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Yelping SinceOctober 2009
Things I Lovewriting, editing, walking & wildlife
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Feeding ducks in a pond is one thing; feeding the swans at Malahide Estuary is another. Any time you go for a walk along Malahide Estuary, you will see somebody edging nervously back towards their car as a swan gets closer and closer. The swans will take bread from your hand and will stop short only of climbing into your car. The swans are Mute swans but the seagulls that swoop down around them are anything but mute. There are also ducks and you might see an ugly duckling or a juvenile swan keeping up with the posse.
I've counted up to one hundred swans in the moody setting of Malahide Estuary. Among the greys and browns, everything from driftwood to an upside-down shopping trolley looks like it belongs there and has been reclaimed. Among the silhouettes that give the Estuary its moody atmosphere, you might see a cormorant on a rock, spreading his wings like a martyr to dry; tall teasel standing out against the sky or a formation of birds, flickering from black to silver as they tilt their wings to change direction.
Malahide Estuary is a natural setting and a special area of conservation. There are no facilities for anyone walking there so it might be a stop off point on your way to Malahide for lunch or to see Malahide Castle. Swords is nearby if you want to do some shopping in the Pavilions Shopping Centre. There is a train service to Malahide and a bus service to Swords.
I've counted up to one hundred swans in the moody setting of Malahide Estuary. Among the greys and browns, everything from driftwood to an upside-down shopping trolley looks like it belongs there and has been reclaimed. Among the silhouettes that give the Estuary its moody atmosphere, you might see a cormorant on a rock, spreading his wings like a martyr to dry; tall teasel standing out against the sky or a formation of birds, flickering from black to silver as they tilt their wings to change direction.
Malahide Estuary is a natural setting and a special area of conservation. There are no facilities for anyone walking there so it might be a stop off point on your way to Malahide for lunch or to see Malahide Castle. Swords is nearby if you want to do some shopping in the Pavilions Shopping Centre. There is a train service to Malahide and a bus service to Swords.
Fota Wildlife Park in Co. Cork is a garden of delights for children of all ages who are interested in animals. The idea of Fota is to keep free range animals that roam in the 70 acre park, encouraging the natural behaviour of the animals as well as encouraging a respectful distance from the humans.
There are some activities worth watching out for - one would be the Cheetah Run which is a type of enrichment for cheetahs. Enrichment is any activity that stimulates the natural behaviours of wild animals to keep them healthy and in touch with their wild side as well as preventing boredom. With the Cheetah Run, a piece of meat is hung from a cable and mechanically operated so that the cheetah chases it at full speed as he would in the wild. Cheetahs sprint only for short distances in the wild and this exercise is a good opportunity to see them in action.
There is an opportunity to get close to some of the animals at Fota, for example, the ring-tailed lemurs will eat peanuts from your hand, holding on to your palm with a gentleness that's quite amazing. We're not supposed to feed the animals in the park but in the case of the lemurs, there are peanut machines where you can buy a small bag of peanuts specifically for them.
If you're waiting for the train outside the gate just after 4.30pm, you might be surprised to see the lemurs appear one by one in the treetops across the way as they prepare to escape from the Wildlife Park and you'll be mesmerised by their signature call. As a friend of mine said while we waited on the platform: "You'd go to Madagascar to see that!" There's something magic about the thought that every evening, when the park gates have closed and everybody has left, the lemurs climb through the tress and cross the railway track to roam loose around Fota Island.
Fota works regularly with conservation projects and they're also involved in a European breeding programme for endangered wild animals. The current project is called the European Carnivores Campaign. It's about looking at the populations of wild animals in Europe and addressing conflicts with human interest. Visitor donations go to the various conservation programmes that Fota work with in Ireland and around the world.
The park opens at 10am from Monday to Saturday and at 11am on Sunday; people can enter until 3.30pm and the gates close at 4.30pm. There is a restaurant in the park and there are facilities for children, for example the Wildlife Train Tour. Prices and more details are available on their website: www.fotawildlife.ie. Fota is accessible by train with a change in Cork station for the train that takes you directly to the park gates.
There are some activities worth watching out for - one would be the Cheetah Run which is a type of enrichment for cheetahs. Enrichment is any activity that stimulates the natural behaviours of wild animals to keep them healthy and in touch with their wild side as well as preventing boredom. With the Cheetah Run, a piece of meat is hung from a cable and mechanically operated so that the cheetah chases it at full speed as he would in the wild. Cheetahs sprint only for short distances in the wild and this exercise is a good opportunity to see them in action.
There is an opportunity to get close to some of the animals at Fota, for example, the ring-tailed lemurs will eat peanuts from your hand, holding on to your palm with a gentleness that's quite amazing. We're not supposed to feed the animals in the park but in the case of the lemurs, there are peanut machines where you can buy a small bag of peanuts specifically for them.
If you're waiting for the train outside the gate just after 4.30pm, you might be surprised to see the lemurs appear one by one in the treetops across the way as they prepare to escape from the Wildlife Park and you'll be mesmerised by their signature call. As a friend of mine said while we waited on the platform: "You'd go to Madagascar to see that!" There's something magic about the thought that every evening, when the park gates have closed and everybody has left, the lemurs climb through the tress and cross the railway track to roam loose around Fota Island.
Fota works regularly with conservation projects and they're also involved in a European breeding programme for endangered wild animals. The current project is called the European Carnivores Campaign. It's about looking at the populations of wild animals in Europe and addressing conflicts with human interest. Visitor donations go to the various conservation programmes that Fota work with in Ireland and around the world.
The park opens at 10am from Monday to Saturday and at 11am on Sunday; people can enter until 3.30pm and the gates close at 4.30pm. There is a restaurant in the park and there are facilities for children, for example the Wildlife Train Tour. Prices and more details are available on their website: www.fotawildlife.ie. Fota is accessible by train with a change in Cork station for the train that takes you directly to the park gates.
For anyone interested in walking and wildlife, Bull Island is a must - for its wildflowers in the summer and the wading birds in winter.
From the sand dunes, there's a panoramic view out to sea, and you can identify landmarks like Lambay Island and Howth Head north of the island and Dalkey Island and the Sugarloaf Mountain to the south.
There's great variety on Bull Island with the mud flats, the grass marsh, the sand dunes and the beach and you can choose a terrain to suit your mood. The mud flats are where you'll find the wading birds as it's their feeding ground, with something like 5000 mud snails per square metre of mud. The Brent goose, which flies over from Canada for the winter, has almost become a mascot for the island.
The grass marsh hosts the wildflowers - bring a picnic and watch out for some of the insects like the colourful burnet moth that are attracted to the wildflowers.
Marram grass is the secret to the island's success - the sand accumulates around the long grass to form the sand dunes which are solid enough to allow small plants to grow. Volunteers even plant marram grass to repair any damage done by the wear and tear of walkers.
If you have time to walk the length of the beach (Dollymount Strand), you might come across the small colony of seals that haul out at the tip of the island nearest to Sutton Creek.
There's an interpretative centre where you can find out more about the island and its ecosystem. There's ample car parking, either in front of the interpretative centre or on the beach. Dollymount House isn't too far away if want to follow up on your walk with a meal.
From the sand dunes, there's a panoramic view out to sea, and you can identify landmarks like Lambay Island and Howth Head north of the island and Dalkey Island and the Sugarloaf Mountain to the south.
There's great variety on Bull Island with the mud flats, the grass marsh, the sand dunes and the beach and you can choose a terrain to suit your mood. The mud flats are where you'll find the wading birds as it's their feeding ground, with something like 5000 mud snails per square metre of mud. The Brent goose, which flies over from Canada for the winter, has almost become a mascot for the island.
The grass marsh hosts the wildflowers - bring a picnic and watch out for some of the insects like the colourful burnet moth that are attracted to the wildflowers.
Marram grass is the secret to the island's success - the sand accumulates around the long grass to form the sand dunes which are solid enough to allow small plants to grow. Volunteers even plant marram grass to repair any damage done by the wear and tear of walkers.
If you have time to walk the length of the beach (Dollymount Strand), you might come across the small colony of seals that haul out at the tip of the island nearest to Sutton Creek.
There's an interpretative centre where you can find out more about the island and its ecosystem. There's ample car parking, either in front of the interpretative centre or on the beach. Dollymount House isn't too far away if want to follow up on your walk with a meal.
Do you want to try something different while you're in Ireland? The Irish Seal Sanctuary is a voluntary organisation in North Co. Dublin that was set up over twenty years ago to rescue and rehabilitate Irish marine wildlife, mainly the two breeds of seal found in Irish waters, the grey seal and the common seal.
You can visit the Irish Seal Sanctuary or you could always find out about volunteering. There are usually around six full-time resident volunteers and any number of day volunteers. If you check out their website - www.irishsealsanctuary.ie - or phone them on 01 8354370, you can find out about any upcoming seal releases that might be on as the seals are released around the Irish coast in the area where they were originally found - so if a seal was found in Cork, he will be released in Cork. The releases are a fun day out and a great opportunity to observe a wild animal return to his natural environment.
The sanctuary itself has character as it's run on a tight budget and the creative efforts of the volunteers. If you phone them in advance, they will show you around and tell you what seal rehab is all about and you might catch a feed, either in the kennel area where the youngest pups stay until they are feeding for themselves or in the pools where the they have lots of space to practise natural behaviours in preparation for their release to the wild.
Depending on their health, seals might stay in the sanctuary for between three and six months, with the common seals coming in during the summer months and the grey seals during the winter months. If you visit in early winter, you might see a grey seal pup that's still in 'lanugo' or the white coat that they are born with and lose when they are two to three weeks old.
The Irish Seal Sanctuary is running a Seal the Deal fundraising campaign right now for a Marine Conservation Centre - a modern facility that's planned as a project in marine eco-tourism and that will be a base for everything from seal rehab to seal-watching tours off the East coast. So if you do make a visit, a small donation will be appreciated!
The current set-up is a little out of the way on a country road so you'll need a car to get there and it would probably be a good idea to phone for directions before setting out to get lost. It's probably worth noting that there's no wheelchair access and one good reason for the new Marine Conservation Centre is accessibility to the public.
If you want to make a day of it, you could make your way from the Irish Seal Sanctuary to Tara where you could get lunch in the coffee shop and then walk it off! Or you could continue on to Skerries for fish and chips and watch out for seals in the harbour. If you're there on a Sunday morning or early in the afternoon, the Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre is only a fifteen minute drive away and you could have lunch or catch some live music at around three o'clock in the afternoon.
You can also check out the Irish Seal Sanctuary website for upcoming fundraising events as well as seal releases.
You can visit the Irish Seal Sanctuary or you could always find out about volunteering. There are usually around six full-time resident volunteers and any number of day volunteers. If you check out their website - www.irishsealsanctuary.ie - or phone them on 01 8354370, you can find out about any upcoming seal releases that might be on as the seals are released around the Irish coast in the area where they were originally found - so if a seal was found in Cork, he will be released in Cork. The releases are a fun day out and a great opportunity to observe a wild animal return to his natural environment.
The sanctuary itself has character as it's run on a tight budget and the creative efforts of the volunteers. If you phone them in advance, they will show you around and tell you what seal rehab is all about and you might catch a feed, either in the kennel area where the youngest pups stay until they are feeding for themselves or in the pools where the they have lots of space to practise natural behaviours in preparation for their release to the wild.
Depending on their health, seals might stay in the sanctuary for between three and six months, with the common seals coming in during the summer months and the grey seals during the winter months. If you visit in early winter, you might see a grey seal pup that's still in 'lanugo' or the white coat that they are born with and lose when they are two to three weeks old.
The Irish Seal Sanctuary is running a Seal the Deal fundraising campaign right now for a Marine Conservation Centre - a modern facility that's planned as a project in marine eco-tourism and that will be a base for everything from seal rehab to seal-watching tours off the East coast. So if you do make a visit, a small donation will be appreciated!
The current set-up is a little out of the way on a country road so you'll need a car to get there and it would probably be a good idea to phone for directions before setting out to get lost. It's probably worth noting that there's no wheelchair access and one good reason for the new Marine Conservation Centre is accessibility to the public.
If you want to make a day of it, you could make your way from the Irish Seal Sanctuary to Tara where you could get lunch in the coffee shop and then walk it off! Or you could continue on to Skerries for fish and chips and watch out for seals in the harbour. If you're there on a Sunday morning or early in the afternoon, the Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre is only a fifteen minute drive away and you could have lunch or catch some live music at around three o'clock in the afternoon.
You can also check out the Irish Seal Sanctuary website for upcoming fundraising events as well as seal releases.
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It's a great opportunity to see these wild animals up close and sometimes up to seven seals come into the harbour to see if any humans are about to throw them an easy lunch.
Bull seals are impressive to watch and you can make out the scars on their noses from fights during the breeding season. The cows are usually a lighter colour and you might recognise the younger seals because their faces won't be scarred and their coats will be in good condition.
If you walk to the end of the west pier, there's a fantastic view of Ireland's Eye. The piece that juts out on the right hand side is known as the Stacks. On the left hand side of the island is a Martello Tower.
If you're on a boat trip and get close enough to the Stacks, you'll make out the spiral effect, a little like a spiral staircase or the tiers on a wedding cake. Gannets rest on the ledges and it's quite amazing to see the spiral of Gannets lining the Stacks. Seals breed on the far side of the island and in the early winter months, grey seal pups or 'whitecoats' are there. There are regulations for the distance that boats must keep away from wildlife habitats - and for speed and noise levels.
If you're just passing some time on the west pier, it's well worth calling into the fish shop, Nicky's Plaice, for a gastronomic memento to take home with you. They have a 'Smokies' pie with smoked fish, Mornay sauce, black pepper, Spring onion, cherry tomato and cheddar cheese that can be heated up in three minutes when you get home. With a glass of white wine and some brown bread with mackerel pate, also from Nicky's Plaice, you'll feel like you've just spent the day walking the wilds of Connemara.
The tourist office is also on the west pier, just a few doors down from Nicky's Plaice and there you can find information about everything from watersports to restaurants. The west pier is convenient to the Dart station, making Howth an easy destination from Dublin city centre.