Riverwood Biodiversity Group

14/10/2026

🦇31 Days of Bats🦇

Day 12: Meet Irish Bats - Common and soprano pipistrelles

Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus

ialtóg fheascrach and ialtóg shopránach

🦇Ireland’s two smallest bat species, and also most common, these bats are most likely seen flying around soon after dusk in both urban and rural areas.

🦟Both have a rapid, twisting flight as they pursue tiny prey of midges, mosquitoes and small moths.

A single pipistrelle (weighing no more than 5-6g, the weight of a 1 euro piece) may consume as many as 3,000 of these insects in one night.

🏡Pipistrelles are frequently found roosting in houses, although they also roost in other locations such as tree holes. In houses they prefer to occupy confined spaces such as behind hanging tiles and soffit boards or between roofing felt and roof tiles, rather than the main attic space.

The two are called common and soprano because the latter echolocates at a higher frequency peaking at 55kHz, compared with the former which echolocates at a peak frequency of 46kHz.

📈Trends in these species are monitored annually using the Car-based Bat Monitoring Scheme.

Results from this scheme indicate that since 2003 the soprano pipistrelle has increased significantly while the common pipistrelle has also increased, albeit more slowly. The reasons for these increases are poorly understood but both species may be recovering from past declines, or responding to increased woodland cover.

Photo courtesy of Paul Van Hoof

10/10/2026

Say 'Trees'! 😁 📸✨

Riverwood Residents Association Laurel Lodge Environmental Group Clonsilla Tidy Towns Connecting Cabra

The Teagasc Forest Photo Competition 2026 “Letting Trees Work for Us” invites photographers of all ages and abilities to capture the many ways trees and forests benefit our landscapes, farms, water and biodiversity.

There are three themes: Trees for Water; Trees and Forests on the Farm; Trees for Biodiversity.

The competition is open to adult and junior photographers (18 and under) who are residents of the Republic of Ireland.

Find out more or enter today on www.teagasc.ie/forestphotos

07/10/2026

Wonder of Trees: A Samhain Tree Experience

Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026

Join us at Powerscourt Estate for two inspiring days celebrating the wonder, wisdom and importance of trees.

Featuring leading voices in horticulture, ecology and conservation, the weekend will include guided tree, biodiversity and wellbeing walks through Powerscourt Gardens, along with engaging panel discussions exploring how we can protect nature and work with it more effectively.

All paid-event tickets include admission to Powerscourt Gardens for the day.

06/10/2026

As awkward as moulting looks, it's an essential process where birds replace every single feather, preparing them for a warm and healthy winter. It can take 4 to 8 weeks for a complete moult, and the temporary loss of feathers leaves them less agile and more vulnerable to predators. Because of this, birds will keep a low profile until the moulting process is complete.

Every year, from July to October, we get dozens of queries from concerned birdwatchers wondering where our garden birds have gone. But do not fret—this disappearing act is part of a natural cycle, similar to the way leaves fall in autumn and bud in the spring. Learn more about our garden birds and the factors, like moulting, that contribute to a 'quiet' garden bird period: https://birdwatchireland.ie/where-oh-where-are-our-birds/

📸 Goldfinch, Colum Clarke

06/10/2026

🦇31 Days of Bats🦇

Day 6: Hibernation 💤❄

During the winter months when there are fewer insects around, bats go into hibernation.

Hibernation involves an extreme reduction in metabolic rate, heart rate, and other functions - it allows a bat to survive long periods of time without food.

A bat's heart rate can drop to just 10 beats per minute, and it may go minutes without taking a breath.

The bat's body temperature can also drop to near freezing, depending on the temperature of the surroundings.

Bats are energy efficiency experts & use a state called "torpor."

Bats may enter torpor for a few hours to save energy during a cold rainy day, or they can remain in torpor for weeks at a time in winter.

It's not unusual to see bats flying around during the winter months. During hibernation, bats have periods of torpor followed by short periods of activity when their body temperatures return to normal for a while.

Bats hibernate in caves, mines, rock crevices, and other structures with ideal temperature and humidity for hibernation. This type of roost is called hibernacula.

When the temperature starts to rise in spring, bats will become more active as it signals more insects are around - their temperature, heart rate & other functions return to normal.

They really are amazing mammals! 😍



📸 Paul Van Hoof

06/10/2026

A peaceful little moment by the canal 🦢✨ Watching the swans glide by, 🤍🌿

04/10/2026

🌱Riverwood Biodiversity Group - Biodiversity gardening tip for October🌸
Plant some crocus bulbs, October is a great time to do this. Crocuses flower in early spring so can be a great way to extend the growing season in your garden and provide a food source for wildlife in a time of short supply. 🐦🐦

01/10/2026

🦇Celebrate Bats🦇

Did you know October is Bat Appreciation Month? 🍂🎃

We will share a daily bat fact, photo, video or story this month just to remind everyone why bats are amazing and what we can do to protect them ❤

01/10/2026

🌿💧 Huge thanks to Riverwood Biodiversity Group volunteers Frank and Karen, who spent this afternoon installing the irrigation system at the bog garden!

Their hard work will help keep the bog garden looking green, and beautiful throughout the season. 🌱💚

28/09/2026

🦇 Bats just rewrote their own family tree and the discovery could have implications far beyond understanding bats!

A landmark study published in Nature, involving more than 130 researchers, suggests that bats originated in Europe around 65 million years ago much earlier than previously thought.

By combining DNA from living bats with ancient fossils, scientists have reconstructed one of the most detailed bat family trees ever produced. The evidence suggests early bats spread from Europe to Africa, and eventually across Asia, the Americas and Australia.

Even more fascinating: echolocation appears to have evolved very early in bat history, alongside flight.

But this isn't just about evolutionary history.

🧬 Bats have an extraordinary ability to tolerate viruses that can cause severe disease in humans.
🕰️ They can live remarkably long lives for their size.
🦠 They experience unusually low rates of cancer and some age-related diseases.

Understanding the genes behind these abilities could eventually help researchers investigate new approaches to viral disease, immunity, ageing and cancer.

At the same time, bats desperately need protecting. Around 18% of known bat species are considered threatened, while habitat loss, climate change, persecution and diseases such as white-nose syndrome are putting populations under pressure.

Bats aren't just mysterious creatures flying through the night. They are pollinators, seed dispersers, natural pest controllers and potentially a remarkable biological "code book" for understanding disease resistance.

The more we learn about them, the more extraordinary they become. 🌍🦇

Based on reporting by The Guardian and research published in Nature.