Common Cow-wheat, Melampyrum pratense, starting to come into flower on Keston Common. A fascinating hemiparisitic plant (in this case growing on Oak) which uses ants to disperse its seeds. 🐜

If you're over on Instagram, you can follow my doodling and other image-based nonsense here www.instagram.com/ciaraioch

Deer impacts on woodland dynamics - does anyone know of a good systematic review of the evidence? Noting that survivorship of tree seedlings & saplings is only partial evidence for impacts on tree community dynamics

90% sure I found a record of a mape Ixodes vespertilionis in a subterranean Lesser hibernation roost in Mayo a few weeks back. 3 old previous records in Ireland in different county so a nice record if I can get it accepted.

Walking amongst old giants

REMINDER: our next Green Drinks will feature a great talk for anyone interested in learning about renewable energy & storage options in Ireland, & financial supports available. The need to switch to renewables has only grown with the latest oil crisis, so come learn how to make it happen!

🦇Call for Abstracts! The National Bat Conference 2026 will take place 11-13 September 2026 at the University of Warwick and we're looking for abstracts. Abstracts should be submitted using the abstract submission form on this page: www.bats.org.uk/our-work/con... by end of April 2026. Please share

Never dream

Its the hope that kills you

Kate McAney will be joining the Lough Carra Catchment Association for a talk on ‘The Secret Life of the Lesser Horseshoe Bats — why they matter to Lough Carra and the Catchment' 8pm, 31 March 2026 Partry Community Centre, County Mayo, F12 KF86 All are welcome

First swallow of year seen Monday! Forgot to post!

Big thanks to Bat Conservation Ireland for an incredible Irish Bat Conference this weekend! We were delighted to present our work, showcase Inis Artists, and hear about so many exciting projects from across Ireland and further afield. Here’s to working together for #bats in #Ireland!

Delighted to get to attend the 11th Bat Conference in Belfast, hosted by Bat Conservation Ireland. Got to see all the work and meet all the people! Presented two talks on PhD research and delighted to win best student talk!

Field season never stops

Excited to announce registration is now open for the next Green Drinks-please join us if you can (and share with anyone who might be interested)! Also please note our new location, Screene's on the Square. Registration: bit.ly/4seelK2

🦇We're Hiring! 🦢 Research Assistant position at ATU to determine the feasibility of establishing a radio receiver (Motus) network in Ireland for migrating bats and birds March 26th deadline! www.atu.ie/connect/jobs... @atu-ie.bsky.social @birdwatchireland.bsky.social @shrewgod.bsky.social

One day of (partial) sunshine in the field and you forget all the things you give out about! This is a special ALEW site of national importance that will hopefully be bursting with life again in a few years. We just need to get moving on official org/charity set up for RR!

Despite sporadic showers, we were quite productive yesterday! We removed rhodo from ~ .6 acres, and we're slowly but sure surely turning the map pink 💪🏽

Big thanks to our own Rhodo Ranger @scottbastow.bsky.social for speaking at last night's Green Drinks! He shared his knowledge of bats and ways we can help protect them from the many threats they face.

What a great talk, GRMA Scott for speaking!

Absolutely loved it! It was a great event.

We have a new location for this month's Green Drinks-upstairs at Screene's on the Square. Join us to learn all about bats from @scottbastow.bsky.social! Register @ bit.ly/4bcg8cw. @david-smyth-eco.bsky.social @hetzgonnabeme.bsky.social @cianoceallaigh.bsky.social @bkollmann.bsky.social

Lasted until Year 03 of PhD to start training for a half marathon - True to form as an academic, behind in everything. Am starting to build up stamina again after being on/off sick since November and aiming for a sub 2 hour half marathon in 6 weeks time.

Baile na hInse

People and large mammals are known to coppice hazel etc, but they're not essential to the process. Hazel can self-coppice in 2 ways: first, the big old stems simply fall over, and new growth emerges to replace them. 1/2

Fieldwork season continues at pace #LoveIrishResearch

We're excited to share details for the March Green Drinks, and the speaker is a Rhodo Ranger, @scottbastow.bsky.social! Scott will discuss his work as an ecologist w/ a focus on bats, their role in the ecosystem, &the relationship between bats & urban development. Registration: bit.ly/468GjOe

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for a repost of my favourite cluster of hibernating Greater Mouse Eared bats. #LoveBats

What an incredible turnout for this month's Green Drinks! Thanks to all who joined us and especially to @hannahmul.bsky.social for teaching us all about turloughs.

Sometimes you spend half a day putting up trail cameras and 75% of the images are you leaving and arriving at point and 23% vegetation triggers 3 wildlife events on a two month deployment #LoveFieldwork

📖 Published! Introducing Esperdyne, an open-source, dual-channel ultrasound monitoring and recording system for bioacoustic field surveys🖥️ 🌍 🦇 🔎 Find out more:

Congrats @sarahwatts.bsky.social @stir.ac.uk for completing this important study buff.ly/rksat4z looking at the impact of deer management on montane woodland (sadly increasingly rare in Scotland). Data revealed that if deer densities are reduced, dwarf birch can survive across multiple habitats.1/2

📖Published! These results provide the first experimental evidence that enhancing structural heterogeneity at the landscape scale can restore multidimensional hoverfly diversity in temperate forests🌲 🪰 Read more:https://buff.ly/XdZNi2J

Our first Green Drinks of the year was a big hit, and our largest turnout yet! Thanks to Aoife Crowe for teaching us all about saproxylic beetles in Ireland.

New report by Bat Conservation Ireland - 'The Lesser Horseshoe Bat: Mapping Landscape Connectivity to Facilitate Species Recovery and Expansion in Ireland'. #NatureConservation #BatConservation #LesserHorseshoeBat www.batconservationireland.org/wp-content/u...

Delighted to have been able to contribute to this and looking forward to see what nature positive steps it helps facilitate #LesserHorseshoeBat #LandscapeEcology 🦇

This Tuesday. Free. Saproxylic Beetles. Galway. Please share around

Our first Green Drinks of the Year is coming up on January 13th! Hope to see you there. Registration: eventbrite.com/e/galway-green-drinks-tickets-1978194333503

A highlight for me this year was the launch of @rewildyourland.bsky.social and I met dozens of people across Ireland who are already enjoying the thrill of rewilding. There are more plans in the pipeline so here's hoping that 2026 will see rewilding go from strength to strength in Ireland!

Small acorns ✅️ Mighty oaks 🔳 Massive woodlands 🔳

"I wouldn't consider what I do work..." through gritted teeth

Y'day was our last visit to coill Gleann dá loch for 2025 which we wrapped up nicely with a few well earned pints and meal 2025 in summary: 2.7ha of Rhodo cleared (6.67 acres) over 12 days with an average of 7 volunteers each outing. Not to mention our follow up work at two other local sites (1/2)

Excited to be speaking at #BES2025 next week on my PhD research also just ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION: "Thinking outside the bog: planting Dwarf Birch for mountain woodland restoration beyond habitat refugia constrained by overgrazing" Implications for practice, policy & deer management. @stir.ac.uk

New OA 🦇 research 📄 studying the wonders of #bat #migration To Migrate or not to Migrate? Exploring the Genomic Basis of Partial Migratory Behavior in Bats academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Christmas is just around the corner if you were wondering what to get me!

Great to attend and have a chance to present an update on project at Irish Entomologists’ Meeting in UCD earlier this week. Data starting to come in now, with hope to start sharing in new year #LoveIrishResearch @royentsoc.bsky.social @atu-ie.bsky.social @researchireland.ie

I give up someone cleverer than me knows why we need more plastic pollution at Horden Hawthorn and blackthorn planted where Hawthorne and blackthorns are naturally growing

In relation to an old post of mine there is a lichen I seen here and at least another couple of hyper-oceanic situations elsewhere (where the bryoflora is particularly nice) which I would like to identify. Anyone familiar with the species? Always on rock and quartzite usually @averisben.bsky.social

This, by @giacgrassi.bsky.social, remains one of the simplest and best climate visuals

Missed the outing as out of action but the team marches on against Conamara rhodo!