Nature is thriving in new wetlands in Offaly town arrival of rare species confirms

The arrival of the Sedge Warbler at Tullamore Wetlands has been described as “hugely significant" and a real indicator that nature is thriving there.

Tullamore Wetlands is a new habitat developed by Offaly County Council in recent years and is located on the edge of Tullamore off the R443 across from Tullamore Fire Station. Originally developed to improve the water quality and to enhance the environmental and amenity value of the area, the benefits of this new habitat are many.

It has taken time to settle-in and naturalise, but the area is now rich in native flora and fauna, with a myriad of native wildflowers, butterflies and bee species as well as breeding birds including Mallard and Moorhen. Grey Herons also frequently stalk the waters for their fish prey.

The essence of the wetlands has been expertly and beautifully captured by Tom O’Hanlon Photography.

Discovered during Biodiversity Week 2024, Ricky Whelan, Biodiversity officer with Offaly County Council confirmed the arrival of the Sedge Warbler as “hugely significant and a real indicator that nature is thriving at the wetland.  Ricky confirmed “I was thrilled to arrive and hear at least two male Sedge Warblers in full song. They clearly like what the site has to offer and have set up territory here for the summer’.

Like the swallow and swift, the Sedge Warbler is a Summer visitor making its journey from Africa to breed in suitable wetland habitats here and across Europe. The Sedge Warbler prefers thick cover, favouring coarse vegetation fairly near water. The Sedge Warbler overwinters in Western Africa where their populations can crash with each drought event there making breeding success in Ireland more critical to their survival.

Offaly County Council also facilitated a guided walk of Tullamore Wetlands during Biodiversity week. Offaly County Council Climate Action and Biodiversity staff were on hand to demonstrate how the wetland was created and illustrated how it has become a thriving area for biodiversity in our county town. Attendees were shown river wildlife by local community water officers from the Local Authority Waters Programme, LAWPRO.

John McNally Climate Action Coordinator with Offaly County Council confirmed “Its’s wonderful to see both resident and migratory birds settle and breed here, and we look forward to discovering new plants and animals arrive and colonise on site in the months and years to come. A lot of these can be used as biological indicators to show how well our environment is doing.”