| Getting the bird  A
couple of years ago the bird watching community in Ireland had the pleasure
of gathering near the little town of Mornington near Drogheda to watch
the antics of a short-billed dowacher feeding in the vicinity of some
godwits on the Boyne Estuary.
The dowacher is a rare bird usually found only in the Americas and there
had been only one other recorded sighting of it in Ireland. The bird was
probably blown off-course on its way south from Canada to the Caribbean
and managed to make its way to Co. Meath and that’s probably the
very first time that the words Canada, Caribbean and Co. Meath have appeared
in the same sentence.
Almost as exciting was the Baltimore oriole, also from the Americas, which
landed in of all places Baltimore. This was undoubtedly a memorable day
for both ornithologists and eponym fanciers.
The hundreds of twitchers, as they are called, who gathered from all over
these islands on the banks of the Boyne to watch the dowatcher and the
oriole are at the extreme end of the bird-watching spectrum. But you don’t
need to go to this length to derive real pleasure from the pastime.
Most people already do some birdwatching in their everyday life to some
extent you might not be able to tell a white-tailed godwit from a blue-anoraked
halfwit but you’ll almost certainly be able to distinguish a crow
from a robin or identify a cuckoo’s call from a seagull’s.
You will be amazed how quickly you can build on the knowledge you already
have. All you’ll need is a fairly rudimentary bird identification
book (available form most bookshops from around £5 upwards), a notebook
and pencil and preferably a basic pair of binoculars available second-hand
for as little as £20.
The first question is where to go. Well, nowhere better than the Wexford Wildfowl
Reserve, situated on Wexford Harbour and its Slobs. I was there last week
and couldn’t get over the sheer number of geese, swans and ducks.
Just to give you an idea most bird reserves have a chalkboard which announces
what has been seen that day maybe a sparrowhawk or perhaps a marsh harrier.
At the Wexford Slobs the chalkboard solemnly announces 7,500 Greenland
white-fronted geese! And you only have to look out of the window of the
hide to see most of them. Plus some 2,000 Brent geese, which, funnily
enough, aren’t from Brent but also from Greenland.
Some of the hides come with their own telescopes so you don’t
even need your own binoculars. With them you were recently able to see
the inseparable pair of Snow Geese plus literally hundreds of swans. One
of the helpful wardens explained that the swans actually do practice air
traffic control so that advert is right after all. If two swans want to
take off they nearly always do it in pairs the other swans clear a runway.
Much nodding of beaks take place and the swans begin their clamorous pounding
of the water till they’re eventually airborne surely one of the
most impressive sights in nature.
The Wexford Slobs were formed in the middle of the last century when dykes
were built to reclaim mudflats. For about 100 years the Sloblands provided
rough summer grazing for livestock more reminiscent of a Dutch landscape
than perhaps an Irish one.
In the more northerly parts of Ireland seabirds similarly gather in their
hundreds of thousands. The country’s position on the western fringes
of Europe attract huge flocks of wildfowl making it a birdwatching paradise.
Huge regiments of ducks, waders and geese come south from Arctic Canada
and Greenland to pass mild winters on the northern wetlands and estuaries.
In spring and summer large numbers of breeding seabirds feed on the fish-rich
waters off the north-west coast and this same area is the first landfall
for autumn-migrating American waders, ducks and gulls blown off course.
And just like the Boyne twitchers there is always the chance to spot rare
visitors.
The year-round residents on the coasts include oystercatchers, sandpipers,
herons, turnstones and of course the curlew. Try at least once in your
life to stand on the shores of an estuary such as Dingle Bay as evening
draws in with the Angelus bell tolling out from the nearby village and
listen for the lonely call of the curlew. It creates an atmosphere that
could not be surpassed on any film, or even on a David Attenborough wildlife
programme.
Birdwatching sites:
- The Shannon is the last great un-drained river of Europe and the Callows
are its flood-plains. Their name comes from the Irish word Caladh which
means river meadow. The fields flood in winter and are farmed as meadow
and pasture in summer using largely traditional methods thus helping to
preserve a unique ecosystem. The Callows support a wealth of mammal, insect
and plant life and breeding birds including the globally-endangered corncrake.
Bishop’s Island is part of BirdWatch Ireland’s Shannon Callows
Reserve on the Middle Shannon Callows. This island, together with its
neighbouring Bullock Island, are situated in an area of lowland wet grassland
in the floodplain of the River Shannon. Internationally important numbers
of wildfowl occur in winter. Spotted crake, quail and hobby are regular
visitors. Visits are by arrangement with BirdWatch Ireland only.
www.birdwatchireland.ie
- Allen’s Pool, Ballycotton, Co. Cork is a brackish pool which forms
the eastern extremity of the complex of marshes, beach and lake that make
up the prime birdwatching area of Ballycotton. The reserve includes a
reedbed, marsh, sand dunes and rough grazing. The reserve is best known
for its American waders which occur annually. Recent rarities have included
Squacco heron, spoonbill and Ireland’s first long-toed stint. Breeding
birds include sedge warblers, reed bunting and shelduck.
- Balbriggan Nature Park, Co. Dublin, near Balbriggan on the Balrothery/Gormanstown
Road. The marshy grassland is home to breeding birds such as the willow
warbler, whitethroat, grey wagtail, yellowhammer and linnet. In winter
it holds a variety of thrushes and finches.
- Strangford Lough and Islands, Co. Down (Officially an Area of Special
Scientific Interest)
Again amazingly close to Belfast 13 miles south-east of the city). Despite
this proximity to urban life this wetland is of international importance
supporting 25,000 wildfowl and some 50,000 waders (you’ll lose count
after the first 35 or so or so). There are also significant numbers of
bar and blacktailed godwit, redshank, shelduck, shoveler and whooper swan.
Oh and you’ll probably spot a couple of robins in the car park while
you’re having your sarnies. Impossible not to see something of interest.
- Carlingford Lough, Co. Louth.
Species include significant number of pale-bellied brent goose and scaup
in winter, and Arctic and Sandwich tern on islands. Occasional Slavonian
grebe, long-tailed duck browse amongst the commoner goldeneye, tufted
ducks and red-breasted merganser.
The nearby Cooley Mountains are also home to jacksnipe, lark and wheatears.
In the winter small flocks of snow bunting bob around the mountains a
truly memorable sight when they may be the only sign of life on a lonely
mountainside.
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