Outdoor Living

TRAVEL John O’Callaghan travels to Machu Picchu, recently named one of National Geographic’s top places to visit in the world

GARDENING Oliver Whyte Jnr on the benefits of a pond as an essential habitat for aquatic life and a water source for land-based creatures

NATURE Michael Kingdon meets a kingfisher and a pair of grebes, and reflects on one of their favourite meals – the little stickleback

NATURE Mayo birdwatchers invited to valuable Glenamaddy Turlough in Galway, a refuge for a wide range of winged wildlife

NATURE Michael Kingdon goes foraging for mushrooms and comes across delicate ballerinas and a young stag

NATURE Michael Kingdon comes across a listless heron and determines that it has sadly succumbed to avian influenza

GARDENING Westport gardener Chris Smith on the varieties of ornamental grasses that grow best in Mayo gardens

GARDENING Drimbawn Garden’s head gardener Frank Steffan on the simple rewards of propagating plants

NATURE Michael Kingdon on sightings of red kites, near and far, and rewards the experience can yield

NATURE Michael Kingdon takes in the sounds of nighttime on Lough Carra, where birds, mammals and insects create a nocturnal orchestra