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BIRDING PLUS
$3175 (2008 fee). 11 days Our goal on this tour is to show you Ireland as the Irish know it—to meet its people, take in the culture, visit unique pubs, listen to outstanding traditional Irish music, while at the same time watch Ireland’s birds as we travel the eastern half of the Emerald Isle. By early November many of the tourists have departed and the many migrant birds that winter in Ireland have returned, including Whooper Swan from Iceland, Bewick's Swan from Russia, and Greater White-fronted and Pink-fronted geese from Greenland. And while Ireland is not a birding hotspot, the sheer number of birds you see is impressive, particularly shorebirds (Common Redshanks, Northern Lapwings, Common Greenshanks, and Eurasian Golden-Plovers), gulls (Black-headed and Mew), waterfowl (Tufted Ducks, Common Pochards, Eurasian Teal, and Eurasian Wigeon) and corvids (Rooks, Common Ravens, Eurasian Jackdaws, and Hooded Crows). Irish pubs are the cultural center of the Irish community—where you will hear stories, jokes, history, poetry, music, and malarkey—so a tour of Ireland that doesn’t include the pubs is not a tour of Ireland at all. We’ll visit a variety of pubs, especially those featuring traditional music. The tour begins in Dublin, and there is no better introduction to Ireland. One of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, Dublin is a sea of friendly people. We’ll visit several of its fine museums, experience a private music performance known as a “sessun” (pronounced session), and take in the sights and sounds of the city. Then we’ll head north to Newgrange (a cultural site older than the pyramids of Egypt), Armagh City (in Northern Ireland and the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland), Keady (a major focal point of Irish music and also an Irish bird museum), Lough Neagh (a major wintering area for such birds as Whooper Swan and pochards), Belfast (with a dark history, it is now a progressive city), and the picturesque eastern coastline including the Mountains of Mourne for their breathtaking beauty and Clogher Head for its coastal birds. On the second half, we’ll travel south along the Wicklow coast and the Wicklow Mountains to the Wexford Slobs, one of the best wintering areas for Greenland Greater White-fronted Goose, Common Shelduck, and other species in southern Ireland. We’ll also visit the Waterford Glass Factory and some special Irish pubs near the town of Dungarvan. We’ll bring the Irish music with us as we travel in search of birds, and all the while we’ll partake of that wonderful Gaelic spirit defined by the word “craic” (pronounced crack), meaning fun, Irish style. Terry McEneaney and his wife, Karen, join Irish musician-entertainer Eugene Byrne, who will bring Ireland’s history and culture to life through his music and knowledge of the special places and people of his beloved country.
Contact our office by e-mail in Austin, Texas at fieldguides@fieldguides.com.
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