Sloblands

Begerin and Slobs

Aerial Photograph of Begerin Island and the North Slob.

Begerin and Slobs

Begerin and Slobs

Aerial Photograph of Begerin Island and the North Slob.

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The Wexford Sloblands provide an ideal environment to a large proportion of Ireland’s plants, birds and wild mammal species. Located to the north of Wexford Harbour, the Wexford Sloblands lie below sea level on flat polder land covering 1,000-hectares. Until the mid-1800s, 2,500 acres of mud flats and many small islands spread across Wexford Harbour. Dykes were then built in 1847 to create the North and South Sloblands.

Irish Hare

Photograph of a mature, Irish hare on the North Slob looking at the camera but ready to take off.

Irish Hare

Irish Hare

Photograph of a mature, Irish hare on the North Slob looking at the camera but ready to take off.

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The reclaimed mud flats were divided into fields, and dried out using pumps draining the water from the slops into Wexford Harbour. The land was later sown with grass and crops; reeds and water plants have also grown close to the channels which drain the water. The variety of landscapes on the sloblands today offers a habitat for a broad range of Ireland’s birds, wild fowl and wild mammals. More than half of the wild mammal species recorded in Ireland have been sighted in the Sloblands. The most frequent mammal sightings include the fox, badger, stoat, mink, Irish hare, wood mouse, house mouse, bat, grey seals and otter.

Whitefronted Face

Close-up photograph of the head of a Greenland Whitefronted Goose.

Whitefronted Face

Whitefronted Face

Close-up photograph of the head of a Greenland Whitefronted Goose.

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In winter, the North Sloblands are home to over 10,000 Greenland White-fronted Geese, representing approximately one third of the world population of this species. These geese arrive every year during the first days of October and leave the second week of April. Other wintering birds include Brent Geese, Ruddy Ducks, Bar-tailed Godwits, Snow Geese, Bewick's Swans, Canada Geese and Wigeons.

Many other species of birds and wild fowl also live in the sloblands; over 250 species have been recorded there. ‘Bird races’ have become popular among locals in the area; the aim of the competition is to identify the largest number of individual bird species within an eight hour period. There are regularly over 100 species sighted during the competition.