County Kildare

County Kildare is a landlocked Irish county located to the southwest of Dublin in the province of Leinster, covering 1,695 km² (654 square miles) with a population of around 247,000 people. The name comes from the Irish, meaning church (Cill) of the oaks (Dara). Kildare is bordered by the counties of Carlow, to the south, Laois to the southwest, Wicklow to the east, Dublin to the northeast, Meath to the north and Offaly to the west. Kildare is part of the ‘Greater Dublin Area’, a regional area surrounding Dublin. Its county town and largest settlement is Naas with over 26,000 people.

As an inland county, Kildare is a generally lowland region. The county’s highest points are the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains bordering to the east. The highest point in Kildare is Cupidstown Hill on the border with Dublin, with the better-known Hill of Allen in central Kildare. The county has three major rivers running through it: the Barrow, the Liffey and the Boyne. The Grand Canal crosses the county from Lyons on the east to Rathangan and Monasterevin on the west. A southern branch joins the Barrow navigation at Athy. The Royal Canal stretches across the north of the county along the border with Meath.

River Barrow – ©Artur Kozioł CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Bog of Allen is a large bog that extends across 958 km2 and into County Kildare, County Meath, County Offaly, County Laois, and County Westmeath. Kildare has 243 km2 of bog (almost 14% of Kildare’s land area) mostly located in the south-west and north-west, a majority of this being Raised Bog. It is habitat to over 185 plant and animal species.

There are 8,472 hectares (20,930 acres) of forested land in Kildare, accounting for roughly 5% of the county’s total land area. 4,056 hectares of this is Coniferous, while there is 2,963 hectares of Broadleaf and the remaining area are Unclassified Species. Coillte and Dúchas currently own 47% of the forestry. Coillte run Donadea Forest Park which is in North-Central Kildare. The forest covers 259 hectares of mixed woodland (60% Broadleaf, 40% Conifer) and is the largest forest park in Kildare.

Birding County Kildare

Pollardstown Fen Nature Reserve is the largest (1.3 km²) remaining spring fed fen in Ireland possessing a large number of characteristic fenland species and communities. It is a national nature reserve and RAMSAR site. A large number of water birds are found on the reserve such as Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Water Rail, Snipe, Pintail and Tufted Ducks. There are Sand Martins in summer and breeding Skylark, Sedge Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler and Reed Bunting. Other animals that inhabit the area include otters, hares, pygmy shrews and smooth newts.

Parts of the Bog of Allen has similar species as well as woodland birds. The Lullymore and Lullybeg Nature Reserves in particular are good for raptors in winter and breeding passerines in summer. Near Kildare town there is a wetland close to St Brigid’s Well, where there is a mix of wetland birds and farmland species such as Yellowhammer.

Pollardtown Fen – ©Anna Watson via Wikimedia Commons

The Grand Canal, even when it goes through Naas, offers good birding for all common bird species associated with still or slow-moving water. The Liffey not only holds these, but also birds associated with faster moving fresh water such as Grey Wagtail and Dipper particularly near Celbridge and Leixlip. Where its banks are wooded there are typical woodland birds including summer visitors like Blackcap.

Donadea Forest Park – ©buzzard525 CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Donadea Forest Park is an area of 243 hectares of mixed woodland and parkland with a lake. Highlights here include mixed tit flocks in winter, Goldcrest, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Treecreeper. Woodland areas along the River Barrow are similar in areas such as Moore Abbey Woods, which as Goldcrest and Coal Tit, and the river’s faster flowing stretches hold dipper.