North Slob
Photograph of the North Slob from the air showing the coast and Raven wood.
North Slob
North Slob
Photograph of the North Slob from the air showing the coast and Raven wood.
The North Slob in Wexford was created in the middle of the 1800s by the building of a sea wall on the northern side of Wexford Harbour. Roughly 1,000 hectares of mudflats were reclaimed and this area was then turned into agricultural land similar to the Dutch polders.
However, it is the remaining 200 hectares of the North Slob that interest us. That is because it houses a statutory nature reserve which is the winter home of 10,000 Greenland Whitefronted Geese. This place is called the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve.
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve
Brent Goose
Brent Geese (Branta bernicla) are dark birds, with a black head and neck and a dark grey back. Adults have a small white patch on their necks and their bellies can be light or dark coloured depending on the race. The Irish birds arriving from Canada and Greenland in October are white bellied. They depart again in March, returning to their breeding grounds for the summer months. Each winter Ireland hosts virtually the entire population of these geese and many sites around the country are internationally important for the conservation of the species. The birds generally concentrate around estuaries and salt marshes and nearby fields eating vegetation, particularly eel grass. They are very vocal birds and will call in flight and on the ground with a loud 'cronking' noise. The Brent goose is on the amber list of species requiring particular conservation measures.
Brent Goose
Brent Goose
Brent Geese (Branta bernicla) are dark birds, with a black head and neck and a dark grey back. Adults have a small white patch on their necks and their bellies can be light or dark coloured depending on the race. The Irish birds arriving from Canada and Greenland in October are white bellied. They depart again in March, returning to their breeding grounds for the summer months. Each winter Ireland hosts virtually the entire population of these geese and many sites around the country are internationally important for the conservation of the species. The birds generally concentrate around estuaries and salt marshes and nearby fields eating vegetation, particularly eel grass. They are very vocal birds and will call in flight and on the ground with a loud 'cronking' noise. The Brent goose is on the amber list of species requiring particular conservation measures.
The Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is located 3kms north of Wexford Town. It is jointly owned by BirdWatch Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and was officially opened on 15th February 1974.
The area is renowned for its range and volume of its birdlife. To date, over 260 different species of birdlife have been recorded here, including waders, ducks and Pale-bellied Brent Geese.
For those interested in bird watching, there is an observation tower overlooking the reserve, along with the Pump House hide and the Pat Walsh hide. At present, the size of the reserve is 550 acres after 270 acres in 1990 and 50 acres in 2003 were bought to develop the reserve.