Ecofact

26/05/2026

Kingfishers (Alcedo atthis) with Brook Lampreys (Lampetra planeri) at a site in the Lower River Shannon catchment, May 2026. The first bird is a female and the second is a male.

Lampreys provide an important food source for Kingfishers but are becoming increasingly rare on this watercourse due to the combined impacts of arterial drainage maintenance and declining water quality associated with intensive agriculture.

There is an active Kingfisher nest site located approximately 100m upstream from this location. Vegetation along this bank was removed by OPW machines last year as part of arterial drainage maintenance works. As a result, Kingfishers did not breed at this site in 2025. They returned this season, but the habitats are now highly suboptimal.

The return of Kingfishers to this site points to the resilience of nature - not the effectiveness of any mitigation measures - but biodiversity in this watercourse is now only barely hanging on.

Three-spined Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are now the main prey fish for Kingfishers here. This adaptable fish species often increases in abundance in degraded and heavily modified watercourses. However, sticklebacks are a relatively poor-quality prey item for Kingfishers compared to soft-bodied, high-calorific lampreys, as they are small, heavily armoured with sharp spines, and more difficult to handle and swallow.

This was once one of the best streams for Brook Lampreys in the area, but only a few small spawning groups were present this year. We are now very close to a tipping point on many Irish rivers.

Kingfisher is listed under Annex I of the EU Birds Directive, while Brook Lamprey is listed under Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive.

23/05/2026

Today is World Fish Migration Day 2026. To mark this day, I want to highlight the extraordinary migration and challenges facing the European Eel (Anguilla anguilla).

This video shows juvenile eels (elvers) attempting to migrate upstream at Ennistymon Falls on the River Inagh, Co. Clare. These falls are natural but have also been modified for hydroelectricity generation. Very few of these elvers make it to the top. Eels migrate thousands of kilometres across the Atlantic Ocean, only to encounter migration barriers almost immediately upon entering the lower reaches of most Irish rivers.

The European Eel is now classified as Critically Endangered. Despite this, very little has been done in Ireland to facilitate eel migration, and we are still waiting for the first functional elver pass to be installed on an Irish river.

Migration barriers, hydropower infrastructure, habitat loss, declining water quality, pollution, and climate change are all contributing to the collapse of eel populations across Europe.

World Fish Migration Day highlights not only the importance of reconnecting rivers for migratory fish, but also the deep historical and cultural connections between people, rivers, and fisheries.

Ireland banned traditional commercial eel fishing in 2009. However, traditional eel fishing was never the primary cause of the collapse and, when properly managed, could potentially form part of a sustainable future for the species. Historically, fishermen often rescued elvers trapped below these falls. Eel fishing also represented an important part of Ireland’s cultural and fishing heritage, connecting local communities with rivers, estuaries, and wetlands for generations.

European Eels remain locally abundant in some areas, and we can still do far more to help them. With proper fish passage, habitat restoration, improved water quality, and targeted conservation measures, we can help this remarkable species recover while also restoring part of our lost aquatic heritage.

20/05/2026

Female Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) catching Three-spined Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and Roach (Rutilus rutilus) at a site in the Lower River Shannon catchment, May 2026. A male Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) also makes an appearance at the end of the video.

This video was recorded using a close-focusing trail camera located c.100 m from the nest site. The NPWS was consulted prior to the placement of this camera. Kingfisher is protected under Annex I of the EU Birds Directive.

17/05/2026

Wood Mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) recorded at a site in Co. Tipperary last week using a close-focusing wide-angle trail camera.

This small nocturnal rodent is one of Ireland’s most widespread mammals, occurring in woodland, hedgerows, farmland, and gardens. It is highly adaptable and primarily feeds on seeds, nuts, fruits, and invertebrates, playing an important role in seed dispersal and woodland regeneration.

Their Irish name is ‘Luch fhéir’, which means ‘grass’ or ‘field’ mouse.

They are a key prey species for a wide range of native predators, including owls, kestrels, stoats, and Pine Martens, forming an important part of Ireland’s terrestrial food webs.

Despite their abundance, wood mice are rarely seen due to their nocturnal and cautious behaviour.

13/05/2026

Pine Marten (Martes martes) at a site in Co. Tipperary last week. This once-threatened native species has made a remarkable recovery and is now present in every county in Ireland.

09/05/2026

Today is World Migratory Bird Day 2026. To mark this day, I want to highlight the epic migration of the European Roller (Coracias garrulus).

I recorded this video of a wet European Roller following a heavy downpour in Extremadura, Spain, last year. This is one of Europe’s most spectacular birds and also one of my personal favourites.

European Rollers are extraordinary long-distance migrants, spending the winter in sub-Saharan Africa before returning to Europe each spring to breed. They can undertake migration journeys of over 10,000 kilometres, crossing deserts, seas, and multiple countries during these remarkable movement

Rollers have undergone significant declines across parts of Europe due to agricultural intensification, habitat loss, pesticide use, and the reduction of suitable nesting sites. They are now absent as a breeding species from many areas where they once occurred. The species is listed under Annex I of the EU Birds Directive, recognising its conservation importance at a European level and requiring the protection of important habitats and populations.

Extremadura remains one of the strongholds for this species in western Europe, with its traditional low-intensity farmland, scattered trees, and warm open landscapes still supporting important breeding populations. The population has also been helped by conservation efforts, including the provision of nest boxes.

However, migratory birds connect continents and ecosystems, and their survival depends on protecting habitats across entire flyways - not just at breeding sites.

08/05/2026

Schrödinger's rail platform

This “temporary” platform at Adare Station is being constructed using a planning exemption provision. However, there are serious legal and ecological concerns regarding how this project has been progressed.

This development should not lawfully have qualified as exempted development under Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive.

The platform is not an independent project - it is entirely dependent on the Limerick to Foynes railway line redevelopment. That wider project has involved extensive vegetation clearance, drainage alteration, major construction works, and habitat disturbance along the long abandoned 44km rail corridor. However, it was not assessed as a single integrated project under the Habitats Directive. Instead, elements were advanced separately through questionable exemption provisions and isolated applications for two of the new bridges. However, like the “temporary” platform at Adare, these bridges do not have "functional independence" from the overall project.

European case law is very clear that projects cannot be artificially divided into smaller parts (“project splitting”) in order to avoid environmental assessment obligations.

A project requiring Appropriate Assessment cannot lawfully proceed as exempted development. The project documentation for the Adare platform itself acknowledges a direct hydrological connection to the Lower River Shannon SAC, via drainage pathways leading towards the River Maigue and ultimately into the SAC. This alone triggers the requirement for Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Directive. This is before you get to the issue of cumulative impacts from the wider railway redevelopment.

The ecological surveys completed for the station platform are also highly problematic. Surveys were undertaken after substantial railway clearance and disturbance had already occurred. In other words, the “baseline” conditions used to assess ecological impacts had already been altered by ongoing works. The bat survey confirmed the presence of multiple Annex IV bat species and moderate bat activity, yet survey effort was limited and constrained. Conclusions of “negligible impact” again rely heavily on assumptions regarding mitigation and construction controls rather than objective scientific exclusion of risk.

The reliance on mitigation measures at screening stage, the failure to assess cumulative impacts, clear project splitting, and the deficiencies in ecological baseline data all point towards the same conclusion: Appropriate Assessment was required, and the reliance on exempted development provisions is highly questionable.

This is also clearly not a genuinely “temporary” structure. The platform itself is a substantial development with an estimated cost of approximately €3 million, despite the Ryder Cup event lasting only one week.

Indeed, public statements by Iarnród Éireann and others already indicate that the infrastructure is viewed as part of potential future passenger rail development for Adare and the wider Foynes line. The project is being publicly presented as both “temporary” and as a long-term transport investment at the same time.

That significantly undermines the credibility of the claim that this is merely a short-duration temporary structure associated with a single event. If this is not genuinely a temporary structure, then the legal basis for treating it as exempted development is also highly questionable.

I want to be clear that I am not opposed to rail development. Providing sustainable public transport infrastructure and improved passenger rail connectivity is clearly beneficial. However, no matter how desirable a project may appear, that does not provide a legal entitlement to circumvent planning and environmental law or to bypass the protections required under the Habitats Directive.

A temporary train station is to be constructed in Adare, Co Limerick, as part of plans for hosting the Ryder Cup.

06/05/2026

Current trail camera footage of wild Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) at a site in east Co. Clare. The video shows a small herd of hinds, and some are last year’s calves remaining with their mothers.

Unlike the well known Killarney herd, which represents Ireland’s only remaining native population of Red Deer, these animals are derived from introduced stock. However, they are now an established part of the landscape in many upland areas and it is nice to have large wild deer roaming the hills within relatively short distance of Limerick city.

Red Deer are Ireland’s largest wild land mammal. Hinds will typically first breed at around two years of age, usually producing a single calf each year thereafter.

The east Clare hills provide ideal habitat for this species, with a mixture of commercial forestry, scrub, rough grazing land, and extensive areas of upland cover allowing deer to remain largely hidden during daylight hours. Despite their size, they are surprisingly elusive animals and many people living nearby rarely see them.

In Ireland, calves are typically born during late May and June following a gestation period of around eight months. I have not recorded any calves yet this year, which would be expected as it is still early.

06/05/2026

Current trail camera footage of a Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Otter (Lutra lutra), Badgers (Meles meles) and a Jay (Garrulus glandarius) at a site in Co. Tipperary.

The presence of the Otter at this location is surprising as it is located over 100m from the nearest watercourse and is on a hill in a coniferous plantation. However, otter holts can be located well back from rivers, and otters also cross land when travelling between catchments.

05/05/2026

Pine Marten (Martes martes) at a site in Co. Tipperary last week. This once-threatened native species has made a remarkable recovery and now provides many important ecological benefits. This video was taken using a close-focusing wide-angle “white flash” trail camera.