County Meath

County Meath is a county in Ireland, often informally called The Royal County. It is located in the eastern and midland region in Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the southwest, Westmeath to the west, Cavan to the northwest and Monaghan to the north. It also borders the Irish sea in a 10k strip between the rivers of Boyne and Delvin. A mid-sized county, it covers an area of 2,342 km² (904 square miles) and has a population of about 221,000 people. The county town, and largest settlement is Navan in the middle of the county on the River Boyne. The town of Trim contains Ireland’s largest Norman castle and was the setting for many Norman-Irish parliaments. Meath is also home to Kells, with its round tower and monastic past, and Slane, known for its castle and annual rock concert and the Ledwidge Cottage Museum.

Delvin River at Gibblockstown – ©Kieran Campbell via Wikimedia Commons

Owing to the fertile agricultural plains along the Boyne valley, which dominate the county, Meath’s landscape is largely rural in nature and most of the county doesn’t rise above 100m. It produces beef, pork, mutton, wool, dairy, poultry, vegetables, grains and oilseed. However, it is also one of the most densely populated counties in Ireland. Peat harvesting and reclamation for agriculture has greatly reduced the bogland of the county with only small areas surviving such as Jamestown Bob, Girley Bog and Killyconny Bog; all SACs. Agriculture covers 83% of the county’s land, but it also has huge reserves of zinc and lead.

The River Boyne is the county’s dominant feature. It’s other rivers are the Blackwater, Nanny, Inny, Delvin, Knightsbrook, Hurley, Tremblestone, Tolka, Ward, Pinkeen, Yellow, Broadmeadow, Athboy, Clonymeath, Dangan, Moynalty and Owneroe.

The county has no large loughs excepting sharing a small part of the shoreline of Lough Sheelin. The county has less than 6% forest cover with just 13,326 hectares; however, two thirds is native broadleaf and 75% is privately owned with little commercial exploitation.

Birding County Meath

For waterbirds away from the tiny coastline, Newcastle Lough is located in the northern most part of County Meath, 4km south of Kingscourt. The lake is approximately 7 hectares and has excellent water quality with a high diversity of aquatic invertebrates and it contains stocks of coarse fish, pike and brown trout. The site has a diverse range of habitats including reedbeds, wet grassland and wet woodland. Otter, badger, pine marten and six species of bat have been recorded at the site. Good for reedbed, water associated and woodland bird species including kingfisher.

River Boyne and River Blackwater SAC has Whooper Swans regularly overwintering. The River Nanny Estuary and Shore SPA is an exposed shore, with coarse sand sediments. The well-developed beaches, which are backed in places by clay cliffs, provide high tide roosts for the birds. Especially good for Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Knot, Sanderling and Herring Gull. A range of other waterbirds also occurs, including Cormorant, Light-bellied Brent Goose, Mallard, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone, Blackheaded Gull, Common Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.

River Blackwater, near Kells – ©PL Chadwick via Wikimedia Commons

For farmland birds Golashane Farm is a privately owned reserve and not open for public visit without appointment. Situated in north county Meath near the Cavan border, the reserve is a privately owned farm managed entirely for wildlife.  The landscape is characterised by rolling hills and hedgerows.  The farm is currently brimming with native wildlife hosting a huge diversity of bird life and mammals from the familiar Robin and Wren to Snipe and Woodcock to Raven, Kestrel and Common Buzzard.