Outdoors

Sign in

#Outdoors

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>A large sinkhole opens in a parking area in Ocala, Florida, and swallows a car that teeters on the edge. File picture: June 11, 2017</p>

outdoors

An unsettling natural hazard: Here's everything you need to know about sinkholes

Sinkholes are surprisingly selective. They require the right rock, the right water chemistry, the right underground space and just enough time...

<p>Female mosquitos need a blood-meal to form eggs. With few humans living on Brazil’s Atlantic fringe long ago, wild mammals must have provided most of the blood. But that was to change when the sugar planters arrived...</p>

outdoors

Climate change and deforestation helping mosquitos thrive

<p>Now in its 14th year, the Plant Hunt contributes to our understanding of how wild and naturalised plants across Britain and Ireland are responding to a changing climate. Max Connolly finds a primrose. Picture: James Harding-Morris </p>

outdoors

Flowers are great... until they bloom at the wrong time

Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) eating red berries

outdoors

Birds of Ireland: Blue tit

Written on the walls: what lichens tell us about our environment

outdoors

Written on the walls: what lichens tell us about our environment

A bus that goes where you ask it to — service being piloted in Limerick, Kerry, and Mayo

outdoors

A bus that goes where you ask it to — service being piloted in Limerick, Kerry, and Mayo

Summing up our swan squad successes

Summing up our swan squad successes

The whooper swan is thriving which is certainly something to celebrate and support

Wed, 21 Jan, 2026

A week-long hike, a three-day hike, or a day out — the Kerry Way has it all

S A week-long hike, a three-day hike, or a day out — the Kerry Way has it all

The 210 kilometre Kerry Way has numerous routes featuring dramatic peaks and windswept loughs, while encountering hidden glens, wild moorlands, and magnificent coastal vistas

Sun, 18 Jan, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Blackcap

Birds of Ireland: Blackcap

A blackcap, which is about the size of a robin, can be very aggressive at a bird table

Sat, 17 Jan, 2026

Mountain stream flows through granite boulders in Glenmacnass valley, County Wicklow, Ireland

The invisible carbon in Ireland’s waters

Dissolved organic carbon may be one of the most underestimated pressures on Irish waters. About 20% of our land area is covered by peat and peaty soils, which are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on Earth. That makes Ireland uniquely vulnerable to large losses of carbon from land to water

Fri, 16 Jan, 2026

Five Monk Parakeets on a garden fountain in a Santiago garden

'Testing the waters’ when forming new relationships

Monk parakeets don’t rush into friendships. They gradually escalate interactions, starting from safe, low-risk behaviours and moving toward more intimate acts only when trust is established

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026

Wasteful and dangerous to dump batteries and electronics

Wasteful and dangerous to dump batteries and electronics

Lithium is now used in many batteries, especially the rechargeable ones. But a damaged lithium battery can catch fire, or explode, without warning — so for safety reasons, people are asked not to put batteries into general bins, skips, or street bins

Thu, 15 Jan, 2026

Winter weather Jan 8th 2026

Iridescent kingfishers need clear rivers — can we help?

We need to rethink our disregard for water quality, and to get busy restoring Ireland’s rivers to good health

Wed, 14 Jan, 2026

Weathering storms — and new beginnings

Weathering storms — and new beginnings

Alice Taylor, author of To School Through the Fields, grew up on a farm along the Cork‒Kerry border, experiencing a way of life that, though physically demanding, was kind to the land. This is an extract from her latest book, Weathering Storms, in which she writes about the challenges of living well with aging

Sun, 11 Jan, 2026

Birds of Ireland: Chiffchaff

Birds of Ireland: Chiffchaff

Chiffchaffs of all ages have green-grey upperparts, their underside is light yellow-grey, and they have a thin, dark eye stripe with a narrow, dull supercilium ('eyebrow')

Sat, 10 Jan, 2026

Cold enough to remember

Cold enough to remember

Ireland has lived through colder climates than this, and what stands out in hindsight is not collapse, but continuity. During the Little Ice Age (from roughly the 14th century to the mid-19th century) people adapted to altered seasons and unreliable weather without knowing they were living through a climatic shift

Fri, 09 Jan, 2026

Teenage girl observing the winter night sky with telescope

January is the best month for astronomy — here's what to look out for

It used to be said that you could test your eyesight by counting the number of stars visible to the unaided eye. The best nights to try this are around January 19 when the Moon is new

Wed, 07 Jan, 2026

Pond reconstruction

Is 2026 the year you build a pond or plant native trees and hedges?

When so much around the globe is coming apart we need things to ground and reassure us. The reality of lengthening days and unfolding seasons can do just this

Wed, 07 Jan, 2026

Lense

Ireland’s 2025 environmental review — and a look ahead to 2026

Ireland did not experience a single defining climate disaster in 2025... climate change in Ireland now operates less as a headline-grabbing event and more as a persistent context

Fri, 02 Jan, 2026

dilapidated cable car at a former ski resort near the town of Zabljak in northern Montenegro

Hundreds of ski slopes lie abandoned... will nature reclaim the Alps?

With the snow line edging higher, 186 French ski resorts have shut, while global heating threatens dozens more

Thu, 01 Jan, 2026

International project aims to decode whale communication

International project aims to decode whale communication

Listening to our animal kin — some experts predict that the capacity and technology to understand and talk back to non-human mammals will be developed by the end of the decade, just a few short years away

Wed, 31 Dec, 2025

Blow away the cobwebs with these wonderful winter walks

Blow away the cobwebs with these wonderful winter walks

Here's a handy link to lots of long and short walks suitable for varying skills

Mon, 29 Dec, 2025

Hiking Ireland’s longest waymarked walking trail takes around three weeks

S Hiking Ireland’s longest waymarked walking trail takes around three weeks

Tbe creation of the Beara Breifne trail involved 'stitching together' 12 existing walking routes so you can of course tackle it in sections

Sun, 28 Dec, 2025

Birds of Ireland: Short-eared owl

Birds of Ireland: Short-eared owl

Short-eared owls have stiff wingbeats and glide. They are often seen hunting in broad daylight and are regularly seen on the ground

Sat, 27 Dec, 2025

Red Fox At Night

The fox is a fine, healthy thing of beauty — why would we rip her to shreds?

Her coat shone, dense and full. Her amber eyes glowed, cleanly set in a ring of black. A creature of utter perfection, writes environmental activist, Seán Ronayne. And we allow such majestic beings be chased and violently killed for 'sport'

Fri, 26 Dec, 2025

Mayo Cheeseburger Feast

Saving the planet, one label at a time

We've had a series of earnest discussions and proposals, including within the European Parliament, about whether plant-based foods should be allowed to use words like 'burger' or 'sausage'

Fri, 26 Dec, 2025

A beach walk with a little more — explore your shore

A beach walk with a little more — explore your shore

Through the Big Beach Biodiversity Survey, everyone visiting an Irish beach this winter is invited to record marine life washed ashore by the tides and the storms

Wed, 24 Dec, 2025

Why are our marine 'protected' areas still nothing more than lines on maps?

S Why are our marine 'protected' areas still nothing more than lines on maps?

Blanket bans on certain activities, such as towing trawls and dredges across the seafloor, or fixing nets for long periods, or even prohibiting all kinds of fishing or extractive activities from some areas, are urgently needed says ecologist Pádraic Fogarty

Sun, 21 Dec, 2025

robin bird

Christmas pre-tinsel: when plants — and robins — ran the show

Strip Christmas of its baubles, batteries and Amazon deliveries, and what you’re left with is, at heart, a festival of plants. Trees dragged indoors. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling. Berries admired but (wisely) not eaten.

Fri, 19 Dec, 2025

Donal Hickey: Do try to avoid making pour decisions

Donal Hickey: Do try to avoid making pour decisions

Fats, oils and greases (FOGs) should never go down the kitchen sink. Hot fats cool quickly inside pipes causing hardened blockages in the plumbing

Thu, 18 Dec, 2025

Aquatic habitats in such poor condition even adaptable species like herons may struggle

Aquatic habitats in such poor condition even adaptable species like herons may struggle

Since the start of this millennium, Ireland has lost around half a million waterbirds — almost 40% of the total population

Wed, 17 Dec, 2025

Christmas 2025: Are you doing a Christmas swim this year?

Christmas 2025: Are you doing a Christmas swim this year?

Christmas is definitely on the way when people start planning Christmas swims — if you're aiming to have a seasonal dip then check out this list which includes couple of handy pre-Christmas swims too

Mon, 15 Dec, 2025

Curious hedgehog in the grass

A pest or a prince — is it all down to postcodes?

The conservation–invasion paradox is when a species is endangered where it evolved but causes havoc where humans introduced it. So why can't we just bring unwanted animals to where they're wanted?

Fri, 12 Dec, 2025

World first — hippopotamus has cataract surgery in Dublin

World first — hippopotamus has cataract surgery in Dublin

Visually impaired hippo, Imani, has had sight restored to her left eye thanks to a very successful specialist procedure

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

A Brown Bear comes close to a house entrance in Hokkaido

Increase in bear attacks in Japan

One theory is that trees may be to blame — a lean crop of seeds and nuts may be forcing hungry bears into human habitats in search of food

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Leaping Scottish Salmon

Helping wild Atlantic salmon overcome man-made obstacles

In the days before electricity, barriers of all sizes were important for using a river’s energy to turn mill wheels and power all sorts of machinery. Many of these barriers are still present but most now serve no purpose, other than preventing salmon from making their journeys between the sea and freshwater

Thu, 11 Dec, 2025

Ireland's lax approach to inspecting farms and enforcing rules

Ireland's lax approach to inspecting farms and enforcing rules

The EU Nitrates Committee meets on Tuesday and may extend Ireland's nitrates derogation by up to three years. At the same time we need to protect or restore water quality on a national scale writes ecologist Pádraic Fogarty

Sun, 07 Dec, 2025

Michelle McKeown: The weather tug-of-war that shapes our winters

Michelle McKeown: The weather tug-of-war that shapes our winters

Understanding the North Atlantic Oscillation won’t stop Irish winters being chaotic, but it helps explain why they sometimes fall into familiar rhythms. And it reminds us that, while climate change is gradually reshaping global systems, natural variability still has plenty to say

Fri, 05 Dec, 2025

View from the sea of Giannutri Island

Studying impact of honeybees on local wild bees

Giannutri is a little island off the coast Italy. Its isolation ensured that honeybees never got there under their own steam — 18 hives were introduced in 2018 and scientists have been studying their effects on the local bee population

Thu, 04 Dec, 2025

Donal Hickey: A salute to farmers working with nature

Donal Hickey: A salute to farmers working with nature

Making a shift from using every bit of land and ‘driving it hard’ to a work model where climate and nature guide every decision

Thu, 04 Dec, 2025

Anja Murray: Nitrates not giving our rivers a chance to breathe

Anja Murray: Nitrates not giving our rivers a chance to breathe

Why is it now widely considered acceptable to heap pollutants in to lakes until the ecosystems they once sustained are eliminated?

Wed, 03 Dec, 2025

Merry Christmas Santa Claus flying in UFO spaceship flying saucer with gift boxes in space Earh night. Vector illustration isola

Planets Santa might end up visiting... next year?

As Santa sits at the North Pole anticipating the discovery of life on some far-flung planet he might be somewhat nervously scanning the latest scientific literature to see which exoplanets are hot topics

Sat, 29 Nov, 2025

16,000 years’ worth of stories to uncover from sediment in a West Cork lake

16,000 years’ worth of stories to uncover from sediment in a West Cork lake

In search of Ireland's ancient past by recovering and examining sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA)

Fri, 28 Nov, 2025

Ancient honeyhunting practice continues

Ancient honeyhunting practice continues

Scientists have found that human-honeyguide cooperation is used mainly as a recreational activity nowadays. Despite increased education and job opportunities, honey-hunting can survive "without economic incentives for humans, sustained instead by its cultural and social importance"

Thu, 27 Nov, 2025

Fox Cub found

Fox-hunting — conflicting attitudes between urban dwellers and farmers

Foxes breed prolifically and a vixen can have five cubs per year, which reach adulthood in about eight months. In ideal conditions, a fox can live for 10 years, but most only last for two, or three

Thu, 27 Nov, 2025

Rewilding for nature recovery

Rewilding for nature recovery

It's easy to see the benefits of letting natural processes take the reins

Wed, 26 Nov, 2025

'Eternally confusing' West Cork coastline makes for iconic scenes

'Eternally confusing' West Cork coastline makes for iconic scenes

Based in Kenmare on the rugged southwest coast of Ireland, Norman McCloskey has been photographing the landscape here since 1992 — these images are featured in his latest book, Headlands

Sun, 23 Nov, 2025

Why early-warning systems matter more than ever

Why early-warning systems matter more than ever

Long before sensors and satellites, people used whatever tools they had to read the world around them. In fact, the earliest warning systems were rooted in observation, culture and instinct — but sensors, algorithms and automated texts are now being employed in places such as Midleton in Cork

Fri, 21 Nov, 2025

Richard Collins: Black Death myths challenged in new research paper

Richard Collins: Black Death myths challenged in new research paper

A millennium ago, climate change began drying out grasslands in Asia. Black rats there sought sanctuary in human dwellings. When the rats died of the plague, their fleas jumped onto people

Thu, 20 Nov, 2025

Free the Fifteen protest

Free the 15 penguins campaign highlights captive animals issue

The owners of Sea Life London Aquarium have pledged to listen to "constructive ideas" about the care of their gentoo penguins after a campaign against the birds' captivity

Thu, 20 Nov, 2025