Only One Ireland: Almost all the wintering population of Light-bellied Brent Geese

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Almost all the wintering population of Light-bellied Brent Geese

Strangford Lough is a large (150 sq km) shallow sea lough situated on the east coast of Co. Down in Northern Ireland. About a third of the Lough is intertidal - at low tide huge expanses of sandflats are exposed at the northern end. At high tide this area is covered in shallow water.

Strangford Lough supports plentiful wildlife from common and grey seals and porpoise, to horse mussels, sea-anemones, kelp forests, soft corals, sea-cucumbers, curled octopus and sunstars. Burrowing in the finer sands are brittlestar, pelican's-foot shells, and the sea pens. Birds include waders such as dunlin, turnstone, black and bar-tailed godwits, plover and knots. In winter, these are joined with up to 15000 overwintering Brent geese along with flocks of knot, dunlin, curlew, redshank and oystercatcher. The decline of widgeon and arrival of Little Egrets are thought to be as a result of climate change.

In total, over 2000 marine animals and plant species have been found, including 72% of all the species recorded from around the Northern Ireland coast. Of these, 28 are found only in the Lough.

Lots more information on the biodiversity and management of Strangford Lough can be found at http://www.strangfordlough.org/
Visit the Castle Espie Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre which forms part of the Strangford Lough Ramsar site.

The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.