features of the song that allow it to be identified as that of a Song Thrush, discuss bird song itself and put the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s popular Merlin Bird ID app to the test.

For more information about Song Thrushes, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/song-thrush/

For more information about the Merlin Bird ID app, visit https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Frolicking French Flamingos

If you have been listening to the programme over the past couple of weeks, you may recall that Niall had recently been making his contributions from the south of France. He is back in Ireland now – and back in the studio for tonight’s programme – but before leaving France, he paid a visit to one of his favourite birdwatching destinations in all of Europe to record a special report for us.

The Camargue is a spectacular and vast wetland, formed by the delta of the River Rhone as it enters the Mediterranean Sea, and is renowned as a true haven for biodiversity. It is home to a great many bird species, of all shapes and sizes, but undoubtedly the most celebrated and sought-after is the unmistakeable Greater Flamingo, a species that even the most inexperienced naturalist should have no problem identifying.

The Camargue is home to thousands of these huge, flamboyant, bright pink birds, and for his report Niall travelled to what is undoubtedly the best place in the region to see them: the Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau, which lies close to the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and where wild flamingos abound.

For more information about the Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau and its flamingos, visit https://www.parcornithologique.com/en/welcome.html

World-class murmurations at Lough Ennell

Here in Ireland, we might not be able to enjoy the sight of thousands of wild flamingos, but we do have an avian attraction that is every bit as spectacular: the Starling murmuration. This is the name given to the phenomenon which sees hundreds of thousands of these small, dark birds dancing through the air in winter and early spring, forming all kinds of shapes in the sky immediately before they settle down to sleep each evening.

One of the most consistently impressive Starling murmurations in Ireland each year takes place at Lough Ennell in Co. Westmeath. Local resident and professional photographer James Crombie has been following and photographing these breath-taking avian performances for a number of years now, and many listeners will remember the iconic photograph he took of one such display in March 2021, which went viral around the world. Since then, James has written a book, appropriately entitled Murmurations, which has recently been published by the Lilliput Press.

The last two weeks of February and the first two weeks of March are the peak times to view this murmuration. On a damp evening last week, therefore, we dispatched our roving reporter, Terry Flanagan, to the midlands to tag along with James and record the event.

For more information about James Crombie’s book Murmurations, and to purchase a copy, visit https://www.lilliputpress.ie/products/murmurations

For more information about Starling murmurations and to report your own sightings of this remarkable phenomenon, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/our-work/surveys-research/research-surveys/irish-starling-murmuration-survey/

Sustainable Futures Forum at University College Cork

On 25th February, University College Cork hosted its second Sustainable Futures Forum at the campus’ art gallery, The Glucksman. This event was a high-level thought leadership forum for discussing critical climate and sustainability issues of national and international importance, with the following aims:

To provide strategic direction on the role of universities in climate action and nature preservation for a sustainable world;

To catalyse collaborative climate action and sustainability at pace and scale; and

To position University College Cork at the forefront of the national and international sustainability and climate conversation with a new platform for shaping policy.

During the morning session of the forum, a panel discussion took place. Entitled Towards a Nature-Positive Future, it featured our very own Éanna Ní Lamhna and Niall Hatch (wearing his BirdWatch Ireland hat), alongside sound-recordist, author and environmental activist Seán Ronayne, all in conversation with moderator Prof. John O’Halloran, the President of UCC and an old friend of ours here at Mooney Goes Wild.

Derek was on hand to record their fascinating discussion, which we have the great pleasure of bringing to you on tonight’s programme.

Later in the year, we will be broadcasting a special programme all about the Sustainable Futures Forum, featuring interviews with speakers, organisers and students; be sure to look out for it.

For more information about UCC’s Sustainable Futures Forum, visit https://www.ucc.ie/en/sustainable-futures-forum/