Wexford Wildfowl Nature Reserve, Co. Wexford, Ireland
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is located on flat farmland on the North Slob which was walled off from Wexford Harbour and reclaimed from the sea in the 1840s partly as a famine relief project. Wet grassland and tillage, along with a brackish water drainage channel and reedbeds, form the main habitats which collectively make for an internationally important wetland and one of Ireland’s finest bird sites. Much of the area lies below sea level.
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is jointly owned and managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and BirdWatch Ireland. First established in 1969 the reserve covers about 200 hectares, around 25% of the North Slob. Today, Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is part of the larger Wexford Slobs and Harbour Special Protected Area (SPA), a designated Ramsar Site, part of a Special Protection Area (SPA), a proposed National Heritage Area (NHA) and a National Nature Reserve. It is included within the EU network of nature protected areas called Natura 2000, the aim of which is to secure the long-term survival of Europe’s most threatened and vulnerable species and habitats.
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is renowned for the wide diversity and density of its birdlife. Over 250 species of birds have been recorded, many of them winter migrants from Greenland and Arctic Canada or from Scandinavia and Arctic Russia. Greater (Greenland) White-fronted Geese are the most numerous and important goose species and it is for them that Wexford Wildfowl Reserve was established. They breed on the western lowlands of Greenland during the summer and winter in Ireland and Scotland from October to early April. The North Slob holds about 8500 or 45% of the current world population of Greater (Greenland) White-fronted Goose during these months. The Greater (Greenland) White-fronted Geese are joined by wintering Bewick’s and Whooper Swans as well as Pale-bellied Brent Geese and a variety of other ducks and waders.
The birds and other wildlife on the Reserve can be watched from an observation tower and 3 other hides and there is a Visitor Centre providing an exhibition and other information.
Date: 30th January 2020
Location: Wexford Wildfowl Nature Reserve, Co. Wexford, Ireland
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is jointly owned and managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and BirdWatch Ireland. First established in 1969 the reserve covers about 200 hectares, around 25% of the North Slob. Today, Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is part of the larger Wexford Slobs and Harbour Special Protected Area (SPA), a designated Ramsar Site, part of a Special Protection Area (SPA), a proposed National Heritage Area (NHA) and a National Nature Reserve. It is included within the EU network of nature protected areas called Natura 2000, the aim of which is to secure the long-term survival of Europe’s most threatened and vulnerable species and habitats.
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is renowned for the wide diversity and density of its birdlife. Over 250 species of birds have been recorded, many of them winter migrants from Greenland and Arctic Canada or from Scandinavia and Arctic Russia. Greater (Greenland) White-fronted Geese are the most numerous and important goose species and it is for them that Wexford Wildfowl Reserve was established. They breed on the western lowlands of Greenland during the summer and winter in Ireland and Scotland from October to early April. The North Slob holds about 8500 or 45% of the current world population of Greater (Greenland) White-fronted Goose during these months. The Greater (Greenland) White-fronted Geese are joined by wintering Bewick’s and Whooper Swans as well as Pale-bellied Brent Geese and a variety of other ducks and waders.
The birds and other wildlife on the Reserve can be watched from an observation tower and 3 other hides and there is a Visitor Centre providing an exhibition and other information.
Date: 30th January 2020
Location: Wexford Wildfowl Nature Reserve, Co. Wexford, Ireland
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Also in: Ireland - January and February 2020
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