Episodes
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Seakale and Oyster plant are two of the flowering plants that have evolved to live on the shoreline, with special life strategy for salty soils and drought. This week, Nature File explores the science of succulence and some traditional foraging customs too.
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Midges are not a much loved insect, their bites can be known to drive people to the edge of sanity. This week on nature file, Anja explores their reason for being, their life strategy, and whether it is ever possible to appreciate these most bothersome of insects.
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Episodes manquant?
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Commonly called Irish moss or carrageen moss, In Irish carraigín, "little rock" is a species of red algae which grows abundantly along the rocky parts of the Atlantic coast of Europe and North America.
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Easter is when we celebrate spring, a time when colourful blossoms are emerging in hedges, woodlands, parks and gardens. Explore the technicalities of colour in flowers this Easter with Naturefile.
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Blue Tits have been preparing for nesting season for some time now, though it is the female who brings moss into the nesting cavity and shapes it into a cup, before lining it with soft feathers, fur or wool for added insulation. Over the coming weeks, she will lay as many as 16 eggs!
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The cuckoos are generally medium-sized, slender birds. Most species live in trees, though a sizeable minority are ground-dwelling.
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Woodcock start to perform their aerial courting displays at this time of year, where the male flies about at dawn and dusk each day to show off his stamina and skill that he may woo a mate. Apart from these flights, woodcock are near impossible to see, they are so well camouflaged amid the leaves of a woodland floor where they reside.
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There are hundreds of varieties of cherry tree, each flooding their canopy with blossom in spring. This week in Naturefile we look at the joys of cherry trees, soon to erupt in a park or street near you!
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A very particular kind of seasonal lake occurs on Irelands limestone lands. A turlough is a lake that fills up with groundwater in winter time and empties out in Summer, with a special suite of flora and fauna adapted to the seasonal disappearance. Discover the life in turloughs in this week’s Naturefile.
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Each Spring, as deciduous trees awaken from dormancy, their sap begins to rise, providing the energy that power the initial emergence of fresh spring leaves. This week in Naturefile, join Anja Murray for an exploration of Tree Sap to mark the beginning of Spring.
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Feral pigeons have been domesticated longer than any other bird, bred by people from wild Rock Doves. Pigeons can detect low frequency soundwaves that travel hundreds of miles through the air and have incredible ability to navigate. Among the varied diet of these ubiquitous birds are the ripening holly berries in Autumn.
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Brackets are the fruiting structures of many different fungi that cause heartwood decay in standing trees. The fungal bodies or brackets appear in spring, summer and autumn, but weakened trees can topple at any time.
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Scampering colourful Jays, with bright blue bars on their wings, are a rarely seen woodland bird. Each autumn, Jays gather up and bury thousands of acorns, sowing the seeds of new Oak trees everywhere. In Ireland, we even have an indigenous sub species. This week, Nature File takes a long term view on Jays and Irish woodlands.
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Freshwater Pearl mussels are Irelands longest living animal! Called an Diúilicín pearla in Irish, these animals have a long heritage here, but need pristine water only found in clean unpolluted rivers. Discover the life cycle and history of Ireland’s longest living animal on this week’s Nature File.
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One plant that really stands out in September, when other plants are dying back, is the horsetail. These structurally stunning ‘living fossils’ have been around for more than 100 million years, and now live quite happily in hedge banks and woodlands.
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Elm trees (in the family Ulmaceae and genus Ulmus) are large shade trees with round, serrated leaves and circular, papery seed cases called samaras.
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Delicate nodding bells of blue flowers still in flower through September on pastures, dunes and cliffs through the west of Ireland. In Irish this plant is called Méaracán gorm, which translates in to English as ‘blue thimble’. Discover the life strategy of this special little flower on this week’s Nature File.
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Gorse, furze, whins, are all so common that it’s easy to overlook them, successful enough to earn them resentment. At this time of year, the deep yellow flowers of Autumn Gorse is erupting across mountains and heaths. *First broadcast Saturday 29th August 2020*
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Beautiful honeysuckle flowers are still in blossom right now, spilling out cartwheels of delicate tubular flowers, richly scented in shades of pink, peach, and soft yellow. Honeysuckle emits a strong scent at dusk, a special attempt to attract the night flying moths who pollinate it.
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Goats were brought into Ireland thousands of years ago by prehistoric ancestors, now many populations roam freely across rocky uplands. Each August the Puc Fair in Kerry celebrates the symbolism of the goat. This week Nature File looks at the history folklore, ecology, and tradition of Ireland’s Feral Goats.
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