Strangford Lough - BirdForum Opus

Overview

At more than 30 km long, up to 8 km wide and covering over 150km2, Strangford Lough is a huge body of water connected to the sea by a narrow channel between the villages of Strangford and Portaferry.

There are numerous islands in the lough and rocky shores at the entrance but the most important habitat here for birds is the vast areas of mudflats exposed at low tide. In addition there are Zostera beds and saltmarshes at the northern end of the lough.

Farmland surrounds Strangford Lough with some areas of marshland, scrub and woodland.

Birds

Notable Species

This area is of great importance to wintering waterfowl. The lough is best-known as a wintering site for Pale-bellied Brent Goose and formerly also Wigeon but the latter have decreased in numbers considerably in recent years.

At peak times Strangford Lough hosts more than 20,000 waterfowl and over 40,000 waders and is one of the most important areas for birds in the whole of Ireland. Pale-bellied Brent Goose number more than 10,000 and can reach 15,000, reaching a peak in October and there are invariably one or two Black Brant mixed in with the flocks. Apart from feral Greylag Goose, Canada Goose and Barnacle Goose the only other geese seen are small numbers of Greenland White-fronted Goose.

A few Whooper Swan join the resident Mute Swan in winter and other wintering waterfowl include Gadwall and Northern Pintail, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser and Greater Scaup as well as most of the commoner species. Black-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe also winter in the lough.

A wide range of waders occurs including all the regular north European species with Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Red Knot, Dunlin, Eurasian Curlew and Common Redshank all numbering in the thousands.

Breeding birds of the lough include Great Cormorant, Grey Heron and Great Crested Grebe, and waterfowl including Common Eider, Gadwall and Red-breasted Merganser.

There are waders such as Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, Common Redshank and Ringed Plover. Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull all breed on islands in the lough as well as Common Tern, Arctic Tern]] and Sandwich Tern. Black Guillemot also breeds in the area and Common Guillemot and Razorbill can often be seen near the lough's entrance.

Check-list

Birds you can see here include:

Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Northern Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, European Storm Petrel, Great Cormorant, Northern Gannet, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Pale-bellied Brent Goose, Black Brant, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Eurasian Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Northern Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Red Knot, Sanderling, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Roseate Tern, Common Guillemot, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Common Woodpigeon, Short-eared Owl, Common Kingfisher, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Northern House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Common Wren, Dunnock, Eurasian Robin, European Stonechat, Eurasian Blackbird, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Magpie, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet, Twite, Reed Bunting

Other Wildlife

Common Seal

Site Information

For the breeding birds May-June is the best time to visit but September-October is the time for peak Brent Goose numbers and the widest range of species.

Areas of Interest

Quoile Pondage

Quoile Pondage is a freshwater lagoon and now a National Nature Reserve in the south-western corner of the lough created by the impounding of the estuary of the River Quoile.

The National Nature Reserve at Quolie Pondage can be reached on the A22 south from Comber continuing through Killyleagh and onto the Quoile Bridge. At the bridge turn left and left again towards Strangford until the reserve information centre is signposted. Some of the area has restricted access but details are available from the warden and there is a hide at Castle Island.

Reagh Island

Another good viewing spot is Reagh Island reached by returning to the Mahee Island road and continue until Ballydrain, turning left there for Nendrum. Go over the causeway and park after about 1km.

There is a hide with disabled access here overlooking more mudflats.

Access and Facilities

There are roads close to much of the lough's shores and there are numerous viewing points. However, there is a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Castle Espie which has full visitor facilities including an information centre. There is a captive collection here but also various lagoons where waders can be seen, hides overlooking the mudflats and woodland walks.

To reach Castle Espie take the A22 south from Comber and after a short distance take the left turn towards Mahee Island, follow this road until the reserve is signposted.

Other Sites

On the other side of Strangford Lough is Greyabbey, reached on the A20 south of Newtownards. This is one of the most regular sites for Black Brant. Further south at Kircubbin there are more good viewing points.

External Links

Content and images originally posted by Steve

Reviews

ohlookabirdie's review:

I love going to Castle Espie, it is a great location for all the family. They have a wide selection of ducks and geese, and hides to use aswell so take your binoculars.

Pros

Castle Espie and its i beautiful location.

Cons

Can't think of any at the moment
i heard something about polution though.