A Wild Year on the Northside – Ep 2 –

The warmer summer months are a wonderful time for observing wildlife in and around Dublin City and our gorgeous coastline. So it was natural to head along to the beach at Portrane to meet the volunteers who run an amazing project to protect one of Ireland’s rarest and most vulnerable seabirds, the little tern.

These little birds undertake an incredibly arduous journey to arrive here to breed and raise their young over the summer months but their lifestyle leaves them highly susceptible to disturbance and predation so every year an intrepid group of volunteers go to extraordinary lengths to take care of them.

After that we join the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group for their annual whale watch day on the cliffs of howth to try and spot some marine mammals and learn a bit more about the enigmatic harbour porpoise.

Contributors:

Tom Kavanagh (Portrane Little Tern Project)

Conall O’Flanagan(IWDG)

Ronan Hickey(IWDG)

Dave O’Connor(IWDG)

About the series

A Wild Year on the Northside takes a lyrical look at a year in nature on the Northside of Dublin City. Each of the four episodes will focus on a different season and give listeners a calendar of nature’s spectacles and the amazing proliferation of wildlife that we can encounter on our doorstep. The series will aim to educate and inform our listeners to where and when they can see these events and talk to some of the volunteers and organisations that attempt to promote and protect  the city’s wild animals and habitats.

With contributions from local conservation organisations including Birdwatch Ireland, The Irish Wildlife Trust and The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. The episodes will be recorded on location in some of Dublin’s richest locations for biodiversity… like the Bull Island, Howth, Ireland’s Eye and the Phoenix Park and will detail some of the fascinating natural events that occur during  “A Wild Year on the Northside”.

Produced, presented and sound design by Edd Kealy. The series is made with the support of Coimisiún Na Meán’s Sound and Vision scheme, with the Television License fee.