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Mary Montague

Mary Montague is a nature writer and poet based in Northern Ireland

May 2025Country diaryCountry diary: Ancient art to make the imagination soarKnowth, County Meath, Ireland: In among the summer-green fields here is the great mound, constructed by neolithic

people with, perhaps, one eye to the sky9 May 2025 06.30 CEST…… commentsApril 2025Country diaryCountry diary: Gorse or gold? Choose your richesThe Sperrins, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland:

These hills might have been spoiled by a mine, were it not for some dogged local campaigning. Instead, we are treated to a blaze of spring flowers9 Apr 2025 06.30 CEST…… commentsMarch

2025Country diaryCountry diary: These black-headed gulls look like tired teenagers – for good reasonRiver Lagan, Belfast: Going through puberty is an exhausting business, but that is

effectively what our birds are doing this time of year17 Mar 2025 06.30 CET…… commentsFebruary 2025Country diaryCountry diary: A night of renewal before the start of Celtic springRotten

Mountain, Co Fermanagh: It is tradition to come together and make St Brigid’s crosses on this night. And with Storm Éowyn causing havoc, it felt especially important to mark the changing of

a season6 Feb 2025 06.30 CET…… commentsJanuary 2025Country diaryCountry diary: Why does the bird bob its head?Ballykinlar, County Down: Down on the shore, plover and redshank are going about

their business, bobbing as they go to get a clearer view of their surroundings18 Jan 2025 06.30 CET…… commentsDecember 2024Country diaryCountry diary: A needle of solstice sunlight reaches

into my deep pastCounty Meath, Ireland: The very existence of this 5,000-year-old monument, called Newgrange, is remarkable enough. On the shortest day it has truly magical qualities21 Dec

2024 10.55 CET…… commentsNovember 2024Country diaryCountry Diary: A quiet autumn for acorns so far – but this oak tree is being productiveLagan Valley, County Antrim: In the low light of the

woods, the fungi are faring better than the jays and grey squirrels8 Nov 2024 06.30 CET…… commentsOctober 2024Country diaryCountry diary: At last, we reach mainland Britain’s most westerly

pointArdnamurchan, Western Highlands: A previous attempt had been thwarted by coastal geography, but finally Ardnamurchan lighthouse heaves into view17 Oct 2024 06.30 CEST……

commentsSeptember 2024Country diaryCountry diary: Slipping down a cliff face, searching for a fading bloomLecale, County Down: This colony of tall sea lavender was lost for most of the 21st

century. What a thrill it is to crouch down beside it13 Sept 2024 06.30 CEST…… commentsAugust 2024Country diaryCountry diary: The gawky yet graceful Irish hare has a lot of history to

carryArdmalin, County Donegal: Around 15,000 years ago, Ireland was ‘islanded’ from Europe before Britain. That’s when this animal began to evolve its uniqueness9 Aug 2024 06.30 CEST……

commentsJuly 2024Country diaryCountry diary: A plague among the ash treesEderney, County Fermanagh: Twelve years of the dieback fungus is an existential threat to Northern Ireland’s ash. The

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hinkable is fast becoming unavoidable12 Jul 2024 06.30 CEST…… commentsJune 2024Country diaryCountry diary: A gleaming catch causes much excitementLough Foyle, County Derry: A young man and

his daughter have landed a needlefish – though it’s more muscular than the name suggests14 Jun 2024 06.30 CEST…… commentsMay 2024Country diaryCountry diary: A quiet place that nurtures both

people and wildlifeCounty Antrim, Northern Ireland: To visit Jubilee Farm is to discover a success story, both in its community outreach and its commitment to nature10 May 2024 06.30 CEST……

commentsApril 2024Country diary Country diary: Two chaffinches exchange wheezy warningsLagan Valley Regional Park, Belfast: To a bird, subtle variations in song can say a lot, and these two

seem to be sizing each other up12 Apr 2024 06.30 CEST…… commentsMarch 2024Country diaryCountry diary: The plovers peck and the sandpipers probeTyrella Beach, Co Down: The tide is out, and so

are the waders, all magnificently modified and finessed from their common ancestor2 Mar 2024 06.30 CET…… commentsFebruary 2024Country diaryCountry diary: To visit a fairy fort is a step

back in timeDrumkeen, County Fermanagh: This area is peppered with medieval fort remains; this rather modest one I’ve known for many years5 Feb 2024 06.30 CET…… commentsNovember 2023Country

diaryCountry diary: A tale of three churchesTrawbreaga Bay, County Donegal: Overlooking the windblown coastline, their locations are not a coincidence28 Nov 2023 06.30 CET…… commentsOctober

2023Country diaryCountry diary: The brown trout lurks in the dusky poolsUpstream from Lough Neagh, County Antrim: There’s trouble in the watercourses here, as pollution worsens. But for now,

the native trout, and the anglers, endure2 Oct 2023 06.30 CEST…… commentsAugust 2023Country diaryCountry diary: Lesser black-backed gulls have moved into our ‘village’Ormeau, south Belfast:

For weeks now we’ve lived with the parents erupting as we hang out our washing or empty a bin7 Aug 2023 06.30 CEST…… commentsMay 2023Country diaryCountry diary: The blackcap seems shy about

the beauty of its songCrumlin Glen, County Antrim: Along this deeply wooded riverside path, I follow an impish male – or is it two?29 May 2023 06.30 CEST…… commentsAbout 42 results for Mary

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