Author: Dara McAnulty

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Diary of a Young Naturalist – The Pied Wagtail Nest

15.05.18 School grounds. Drizzle but parting clouds.

It had been a tough day at school, the heaviness of the day became weightier as the hours passed. My head was swimming and I was struggling to see past some disappointments that had happened in the morning. …

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Diary of a Young Naturalist – The Tadpoles

14.05.18 A ‘secret’ pool behind a stone wall. KillykeeghanNature Reserve, early evening, greying skies.

Behind the stone wall of an ancient cashel (stone ring fort) a hidden pool of wonder lay, waited to be discovered. The only necessary skill, is curiosity. …

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Diary of a Young Naturalist-The Hidden Wood Anemone

12.05.17 A warm Spring afternoon at Fort Hill Park, Enniskillen

Today, I spotted something which before was unseen. Recently, one of our local parks dismembered a rhododendron tree, we always loved playing amongst it, although it was not good for the hope of the flora that could prosper within. …

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Diary of a Young Naturalist – The Sedge Warbler

11.05.18 – A beautiful sunny evening

The evening light was hazy with midges, revelling irritatingly all around. Suddenly, punching above the weight of every other song among the reeds and trees, a Sedge Warbler sang. It permeated the air space so emphatically, I stopped to listen. …

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Diary of a Young Naturalist – The Dandelion

I have decided, after a little hiatus, that I’m going to write a little short blog post every day – about something in Nature that has caught my eye. I write a diary every day, so in a sense, it will be a little more like that. …

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Reconnecting on Rathlin – Part Three

A restful nights sleep is not something I’m familiar with, being autistic, I find it hard to process and faze out so much of our busy and sometimes overwhelming world. The colours on Rathlin are mostly natural and in this early Spring, muted; and so for me, the most tolerable. …

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Reconnecting on Rathlin Island Part One

This is going to be the first blog that I am going to write on the absolutely incredible four days on Rathlin to celebrate my 14th Birthday and spend some much needed down time as a family. The reason that I haven’t written about this stupendously magical place yet, is due to the fact that until today, when I have tried to direct my thoughts at Rathlin I am overcome with longing and melancholy. …

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‘Minibeasts with Jess French’ – a review!

It’s worth saying at the beginning, just to be clear, that we are all HUGE Dr Jess French fans in house McAnulty! Bláthnaid goes goggly eyed because, she’s such a cool and amazing role model and well, she just has a really relaxed but utterly spellbinding style when she talks about insects…not that I watch CBeebies of course! …

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Spring finally comes to Fermanagh!

This winter has seemed so long, Spring has been teasing us for the last month or so and then coldness snatches it away beguilingly. I find the tail end of winter frustrating, waiting to travel through a portal to colour and warmth brings out my worst characteristic – impatience! …

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A tale of two beaches

A trip to the beach for us, is a real treat. My dad grew up beside the sea and studied and worked in marine biology before becoming a conservation scientist and it’s his real passion; so, we love our trips either west to Donegal or east to Co Down to visit my granny. …

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