Discover Our Wetlands

From freshwater swamps and reedbeds to saltmarsh and mudflats

Swallow

Swallow

The Swallow is a Summer visitor only to Ireland and indeed it is a hopeful sign to many people in Ireland that the cold months are finally finished and will gather in huge flocks when they return to Africa for Winter. These birds can be very hard to photograph as they are always flinging in search of food. Their main diet is insects such as flies and they will catch them by swooping down over water bodies such as our Lake and Ponds. If seen sitting still you will be able to see that this bird has an orange face and blue colouring on its back. A very similar bird is the Swift, a bird that also feed on insects and is very hard to photograph. The main difference between these two birds is that the Swallow has a long forked tail while in the Swift it is much shorter.

Hooded Crow

Hooded Crow

Common across Ireland, this member of the Crow family is easily distinguished with their grey body which has led to the nickname of Hooded Crow. They are far less common across in England, only occurring in small numbers until you reach Scotland. If you want a closer look just through a little food on the ground and eventually they will fly down and skip over.

Smooth Newt

Smooth Newt

Our Smooth Newt or Common Newt is Ireland’s Newt Species. Unlike Frogs, Newts do not lay huge clumps of eggs. Instead they lay a single egg on the inside of an aquatic plants leaf. They protect and hide the egg they role the leaf. Like other Amphibians such as our Frogs, Newts require clean pools of water with no pollution to survive and bred. After breeding Newts come back onto land to look for insects to eat. During breeding season males can develop a crest on their tail and their bellies will turn orange with spots. Like our Common Frog and Natterjack Road it is illegal to kill or sell these animals and it is protected under the Wildlife Acts (1976 and 2000).

European Robin

European Robin

Robins can be seen all year round looking for Worms, Bugs and Seeds. While they may look pretty Robins are very territorial and can fight with other Robins over the best territories. Young Robins do not gain a red breast until a few months after hatching, which can make it difficult to identify them. There are different birds around the World that hold the title of robin. The Japanese Robin and the Ryukyu Robin are both Japanese varieties.

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

The Goldfinch that has a fondness for thistles. The more thistles in an area the more of these birds will be present. The seeds from Thistles is their major food source. These birds generally build their nests from Lichens and Mosses high up in trees branches. Goldfinches were once a highly sought after bird to be kept as pets. Thankfully when the Wildlife Act was put into place in Ireland this became illegal and these Wild Birds can remain in the wild.

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