What a beautiful day and a great turnout at our walk along the Curaheen river in Bishopstown. We spotted over 25 different species. A huge thanks to Cork City Council for their support of this event.

🌼 Dandelion (Taraxacum agg.) | Caisearbhán 🌼 From golden blooms to floating wishes—dandelions in Tramore Valley Park are a childhood delight! 🍃✨ Blow on their seed heads, and watch tiny parachutes dance on the breeze. Have you made a wish on one lately? Photo credit: Canva

🌿 Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) | Glaschrreamh 🌿 In Beaumont Quarry, wild garlic carpets the woodland floor in April and May. A native plant, it thrives in damp, shady places and is a favourite of pollinators! 📸 Photo credit: Saxifraga - Ed Stikvoort

🌸 First Sign of Nesting – Spring is Here! 🐦 🦅 Birds like robins and blackbirds gathering twigs and moss for their nests. 🐝 Bumblebees starting to establish their colonies in the ground or in old log piles. 🦋 Butterflies emerging from their winter hideouts.

Still a few tickets left for tomorrows picnic and egg hunt in Beaumont Quarry. Tickets required for this event to ensure we have eggs for all participants. tickettailor.com/.../corknature…

Want to make a positive impact in Cork? Visit us at the Volunteer Expo 2025 and learn about our volunteer roles! Photo credit: Kerri Sonnenberg #VolunteerCork #VolExpo2025 #VolunteerCork #MakeADifference corkvolunteercentre Cork City Council

A female Black Redstart — a very rare sighting here in Ireland — was spotted in West Cork, looking a little windswept, likely having just made landfall after a long journey. 📍 West Cork 📸 Photo by Andrew Jones

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The Unarmed Stick Insect (Acanthoxyla inermis) is one of the largest insects in Ireland, reaching up to 125mm in length! Native to New Zealand, it was introduced to Ireland in the late 19th century when Samuel Thomas Heard brought in plants from the region. Photo John O Sullivan

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🌼 First Signs of Spring: Early Celandines 🌿☀️ The cheery yellow faces of lesser celandines are starting to pop up — one of the first wildflowers to bloom as winter loosens its grip.

Otters use many olfactory clues to communicate with one another. One of the main ways they do this is through sprainting. Spraint, or otter faeces, is left in many places for othernotters to smell and pick up cues left behind by the first otter.

🌊 WHAT IS PLANKTON? Plankton are tiny organisms that drift through the ocean. They include: 🌱 Phytoplankton – plant-like organisms that photosynthesize 🦠 Zooplankton – tiny animals that feed on other plankton 📸 Photo by Per Arvid Åsen

#BiodiversityWeek2025 is all about connecting people with nature🌱and inspiring to #restorenature. It’s also about celebrating the fun and wonder that can be found in nature! Join the range of family-friendly activities 16-25 May🌍 👉biodiversityweek.ie

🐚 LIFE OF A LIMPET Limpets are gastropods, a type of mollusc, and they live on rocky shores, clinging to rocks with a powerful muscular foot. They have a soft body protected by a hard, cone-shaped shell — typical of gastropods with a single shell. Photo by Sandilands Villa

🦀 CRUSTACEANS — THE HARD-SHELLED HELPERS Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods that include: 🦐 Crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, krill, and barnacles They all share key traits: ✔️ Jointed legs ✔️ A hard exoskeleton (shell) ✔️ No backbone Photo by Heinz Dieter Heil

🐚There are two species of seahorse found in Irish waters: ✨ The Short-snouted Seahorse ✨ The Spiny Seahorse Seahorses are among the most unusual fish in the sea. They appear to stand upright and, unlike most fish, are poor swimmers. 📸 Photo by Dmytro Kochetov

🌿 ANNOUNCEMENT: Cork Nature Network is now Nature Network Ireland 🌍 We're growing nationally—same mission, broader reach. Thank you for supporting our journey to protect Ireland’s biodiversity 💚 #NatureNetworkIreland #BiodiversityIreland #Conservation

Cleaning up after your dog is not just about keeping our parks and streets clean—it’s essential for the health of our environment and the well-being of wildlife.

Read our latest blog to learn how nature restoration can help tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. View the full presentation here youtu.be/sXz2vx2NGd0 📷 Read now: corknaturenetwork.ie/.../the-new-eu…