Government to purchase Lough Ree island to protect breeding waders

Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, has today (Friday) announced his intention to purchase Clawinch Island on Lough Ree in order to protect threatened wading birds.

Lough Ree is a designated Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation, and was recently identified as the most important site in Ireland for breeding waterbirds.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has identifed the 50-acre island as a key site as it is home to six of the ten endangered wading birds in Ireland. breeding curlew, lapwing, oystercatcher, redshank, ringed plover and snipe, all of which are ground-nesting birds.

Populations of these birds in the wider landscape have declined by over 80% and, in the case of curlews, 97%, and are in real danger of extermination as breeding birds in Ireland.

Clawinch Island, which is located around 500m from the western shore of the lake, also hosts various duck, gull and tern species. White-tailed eagles have also been recorded roosting here.

Today’s announcement adds to the footprint of lands already being managed for nature by the NPWS on Lough Ree, following last year’s acquisition of the nearby Black Islands, and will help to ensure that their vulnerable breeding wader populations can be secured into the future.

Minister Noonan said: “Under this government, we have invested heavily in the National Parks and Wildlife Service, increasing its funding by 170%.

“We have created two new National Parks and have invested in the strategic acquisition of key sites of ecological importance. We have also continued to fund and support targeted conservation projects such as the Breeding Waders EIP, a €25 million project, co-funded by the NPWS and the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

“In 2023, I also announced a pledge of an additional €5 million to drive targeted conservation measures and strategic acquisitions for Breeding Waders. Today, I am proud to announce my intention to further increase the State’s portfolio of landholdings for nature to include the acquisition of the beautiful island of Clawinch.

“The opportunity to purchase an island site like this is rare, and it’s particularly valuable for breeding waders. These birds nest on the ground and are particularly vulnerable to predators. Because it’s an island, Clawinch is something of a haven for them. I’d like to thank the current owner for his willingness to see this site conserved for its ecological importance into the future.”

Lough Ree is also an important migratory stopping point and wintering site for many other species, with golden plover, whimbrel, dunlin, turnstone, common sandpiper and both black-tailed and bar-tailed godwit consistently using the site for feeding and roosting. Clawinch island, meanwhile, has some wonderful wet-grassland habitat, with plants species such as water germander n abundance. Otters are also recorded in the waters around the island on a regular basis.

Many of the larger Islands on Lough Ree became uninhabited in the mid to late 1900s and, on certain islands, this has seen the level of agricultural activity decrease. Reduced grazing and less intensive land management has led to scrub encroachment becoming an issue for some species. Ownership of Clawinch will allow the NPWS and the Breeding Waders EIP to implement measures to restore habitat where necessary.

Breeding Waders EIP Senior Project Manager Owen Murphy stated “This acquisition is hugely exciting for the project and shows the commitment of government to invest in sites of strategic importance for breeding waders.

“Islands are such important sites for ground-nesting birds, as the protection offered by the surrounding water greatly reduces the risk of nest and chick predation by mammals.

“This need for scrub maintenance, and other habitat restoration measures, shows the dependency that waders such as curlew, lapwing and redshank have on sympathetic agricultural activity.

"These birds need farmers, and I want to compliment the amazing work being done by local farmers in managing lands to support vibrant breeding wader populations, as well as maintaining productive farming models. This shows how farmers and conservation projects such as the Breeding Waders EIP can work collaboratively for nature.

“‘Collaborative Conservation’ is the key to changing the fortunes for many, many Irish species. It is only when all stakeholders and interested parties work together, that meaningful actions can be taken to avert our biodiversity crisis”.

Speaking with RTÉ's Morning Ireland earlier today, Murphy said Clawinch Island is also home to Lorg, a labrador retriever trained to indicate the presence of mink, one of the predators that can easily reach the island. If Lorg indicates there are mink on the island, EIP project managers can then lay traps for the mammals before they can damage the reproduction activities of the ground nesters.