Likely Rhabdoweisia crenulata growing at high altitude on a NE rock face. Another first for me and the maamturks/Mám toirce records it seems. Thanks @nimbosaecology.bsky.social for ID help

Scapania ornithopoides. Céad uair agam an speiceas seo a fheiceail agus an chéad suíomh dhó sna Mám Toirce cé go bhfuil roinnt maith cuntais dhó ó na beanna beola. Rud aláinn a bhfaca mé fhéin agus @timoceallaigh.bsky.social lá oíche nollaig

Glue Crust (Hydnoporia corrugata) I suspect from coill Seanna gurrán @irishwoodlandtrust.bsky.social nature reserve. Seems to be no records for the species in Conamara and not something I have ever seen around Also some riverside Huperzia at fairly low altitude and suspect sparrowhawks dinner table

Fontinalis squamosa from Bavan, Cooley Mountains, Co. Louth in upland boulder stream Doesn’t seem to be previously recorded from this region @bbsbryology.bsky.social

A nice day out in north Conamara today with my friend Rud to revisit a population of Braunia imberbis and do a bit of recording. Hedwigia stellata and Glyphomitrium daviesii were particularly nice looking also. Thanks to @nimbosaecology.bsky.social for the heads up on seeing G. daviesii

Small acorns ✅️ Mighty oaks 🔳 Massive woodlands 🔳

Nice day out on the islands of Derryclare Lough on Tuesday. We were out to collect Yew berries & cuttings for propagation for further planting locally. We were also hoping to collect some Rock Whitebeam berries as well but didn't find any unfortunately. Quite a rare species away from Killarney.

Took a trip up to Tully Mountain SAC/Letter Hill about a fortnight ago. It's designated for it's European dry, Alpine & Boreal heaths. Unusually for an upland site in Connemara, it's in good condition due to low numbers of sheep present. Juniper & Bearberry were frequent at the higher elevations.

Tá mé an-bhródúil a bheith pairteach don ghrúpa iontach seo i nGaillimh. Dream díocasach agus daoine álainn freisin

Turns out a combination of not using That Other Site and the economic landscape at the moment in general does, in fact, makes fulfilling the whole "starving artist" stereotype a whole lot more achievable 😅

To round up my year of biological recording, here are my favourite finds from each month of 2025! January - Jubula hutchinsiae I re-found this colony recorded in 2004 in the Glen Stream, co. Down. A v interesting & unmistakable oceanic liverwort of humid wooded stream valleys

Thanks to everyone who braved the weather to join us tonight! We had a fantastic talk about the future of food and land use in Ireland by Dr. David Styles, Associate Professor in Agri-sustainability at the University of Galway.

Anyone familiar with Rumex crispus subsp. littoreus and if so I wonder is this it? I think I remember someone telling me ages back that its tubercles are big and fat like this

Summer flashbacks of this orache dominated vegetation at Gurteen bay (A. laciniata and A. prostrata, I thought!) where I first seen the beautiful Ray's knotweed Polygonum oxyspermum

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

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

Possible signs of progress at Killarney National Park? This is the Derrycunnihy area of the Park which is being targeted for deer culling and where there are signs of a positive response from the vegetation. Good news...

Our newest Irish Wildlife Manual has been published by @npwsireland.bsky.social and deals with the Habitats Directive Annex I whorl snails (Vertigo angustior, V. geyeri and V. moulinsiana). #NatureConservation #IrishWildlifeManual #Vertigo #Mollusca www.npws.ie/sites/defaul...

Nice weekend with friends in Wales this weekend. A short, random walk up a steep, rocky trail towards Gylder Fawr had a number of very nice species I have rarely/never seen previously, which included - Silene acaulis, Saxifraga hypnoides and Asplenium viride

Kenny's Bookshop and Art Gallery in Galway city is celebrating 85 years as a family business this weekend.

Seans go b'sheod Sphagnum divinum ag fás ar portach ina raibh móin báinte sna 1960idí (nó thart ar sin - ó cuimhne mo dhaide) i lár oileán Gharamna garr go tobar Naomh Anna. Deirtear go bhfuil S.divinum níos cotianta i gcásanna mar seo i gcomparáid le S.medium...

"This is the first time we can say with certainty that European wildcats lived in prehistoric Ireland" A stunning discovery and more evidence that there's a lot left to discover about Ireland's ecology! www.rte.ie/news/munster...

Fantastic inaugural @cclguk.bsky.social Early Career Researcher Network day in Birmingham today. Great projects presented by ECRs as well as career talks from established leaders. Huge thanks to everyone who has supported this work, inc the peer-led ECR network committee

The confirmation that 100ac of forestry adjacent to the Glen of the Downs has been bought by the NPWS is great news for Nature Restoration. The opportunity to double the size of Irelands oldest nature reserve is a once in a limetime opportunity. www.greystonesguide.ie/100-acres-of...

Thuidium assimile from a fixed dune relevé at Dogs Bay, Conamara. Last recorded in H16 in 1966 (& perhaps 68). First time I have come across (knowingly) the species T. assimile ag fás sa dumhcha socra in san Iorras beag thiar. Suíomh nua don speiceas agus an chéad cuntas dhó le haghaidh píosa fada

First record of Daltonia splachnoides for Co. Armagh (H37) from plantation on Camlough Mountain. Epiphytic on willow, associates were Lejeunea patens & Metzgeria consanguinea. Algal gloop a big issue though. @bbsbryology.bsky.social #bryophytes #moss #Ireland

I visited Abbey Wood in Killarney National Park over the weekend where a massive job of rhododendron removal has been undertaken in the last year or so with the help of Killarney Moutain Meitheal. The area is now deer fenced to allow recovery - very impressive work!

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

Great turnout for our monthly outing today, and nice to see some new faces! @hetzgonnabeme.bsky.social @timoceallaigh.bsky.social @cianoceallaigh.bsky.social @david-smyth-eco.bsky.social

We're excited to welcome Dr. David Styles from the University of Galway as the speaker for our December Green Drinks! He'll discuss pathways to a climate neutral agriculture and land sector in Ireland. Register @ eventbrite.com/e/galway-green-drinks-tickets-1973157098999?aff=oddtdtcreator

Mo chéad uair an speiceas seo a fheiceáil - Fontinalis squamosa, ag fás i sruthán sna mám toirce. Rud álainn, fada agus caol

A confirmed sample of Trichostomum littorale growing in a short sward upland grassland around 500m with Thalictrum alpinum etc. - Leic na bhfearr, Conamara. Possibly new to the county (since T.brachydontium recent split into 3 species). It was the dominant moss here but midges prevent a full relevé

Delighted that a rabbit burrow at Broughton Sanctuary, Skipton, produced 2 nice finds (6/11/25): Schistostega pennata - Goblin Gold; with highly reflective protonema, shoots with leaves in 2 ranks and long leaf insertions @bbsbryology.bsky.social 1/2

Don't believe I have seen Juncus inflexus growing in Conamara before, very widespread species nationally but not so much here. Growing near Maam cross

Other cool Fermanagh/Cavan finds included Saxifraga hypnoides, Sticta limbata and slime mould Badhamia utricularis. Also visited Shannon Pot, the source of the River Shannon in west Cavan #botany #lichens #slimemould #ireland

Cuid go sean coillte Conamara le feiceál ó bharr (nó garr dhó) Lios uachtair. Bhfuil tú in ann ceann acab a ainmniú? (agus freisin) Saxifraga oppositifolia ag fás ar aill ar cnoc Lios uachtair

Another successful Green Drinks tonight, with Ananda Geluk discussing Active Hope. Thanks to everyone who joined us!

Views from An Chnapach today - looking out at Inis Eirc, salt marsh and exposed/preserved old tree stumps in the intertidal zone

Some provisional results from an invasive species survey of ceantar na noilean in conamara. I really think islands and geographical edge zones are the place to start if we think eradication of certain species is possible, or at least are the place to try and achieve such a thing (1/2)

Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) in Slieve Aughty, Co. Clare. New hectad record for this species which is greatly quite rare in the county.

Donegal farmers launch wild venison snacks venture - In many parts of Ireland deer numbers will need to be reduced to restore and re-establish native woodlands. Expanding the market for wild venison is only a good thing. share.google/F5Eb6fyEQz57...

Has anyone experience with a software for recovering photos from a corrupted SD card? Its after happening to me for the second time (in less than 2 years) so I'm wondering if my camera is the issue or SD cards. Regardless would like to recover some photos I have taken

During a week I am flying to and from Teneriffe (for a wedding/holiday) I share this

First record of large leafy liverwort Bazzania trilobata for co Derry (H40) since 1834! Also growing alongside it was Hymenophyllum tunbrigense which is a new county site too. Ness Country Park, Co. Derry. @bsbiireland.bsky.social @bbsbryology.bsky.social #bryophytes #ferns #botany

Anyone who thinks the invasive species problem is exaggerated, that it's "all just nature", should experience the cemetery that is a native Irish rainforest choked by rhododendron, as so many are. Invasives are a *human* impact, and one of the top causes of biodiversity loss on Earth.

Farming side by side with nature in an upland region of Teneriffe, although this type of farming is clearly on the decline. Curaíocht traidisiúnta i sléibhte Teneriffe. Cuireann sé i gcuimhne dhom sléibhte Conamara beagán, tá fiú raithneach ag fás sna áiteanna nach bhfuil curtha níos mó...

Love the sweeping method the council use in teneriffe, very eco friendly and sean style

Was very pleased to have Sphagnum skyense confirmed growing above Líonán in Conamara. A first for me and na Mám toirce. Bhí mé an-sásta Sphagnum skyense a aimsiú sna Mám Toirce ar cnoic Líonán ag fás ag thart ar 400m. Buíochas go Rory Hodd don comhairle.

Was very pleased to see alpine clubmoss today Diphasiastrum alpinum above líonán today in Conamara. Have been on look out for it all summer. Have only seen twice before (once in Scotland and once more in Conamara but I somehow lost the latter location since it was on a casual hike :/)

These fragments of hazel woodlands around South Armagh are common enough, and always severely overgrazed. I’ve noted several scarce species from them but they are entirely unprotected. The hilly topography and hard porphyritic granophyre are the only things keeping them alive.