Mooney Goes Wild listener Roland Umanan took a stroll in Merrion Square Park and found an interesting quote from Oscar Wilde: “The birds sat on top of the trees and sang so sweetly...” So, do birds actually sit? Richard and Niall discuss.

The Common Crane is an exceptionally rare bird in Ireland. However, these huge, long-necked and long-legged birds were once widespread on the island. There have been sightings in recent years and digital creator, wildlife filmmaker and ornithologist Fionn O'Donoghue managed to film one in Kilkenny.

A campaign has recently been launched by UCC Marine Biologist Danielle Orrell to try to find hatching grounds of Flapper Skates (or mermaid's purses) off the south coast of Ireland. Keen to discover more about them and how you can get involved, we dispatched Terry Flanagan to Cork to meet Danielle.

Community-led actions have been instrumental in protecting the dunes of the Maharees Tombolo in Kerry. Michele Browne meets Eleanor Turner (Biodiversity Officer for Kerry Coco), Dr. Therese Higgins (Lecturer in Wildlife Biology at Munster Technological University) and Martha Farrell (Co-founder of the Maharees Conservation Association).

For a very long time, Ireland was famous amongst ornithologists for the fact that it had no woodpeckers. That all changed 20 years ago, when small populations of Great Spotted Woodpeckers began a natural colonisation of our island. Eric Dempsey and Niall Hatch discuss the 'drumming' birds.

Long before the dawn of modern medicine, many wild animals harnessed the power of nature’s pharmacy. In his fascinating new book 'Doctors by Nature: How Ants, Apes and Other Animals Heal Themselves', author Jaap de Roode argues that we have underestimated the healing potential of nature for too long. He speaks to Éanna.

On tonight’s programme, Terry Flanagan tells us about one of Ireland’s most abundant and best-known plants, the dandelion, and the surprising benefits it brings to Guinea Pigs.

Recently, the University of Galway launched its Pocket Forest project, which has involved the planting of a new 100m2 native woodland on campus. Recently, Terry Flanagan visited the University of Galway campus and met up with Dr. Caitriona Carolan, ecologist and Lecturer in Environmental Science and Biodiversity.

On Easter Monday (21st April 2025), we will bring you a special two-hour Nesting Season special. Derek Mooney and his panel of ornithological experts will broadcast live on RTÉ Radio One between 09:00 and 11:00 and tell you all about what the birds are up to. Make sure to tune in!

Across the world, one of the best known natural history facts about Ireland is that our island is completely devoid of wild snakes, which in global terms is highly unusual. So why doesn’t Ireland have any snakes? Was it because, as the famous story goes, all of them were expelled by St. Patrick in the 5th century?