'For Fox sake' - Help our loveless urban foxes
These beautiful animals are a prime example of a species who have had to learn to adapt to their rapidly changing environments, with thousands of housing estates built over the rural landscape these foxes used to call home.
Now The National Biodiversity Data Centre is running a survey covering seven of the most populated cities and towns across Ireland, asking us all to keep an eye out for these amazing little creatures, and let the centre know where and when you spotted them. An urban red fox seen in an urban garden (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
The NBDC says that 'understanding their distribution and behaviour of foxes across urban areas can shed light on the needs of the animals and the potential of cities to provide for them'.
'This project will provide valuable data for conservation planning in Ireland and finding solutions for potential human/wildlife conflicts'.
If you live in or close to Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Galway, and Waterford, and you would like to get involved in trying to help our native 'Madra Rua' or 'Sionnach' in more modern Irish, then you can simply get a notebook and pen, and jot down when and where you see Mr and Mrs Foxy. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) resting in hollow tree trunk in woodpile. (Photo by: Philippe Clement/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
If you hear a type of screeching at nighttime, a little bit like the sound of cats fighting, it could be foxes playing and scavenging in your garden. Their sound can be quite frightening, until you realise its just these little red dog-like animals having a rare old time rooting the bins in your garden.
Experts on these creatures, say evidence of fox activity can be found in various forms, including tracks, scat (poop) prey remains, fur clumps, and trampled flowerbeds.
Foxes can harbour parasites so we recommend you don't handle their droppings'!
There are a number of organisations trying to document the numbers of these little animals that are living in our towns and cities, in order to try to devise a way to best help them survive their urban environments.
The public can help to do this, by keeping our eyes open for these little guys, trotting down the avenues and in and out of gardens in a town near you and by contacting the National Biodiversity Data Centre with your findings.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Man, 70s, dies in hospital after getting into difficulty swimming off Co Donegal coast
A MAN who got into difficulty while swimming and was rescued by the coast guard has passed away in hospital. The incident happened off the coast of Bundoran in Co Advertisement 1 The man got into difficulty off the coast of Donegal Credit: Gallo Images - Getty At around 5.20pm yesterday, Saturday July 26, the Irish coast guard were sent an alert. They were told that someone had got into difficulty in the water at The spot is hugely popular among surfers, swimmers, and Marine Rescue Sub Centre Malin Head sent the Bundoran Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS It's understood that the lifeguards on duty at the beach also came to the man's assistance. He had run into difficulty in the water near the diving boards area of the beach. The man, aged in his 70s, was rescued from the water by the dispatched RNLI. He was rushed to Advertisement MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN Gardai confirmed that he has since passed away. They said: "Gardaí were alerted to man in water in Bundoran, Co. Donegal on Saturday evening 26th July, 2025 at approximately 5.20pm. PASSED AWAY "RNLI removed the man, aged in his 70s, from water and he was taken to Sligo University Hospital in a serious condition. "This man subsequently passed away in hospital." Advertisement No foul play is suspected. The incident comes just over ten days after five young siblings were The rescue took place on the evening of July 14. The five family members were saved on Minerstown beach at around 9.30pm. Advertisement It's believed that the group were caught by a rising tide. Two reports were made of the incident and emergency services raced to the scene. Newcastle team, Kilkeel Coastguard team and Newcastle 's inshore lifeboat attended. BEACH RESCUE They found that the children had been brought ashore by two off duty nurses. Advertisement Rescuers then waded into the water to bring the kids to safety. The children received the varying degrees of care required before being taken to a nearby house for warmth. They then travelled with paramedics to Ulster Hospital. Newcastle Advertisement ""They showed remarkable bravery and fortitude in a rapidly deteriorating situation to calmly bring the three youngest children to shore before wading out up to their chests in water to rescue the two oldest children. "They then looked after the They added: "The women displayed outstanding courage, ignoring their own safety to ensure the children were not only brought ashore but cared for until the arrival of the emergency services. "We would like to thank the owner of the nearby house for opening their doors to the children while we waited for the paramedics to arrive and to the shore team at Newcastle RNLI who brought additional supplies of oxygen to the scene by road." Advertisement
Extra.ie
16 hours ago
- Extra.ie
Ryan Tubridy: This isn't a rant - just the thoughts of a dad who feels helpless on Gaza suffering
Watching and reading the coverage of Live Aid's 40th anniversary recently, I was reminded of the fact that Irish people donated more than any other nation per capita. It has always struck me as an astonishing outcome and yet, when we consider the effects of the Famine on this country, maybe it shouldn't be so shocking. More recently, when then-president Mary Robinson visited famine-stricken Somalia, she became uncharacteristically upset at a press conference as she described the scenes she had just visited. Mrs Robinson was there as a representative of a country that has known hunger, degradation and despair. We understood her tears. A few years ago, I interviewed the Booker prize-winning author of Schindler's Ark (renamed Schindler's List for the film), Thomas Keneally. Our conversation turned to the Irish Famine and his ancestors. He suggested at one point that the reason we drink so much as a nation is because the pain of the Famine travelled and its dark shadow still stalks the Irish psyche. Live Aid recently marked it's 40th anniversary. Pic: Getty Images In a different context, talk of inter-generational trauma is rife, particularly when it comes to families but there's no reason to question the notion of a national trauma that stretches across decades and centuries. Could this be why we donated more than any other country when Bob Geldof urged us to pick up the phone and donate some money? Is this why the composed president broke down in tears when she saw humans starving before her very eyes? And is this why so many Irish people I spoke with this week are so upset with what's happening in Gaza? We don't have footage of Irish people brought to their knees by hunger. We don't have YouTube clips of families being burnt out and evicted from their homes. We don't have TikTok clips of well-fed dogs with silky coats, grotesquely well-fed for reasons you don't need me to get into here. We don't have photographs of food crates competing with human cargo to get the next ship off the island. We simply have collective memory, oral and written history and some largely idealised paintings to tell the story. SO when we looked at our news feeds this week, we saw ribcages protruding from the backs of children being carried by distraught mothers and we watched aghast at another desperate display of empty pots beseeching food workers at food distribution points (if there are any) for a small portion of grain. It's been a relentless and depressing war from the start with the savage attack by Hamas and the brutally disproportionate response by Netanyahu. The biblical fire and fury that is beamed into our homes and onto our phones is disturbing and infuriating but it also makes so many feel helpless, powerless and voiceless. There doesn't appear to be a geopolitical adult in the room to say; 'Enough, time for diplomacy' in the way there used to be. It feels like there's an international lawlessness in the air and nobody is winning. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Pic: AFP via Getty Images So is there a red line for the so-called adults? Is there a point where European leaders (or those beyond) square up to the most powerful leader in the world and suggest that it's time to pull the emergency cord here and shut this catastrophe down? It's worth remembering that when he was president, Barack Obama declared the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict as a red line that should not be crossed or else? Well soon thereafter, we watched children contorted in pain on hospital beds following a chemical weapons attack. The red line was crossed but sadly, Obama didn't deliver on his threat. Some say this weakness emboldened a resurgent Putin whose stock in trade is testing the red lines of the powerful with a view to taking advantage of weakness, perceived or otherwise. But we must return to the point at hand and that is the looming spectre of starving citizens falling to the ground from lack of food. In the course of three days this week 43 people starved to death. A slice of pitta bread in Gaza is now €4 if you're lucky enough to get it and shop shelves remain barren with The Guardian reporting that flour is selling for more than 30 times the market value. A 64-pack of nappies costs €150, a 25kg bag of flour is going for €425 and 1kg of onions costs €27 according to BBC reporting that also tells us that the UN human rights office states more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while trying to get food aid since June. Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, a 1.5-year-old child in Gaza City, Gaza, faces life-threatening malnutrition as the humanitarian situation worsens due to ongoing Israeli attacks and blockade, on July 21, 2025. Pic: Getty This diary I'm writing isn't a rant. This isn't a judgement call. It's not a call to arms nor is it a quasi-liberal, pearl-clutching exercise. These are the reflections of an Irish citizen who watches the news and changes channel like everyone else. These are the thoughts of a dad who is embarrassed at his reaction to harrowing images as he can (as far as he's concerned) do nothing about it so 'click' goes the remote and it all goes away. But it shouldn't. This week moved the dismal dial even further into the darkness but for whatever reason, most likely historical and inter-generationally traumatic, the images of starving children and their mothers with those plaintiff, hollowed eyes resonated in an even more meaningful way. Remember the Chocktaw Nation, that remarkable Native American tribe who, despite their own displacement and oppression, managed to cobble together $5,000 to send to the Irish people in 1847 just when we needed it most. I wonder is this week a Chocktaw moment not just for individuals like me but for peoples and nations around the world (including so many Israeli citizens) who want to do whatever they can whenever they are able to bring this catastrophe to a conclusion.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
Birds of Ireland: Black-headed gull
Black-headed gull [Faoileán an chaipín | Chroicocephalus ridibundus] A black-headed gull is about 38-44cm long, with a wingspan of 94-105cm. They are a common breeding species found here all year around — every from at sea/on the coast to estuaries, wetland and farmland. Jackdaw-sized, an adult black-headed gull's breeding plumage features a dark chocolate-brown head; white underside; pale grey back/wings, and dark red beak/legs. Adult in non-breeding plumage have a dark spot behind eye; two dark smudge-lines on head; legs/base of beak paler. Black-headed gulls in their first year have dark brown/black on wings; thin black tail band; orange-yellow legs; pale brown-yellow beak/black tip. In flight, you may see an adult black-headed gull's pale grey back/wings; with their white leading edge to outer primaries forming white triangle (above and below) with black trailing edge. And when flying the reduced white on outer primaries; dark trailing edge to secondaries; brown wing coverts; black tail band of a bird in its first year may be visible. Black-headed gull A black-headed gull has a noisy, high-pitched call; includes thin-sounding, drawn-out kaaww; they also engage in softer 'chatter'. Tip of the Week: The timing of a bird's moult can be different for males and females. Most Irish male duck species, for example, the mallard, moult in June and do it so fast that it is flightless for up to four weeks, while the females moult and becomes flightless only after the young are independent, typically in July or August. For the mute swan, it is the exact opposite: the female becomes flightless two or three weeks after the cygnets have hatched while the male starts moulting only when the female regains her full power of flight. Some of our migratory birds moult completely before leaving Ireland; others have a partial moult here, pause it during migration and finish the process on arrival at their summer or wintering grounds, while a few will wait until the migration flight is over. Trauma and shock can cause a bird to lose some of its feathers, which are usually replaced straight away, and disease and starvation can cause a bird to suspend its moult until it recovers or finds a food supply. All these moult-related plumage changes can result in the same bird species looking different at different times of the year and at different ages before adulthood. Don't worry if you find moult complicated and confusing. As you watch the birds around you more and more, you will notice patterns emerging, such as black-headed gulls losing their dark hood in winter and black-tailed Godwits gaining their rusty breeding plumage in spring. You will eventually get to know the moulting patterns of different species which will help you identify some birds and get a greater understanding of the lives of others. Featured in Birds of Ireland: A field guide by Jim Wilson with photographs by Mark Carmody Jim Wilson is a wildlife writer, broadcaster, tour leader, and former chairman of BirdWatch Ireland. He has been involved in the study and conservation of birds in Ireland for more than 45 years, contributing to several major surveys and international projects. Mark Carmody is an award-winning wildlife photographer, has a PhD in biochemistry and works as a European patent attorney.
