Daybreak with Evonne Ferguson

As apex predators Sharks play a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. They regulate fish populations and ensure the health of coral reefs and seabeds. In Ireland, sharks have a special connection to coastal communities, which have relied on the ocean for generations.

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Sea are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the anemone a terrestrial flowering plant.

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Ringlet and Meadow brown butterflies are on the wing through high summer, filling up with nectar in flower rich meadows and finding the perfect places there for their larvae too. Explore the summertime highs of brown butterflies on this weeks Nature File.

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Creamy, perennial of damp waysides, meadows, marshes and woods, this tall, hairless plant flowers throughout Ireland from June to September.

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The Goshawk is a large hawk, almost reaching buzzard size. When seen up close, it has a fierce look with bright red eyes and a distinctive white eyebrow. Thanks to its broad wings, it can to hunt at high speed, weaving in and out of trees, while its legs and talons can catch its prey in flight.

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Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates around the world.

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Resident along coasts and rivers throughout Ireland, but still scarce in the Midlands and north-west of the country. Little Egret was considered rare in Ireland until it first started breeding here in 1997. It has since expanded and now occurs in almost every coastal county, as well as at a number of inland sites.

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Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water in their spongy forms, they prevent the decay of dead plant material and eventually form peat.

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The pygmy shrew is Ireland’s smallest mammal and, up until 2007, was the only shrew species found on the island. Fossil and molecular evidence suggest that the pygmy shrew likely arrived in Ireland from Britain, accidentally introduced by early human settlers.

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Growing to a mere 1-8cm in height, the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) is arguably the world’s tiniest tree. Well adapted to live in arctic and subarctic environments, this tiny wooden sprout has developed the key strategy to surviving the cold; staying really small. 

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