January 15, 2006
Resurgence
Whooper swans Cygnus cygnus flying across Rahasane turlough yesterday. Whooper swans are goose-like in appearance, get their name from their whoop whoop call, and migrate south in winter from Scandanavia and Russia.
I spent yesterday morning watching the sun rise over Rahasane turlough in east Galway (south of Craughwell). I wasn’t alone. As the sun appeared over the Sliabh Aughties, illuminating the frost-covered hummocks along the edge of the turlough, the thousands of birds roosting along the waters edge or further out became visible. Rahasane is the biggest turlough in Ireland – a seasonal lake that transforms from wild meadow in summer to a vast shallow lake in winter. It is home to a huge number of migrating and wintering birds; huge flocks of ducks along with lapwings, curlews and swans were visible yesterday and, boy, did they make some noise as the day progressed.
Rahasane turlough at dawn. The Ordnance Survey map shows a ring fort within the area under water, which may suggest that the turlough didn’t always occupy such a huge area (250 hectares). Or maybe planning rules were as lax 1200 years ago as they are now.
I wasn’t the only person out early that morning – I heard two cracks of a shotgun from the other side of the lake. I wasn’t entirely happy to hear that sound; more because I didn’t like the idea of someone shooting while I was wandering in the vicinity in low visibility clothing rather than the thought of killing one of the roughly 40,000 wildfowl that inhabit the lake (I had tucked into roast pheasant the night before in Ard Bia in Galway, so mustn’t be hypocritical). I wouldn’t mind if it was possible to buy real wildfowl in Galway, but I’ve never come across it. The lake is ‘preserved’ for a local gun club which means that there are never that many hunters about – the decline in wildfowl at the turlough over the last decade or so is suspected to be related to the increased use of fertilisers [because the fields flood in winter, the land lacks essential minerals for grass, leading farmers to spread fertiliser more heavily during spring.] Even though Rahasane is listed in the Conservation of Wild Bird Act Conservation of Wild Bird Act (it was added to the list by a Galway minister, Michael D Higgins, as it happens), it is legal to shoot birds unless the species is listed as protected too.
Flocks of birds wheel over Rahasane at dawn yesterday. In the background are the turbines of a wind farm in the Sliabh Aughties south of Loughrea.
I was just thinking last week how little rain we’ve had in the West of Ireland this winter. My daily route to work takes me across the two great arteries of the west, the rivers Suck and Shannon. They form a natural border between the west and the rest of the country, and have a huge hinterland. Rainfall in Leitrim, Cavan Roscommon, Galway, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Westmeath, and Offaly all drain into the two rivers (which meet in a bog south of Clonmacnoise along the east Galway/Offaly border). Until last week, the rivers flowed well within their banks, meandering slowly through the flood plains of east Galway and Roscommon/Westmeath. No more. The rains of the last week have begun to swell the rivers; south of Athlone, the Shannon Callows is beginning to spread out across the low fields, and just north of Ballinasloe, the meanders of the Suck are beginning to disappear into a lake as the river slops over its banks. It will take another week or so for all the water to trickle down from bogs and streams down to the midlands – both rivers have shallow gradients.
Further south of Rahasane lies the town of Gort which is practically an island in one giant lake during January and February. The surrounding area is an archipelago of turloughs and flooded rivers. One spot of interest (well, to me anyway) is near Kilmacduagh, on the road to the Burren. The difference between summer and winter is striking. I featured a couple of pictures before (taken in September) and after in January. I drove over there from Rahasane and took some photos at the same place but looking at the other side of the road.
Turlough at Castlequarter, near Gort. Photograph taken exactly a year ago.
galway, ireland, irishblogs,monasette
Turlough at Castlequarter, near Gort. Photograph taken yesterday.
Posted by Monasette at January 15, 2006 07:38 PMGreat reading, keep up the great posts.
Peace, JiggaDigga