Naturefile
Episodes
Naturefile - chiffchaff
25 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The common chiffchaff, or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temper...
Naturefile - Snails
18 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From garden snails to rare woodland snails and tincy tiny sand dune specialists, Ireland is a haven for snails. Integral to almost every food web, tho...
Naturefile - Meadow Pipit
11 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Once a pair of pipits have gone to the trouble of making a nest and laying their perfect eggs therein, along comes cuckoo to lay her own little troubl...
Naturefile 'New Series' - Woodland Wildflowers
04 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Nature File returns to the airwaves this week, celebrating the blossoming of woodland wildflowers. White flowered wood-sorrel and wood anemone; gliste...
Naturefile - Spiders
25 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Spiders found in Ireland include 583 unique species.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Naturefile - Buzzards
18 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A medium sized raptor (bird of prey) with broad wings, a compact body, short neck and medium-length tail. Has a short hooked bill suitable for eating ...
Naturefile - Wild Salmon
27 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wild salmon are born in freshwater, travel to the sea, and then return to their birthplace to spawn, making them a clear sign of how well we’re mana...
Naturefile - Crayfish
20 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superf...
Naturefile - Conger Eels
06 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The conger is an ambush type predator seeking out cover in which to hide and then pounce on passing victims, though it will roam around openly on occa...
Naturefile - Irish Whitebeam
30 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
These are small trees, quite unusual in the wild, and many imported specimens have been planted in towns and parks, along roads etc. If you want the t...
Naturefile - Appetite of Sharks
02 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As apex predators Sharks play a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. They regulate fish populations and ensure the hea...
Naturefile - Sea anemones
12 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sea are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are na...
Naturefile - Meadow brown & ringlet butterflies
28 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ringlet and Meadow brown butterflies are on the wing through high summer, filling up with nectar in flower rich meadows and finding the perfect places...
Naturefile - Meadowsweet
21 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Creamy, perennial of damp waysides, meadows, marshes and woods, this tall, hairless plant flowers throughout Ireland from June to Septe...
Naturefile - Goshawk
14 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Goshawk is a large hawk, almost reaching buzzard size. When seen up close, it has a fierce look with bright red eyes and a distinctive white eyebr...
Naturefile - Waterlilies
31 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in temperate and tropical climates ...
Naturefile - Little Egret
10 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Resident along coasts and rivers throughout Ireland, but still scarce in the Midlands and north-west of the country. Little Egret was considered rare ...
Naturefile - Sphagnum Moss
03 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sphagnum mosses carpet the ground with colour on our marshes, heaths and moors. They play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs: by storing water ...
Naturefile - The pygmy shrew
26 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The pygmy shrew is Ireland’s smallest mammal and, up until 2007, was the only shrew species found on the island. Fossil and molecular evidence sugge...
Dwarf Willow
19 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Growing to a mere 1-8cm in height, the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) is arguably the world’s tiniest tree. Well adapted to live in arctic and subarc...
Naturefile - Sandmartins
12 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our smallest breeding Hirundine species, being about a third smaller than both House Martin and Swallow. Adult Sand Martins have a brown head, back, r...
New Series - Naturefile - Bluebells
05 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Naturefile returns to Daybreak with a seasonal look at these beauties now appearing in our gardens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
Naturefile - Brent Geese
26 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A winter migrant from high-Arctic Canada. Most occur in Ireland between October and April. This population winters almost entirely in Ireland, with sm...
Naturefile - Hedgehogs
19 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many people are surprised to hear that hedgehogs are not actually native to Ireland. It is believed that they were introduced in the 12th century from...
Daybreak - Ivy
05 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ivy flowers in October, ensuring vital nectar supplies for butterflies, moths and bees when very little else is in flower. Ivy is a wonderful world of...
Naturefile - Hairy Mollies
28 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The term ‘Hairy Molly’ has often been used in Ireland to describe any hairy or fuzzy-looking caterpillar. This term is said to have ori...
Naturefile - Song Thrush
21 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A close rival songster to the Blackbird, from which it mainly differs in its repetition of each phrase three or four times. Typical phrases include "c...
Naturefile - Craneflies
14 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Crane flies are flies in the family Tipulidae. They are insects. Crane flies look similar to large mosquitoes but, unlike mosquitoes, crane flies do n...
Naturefile - Seals
07 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Grey Seals haul themselves ashore in autumn to breed, on remote and generally undisturbed areas, in particular offshore islands, where human disturban...
Naturefile - lady's tresses orchids
31 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Spiranthes is a genus of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae. They are known commonly as ladies tresses, ladies'-tresses, or lady's tressesSee omnys...
Naturefile - Kestrel
24 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A species of falcon. A small bird of prey with long, relatively narrow wings and tail. Has a short, hooked bill for eating meat.See omnystudio.com/lis...
Naturefile - Ragwort
17 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) is native biennial which is a food source for a wide range of insects. It is not usually a significant problem in gardens, ...
Naturefile - Gorse
10 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gorse, furze, whins, are all so common that it’s easy to overlook them, successful enough to earn them resentment. At this time of year, the deep ye...
Naturefile - Guillemot
27 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Guillemot is the most common species of Auk in Ireland. It is a highly-marine species, only found on land in the breeding season.See omnystudio.co...
Naturefile - Gulls
29 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Gulls are controversial birds. Strong, clever, opportunistic and adaptable.In the wild, Gulls are caring and resilient animals. Devoted parents – bo...
Naturefile - Oak Trees
22 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Oak trees are in full leaf by now, these tallest and longest living of native trees, soaking up the light of the longest long midsummer days. Recent r...
Naturefile - Machair
15 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Machair systems present a complex landscape mosaic of habitats comprising both wet and dry areas. They are bordered by beaches and sometimes extensive...
Naturefile - Manx shearwater Birds
08 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Manx shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx ...
Naturefile - Sea Snails
01 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Slow moving sea snails come in many shapes and sizes, though all are equipped with a head and a foot, ad most of us recognize the spiral of a whelk sh...
Naturefile - Elephant Hawk Moth
25 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The adults are nocturnal, flying from dusk and coming to light, resting by day amongst its foodplants. They feed from honeysuckle (Lonicera) and other...
Naturefile - The Corncrake
18 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Corncrake is a shy, secretive bird, the distinctive "kerrx-kerrx" call of the male often being the only indication of their presence.See omnystudi...
Naturefile - Solitary Bees
11 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
95% of the worlds 20,000 species of bee are solitary rather than social bees. Ireland has over 100 bee species, of which 77 are solitary bees.See omny...
Naturefile - Rays
04 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Rays are some of the most beautiful and unique sea creatures on the planet. These fascinating fish come in various shapes and sizes, and are spread ac...
Naturefile - Black Poplar
27 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The black poplar may be a native Irish tree, although rare. It has been found especially in the midlands, predominantly in hedgerows in wet farmland n...
Naturefile - Hen Harrier
20 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The hen harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrate...
Naturefile - Brimstone Butterflies
13 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There is a view that the word 'butterfly' originates from the yellow colour of male Brimstones. The wings of the female are very pale green, almost wh...
Naturefile - Wild Garlic
06 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Allium ursinum, known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild g...
Naturefile - Blackthorn Blossom
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Blackthorn trees are early starters, bursting in to effusive white blossom early in the year, before they have even grown any leaves, before any other...
Naturefile - Crested Grebes
23 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Its spring, and like most birds, Crested Grebes have mating on the mind at this time of year. For this, grebes adopt a fancy feathered crest, and then...
Naturefile - Slow worms
16 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It is not native to Ireland and is thought to have been introduced to the Burren region of Ireland in 1970 from Britain. The slow worm is coppery brow...
Naturefile - Soil life
28 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More than half of all species live in the soil, where there are microscopic fungal threads, arthropods of every shape and size and some of the strange...
Naturefile - Cranes
21 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cranes are the tallest wild birds in Europe, and now, after 300 years of absence, cranes are breeding in wild in Ireland again! This year’s young st...
Naturefile - Deer Rut
14 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At the dawning of each day through the month of October, deer lock antlers in a fierce mating battle. The deer rut is a contest between males - the wi...
Naturefile - Alder
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of Ireland's most widely distributed trees, often found in damp boggy areas and along river banks. Like most broad-leaved trees, Alnus glutinosa f...
Naturefile - Octopus
30 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An octopus, octopuses or octopodes is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda. The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped...
Naturefile - The Rowan Tree
23 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rowan trees grow well in the mountains, so it's well known as Mountain Ash. Berries are ripening now and provide important food for thrushes and other...
Naturefile - Sturgeon
16 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sturgeon are enormous fish, swimming in oceans and rivers since the time of the dinosaurs. Our hunter gatherer ancestors feasted on Sturgeon, as did m...
Naturefile - Crabapples
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wild crab apples are the tart little ancestors of thousands of varieties of domesticated apples, often planted or seeded wild in hedges near old farms...
Naturefile - The Colour Purple
02 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the vibrant greens of summer morph into brown and golds of early autumn, wildflowers seem to love coming out in purple. From ‘devil’s-bit...
Naturefile -
26 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scallop is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops.See omnystudio.c...
Naturefile - Ants
19 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are thousands of ant species across the world, but here are some you are more likely to find in Ireland. Anja tells us more!See omnystudio.com/l...
Naturefile - Alien Wildflowers
12 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Terms such as wild, native or alien are often used by botanists but what exactly do they mean? How long does a plant have to have occurred here to cou...
Naturefile - Choughs
05 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Now that the chicks have fledged, Red-billed choughs can be seen soaring over the coastline in flocks and gathering together on clifftops and coastal ...
Naturefile - Wild Peas
29 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wild peas are clambering through hedges, woodland edges and pockets of wild tangled growth right now, using their climbing tentacles to help them get ...
Naturefile - Cold water coral reefs
22 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Spectacular coral reefs thrive on Ireland’s continental margin, some reaching over 100m in height, teeming with life forms of every description. Dis...
Naturefile - Puffins
15 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
During the summer months, puffins are tending to their young, with their yellow, red and orange bills stuffed with sand eels and sprat to bring to the...
Naturefile - Mice
08 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mou...
Natuefile - Aromatic Herbs
01 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Most of the aromatic herbs we are familiar with are more at home in the Mediterranean, though native plants such as bog rosemary, wild thyme, sorrel a...
Naturefile -Lizards
24 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Across the worlds there are many types of Lizard, but one one species made it to Ireland, and here they manage to live discreetly, going largely unnot...
Naturefile - Osprey
17 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...
Naturefile - solitary bee
10 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are 70 different species of solitary bee in Ireland, these are different to bumble bees and honey bees, but are often hard to tell apart from a ...
Naturefile - Pilot whales
03 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pilot whales live far from land, out on the deep water habitats along the Rockall trough and along the continental shelf. There these highly social an...
Naturefile - Housemartins
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
House martens build mud nests under the eaves of houses and sheds, caring for successive broods of featherless chicks right through the summer months....
Naturefile - Seaside plants
20 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Seakale and Oyster plant are two of the flowering plants that have evolved to live on the shoreline, with special life strategy for salty soils and dr...