I think it was back in 2006 when I became interested in birds. I remember searching the internet for bird blogs and I found two which I followed every week. One was a blog from Hampshire, where I lived, and the other was
Peregrines Bird Blog, from Northern Ireland.
Reading Peregrines bird blog, is where I heard about Strangford Lough and various other places in Northern Ireland. One of the main places mentioned in that blog, was
Killard Nature Reserve, on the County Down coast. I loved reading about Killard, with the wildflowers, the seals and the birds. How I longed to be there. And so I decided that when I returned to Northern Ireland, I would definitely visit Killard.
I've been living in Northern Ireland for almost eighteen months now, and I've been to Killard quite a few times. Today we were there to see the Sand Martin colony. But while we were walking along the beach we met some butterfly conservationists. They were looking for Wall Brown butterflies and we ended up looking for them too! Didn't find any, just some Small Coppers, basking on the daisies.
Wall Brown butterfly (seen in Hampshire) - if you see any at Killard or any butterflies anywhere in Northern Ireland, please report them to the
Butterfly Conservation.
Killard really is a wonderful place to be. Like many parts of the County Down coastline, so wild and unspoilt. And May is a good time to see the spring flowers. We saw primroses, bluebells, daisies, buttercups and lots more I could not identify. We saw lots of birds too. You couldn't miss the Whitethroats singing from the hedgerows, Wrens, Linnets, Shellducks, a Wheatear, some Whimbrels and a Skylark were all seen and heard.
whitethroat
But as well as all the flowers and birds we saw two grey seals close to the shore. I have no idea whether they were male or female, but I like to think they were a couple. One was some distance in front of the other and turned in the water, waited for it's mate to catch up - then off they went together.... how sweet!
Yes, little did I know back in 2006, that in 2010, I too would be living in a village on the shores of Strangford Lough. And that walking/birding at Killard, would not be a dream anymore, but a reality...........
