Panel: Niall Hatch

Reporters: Terry Flanagan, Eric Dempsey & Éanna Ní Lamhna

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.

Moths feature prominently in tonight’s programme, so our recommendation from the extensive Mooney Goes Wild archives this week is a special documentary about a moth that you would be forgiven for thinking might be the most prominent one of all, the White Prominent. It’s not, though; it’s actually one of Ireland’s rarest and most range-restricted insects, and even went missing without a trace for seven decades, until its dramatic rediscovery in Co. Kerry. Presented by Eric Dempsey, the programme was first broadcast in October 2024 as part of our Nature On One series.

To listen to Eric’s documentary about his quest to track down the highly elusive White Prominent moth, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11667686/

Papillons de France

For tonight’s programme, Niall Hatch joins us from the delightful town of Mandelieu-La Napoule on the French Riviera, just a stone’s throw from the city of Cannes, where a certain film festival happens to be underway at the moment. While lots of people are out and about trying to spot celebrities on the red carpet, the glitzy restaurants or the well-heeled cafés, Niall is on the hunt for rather different quarry: this is the perfect time of year to be on the lookout for butterflies.

While Ireland is home to just 35 regularly occurring butterfly species, France has around 250, with many taking flight in mid-May. Butterflies are not the only attraction, however. In addition to species such as Provencal Short-tailed Blue, Scarce Swallowtail, Knapweed Fritillary and Southern White Admiral, as he tells us tonight, Niall has also encountered some particularly interesting day-flying moths.

One of those moths, the Hummingbird Hawk-moth, has featured on our programme several times before, given that these migratory insects appear to be turning up in Ireland with increasing frequency and the fact that they really do bear an uncanny similarity to genuine hummingbirds. He also tells us about the similar-looking Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, which is also on the wing in France at the moment.

For more information about Hummingbird Hawk-moths, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/theres-a-hummingbird-in-my-garden/

What creature has the highest body temperature?

All of this talk about faux hummingbirds is a perfect opportunity for Derek and Niall also to talk about the real thing. Hummingbirds are true record-breakers: for one, both their wings and their hearts beat faster than those of any other animals. But did you know that they also boast the highest body temperature of any creature? As we hear on tonight’s programme, one Brazilian species, the Sombre Hummingbird, has been measured as having a core body temperature of 45 degrees Celsius, which would be utterly fatal for a human, not to mention for pretty much every other animal on the planet.

For more information about the Sombre Hummingbird, visit https://ebird.org/species/somhum1

Going Cuckoo with Eric Dempsey!

All this talk of moths and birds immediately brings one of our regular contributors to mind, as he happens to be passionate about both: Eric Dempsey. Very fittingly, he has sent us a report for tonight’s programme all about a bird that happens to share his deep interest in moths . . . in the case of the bird (though presumably not Eric), because it likes to eat their caterpillars!

The bird in question is the Cuckoo, a species which has featured several times on our annual Dawn Chorus broadcast over the years, thanks to the unmistakable song of the male. Eric happened to be out and about in the Midlands recently and heard one singing, and thankfully he managed to record it for us.

For more information about Cuckoos, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/cuckoo/

Lime Hawk-moth

One of our loyal listeners, Lys Duff, sent us a lovely email recently, with several photos attached. We love it when listeners send us in photos they have taken of wildlife, and Lys’ contribution was especially welcome, as it showed not one but two individuals of a rare insect species caught in the act of mating: Lime Hawk-moth.

This large and colourful moth species first began to colonise Ireland in around 2015, with almost all records since then coming from the Dublin area. We were, of course, keen to find out more, so we dispatched our roving reporter Terry Flanagan to speak to lepidopterist Jesmond Harding of Butterfly Conservation Ireland about Lime Hawk-moths and their recent appearance in Ireland.

Jesmond also told Terry about the recent publication of a landmark book, the Atlas of Butterflies in Ireland 2010-2021, which maps the distribution of all thirty-five butterflies that occur here, comparing the pre-2010 distribution to that during the 2010-2021 period. Sadly, it makes for worrying reading, with many species, including our most common butterflies, showing big declines.

Jesmond also asked us to mention a special guided butterfly walk which will be taking place at 10:00am on Saturday May 24th at Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s Lullybeg Reserve in Co. Kildare, which is completely free for members of the public to attend.

For more information about Lime Hawk-moths in Ireland, visit https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Species/78877

For more information about Butterfly Conservation Ireland, visit https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/

Rare bird looks set to stay in Dublin’s Phoenix Park . . . knock on wood

Another listener, Ónagh Kelly, sent us something recently. Not a photograph this time, but a recording of a very striking bird sound . . . in more ways than one! The rapid, almost machine gun-like, rattle that Ónagh captured near to her home in Dublin’s Phoenix Park is unmistakably the territorial "drumming" sound of a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

As regular listeners to Mooney Goes Wild will know, Ireland was a woodpecker-free zone until around 20 years ago, when two groups of piciform pioneers set out across the Irish Sea from Scotland and Wales, reaching Co. Down and Co. Wicklow, respectively. In the two decades since, the species has spread, slowly but surely, across much of the country. Though not yet a common bird here by any means, it definitely looks like the Great Spotted Woodpecker is here to stay.

On tonight’s programme, we chat to Ónagh about her recording and the habits of the woodpeckers and other bird species which call the Phoenix Park – the largest urban park in Europe, let’s not forget – home.

For more information about Great Spotted Woodpeckers, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/great-spotted-woodpecker/

Dublin Port Tolka Estuary Greenway

Nature can make a home for itself pretty much anywhere, even in busy, bustling urban environments. A case in point is the new Dublin Port Tolka Estuary Greenway, which is providing a haven for wildlife in the heart of our capital city.

For tonight’s programme, on a recent crisp, sunny morning we dispatched the inimitable Éanna Ni Lamhna to meet with Eamon McElroy, Port Engineer with Dublin Port Company, to find out more.

For more information about the new Dublin Port Tolka Estuary Greenway, visit https://www.dublinport.ie/greenway/

National Biodiversity Week 2025

Just a quick reminder that National Biodiversity Week is currently underway. Running this year from 16th to 25th May, the aim is to shine a spotlight on Ireland’s rich natural heritage, to celebrate our native flora and fauna and to give the public a chance to explore the rich variety of life in Ireland through a host of wonderful events and activities for the whole family.

For more information about National Biodiversity Week and events taking place near you, visit https://biodiversityweek.ie/

Bord Bia Bloom

If you have a keen interest in gardening or food (or, like us, both), there is a good chance that Bord Bia Bloom is an annual fixture in your diary. This year, Ireland’s largest festival of flowers, food and family fun will be running in Dublin’s Phoenix Park from Thursday 29th May to Bank Holiday Monday 2nd June, and it’s shaping up to be the biggest and best one yet.

As Niall reminds us on tonight’s programme, Bord Bia Bloom is one of the most important annual events for BirdWatch Ireland and a host of other Irish conservation charities. If you are going along to the festival this year, be sure to stop by the BirdWatch Ireland stand (G10, in the main indoor retail pavilion) to pick up some Irish bird posters and pin badges, ask any questions you like about birds or join up as a member.

Derek and the rest of the team will also be broadcasting a very special live edition of Mooney Goes Wild from Bloom between 15:00 and 16:00 on Monday 2nd June, so please be sure to tune in . . . or, if you happen to be at Bord Bia Bloom yourself that day, why not stop by to have a gawp at Derek and the gang in person?

For more information about Bord Bia Bloom, visit https://www.bordbiabloom.com/

Keep your eyes on Derek’s Blue Tits

It’s all systems go in Derek’s back garden at the moment. The clutch of Blue Tits in his nestbox have hatched and, thanks to mum and dad keeping them supplied with succulent caterpillars, they are growing bigger by the day. All going well, we expect that they will fledge (i.e., leave the nest, never to return) on or around Monday 26th May, which means you have just a week or so left to enjoy watching them.

"But how does one do that?", we hear you ask. Well, it’s very simple. As part of our NestWatch 2025 project, Derek has installed a camera in the Blue Tits’ nestbox and is streaming the feathered family’s fortunes live to the world, twenty-four hours a day. Be sure to tune in!

To watch the live stream of the nesting Blue Tits in Derek’s garden, along with some of our other NestWatch 2025 stars, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/mooney/2025/0415/1507825-nestwatch-2025-sand-martins-blue-tits-and-choughs/