County Tyrone

Birding County Tyrone

County Tyrone is one of the six historic counties of Northern Ireland. It is also one of the 32 traditional counties of Ireland and lies within the historic province of Ulster. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retains a strong identity in popular culture.Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,218 square miles and has a population of about 177,986. its county town is Omagh. It is one of the largest counties in area stretching from the west shore of Lough Neagh to the River Foyle on the border with Donegal. The flat peatlands of East Tyrone border the shoreline of the largest lake in the British Isles, Lough Neagh, rising gradually across to the more mountainous terrain in the west of the county, the area surrounding the Sperrin Mountains, the highest point being Sawel Mountain at 2,224 feet. The length of the county, from the mouth of the River Blackwater at Lough Neagh to the western point near Carrickaduff hill is 55 miles. The breadth, from the southern corner, southeast of Fivemiletown, to the northeastern corner near Meenard Mountain is 37.5 miles; giving an area of 1,260 square miles. Annaghone lays claim to be the geographical centre of Northern Ireland.Tyrone is connected by land to the county of Fermanagh to the southwest; Monaghan to the south; Armagh to the southeast; Londonderry to the north; and Donegal to the west. Across Lough Neagh to the east, it borders County Antrim. It is the eighth largest of Ireland’s thirty-two counties by area and tenth largest by population. It is the second largest of Ulster’s nine traditional counties by area and fourth largest by population Like Armagh most of the birding interest lies along the shore of Lough Neagh.