Panel: Richard Collins & Niall Hatch

Reporters: Terry Flanagan & Michele Browne

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 an interview with wildlife filmmaker Fionn O'Donoghue, who tells us about a video he made recently featuring one of Ireland’s rarest bird species, the misleadingly named (at least in an Irish context) Common Crane. Following an absence of over 300 years, these magnificent birds have returned here as a breeding species, with recent nesting attempts at a Bord na Móna site in the Midlands.

With that in mind, and to help you to learn more about the very welcome reappearance of these majestic creatures, our suggestion this week from the extensive Mooney Goes Wild archives is a report about the birds’ recent breeding activity. First broadcast in July 2022, it features our roving reporter Terry Flanagan in conversation with Dr. Mark McCorry, Head of Ecology and Bog Rehabilitation at Bord na Móna.

To listen to this segment from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22127682/

Do birds sit? Oscar Wilde certainly seemed to think so!

Mooney Goes Wild listener Roland Umanan was taking a stroll last week in Dublin’s Merrion Square Park when he spotted an intriguing quote on a hoarding around the construction site for the park’s new tea-rooms. The quote in question is from acclaimed 19th century Irish author, poet, and playwright Oscar Wilde, taken from his 1888 children’s story The Selfish Giant, and reads "The birds sat on top of the trees and sang so sweetly . . . ."

This prompted Roland to contact the programme with a very interesting question: do birds actually sit? Would it not be more accurate to say that they stand? On tonight’s programme, Richard and Niall discuss this weighty question, concluding that Wilde probably should have written that the birds "perched", rather than "sat" . . . not that we would presume to correct one of Ireland’s greatest literary giants, you understand!

For more information about Oscar Wilde, one of the great figures of Irish literature, visit http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/

For more information about Merrion Square Park, home to a wonderful statue of Oscar Wilde and situated just across the road from the house where he spent much of his childhood, visit https://www.dublincity.ie/residential/parks/dublin-city-parks/visit-park/merrion-square-park

(Not so) Common Crane seen in Co. Kilkenny

The Common Crane, despite what its name might suggest, is an exceptionally rare bird in Ireland. That was not always the case, however: these huge, long-necked and long-legged birds – the tallest birds in Ireland, in fact – were once a widespread and familiar part of our island’s avifauna. Over the course of many centuries, overhunting and the draining of bogland habitats took their toll, and sadly the species vanished here around 300 years ago, save for the very occasional accidental visitor.

But the species’ fortunes could be changing. Since 2019, a pair of these magnificent birds has been nesting at an undisclosed Bord na Móna site in Co. Offaly, not without some success. Now, since early February, a young Common Crane has been frequenting fields at Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, where birdwatchers have been delighted to watch it feeding in the company of a herd of swans. Could it be one of the Irish-fledged juveniles returning to its natal land?

Digital creator, wildlife filmmaker and ornithologist Fionn O'Donoghue had never seen a Common Crane before, so when he heard about this one he felt compelled to travel to Co. Kilkenny. While there, he managed to shoot a short film featuring the youngster which has proven extremely popular on social media. He joins us on tonight’s programme to tell us more.

To watch Fionn O'Donoghue’s video of the young Common Crane on Instagram, visit https://www.instagram.com/fionnodonoghuevideos/reel/DHd49URInGf/

Join the hunt for mermaid’s purses

A campaign has recently been launched by Danielle Orrell, a Marine Biologist at University College Cork, to try to find hatching grounds of Flapper Skates off the south coast of Ireland. She aims to locate the country's first-ever Flapper Skate nursery, which could be vital for efforts to save these critically endangered fish.

Members of the public are being urged to try to find Flapper Skate "mermaid’s purses": i.e. their egg-cases, which often wash up on beaches after their offspring have hatched. These purses can be hard to spot, as they have a black-and-gold, bark-like exterior that can easily be overlooked between piles of driftwood and seaweed.

Mermaid’s purses can measure up to 16cm in length and often wash up on beaches after new-born rays, skates and sharks emerge. Danielle urges anyone who finds an egg-case to report it on the Marine Dimensions website. There are over 70 species of shark, skate and ray in Irish waters, many of which will leave behind these purses. Those of Flapper Skates are always larger than a human hand.

Keen to discover more about Flapper Skates, mermaid’s purses and how our Mooney Goes Wild listeners can get involved, we dispatched our roving reporter, Terry Flanagan, to Cork, where met up with Danielle for tonight’s programme.

For more information about mermaid’s purses, visit https://marinedimensions.ie/what-is-a-mermaid-purse/

To report any mermaid’s purses that you happen to find, visit https://marinedimensions.ie/purse-search-sightings-form/

Saving The Maharees from coastal erosion is a true community effort

A few weeks ago, we received an email from listener Tom Owens, who is very concerned about the erosion of the dune systems on the west coast of Ireland. According to Tom, the dunes have been "suffering tremendously over the past decade or so. The increased frequency and power of the storms during the winter are having an enormous impact on these ecosystems. This is often exacerbated by human activity during the summer months."

Tom is particularly concerned about Barleycove in County Cork, where he says the beachfront is retreating at an alarming rate. He also highlighted the volunteer-led dune restoration project at The Maharees, on the northern side of the Dingle Peninsula, as an example of what can be done to help.

We were keen to learn more, so our reporter Michele Brownetravelled to The Maharees to find out about how the community became central in saving the dunes there. First, she met with Martha Farrell, chair and co-founder of the Maharees Conservation Association, followed by Eleanor Turner, Biodiversity Officer with Kerry County Council,and Dr. Therese Higgins, Lecturer in Wildlife Biology at Munster Technological University.

For more information about the Maharees Conservation Association and its work, visit https://mahareesconservation.com/

Tom Owens and some of his fellow concerned Barleycove residents are trying to start a similar community action initiative there, with a view to saving their coastal dunes. They will be holding a beach-clean on 20th April: to find out more and to get involved, please can email Tom atowenstom@me.com.