Conservation works underway in Longford on The Black Islands in Lough Ree

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in collaboration with The Breeding Wader EIP, have recently commenced habitat management works on Kings Island and Nut Island, part of the Black Islands archipelago on Lough Ree.

The works will remove scrub and protect grasslands that endangered species such as curlew, lapwing, redshank, oystercatcher and other vulnerable wading birds need for nesting and foraging.

These actions are a vital tool in ensuring the future survival of breeding waders, which are red-listed birds of conservation concern in Ireland.

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Red-listed birds require direct conservation actions and have undergone catastrophic declines in recent decades. The works commenced in early December and will continue for three weeks.

In a survey in 2020, Lough Ree ranked as Ireland’s number one hotspot for breeding waterbirds.

This targeted scrub removal is the latest step in securing this ranking alongside the nest protection programme undertaken by NPWS on Lough Ree and the Shannon Callows over previous years. Some areas of scrub and trees will remain untouched as they provide numerous other biodiversity benefits.

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Other waterbirds of national significance such as common scoter, gadwall and common tern also use the lake as a breeding site and will benefit from these works.

Common tern are vulnerable to fluctuating lake levels as they nest on island shorelines and spits. Unfortunately, in recent times, their breeding attempts have been badly affected by higher than average water levels in early spring.

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To help overcome this, NPWS in collaboration with Waterways Ireland developed and launched an artificial breeding tern raft in a strategic location in the Black Islands earlier this year.

The breeding tern raft was successful and adult terns were observed bringing food onto the raft, which indicated they were feeding young. This is a promising sign and proof that direct conservation action can improve the fortune of vulnerable species. NPWS and Waterways Ireland hope to provide similar breeding rafts at other strategic locations on the lake in the near future.
In 2023, the NPWS purchased the Black Islands as a strategic investment in nature conservation.

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Working in partnership with new Breeding Wader EIP, local farmers, communities and businesses, the NPWS aims to revive traditional farming practices on the Black Islands to support the long-term conservation of breeding waders, other waterbirds and the habitats they rely on.