Irish Marine Life
irlanda
Christmas message in a bottle
The beach is a good place to be in mid-winter; aside from being the only place where you can walk or even run for a mile without slipping, it’s warmer too. The Atlantic holds at a steady 11-or-so degrees at this time of year, a temperature which seems like a distant tropical memory relative to … Continue reading
Refuge for the recent immigrant
Although it picturesquely complements their own snow-white plumage, these arctic conditions are not appreciated by the little egret, one of our more striking and surprisingly-recent, coastal inhabitants. A bird once associated with Spain, France, and countries far milder than here, they came from the mid-90s onwards, as increasingly warmer winters made breeding on our southern … Continue reading
Oversize swells, Topographies and Winter visitors.
Strikingly similar to last year, November kicked off with oversize swells, renewed respect for high-tide and small reminders from the Atlantic of its never-too-distant potency. Territory, such as well-intentioned beach car-parks, was reclaimed furtively with angry deposits of sand and stones in the middle of the night, while wintertime walkers on the shore noted how … Continue reading
Low-Tide Iron Supply
Wondering how to increase iron in their diet, I was happy to direct someone recently to the most peripheral pharmacy of them all on the big October spring tides a few weeks ago. Palmaria palmata or Dillisk, is ferrous red and grows at the bottom of the shore, so the lower the tide the better … Continue reading
Na Rónta…..Grey or Harbour?
My exit from the water was hastened on a classic autumn morning last week by one of our various large marine mammals stepping out of line; that is, not behaving as we’ve come to expect them to. It’s not unusual for a solitary seal to show up in the surf; though they … Continue reading
Meán Fómhair; movements and migrations
After a fortnight of settled skies, seas and excellent visibility, a new regime slipped into place just before the halfway mark of this past month. For coastal populations, September means change; tourists and young return to work and further education, and paralleling them, a lot of our marine species have places to go too. The … Continue reading
Getting smarter with shellfish?
The largest bay in my county harbours some of the their finest native beds in the country, maybe even Europe, but it’s in the county to our south, not too far from the home of Irish Marine Research, where they will be celebrated amid enthuasiastic accompaniments of Guinness next week. I won’t be going to … Continue reading
Grianngrafanna
No article ’till next week so instead here’s two photos from a snorkel at Trá an Dóilín or The Coral Beach from last week to keep you going.
Glanadh na dTránna – Beach Clean-up
Volunteers required for Beach Clean-up This week-end local volunteers will help to make a practical difference to their local beach by removing rubbish from Grattan and Salthill beaches. The annual Marine Conservation Society Beach Clean and Survey, organised by Galway Atlantaquaria and supported by Glan Suas Gaillimh will take place on Saturday 18th September at 12 noon. The … Continue reading
The Best and Worst of Marine Life
We paint quite the blissful picture of marine life here; considerate crustaceans pausing for examination by curious biologists, obliging fish waiting patiently for a snorkeller to enter the shallows and so on. For some, however, the abiding marine life moment of Summer 2010 will be a sore memory, as they never imagined a trip to … Continue reading
Irish Marine Life 