The lone fisherman

Grey Heron

Interpretation panel

Sea life

Oystercatchers, Gull species and a Hooded Crow.

Oystercatcher

Brent geese

Lapwing flying

Lapwing

Spotted Redshank and Blackheaded Gull

Cormorant flying

The Cormorant usually fly's very close to the surface of the water.

Cormorant birds

Cunnigar spit and Helvick head

Cunnigar spit and view to the Comeragh mountains

Cunnigar spit

Cunnigar spit stretches out from the west side and supports various grass species.

Oyster farming

Dungarvan Harbour

Dungarvan harbour is sheltered from the west by Helvick Head.

Dungarvan Harbour SPA

Grid reference X2793 was the location of our last fieldtrip before the xmas break. Dungarvan harbour SPA is a very important area for wintering birdlife and the site regulary holds over 20,000 bird species. The Colligan river enters the site from the Comeragh mountains and provides the mud and sand flats the birds depend on for feeding. Extensive Oyster farming occurs on the site and it's effect on the area had not yet been understood.

We did two counts from the Ashton Callows bird hide.
@ 1419: Little Egret 1. Whooper swan 67. Mute swan 29. Shovler duck 20. Black headed Gull 53. Lesser black headed Gull 26. Mallard duck 3. Lapwing 88. Wigeon duck 241. Golden plover 120. Teal duck 85.
@ 1510: Pintail duck 41. Shovler duck 29. Whooper swan 54. Little Egret 1. Mute swan 39. Lesser black headed Gull 7. Green land white fronted Geese 3. Mallard duck 12. Golden plover 120. Lapwing 23. Moorhen 1. Teal duck 114. Tufted duck 10. Wigeon duck 435.

Swans

Two species of Swan Whooper and Mute. The Whooper has a yellow bill while the Mute has an orange colour bill.

View form Ashton Callows bird hide

Little Egret fishing

Little Egret in flight

Years ago you would had to go to Central Europe to find these birds. Today there found in every county in Ireland. Egrets belong to the Heron family.

Ladybird

I was sitting having lunch when this Ladybird came along.

On the way to Ashton Callows

Blanket bog and Fens cover a good portion of the wetland. I think this tree is a Willow.

Lapwing feeding.

Lapwing

Lapwing are mainly black and white and highly manoeuvrable in flight.

The Little Brosna Callows

It is understood that these birds were Golden Plover. They were the most abundant Birds on the Callows some flocks were estimated to be around 1000 strong.

We returned again to the Little Brosna Callows on the 17/Nov/2010. As it was later in the year and water levels higher, many migratory birds had arrived from the colder North. It was a great spectacle to get to see many hundreds of Golden Plover and Lapwing in the air.

Glenary River flow

Glenary River

The Glenary river is fast flowing through this part of the broadleaf forest. The area is part of Carey's Castle forest recreation area.

Brown Trout

Two Brown Trout sheltering under a rock pouch.

Sweet Wood Sorrel

Sorrel is a herb and is used for making soup

Landuse

Agriculture with different stages of forestry are evident. Hedgerows are very important for wildlife and biodiversity. They provide food, shelter and corridors to enable movement of species between habitats. Habitat fragmentation is becoming a serious threat to biodiversity and humanity.

Sleeping Swan

Patricks Well

This famous Well is a little walk up from the lake.

White-throated Dipper

This amazing bird lives along fast flowing water where it dives for aquatic invertebrates. It has also been known to walk along the bottom of a river or stream.

Teal

Teal Duck

The Teal is the smallest Duck.

Marlfield Lake

Tufted Duck

Male and female Tufted Duck a migratory species from the north. Both have a striking yellow coloured eyes.

Male Moorhen

The Moorhen feeds on aquatic plants, insects and tadpoles.

Swan flight

The Mute Swan's make a distinctive whistling whooping sound as they fly

Mute Swan

This Mute Swan created it's own waves along the water perhaps in a territorial display.

Marlfield lake grid reference S172221 at Clonmell Co Tipperary was our next fieldtrip on the 10/Nov/2010. The lake is a shallow manmade one built in 1880 when the Marlfield river was dammed to produce hydro power for a flour mill. The lake is nationally important for Shovler Duck but Gadwall, Mallard,Teal and Wigeon also can be found here along with various other waiding birds. Due to these bird species and spectacular natural beauty of the lake the area has become a valued recreational facility for the surrounding area of Clonmell town. The social attachment this brings to an area can help highlight important environmental issues as they arise, such as a disease called pink Flamingo which occurs in Swan species that feed on bread given to them by the public. This disease was noticed by Tipperary Institute students last year. Swans have an inability to digest bread therefore a bacteria causes their feathers to turn a pink colour.
There was a very tranquil feel to the lake on our arrival, as fog and mist blanketed the water before the energy of the sun quickly imposed it's power.

Blanket bog

On the look out

Flora of the area

The Caldonia lichen (red) peaty content of the soil allows various Flora and Fauna to exist.

Bog Cotton

Fallow Deer

A population of 40 Fallow Deer roam the area. Thick fog sometimes creates interesting results as it can aid to blur an image.

Bird Hide

Its very important to be quiet and out of sight when entering a Bird hide.

The Brosna River

The Brosna river flows for approximately 40 Km before it reaches the River Shannon near Meelick.

On the 12/Oct/2010 we visited the Little Brosna Callows located in Co Offaly (grid ref: M907115). The Callows is a very important inland area for many globally threatened bird species. The site is SPA designated from the EU habitats directive because of this. The area is a natural flood plane of the Brosna river that floods its banks between Oct- Apr every year. The site has two bird hides one being the oldest in Ireland and in need of repair. The site is counted every year at different times and all data is sent to the Irish Wetland Bird Suryey (I-WeBS). The area is internationally important for Greenland White-fronted Geese, Golden Plover and Black-tailed Godwit.

Leech stretching

The leech can stretch out over twice their normal body size. The head is the narrow end where clusters of eyespots between 1-10 can be found

Leech

Freshwater Shrimp

Very common species found that day

Caddisfly Larvae

We used a key to identify invertebrates species.