Birds are some of the most visible wildlife at Rostrevor Holidays, each season bringing its own chorus and characters.
Bird watching at Rostrevor Holidays. This summer one sound kept asking for my attention. The high call of a young buzzard echoed through the valley. In early August it was almost impossible to ignore. Every time I heard it I found myself looking up.
One afternoon while chatting with a guest from Montana I laughed and apologised for being distracted, explaining why I kept looking up at the sky! Right on cue the buzzard swooped down and landed in a tree beside us. When I was a child buzzards were a rare sight in the Mournes. To see a juvenile here now hoping to make this area its home felt like a gift. My guest had her phone with her and captured the moment in a photo which she later sent to me. It is one of those small memories that feels very special to share with someone.
As the season turned to September the feeders around the cottages became busy with younger songbirds. They are tiny but full of life. Finches swoop across the fields to the seed heads and I get great entertainment just watching them.
Garden and Hedgerow Birds
The first bird most guests notice is the robin, Spideog. Bold little companions, they hop right up to you in winter and seem almost tame. In summer they slip away into the hedges to nest. Folklore says “When robins appear, loved ones are near.” For me they are a gateway bird, once you notice one, you begin to notice all the rest.
The blackbird, Lon dubh, is striking too. Males are glossy black with bright orange beaks while females are softer brown. In spring their song fills the air around the cottages and I’ve noticed there always seems to be a pair that nest near Slieve Meel cottage. Their voices often carry into the nights in Summer. I guess that is where Paul McCartney got his inspiration! In older traditions the blackbird’s song was said to be a voice from the Otherworld.
The tiny wren, Dreoilín, is smaller than a golf ball but sings as if it is ten times the size. They scold and chatter, often to distract predators from their nests. We seem to have multiple nests particularly around the hedgerows in the field. In Irish folklore they are the King of the Birds (I love the tale of how the wren outwits the Eagle by perching on its back to become the bird that can fly the highest!)
You’ll notice I’ve been putting in the Irish translations, and the Lasair choille or “flame of the wood,” is my main reason! Goldfinches, are like jewels at the feeders with their red faces and golden wings. They arrive in noisy groups and strip the sunflower seeds bare, but they are worth every penny for the joy of watching them. Chaffinches and greenfinches turn up too, bossy and bold in their little gangs. And then there are the sparrows, ever sociable, filling the hedges with their chatter.
Woodland Companions
In autumn the Scréachóg choille, or jay, make themselves known. Noisy, colourful, often arriving in little flocks, I’ve seen up to 7 at a time here. They feast on berries and carry acorns into the woods. In forgetting where they bury them they help spread the oaks. Their name in Irish means “screamer of the woods” and they are linked in folklore with gossip and chatter.
Song thrushes (Smólach) sing repeated phrases from hedgerows and rooftops, while the larger mistle thrush (Smólach mór) gathers in flocks and feasts on the rowan berries visible from Slieve Roe’s windows. Both were celebrated in early Irish poetry for the sweetness of their song.
Ireland’s smallest bird, the goldcrest cíorbhuí, weighs less than a two pence coin. Its high pitched song is so delicate that many guests only notice it with the help of the Merlin app. It too is tied to the old story of how the wren became King of the Birds. And every spring the willow warbler (Ceolaire sailí) returns with its gentle descending call, a symbol of renewal and hope.
Fields, Farms and Open Sky
Magpies (Snag breac) flash blue and green in the sunlight. They are family birds, returning to the same nest year after year. Folklore says they carried fairies on their backs, and we all know the rhyme of “one for sorrow, two for joy.”
Crows of all kinds, rooks, jackdaws and others, call down from the treetops. Parents keep close watch as their young hop about below.
Swallows (Fáinleog) and house martins (Gabhlán binn) sweep gracefully over the fields catching insects. Swallows perch on the wires, their long forked tails trailing, while house martins with their white rumps build mud nests under the eaves. Nests under your roof were once thought to bring luck.
Starlings (Druid) gather in chattering flocks and are master mimics. Their Irish name links them with druids because of their mysterious voices.In winter they may form murmurations over Carlingford Lough, shifting together like smoke. Here at Rostrevor Holidays we often see them in pairs, building their nest and raising their young.
River Birds
The grey heron (Corr) stands patiently along the Kilbroney River, waiting for trout, sprats and frogs. If startled it lifts off in an explosion of wings, trailing long legs behind. Guests often spot them from the bridge beside Owenabwee and Carnaclasha. In folklore they are liminal creatures, straddling land and water, sometimes seen as messengers.
Along the Yellow Water River I often see wagtails skimming just above the surface, no more than a hand’s width from the water. They swoop for a stretch of up to fifty metres, land on a stone, bob up and down as if keeping rhythm with the flow, and then launch off again. It is as though they are riding the waves of the river. They are mostly grey with a splash of yellow underneath, and their energy and constant movement make them one of the most joyful birds to watch here.
I have yet to see a kingfisher (Cruidín) here myself, though they are said to live further downriver. Just a flash of blue across the water would make it a very special day.
The Birds of Prey
The buzzards (Clamhán) are now regulars. Once rare, their return is a sign of how biodiversity is improving. Their “pew pew” calls are easy to recognise. Juveniles leave the nest in August and sometimes land in the trees around Rostrevor Holidays. Crows often mob them. Their Irish name once became a nickname for a dull person, showing how familiar they were in everyday life.
Sparrowhawks (spioróg) are small and fast, leaving only a scatter of feathers as evidence of their hunts. One was even seen drinking at the river bridge. In older tales they were linked with warriors and keen vision.
Red kites, with their forked tails and reddish brown plumage, are soaring again over Northern Ireland thanks to reintroduction, symbolising renewal.
A living chorus
Birds are part of the soundtrack at Rostrevor Holidays. They wake us with song, distract us mid conversation, and sometimes land right beside us in a tree. From the robin at the cottage step to the heron at the river to the buzzard circling high over the Mournes, they are always with us. Each season brings its own cast of characters and every guest leaves with their own little bird story.
Which birds did you spot during your stay? Share your photos with us, I’d love to see them.
