Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Watch common terns fishing on the lough during spring and summer. These graceful birds arrive in April after migrating from Africa and raise their young on the special rafts. |  |
Watch the amazing courtship ritual of great crested grebes on the open water in spring. You may see pairs performing their 'weed dance' when they present one another with weed and patter across the surface of the water together. |  |
Huge numbers of lapwings gather here in winter. If a bird of prey, such as a peregrine, is in the area, they take to the air in a vast wheeling mass. |  |
Tree sparrows can be seen at the bird feeding garden alongside the commoner birds. Listen for their short and sharp 'tek' calls as they fly in and out. |  |
Whooper swans arrive here in October from Iceland, where they spend the summer, and stay until early April. |  |