Birds of the River
John Weaving and Gerrit van Gelderen
The Shannon system is an area without
equal in Europe for birds, some of
them permanent residents and
others summer or winter visitors.
Three main factors account for the
importance of the Shannon as a habitat for
birds. Firstly, the Shannon remains unaffected by large-scale drainage, unlike most
other European river systems, so that in
winter the river and some of its tributaries
turn into vast, shallow flooded areas which
support huge numbers of waders, swans
and wildfowl. Secondly, the Shannon flows
through or near a diverse range of habitats
including marshland, fen, bog, woodland,
grassland and hedgerow, all of which have
their own characteristic bird population.
Thirdly many of these habitats are undisturbed by man’s activities: farming is less
intensive than elsewhere in Europe, with
low use of fertilisers and agricultural chemicals, so that there is plenty of food and
undisturbed areas for breeding.
Permanent Residents
Many of the birds observed by the visitor
to the Shannon are permanent residents and are commonly encountered
throughout the river system. These include
the coot, moorhen and little grebe or
dabchick. whose ‘whinnying’ call, day and
night, must earn the prize for the noisiest
Shannon bird. The great crested grebe, also
noisy at times, breed in smaller numbers
and are also widespread. They win the
prize for elegance: to watch, in the early
morning, the ballet of their courtship is
unforgettable. Of the duck, mallard and
tufted duck must be the most common
breeders, the former all over, and the latter
liking the wide expanses of the large lakes.
Teal are less numerous, at least in summer,
and the status of the shoveller as a breeding bird is now uncertain. Keep a look-out
for them in the Clonmacnois area and red-breasted mergansers on the islands of
Lough Ree and Derg. Grey herons, also
plentiful, are tree-dwellers and breed very
early in the season. On the whole there is
not much love lost between the anglers
and the cormorants, the devil’s black
pigeons, accused of taking too much fish.
However, they have little impact on fish
stocks and are, in fact, an indication of
piscine riches. The most abundant bunting
is the reed bunting, almost every reedbed
has its pair.
Shannon Swans
The most obvious of all Shannon birds
are the mute swans which breed all along
the river. There is not a mile of waterway
which does not fall within a mute swan’s
territory. Non-breeding birds, which make
up a large section of the total swan population,
flock together and feed on waterweeds in the shallows. As a swan cannot
feed in water deeper than its neck is long,
it makes a perfect indicator: never steer
your craft into waters where swans are
feeding, you’re asking for trouble. The
whooper and Bewick’s swans are winter
residents but for some reason single
whoopers, easily recognised by the yellow
on their beaks, sometimes stay over for the
summer and have been known to mate
with local mutes.
Gulls and Other Residents
Of the gulls, the black-headed one is
the most common with large colonies on
the lakes, ever increasing in number, at the
cost of the common tern, which is a summer resident, and whose plunging dive for
fish is a spectacular sight. Herring gulls and
lesser blackbacks are to be seen in colonies
on Lough Roe and common gulls more
scattered in the same habitat. Our flying
jewel, the kingfisher, is widespread and
breeds in banks along the narrow tribu
taries. When the young have hatched and
are flying, they can be met almost anywhere. Most common song bird is the
meadow pipit. Pied wagtails and grey wagtails frequent the locks and weirs on the
upper Shannon. Of the birds-of-prey, the
kestrel and sparrow hawk are the most
common. You may see a hen harrier or a
marsh harrier, which is a summer resident,
and even an occasional vagrant peregrine,
osprey, merlin or buzzard. Don’t be surprised to hear a pheasant calling from the
riverside: they are plentiful even on the
islands.
Summer Residents
Another group of birds which are of
interest to the Shannon visitor are the summer residents: visitors themselves, they
arrive in spring, stay to breed and depart
again in the autumn. In reedheds, scrub
and wooded areas these include the many
species of warbler; and in hay meadows
between Athlone and Portumna the corncrake, declining in numbers throughout
Europe, are easier heard than seen. They
hang about the rough grass along the
water margins to invade the meadows
when these are starting to grow and provide cover. Swifts, swallows and house
martins are widespread and also sand martins, frequently seen feeding low over the
water, but they unfortunately are on the
decline. The sedge warbler, the Irish
nightingale, in all wet areas with thick
undergrowth, compete musically with the
garden warbler, which has its main distribution over the islands of Lough Ree and
the blackcap, an even sweeter songster
than its cousin, the garden warbler, is
found especially at the northern end of
Lough Ree.
Winter Residents
In winter, when the river system
floods, large numbers of swans, waders,
ducks and geese are found, the normal
resident population being increased by
numerous winter residents from northeast Europe, Iceland and Greenland with
widgeon being the most numerous. Of
particular interest is the Greenland white-fronted goose, with a world population
of about 20,000 three-quarters of which
over winter in Ireland and some of these
can be found on the callows—the flooded water meadows—in the area between
Athlone and Portumna. The Inner Lakes
of Lough Ree and an area at the north
end of Lough Derg are nature reserves
where birds can feed undisturbed until
they once more undertake the return
flight to the tundras and lakes of the
north. By the time the first angling tourist
arrives, the whoopers will be on their way
to Iceland, the white-fronts to Greenland
and the golden plover back to
Scandinavia. In spring when the waters
are receding from the callows, they are
invaded by the local breeding birds, the
redshanks, snipe and lapwings and
recently, the blacktailed godwit near
Clonmacnois.
A full list of birds may be found in the
appendix.
