Outdoor Ireland

Ireland's location at the westernmost fringe of Europe gives it a special role in the lives of many kinds of birds in all four seasons. In summer, the cliffs of the wilder coasts and islands are thronged with breeding seabirds, which include some of the largest colonies of gannets in the world on Little Skellig off the Kerry Coast. In Spring and Autumn the islands and headlands of West Cork, Kerry and Clare give a grandstand view of spectacular migrations of shearwaters, petrels and auks. In autumn, too, the south and south-west of the island receive vagrant American waders and warblers which have been blown across the Atlantic.

In winter, the Irish lakes, estuaries and wetlands are a haven for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl from the Arctic and Northern Europe. From Greenland, Iceland and Canada come waders such as knot, golden plover and black-tailed godwit, flocks of brent and barnacle and white-fronted geese and thousands of whooper swans. From Scandinavia and the Baltic come many ducks and waders, such as teal and lapwing, together with great flocks of thrushes and finches as the weather of the continent turns colder.

Of Ireland's breeding land-birds, the corncrake and chough are especially interesting. The corncrake, which migrates from Africa, prefers to nest in hay meadows and is found mainly in the west of Ireland. There were an estimated 300-400 corncrakes heard calling in Ireland in 1991, mostly in the western counties and on islands such as Inishbofin, off County Galway, but also in meadows on the banks of the River Shannon, between Athlone and Portumna. Ireland is also a European stronghold of the chough, an attractive, red-billed crow which haunts remote coastal headlands and islands, mostly in the west and south.

In Spring
With mild spring weather Irish birds begin nesting early and their songs fill the woods and hedgerows- from March onwards. The arrival of migrants from Africa can be observed in April and May all along the south coast.

In Summer
The cliffs of the west of Ireland are the ideal place for large sea bird colonies such as puffins and gannets.

In Autumn
A particularly attractive time for bird watchers in Ireland when we have many rare American waders - mainly sandpipers and plovers - who arrive here when blown across the Atlantic.

In Winter
Irish lakes, estuaries and wetlands are a haven for hundreds of thousands of waterfowl from the Arctic and Northern Europe. From Greenland, Iceland and Canada come waders such as knot, golden plover and black-tailed godwit, flocks of brent, barnacle and white-fronted geese and thousands of whooper swans.