Category: iNaturalist
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: COMMON PIPISTRELLE BAT
As evening falls and the last birdsong fades, a new kind of movement stirs in the sky. Look closely around dusk and you might see a small, fast shape darting and twisting through the air. It’s one of our most familiar, yet often overlooked, mammals, the common pipistrelle bat. The…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: INVASIVE ASH SAWFLY
Not every species spotted in the wild is a welcome one. This week, we’re turning our attention to a newcomer that’s causing concern for our native trees, especially ash. Meet the ash sawfly (Tomostethus nigritus), an invasive insect now spreading across parts of Ireland and the UK, including reports from…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: ENDANGERED WILDLIFE
We’re shining a light on the wildlife species quietly disappearing from our landscapes. From the call of the curlew to the flicker of butterfly wings over a summer meadow, these creatures remind us that we share our world with many others, and that not all are thriving. Across Northern Ireland,…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: HAWTHORN
As spring turns to early summer, one of the hedgerow’s most distinctive and beloved sights is the hawthorn tree (Crataegus monogyna) in full bloom. With its creamy white flowers, spiny branches, and rich folklore, hawthorn is a tree deeply woven into both our landscapes and our stories. Often called the…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: HUMANS
This week’s Species Spotlight is a little different. Instead of focusing on a wildflower, bird, or insect, we’re turning our attention to a species that’s always present, but sometimes forgets it’s part of nature too: humans. Humans (Homo sapiens) are highly adaptable mammals found in every ecosystem on Earth. We…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: EURASIAN JAY
If you’ve ever caught a sudden flash of pinkish brown feathers and brilliant blue wing bars darting through the trees, chances are you’ve spotted the Eurasian jay. Often heard before it’s seen, this striking and secretive bird is a woodland resident that plays a quiet but important role in the…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: BLUEBELLS
Few sights capture the magic of spring like a bluebell wood in full bloom. With delicate, nodding heads and a sea of violet blue flowers stretching through the trees, bluebells are one of our most beloved wildflowers, and a sure sign that the woodland is waking up after winter. In…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: TOOTHWORT
One of the more mysterious and magical plants to appear in early spring is the toothwort. Pale, strange looking, and easy to overlook, this woodland plant doesn’t behave like most others, it has no green leaves, doesn’t photosynthesise, and spends most of its life hidden underground. Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) is…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: WILD GARLIC
One of the most enchanting signs of spring is the appearance of wild garlic (Allium ursinum), also known as ramsons. Found carpeting the ground in shady woodlands and damp riverbanks, this leafy green plant is as beautiful as it is useful, and hard to miss once its unmistakable garlicky scent…
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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT: BUMBLEBEE
One of the first signs of spring is the gentle buzz of the early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum). These small, fuzzy pollinators are among the earliest to emerge each year and can often be seen in gardens, hedgerows, and woodlands as the weather starts to warm. The queens are the first…
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