Explore Youghal’s Abundant & Unique Natural Habitats
Youghal and its surrounding environs are rich in natural habitats for birds, plants and animals. There’s so much diversity here – from the bountiful to the rare.
Slob Bank
Stretching 3km along the Blackwater Estuary to the North of Youghal town, this waterside walkway is flanked by marshland on its western side.
Fed by the tide twice daily, it is home to many types of sea birds and waterfowl including Turnstones, Dunlin, Kingfishers, Little Egrets and Brent Geese which over-winter here.
These birds are migrants from high-Arctic Greenland and Canada, arriving in Ireland between October and April.
Ballyvergan Marsh
This proposed National Heritage Area is one of the largest natural reed beds in Europe, a magnificent haven for wildlife and with long-established plant and bird communities.
The Marsh is an important breeding ground for migratory birds and the most extensive breeding ground for Reed Warblers in Ireland.
