Hi, my name is Darragh Hennessy and over the course of the summer, I've been working at Tralee Bay Wetlands. During my time I have met some incredible people and honed in on many skills to help me in my future career on the ecological front of science.
I took part in a variety of survey work on the quantity and variety of local wildlife within my hometown's waterfront learning a lot about the behaviour, characteristics, and role of each native species of Bumblebee, Dragonfly, and Butterfly within their natural habitat in addition to gaining a whole new perspective and knowledge on the inhabited plant life.
The whole experience was incredibly fulfilling to be outside directly helping the environment in a tranquil and peaceful setting. It also gave me a whole new level of insight and appreciation for all the rich and unique wildlife that's just on our doorstep.My thanks go to all working members of staff I met during my involvement it was just a pleasure working with the members of staff each welcoming in their own way and special thanks to Joanie, the receptionist for being so helpful in any work-related queries, and Alan the head of Ecology and Education who guided me through my work and broadened my understanding of Wildlife and Ecology.
I leave you readers with a photo I took during my work and I wish each and every one of you a great day!
Written by Darragh Hennessy
The results Darragh recorded are shown below and will help us form a baseline for future studies.
Date recorded - 19th May 2023
| Species | Species Count |
| Red-Tailed Bumblebee | 1 |
| White Tailed Bumblebee | 3 |
| Common Carder | 7 |
| Early Bumblebee | 3 |
Date recorded - 7th July 2023
| Species | Species Count |
| Red-Tailed Bumblebee | 1 |
| White Tailed Bumblebee | 10 |
| Common Carder | 12 |
Date recorded - 29th August 2023
| Species | Species Count |
| Red-Tailed Bumblebee | 2 |
| Common Carder | 25 |
| Early Bumblebee | 6 |
Date recorded - 30th August 2023
| Species | Species Count |
| Speckled Wood | 21 |
| Small White | 2 |
| Small Copper | 2 |
| Red Admiral | 2 |
| Large White | 2 |
| Small Tortoiseshell | 8 |
Date recorded - 30th August 2023
| Species | Species Count |
| Common Darter | 6 |
| Four Spotted Chasers | 2 |
| Emperor Dragonfly | 3 |
| Brown Hawker | 1 |
| Migrant Hawker | 2 |
| Keeled Skimmer | 1 |
Recorded by Darragh Hennessy
