Did you know that ‘hairy molly’ comes from the Irish word for eyebrows?

Get a nature fix even if you can't get outdoors with BirdWatch podcast

The description of some caterpillars as 'hairy mollies' comes from the Irish word, malaí, for eyebrows

If you want a nature fix, but you can’t get outdoors, a lovely alternative is to listen to a nature podcast. I can highly recommend a podcast called In your Nature from BirdWatch Ireland, which is both entertaining and informative.

Presented by experts Ricky Whelan and Niall Hatch, they have produced such a lovely series that makes for such easy listening and yet you’ll learn something new in every episode. There have been 25 episodes released so far, covering a wide range of subjects — from how to erect and maintain nest boxes to interviews with other expert guests such as Dr Catherine Farrell talking about bogs or Dr Fiona MacGowan discussing wildflowers.

The series is funded by the Heritage Offices of Laois and Offaly County Councils, supported by the Heritage Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and is edited by Ann-Marie Kelly.

The episode on Birding Culture, which featured another excellent bird expert, Niall Keogh, was both intriguing and amusing. It offers a peek into the world of birdwatching and includes an explanation of the terminology, including explaining the differences between ‘birdwatchers’, ‘birders’, ‘twitchers’, as well as explaining terms such as ‘stringers’ and ‘blockers’. 

Other series highlights include an episode on ‘Irish Wildlife Sounds’, filled with beautiful soundscapes recorded by wildlife audio recordist Sean Ronayne; while warden Steve Wing introduces the BirdWatch Ireland Observatory on Cape Clear Island, in south-west Cork — a 60-year-old institution.

Full of surprises

One of the nicest aspects of this series is how the presenters drop in little wildlife gems and personal stories of their experiences in nature. One such gem was shared when the pair discussed the Snipe, an endearing wader with a long straight bill, which is found on wetlands.

When snipe are scared out of ground cover, they fly in a zig-zag pattern to try escape.

When a Snipe is flushed from ground cover, it usually flies away in a frenetic zig-zag pattern. Due to this escape behaviour, Snipe is difficult to shoot, and in or around the 1700s, those who were successful at shooting a Snipe in flight became referred to as ‘Snipers’. Today the term is of course used for a good marksman or sharpshooter, but the story of its origin is so interesting.

Another great fact I hadn’t heard before was that ‘Hairy molly’, a common name for those dark furry caterpillars, comes from the Irish word for eyebrow, mala or malaí (plural). Hilarious! Indeed, they do look a little like slowly moving eyebrows inching along the ground in their unique caterpillar way.

Threats to wildlife

Of course, in addition to episodes that celebrate certain habitats or species, the producers also take on more serious issues such as threats and extinctions. Their episode on Bird flu, for example, which took such a horrific toll on seabird colonies this summer, is well worth a listen.

Ricky and Niall looked at the origins and effects of avian influenza in bird communities. It was good to hear a reminder that wild birds are actually the victims of this disease. Highly pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 originated in waterfowl farms in 1996. 

Highly intensive goose, duck and poultry farms, where animals are kept in such close conditions, act like petri dishes for such viruses.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, this epidemic season 2021-2022 has seen outbreaks in 2,398 poultry farms and more than 46 million birds being culled. The 400,000 recorded wild bird deaths is no doubt only a fraction of total losses. Bird Flu originated in factory farms, due to how humans choose to house birds for food, and if it has now become endemic in wild bird populations, unfortunately, that’s on us.

Of course, the beauty of podcasts is that you can listen wherever and whenever you like. So even if you’re stuck inside on a rainy autumn day, let Ricky and Niall transport you to their colourful world of birds.

In Your Nature is available on Spotify, Google or Apple podcasts. For more, see: birdwatchireland.ie

• Juanita Browne has written a number of wildlife books, including My First Book of Irish Animals and The Great Big Book of Irish Wildlife.