Panel: Niall Hatch

Reporters: Terry Flanagan and Jim Wilson

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.

Today is a Bank Holiday which, as regular listeners should know, means that another of the special Nature on One documentaries from members of the Mooney Goes Wild team was broadcast this afternoon on RTÉ Radio One. As we hear on tonight’s regular episode of the programme, this time it was the turn of ornithologist, author and birdwatching expert Eric Dempsey, who gave us a fascinating yet tragic glimpse into the life of one of Ireland’s rarest and most threatened bird species, the Ring Ouzel.

We are very proud of Eric’s documentary, so it should come as no surprise that it is this week’s suggested listen from the Mooney Goes Wild archives. So, if you missed it when it was broadcast, now is your chance to catch up.

To listen to this documentary from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/11757311/.

Looking back at Eric Dempsey’s documentary about a very special bird: the Ring Ouzel

As mentioned above, earlier today a very special documentary was broadcast on RTÉ Radio One as part of our Nature on One series. Presented by Eric Dempsey, its subject was one of Ireland’s most critically endangered breeding bird species: the Ring Ouzel, a close relative of the much more familiar Blackbird.

Once widespread breeders on high mountain peaks and scree slopes across Ireland, factors such as upland overgrazing and climate change have pushed the Ring Ouzel to the very brink of extinction here. By the summer of 2024, just one lone pair of these beautiful members of the thrush family was still known to be breeding here, in the mountains of Co. Donegal. On tonight’s programme, Derek and Niall look back at Eric’s documentary about these very rare birds.

For more information about the Ring Ouzel, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/ring-ouzel/

BirdWatch Ireland’s Irish Garden Bird Survey

Of all of the ornithological surveys carried out by conservation charity BirdWatch Ireland, its annual Irish Garden Bird Survey is far and away the most popular. Several thousand households participate in this thirteen-week bird count each winter, making it Ireland’s largest nature-themed "citizen science" project.

This winter’s survey season – its 37th – will kick off on Monday 1st December and will run until the end of February 2026. Over the course of those three months, participants are asked to answer a few simple questions about their gardens, then make careful note of the different bird species that visit each week, along with the highest number of each seen at any one time.

It's a great way to learn more about the birds that come to your home, and the data that Mooney Goes Wild listeners send to BirdWatch Ireland is invaluable in allowing them to keep track of the fortunes and movements of our feathered friends. What's more, it's great fun and is a particularly nice activity for families to do together. We should warn you, however, that it can become very addictive!

To whet your appetite for the upcoming survey and to underscore its importance, on tonight’s programme Niall Hatch, BirdWatch Ireland’s Head of Communications and Development, fills us in on some of the key results from last winter’s survey season.

For more information about the Irish Garden Bird Survey and to take part, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/our-work/surveys-research/research-surveys/irish-garden-bird-survey/

Night Kayaking in Cork

Proud Corkonian Jim Wilson is a man who feels very much at home on the open waves. He has spoken many times on Mooney Goes Wild about nature-watching while cruising in the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans, for example, as well as about Ireland’s seabirds.

Back in July, Jim had quite a different ocean-going experience. He travelled to Castlehaven Harbour, about 6.5km south east of the west Cork town of Skibbereen, to go night kayaking with Naoise and Jim Kennedy from Atlantic Sea Kayaking. He recorded a truly captivating report for tonight’s programme.

For more information about Atlantic Sea Kayaking and kayak tours, both at night and during the day, visit https://www.atlanticseakayaking.com/

Driven nuts by a crow

Our good friend Collie Ennis, Biodiversity Officer with Trinity College Dublin, was in touch recently to inform us of something unusual that happened to him on campus. One day, as he was walking through the grounds, something hard and round landed with a thud on his head: it was a walnut!

As any good scientist would do, Collie decided to spend some time investigating what could have caused this to happen. Although he knew that there were walnut trees on campus, none were growing anywhere close to the area where he had been walking. He kept looking into it and, lo and behold, it transpired that the nut had been dropped by a Hooded Crow, something that the bird had got into the habit of doing. Intrigued, we dispatched our roving reporter, Terry Flanagan, to check it out..

For more information about Hooded Crows, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/hooded-crow/