Ireland’s coastline and offshore islands host some of the world’s largest and most spectacular breeding seabird colonies.
Ireland is an island nation, so it’s no surprise that seabirds feature prominently as part of her avifauna. From fabulous seawatching, opportunities to some of the world’s largest nesting seabird colonies, Ireland’s seabirds offer some truly outstanding birding opportunities — all set against the backdrop of our world renowned coastal scenery. The best conditions for seawatching aren’t necessarily the “nicest” conditions for sitting out on an exposed headland. A brisk onshore wind is best as it tends to push the birds closer to shore. Sunshine (and the inevitable glare that goes with it) is the seawatcher’s arch enemy — so cloud cover is the order of the day, and even perhaps the occasional blustery shower. It’s not unusual to get wet and cold when you’re seawatching for a lengthy period. It is understandable perhaps that seawatching is considered by some to be a bit of a “hard-core” birding pastime — but if you time it right the experience of watching thousands of seabird pass close to shore is truly memorable.
Some of Ireland's most popular coastal birds are:
Cormorants (Shags)
Guillemot (Black & Common)
Sand Martins
Terns
Black Redstarts
Ringed Plover
Puffins
Gannets
Razorbills
The Cache - At Stage 1, answer the following:
A: What length in km is the Bray to Greystones Cliff Path Walk?
B: On the Raheen Car Park sign, how many yellow box can you see (including starting point)?
C: Under the paragraph titled 'Geology', what is the most notable fossil found on Bray Head?
D: The number of km listed as the 'Ascent' for Belmont Way Trail?
Final: N 53° 11.(A)(B)(C+1) W 006° 05.(D+6)
