Harper's Island Wetlands
@harpersisland.bsky.social
Harper's Island Wetlands is a Nature Reserve situated in Cork Harbour in Co. Cork, Ireland. Open Daily 9am - 5pm https://birdwatchcork.com/about-harpers/
1/3 We had another great volunteer morning on the reserve yesterday. The weather gods were kind to us and we got a lot done, including replacing one of our wetland access gates and cutting back some encroaching gorse on the nature trail.
November 2, 2025 at 3:59 PM
1/3 We had another great volunteer morning on the reserve yesterday. The weather gods were kind to us and we got a lot done, including replacing one of our wetland access gates and cutting back some encroaching gorse on the nature trail.
Notice - Our opening hours are changing for the winter. From Nov 1st we will be open from 9am - 5pm each day. Oiche Samhain Shona Daoibh go léir 🍂🍁🍂🍁
October 31, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Notice - Our opening hours are changing for the winter. From Nov 1st we will be open from 9am - 5pm each day. Oiche Samhain Shona Daoibh go léir 🍂🍁🍂🍁
We had surprise visitors to the reserve today when these Whooper Swans showed up. These swans recently arrived from Iceland & will spend the winter here. Whooper Swans are scarce visitors in Cork Harbour, but large flocks over winter near Fermoy 🙏 to Michael Jones for the pic.
October 23, 2025 at 9:39 PM
We had surprise visitors to the reserve today when these Whooper Swans showed up. These swans recently arrived from Iceland & will spend the winter here. Whooper Swans are scarce visitors in Cork Harbour, but large flocks over winter near Fermoy 🙏 to Michael Jones for the pic.
Thanks to a loan of a thermal imaging camera over the next few months we will be having a look at what goes on on the reserve after dark. Under the cover of darkness our very healthy Rabbit population was looking very relaxed out in the open near the Scrape Hide.
October 18, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Thanks to a loan of a thermal imaging camera over the next few months we will be having a look at what goes on on the reserve after dark. Under the cover of darkness our very healthy Rabbit population was looking very relaxed out in the open near the Scrape Hide.
On Saturday we will be holding our regular monthly volunteer morning on the reserve. We have two hours of work, tasks varying from month to month and something for all abilities, with a tea break in the middle. You don't have to come for the two hours, all help is welcome 🙂
October 1, 2025 at 9:16 PM
On Saturday we will be holding our regular monthly volunteer morning on the reserve. We have two hours of work, tasks varying from month to month and something for all abilities, with a tea break in the middle. You don't have to come for the two hours, all help is welcome 🙂
And just like that it's going to be October tomorrow. For the next month we will be open from 9am to 7pm daily.
September 30, 2025 at 8:06 PM
And just like that it's going to be October tomorrow. For the next month we will be open from 9am to 7pm daily.
Something cute for mid-week 😊 This young Wood Mouse was out exploring next to the nature trail -at the weekend, showing no fear whatsoever of the phone. It is rare to get such a close view of this super little animal. Thanks to @limosawit.bsky.social for sharing!
September 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Something cute for mid-week 😊 This young Wood Mouse was out exploring next to the nature trail -at the weekend, showing no fear whatsoever of the phone. It is rare to get such a close view of this super little animal. Thanks to @limosawit.bsky.social for sharing!
Thanks to everyone who helped out at today's Volunteer Morning. We got a lot done, including waterproofing of the Borrow Dyke Hide, pigeon-proofing the ceiling in our workshop, trimming back brambles & putting the finishing touches to our new viewing area. Our volunteers are the best! meitheal
September 6, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Thanks to everyone who helped out at today's Volunteer Morning. We got a lot done, including waterproofing of the Borrow Dyke Hide, pigeon-proofing the ceiling in our workshop, trimming back brambles & putting the finishing touches to our new viewing area. Our volunteers are the best! meitheal
Thanks to the support of the AA-AGORA fund, we are installing a new viewing stop at the corner between our two hides. Special thanks to the great work of the members of Glounthaune Men's Shed who are constructing this new viewing area and to our BirdWatch members who designed the structure #meitheal
September 5, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Thanks to the support of the AA-AGORA fund, we are installing a new viewing stop at the corner between our two hides. Special thanks to the great work of the members of Glounthaune Men's Shed who are constructing this new viewing area and to our BirdWatch members who designed the structure #meitheal
A frequently recorded butterfly at the reserve is the Red Admiral. We are unsure how it got its name, but it may be that the name is a corruption of 'Red Admirable'. This one was photographed on the nature trail.
August 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM
A frequently recorded butterfly at the reserve is the Red Admiral. We are unsure how it got its name, but it may be that the name is a corruption of 'Red Admirable'. This one was photographed on the nature trail.
1/2 Three more horses arrived for their summer holidays today, bringing the herd total to 9. These living lawnmowers keep our dry meadow in optimal condition and an effective check on the invasive saltmarsh species, Spartina anglica.
August 14, 2025 at 10:01 AM
1/2 Three more horses arrived for their summer holidays today, bringing the herd total to 9. These living lawnmowers keep our dry meadow in optimal condition and an effective check on the invasive saltmarsh species, Spartina anglica.
Another butterfly to look out for on the nature trail is the beautiful Peacock. It gets its name from the false ‘eyes’ on the upper side of its wings, reminiscent of pattern on the tail feathers of the bird with the same name and thought to scare off predators!
August 13, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Another butterfly to look out for on the nature trail is the beautiful Peacock. It gets its name from the false ‘eyes’ on the upper side of its wings, reminiscent of pattern on the tail feathers of the bird with the same name and thought to scare off predators!
Keep an eye out for the Painted Lady butterfly especially on the Buddleja (Butterfly Bush) near the farmhouse gate. This species travels thousands of miles from sub-Saharan Africa to the Arctic Circle and back, with each new generation moving north and south in a butterfly relay race #butterflies
August 12, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Keep an eye out for the Painted Lady butterfly especially on the Buddleja (Butterfly Bush) near the farmhouse gate. This species travels thousands of miles from sub-Saharan Africa to the Arctic Circle and back, with each new generation moving north and south in a butterfly relay race #butterflies
As you walk the nature trail you will pass two wetland habitats we created back in 2019. These are a great place to look for dragonflies & damselflies. This is a female Blue-tailed Damselfly. Unlike the bigger dragonflies, damselflies fold their wings over their backs at rest.
August 11, 2025 at 6:46 PM
As you walk the nature trail you will pass two wetland habitats we created back in 2019. These are a great place to look for dragonflies & damselflies. This is a female Blue-tailed Damselfly. Unlike the bigger dragonflies, damselflies fold their wings over their backs at rest.
Deborah D'Arcy was lucky enough to witness a stoat killing a young rabbit on the nature trail. This may seem harsh but stoats help keep our VERY healthy rabbit population in check. Unlike its cousin the weasel, the stoat is native to Ireland. They will attack prey up to three times their size!
July 31, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Deborah D'Arcy was lucky enough to witness a stoat killing a young rabbit on the nature trail. This may seem harsh but stoats help keep our VERY healthy rabbit population in check. Unlike its cousin the weasel, the stoat is native to Ireland. They will attack prey up to three times their size!
Next Saturday, we are hosting a flower and mini-creature safari in our meadow area with Harper's regular Tom Gittings. If you want to learn all about meadow ecology and the plants and creatures that live there why not join us July 26th, meeting at the farmhouse at 11am.
July 19, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Next Saturday, we are hosting a flower and mini-creature safari in our meadow area with Harper's regular Tom Gittings. If you want to learn all about meadow ecology and the plants and creatures that live there why not join us July 26th, meeting at the farmhouse at 11am.
1/2 We are sad to report that it appears that 2nd clutch nesting attempts in no's 19 & 21 have failed. Eggs were laid in 21, but have failed to hatch. We think 3 chicks were hatched in 19, but they did not survive beyond a day. We have no idea what has caused this?
July 17, 2025 at 7:40 PM
1/2 We are sad to report that it appears that 2nd clutch nesting attempts in no's 19 & 21 have failed. Eggs were laid in 21, but have failed to hatch. We think 3 chicks were hatched in 19, but they did not survive beyond a day. We have no idea what has caused this?
Our Stonechats are using their own info post as a perching post... which would be grand... except for the calling cards they leave 🙈. To combat this we have installed, at no expense, a custom-made, one of a kind perch. We hope it will be to their liking and allow us to keep the info post clean😊
July 9, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Our Stonechats are using their own info post as a perching post... which would be grand... except for the calling cards they leave 🙈. To combat this we have installed, at no expense, a custom-made, one of a kind perch. We hope it will be to their liking and allow us to keep the info post clean😊
Our eco-friendly wetland summer vegetation management team has increased by two! On Friday Eve and Lucky made their introductions to the other members of the team out on the wetland. Looks like it's going well 😊
July 6, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Our eco-friendly wetland summer vegetation management team has increased by two! On Friday Eve and Lucky made their introductions to the other members of the team out on the wetland. Looks like it's going well 😊
Almost all our Sand Martins have finished raising their first family & will start a 2nd in the next week or so. Here is a clip of two of the four very hungry chicks in no 21 being fed at the entrance. If they have not taken their first flight already they will do so very soon!
June 26, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Almost all our Sand Martins have finished raising their first family & will start a 2nd in the next week or so. Here is a clip of two of the four very hungry chicks in no 21 being fed at the entrance. If they have not taken their first flight already they will do so very soon!
Join us next Saturday for a morning all about our bees. All welcome, children must be with a supervising adult and sorry but dogs are not allowed on the reserve.
June 21, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Join us next Saturday for a morning all about our bees. All welcome, children must be with a supervising adult and sorry but dogs are not allowed on the reserve.
With mixed fortunes, our Sand Martins at no 19 successfully fledged two chicks about a week ago, and now after a very short break, they have started their second family. Laying started yesterday and full time incubating will start when the last egg has been laid.
June 19, 2025 at 11:00 AM
With mixed fortunes, our Sand Martins at no 19 successfully fledged two chicks about a week ago, and now after a very short break, they have started their second family. Laying started yesterday and full time incubating will start when the last egg has been laid.
Some people have asked us what is the best way to tell the young from the adults. Look at the feathers arrowed in this image, they are called tertials and are at the base of the wing. Not always easy to see but the young have broad pale edges, the adults do not - easy when you know how!
June 16, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Some people have asked us what is the best way to tell the young from the adults. Look at the feathers arrowed in this image, they are called tertials and are at the base of the wing. Not always easy to see but the young have broad pale edges, the adults do not - easy when you know how!
Yesterday our amazing volunteers made & installed a bird roosting raft on the Borrow Dyke. We hope that this will be used by as a safe place for our wetland birds to rest up. We used oyster cages with insulation board inserts topped with artificial grass and mud.🤞 it will get the seal of approval.
June 14, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Yesterday our amazing volunteers made & installed a bird roosting raft on the Borrow Dyke. We hope that this will be used by as a safe place for our wetland birds to rest up. We used oyster cages with insulation board inserts topped with artificial grass and mud.🤞 it will get the seal of approval.