Wednesday 17 June 2015

Inch Wildlife Reserve - Lough Swilly (Part 1)

Over the next 4 days I will be showing you photographs I took while bird watching at Lough Swilly which is a sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal.
CLICK HERE for more information.


There are several areas to explore and when I reached the Inch Wildlife Reserve, I found this baby Magpie on the ground. I just hoped the parents would find it as I thought it was too young to fly. 


Sitting on a barbed wire fence were a row of twittering Swallows and thousands of them as well as House Martins and Swift filled the air which I did try and video (not too successful) but you will see that at the end of this post.


There is a flat path a short distance to the right from the car park with a viewing platform over the lake.  To the left is a longer walk to a hide.  Along this flat path borders lovely wildflowers and there were Chiffchaff and Willow as well as  Finches and Tits, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, and Blackbird. Lots of gulls flying around.





Great Black backed Gull and Black headed Gull.


Long tailed Tit


Goldfinch


Chiffchaff


Buzzard




Lapwing nest in the surrounding fields.


Another area is known as the Inch Levels and here a man comes every day and puts seeds out for the birds.  That day I saw Chaffinch, Dunnock, House Sparrows and 4 Yellowhammer.  
You will see a video and more of these birds on Saturday's post this week.





Yet another area but at the sea where I saw this Black Guillemot.  
There is also Inch Island which can be reached via a causeway.

 I hope to take my bird group to explore this whole area around Lough Swilly in the autumn when there should be thousands of ducks and geese.



Mute Swan with only one cygnet.  

CLICK HERE if the video does not appear below.



More to follow tomorrow in Good Fences.

Thank you for visiting and also to those who leave comments.

18 comments:

  1. You do take us some wonderful places. I hope that the magpies parent's did return.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Margaret,
    Beautiful place what you show.
    The swallows and the flying mute swans in the video I find beautiful.
    Best regards, Irma

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those landscapes are really stunning, love the wide fields, as well as the wast array of wildlife to be found there.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Margaret, this place looks fantastic. The scenery is beautiful and the birding looks great. I love the cute magpie. And the swallows on the video are adorable. Thanks for sharing your visit. Have a happy day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely vistas and abundance of birds.

    ReplyDelete
  6. the young magpie is adorable! i think yours is the first i've seen on a blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful place to bird! There were so many different types of birds there, and it's beautiful as well. I enjoyed the video. Great finds that day!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Lovely little birds and a great scenery shot!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely photos Margaret and the Reserve looks superb :) You do visit some great places. A really enjoyable post - thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. The swan with the cygnet are lovely. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. That Black Guillemot looks rather depressed in the rain.................

    ReplyDelete
  12. Exceptional scenery and very beautiful birds, Margaret!
    In fact, the ones in the 12th photo (from the top) look like a pair of fighter planes.
    Have a Wonderful Day!
    Peace :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful variety of bird shots!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks and sounds a really great place Margaret I look forward to reading more. The juvenile magpie looks silly with a stumpy tail. The Black Guillemots alway make me smile.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a great location with many beautiful birds. That baby Magpie is so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful birds and beautiful scenery. The baby magpie is so cute.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great post! Its very interesting and enjoyable.
    thanks for sharing information
    swilly music

    ReplyDelete