New year, new hobby? Then why not put a different colour of feather in your cap and try a spell of bird-watching.
Experts say the southwest has some of the best spots for the pastime.
WEST Cork boasts some of the best bird watching spots in Ireland and it’s a growing reason for people to visit the region, boosting the local economy.
And for locals on the lookout for a new hobby this year, established bird twitchers, including Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan, say it’s a fantastic pastime that brings huge rewards.
Cork South West TD Christopher O’ Sullivan enjoys birdwatching. 'I tried fishing, then surfing on Long Strand, but when I tried birdwatching I was hooked from the very start,' he said. (Photo: Andrew Harris)
The best place to start, advises Fiona O’Neill, secretary of Bird Watch Ireland West Cork, is in your own garden.
‘We’re lucky in West Cork to have so many great spots, but we always say your own garden is the best place to start. You can attract and support garden birds by putting up feeders and also by leaving the seedheads on your plants over the winter or by leaving piles of leaves undisturbed,’ she said, adding that a useful book to start off with is The Birds of Ireland Field Guide by Jim Wilson and Mark Carmody. When you’re ready to graduate beyond the garden, popular local spots include estuaries in Clonakilty, Rosscarbery, and Skibbereen.
‘At the estuaries in winter/spring, you’re likely to see redshank, greenshank, godwits, curlew, lapwing, shelduck, wigeon, teal, grey heron, little egret, many species of gulls, and plenty of other waders,’ said Fiona.
A black-headed gull taking flight over West Cork seas.
‘In Clonakilty, a good place to start is at the West Cork Railway Village or across the road from Scally’s SuperValu and head out the road towards Ring. In Timoleague a good spot to set out from is across from the abbey. You can walk all the way to Courtmacsherry, pausing to check out the birdlife. In Rosscarbery, start across from the Celtic Ross Hotel,’ she suggested.
The best time to head out, she said, is a few hours before high tide when the birds get pushed nearer to land, or a few hours after high tide.
And all you need is a pair of binoculars (a good pair will cost around €150) and some wet gear – that, and some patience.
‘I do wetland bird surveys once a month, where you’re constantly scanning the rushes. Every now and then a head will pop up so it pays to be patient ... and quiet!’ she said.
One of her more exciting sightings was a sparrowhawk, a bird of prey, in a garden on Dursey Island.
‘It was a privilege to be so close to such a bird. It had no idea I was there. It was amazing.’
Cape Clear is home to the Cape Clear Bird Observatory, run by the recently deceased and renowned wildlife officer Steve Wing.
‘It’s one of Ireland’s best known bird watching destinations, where bird migration has been studied since 1959. In spring and autumn, large numbers of song birds pass through, moving to and from their breeding grounds,’ said Fiona.
Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan agreed that Cape Clear was one of the best birdwatching spots in West Cork, along with the Mizen Head and Dursey.
He only discovered his love of birdwatching when he was in his late 20s.
‘I was single and had a bit too much spare time on my hands! I tried fishing, then surfing on Long Strand, but when I tried birdwatching, I was hooked from the very start.’
A big attraction is that birdwatching brings you to some of the most breathtakingly beautiful spots, he said.
He enjoys sea watching for migrant birds off places like Galley Head. ‘You’ll see thousands on the headlands during July and August. And then there’s the looking over estuaries for the wading birds.’
His standout sighting was seeing a red flanked blue tail, that’s more common in China, with his friend Paul Connaughton, in his favourite spot, Mizen Head, a few years ago.
‘We had spent the day there, and had pretty much given up on seeing anything but we said we’d check one last spot before leaving. We pulled in and saw this bird popping up and it was just the stuff that dreams are made of. The fact that it was a shared experience with Paul, made it even better.’
Christopher said his wife Sarah doesn’t share his love of birdwatching but ‘tolerates’ it!
‘I’d totally recommend it to anyone looking for a new hobby. Lots of people have to travel to indulge their hobbies but we have this right on our doorstep,’ he said.
Cairbre Ó Ciardha, from south Dublin, enjoyed a very successful birdwatching visit to West Cork recently.
A curlew in full flight over Clonakilty Bay.
‘Resulting from a recommendation from friends, we decided to visit Clonakilty and spend a few days staying in Fernhill House Hotel. We were attracted to that area in particular because of the neighbouring bays and access to the possibility of seabirds and associated landscapes,’ he said.
‘Locations visited included Clonakilty Bay, Courtmacsherry, Union Hall, and Baltimore There was a short interval of time spent with some retail therapy in Clonakilty and we could feel a relaxed environment and lovely hospitality wherever we were,’ he said.
A northern lapwing taking time out on the shore. All bird photos by keen birdwatcher Cairbre Ó Ciardha.
During his stay, he encountered the black-tailed godwit (Clonakilty Bay); a heron (Courtmacsherry Bay); green shank (Courtmacsherry Bay); red shank (Union Hall); northern lapwing (Courtmacsherry Bay); curlew(Clonakilty Bay); wigeon (Clonakilty Bay); teal (Clonakilty Bay); a little egret (Clonakilty Bay); mute swan (Clonakilty Bay) and a rock pipit (Clonakilty Bay).
Fiona said she would encourage anyone to give birdwatching a try.
‘Our outings at the beginning of 2025 are on Sunday 19th January, Whooper Swans in the Bandon Valley; Sunday 2nd February, West Cork Bird Race and Sunday 16th February, The Gearagh. For more information about BirdWatch Ireland events see Facebook,’ said Fiona
A teal in action on Clonakilty Bay.
Magic Merlin can help ID birds.
For new or not-so-new birdwatchers an AI tool called Merlin Photo ID is an incredibly handy tool to help identify what you spot, or hear.
Developed by the Department of Ornithology at Cornell University in New York, all you have to do is take a photo of a bird, say when and where you saw the bird, and Merlin will suggest what species it is.
It’s been reported that there are over 10,000 bird species worldwide and Merlin Photo ID can identify 6,900 of these species.
That’s impressive! It can also recognise the bird – or several birds – by a brief sound recording which is especially fascinating if recorded during the early morning ‘dawn chorus’.
As well as identifying the bird you saw, or heard, it will also help provide you with more information about them.
Furthermore, it uses the information supplied to compile data for that particular area.
