17th September 2011 Woodland Walk in Carrickgollogan Woods

A small crowd of Dublin Branch IWT members met at Carrickgollogan Woods car park. The weather thankfully behaved itself for most of the walk. We ventured into the Leadmines tunnel and clambered over brambles and gorse as we exited back into daylight. A cheeky buzzard rewarded us with its acrobatic flight as two ravens tried to chase it off. From the locally famous Leadmines Chimney we viewed the surrounding area of Dublin.

The forest paths were dotted with a range of fungal delights including the poisonous but colourful red-and-white fly agaric, Amanita muscaria (familiar from a thousand children’s story books) and the prized cep or penny bun Boletus edulis. We identified some of the heathland wildflowers including heath milkwort, Polygala serpyllifolia and tormentil, Potentilla erecta.

Sadly, no red squirrels gave us the pleasure of their company. By the time we reached their territory, the weather had turned windy. However we did see evidence of squirrel activity with chewed pine cones littering the ground. Whether these belonged to red or grey no one knows as they both eat cones in the same way.

The last stage of the walk took us up to the top of the hill. During the ascent we were treated to hot chocolate from the flask of one of our members. This sugar fix, I suspect, was much needed and gave us the energy to get to the top. Unfortunately, the weather turned both wet and cold. On arrival to the summit we all agreed that the wind was too strong and we quickly headed back to our cars. (photos courtesy of Sarah and Niall)

Cep or Penny Bun

Amanita

June & July 2011 Ireland's Eye

This summer saw an IWT Dublin Branch adventure to north Dublin's best kept wildlife secret - Ireland's Eye.  The demand for this trip was so high we had to run it twice! Over these two trips we were guided by wildlife experts Dr. Rory O'Hanlon, Conn Flynn and Sarah Rubalcava who showed us the wonderful flora and fauna present on this uninhabited wilderness.

Our troop of 30 people, young and old alike started the day off by taking to sea via boat from Howth Harbour. These boats brought us around ‘The Stack’, a large rock formation at one end of the island, before heading around to view multiple bird species on the seaward side, including huge colonies of Comorants, Shags, Kittiwakes, and nesting Gannets before landing on the island itself. We were even lucky enough to spot the elusive Puffin and some Razorbills! Irelands's Eye is of national importance for many of these species. There is also a seal colony in the area, and these could be seen bobbing in the waves. 

Once on the island we were able to explore the colonies up close, and to learn a bit more about the island and plant species found there. We stopped for lunch with the sun shining upon us and birds shrieking overhead, before continuing on our trek to the opposite side of the island to meet our boat. Before our journey back we had enough time to have a look around the Martello Tower, shale beach and ecclesiastical ruins which date back to 700AD.

Variable weather, and landing points not being the easiest  only seemed to add to the adventure and an excellent time was had by all. We hope to be able to offer these trips again in 2012, so if you haven't yet managed to see this gem on our doorstep, watch this space!!!! (photos courtesy of Chiara and Joy)



Cormorant

Herring Gull

Aawh!

Spring 2011 Whale Watch

The IWT Dublin Branch and the Irish Wildlife Trust have jointly led a number of Whale Watch events this year. Debbi Pedreschi lead groups up on to Howth and Bray heads where she demonstrated how to whale watch, how the public can get involved in the IWDG sighting and stranding schemes, the importance of them and the IWDGs work, how IWT members can get involved and contribute to these vital recording efforts.

As with much of the natural kingdom, whale watching often involves a lot of sitting around and patience, sometimes without much reward. Sightings of minke whales and pilot whales are possible off Howth Head, and a humpback whale was even seen in the Irish Sea off Dublin this year! Although none of these were seen by us on our trips, all of our trips this year managed to provide at least some sightings of porpoises, and some produced some great sightings of bottlenose dolphins for durations of up to 20 minutes at a time.

These events were great successes with endless enthusiasm being the order of the day. Some of the events even became extended by a couple of hours as the pleasant weather and company led participants to hang on in the hopes of spotting some more cetacean action. Here’s hoping next year gives us as many happy sightings! (photos courtesy of Tristan)