News, projects and eventsventsvents

BioBlitz 2012. On May 18th/19th 2012, Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve is set to be one of the venues for the annual BioBlitz event organised by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. The venues compete against each other to record the maximum number of species possible in a 24 hour period. The other three venues in 2012, will probably be Lough Boora Parkland, Co. Offaly, Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin and Crawfordsburn in N. Ireland. Apart from competititive scientific recording, public events such as a bat walks will also be taking place. We will be looking for recorders for Glengarriff Woods nearer the time, so please get in contact with us if you're interested: clare.heardman@ahg.gov.ie

Heritage Week 2011. There will be a guided nature walk in the Nature Reserve at 2:00pm, Sunday 21st August. The walk will be take about 2.5 hours and will cover about 3km. Meet in the Reserve's main car park. Suitable for all ages. Not wheelchair accessible. For other events taking place in Glengarriff during Heritage Week see http://www.heritagecouncil.ie

Bat boxes contain Natterer's roost. In July 2010, the bat boxes in Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve were found to contain 3 species of bats. The boxes were put up several years ago by the Vincent Wildlife Trust and each year they are checked to see which species are present. This year researchers from UCD came to see if the colony of Natterer's bats they had found last year was still present. They were delighted to find a fine colony of Natterer's bats; a maternity colony of brown long-eared bats; and a lone soprano pipistrelle. PhD student Daniel Buckley remarked that 'these must be the most successful bat boxes in Ireland!'. Update: Congratulations to Daniel who graduated with his PhD in December 2011.

Kerry slug project underway. A post-doctoral student, Rory McDonnell, from NUIG is currently studying Kerry Slugs in Glengarriff Woods. There are Internationally important populations of this species in Ireland and Glengarriff is amongst the top sites in the world for this pretty slug. It features white spots on a black background or cream spots on brown. The silver 'wraps' around the oak that some visitors have been spotting, are 'traps' where Rory can count and examine the slugs. The project includes mapping the distribution of Kerry slugs and if you see one you can log your sighting at www.kerryslug.com

New footbridge constructed . The footbridge, crossing high above the Glengarriff River on the way to Lady Bantry's Lookout, was replaced in December 2008. The old bridge was narrow and was in poor condition. The new bridge is wider and has ramps so it is more accessible to those with limited mobility or for parents with buggies.

Office renovation includes home for lesser horseshoe bats. Lesser horseshoe bats have been catered for during the renovation of a stone-built office in the Nature Reserve in 2006/2007. The bats that were using the building for many years have been provided with a dormer-style access point into the attic. 140 bats used the attic in the summer of 2008 which is a record number for the roost.
New hibernaculum for lesser horseshoe bats: a new winter roost (hibernaculum) for lesser horseshoe bats was created close to the summer roost in late 2007. It is an underground bunker made with large concrete culverts. In the winter 2006/2007 a few bat dropping were found in the roost showing the bats had found it. By the winter of 2008/2009 reserve staff members were thrilled to find 70 lesser horseshoe bats hibernating in the bunker. The following winter, an exceptionally cold one, saw 130 bats using the hibernaculum.
Extension to Big Meadow Walk . A new path was constructed in the Nature Reserve in early 2007 and was officially opened by Sharon Casey, the Heritage Officer of Cork County Council, during Heritage Week 2007. The new path creates a 3km circuit known as the Big Meadow Walk. Another path, the Fisherman’s Path, was substantially upgraded in 2006. Update: the Esknamucky path is being upgraded (2010).

Tidy Towns prize. The Gate Lodge won a prize in the local Tidy Towns awards 17/11/06.
In October and November 2006, Coillte continued their work felling small block of conifers in the Nature Reserve. This area of Cooranel, as with previously cleared areas, will be allowed to revert to native woodland.
Work continues on removing rhododendron. 48.2 ha has been cleared in 2006 under a Forest Service granted-aided Native Woodland Scheme.
A field trip to the Nature Reserve continues to be a regular part of Rural Environmental Protection Scheme courses for farmers in west Cork.
Cork County Council held their first annual Heritage Seminar in Glengarriff on 2nd September 2006.
In July 2006, shire horses from the Trojan Heavy Horse Society, were used to extract mature Western Hemlock that had been planted underneath native oak. Update: TV appearance - in the autumn of 2008, whilst working in the Nature Reserve, the shire horses were featured on RTE Nationwide.
During 2006 12 species of dragonfly were recorded from the new lake, dug in September 2005. The primary reason for creating the lake was to provide additional habitat for the very rare Downy Emerald dragonfly. In June 2006 a male Downy Emerald was seen at the lake. Update: in the summer of 2008 several Downy Emerald's were found breeding in the the lake.
National Biodiversity Day 22/5/06. Nearly 100 school kids visited the Nature Reserve for a variety of nature activities including bug hunting, water sampling, nature games and a visit to a badger sett.
In May 2006, University College Galway botany students visited on their 3rd annual fieldtrip to Glengarriff.