Northern Ireland

[VinceS]

We are going to Northern Ireland on 24th for one week. Apart from the giants causeway can anyone recommend any specific wildlife areas to visit.

Vince

[zek]

I'm a bit late in replying, but here goes anyway. In which county are you staying? The Antrim coast from the Giants Causeway eastward, and then south is beautiful, as are the glens that run down to Cushendun, Cushendall and Waterfoot etc. On the high ground above the glens you might find Harrier or Merlin. Westward from the Giants Causeway, the Barmouth hide a couple of miles from Castlerock is quite good for birdwatching. If you're interested in the latest rarities, phone Flightline - 02891467408 (updated daily around 10.00pm), though today the only news is of a Corncrake at Kesh, Co Fermanagh. The Quoile hide in Co Down is reputed to be good, and a walk around Oxford Island near Lurgan can be enjoyable too. Rathlin Island (leaving from Ballycastle) is a place I wouldn't miss either, and there's a chance of Puffin at the West Lighthouse, although not very close views. I'm not sure if there are Choughs on the Island again - there used to be. A trip to the Copeland Island where there's a small ringing station, (from Donaghadee/Bangor) would be interesting too, especially if the Manx shearwaters and Petrels are back. If you let me know where you're staying, and what your interests are, I might be able to help better,
thanks,
Zek.

[VinceS]

Hi Zek and thanks for your reply. We were in northern Ireland from 24th till 31st May and only arrived home late on 1st June. We had a good time visiting quite a few nature reserves and seeing a variety of flora and fauna. Unfortunately, the only bad day, weatherwise, was the day we tried to go to Rathlin island so we cancelled.

Vince

[smartie]

Originally Posted by zek

I'm not sure if there are Choughs on the Island again - there used to be.
Zek.

In case anyone else is going and is interested, it is claimed there are a few pairs of choughs around the Antrim coast at present - one pair possibly nesting on Rathlin and some also seen off Fair Head. In spite of scrutinising every corvid for miles about, we didn't manage to see them in either place on our recent stay. Lots of jackdaws, though....

[PeteTheBloke]

I'm a bit late too, but there must be other people who'd like to come to this wonderful part of the world. I mainly do my outdoor stuff in Donegal because it's on my doorstep - I live in Derry.

We're very lucky with birds here because we get migrants from the south in the summer and from the north in the winter. We don't get all the species one gets in England during summer; but we get a few England doesn't get in the colder months. Donegal has many choughs in a lot of different sites; peregrines; grouse; all the seabirds you'd expect; large influxes of wildfowl at certain times and much more that I can't think of!

The Donegal coast is a renowned whale-watching hotspot. Cetaceans of all varieties are sighted off Malin Head. There are several seal colonies and Donegal's islands have some impressive bird colonies.

We have few frosts and rarely get much snow.... but it rains loads. There are numerous highland tarns and lower-lying lakes. The acid bogs are fairly predictable in terms of flora - but no less interesting for that. I've seen plenty of different orchid species, for example, sometimes growing in breathtaking profusion. If you head southwards into Fermanagh there is also limestone - I'm not familiar with the area, but it's a fair bet that it offers a more varied flora. The limestone lakes certainly have large mayfly hatches which would point to them being supportive of a wide number of insect species.

Best of all, Donegal has more miles of road per head of population than any other part of Europe (so I'm told). Even now that every second house is a McHolidayHome you can still get off the beaten track very quickly and have a quiet time to yerself, as we say here!