Liffey Head Bog : Wildlife

Frog among the bog mosses

An adult frog among the bog mosses in Liffey Head bog. The tadpoles live in the bog pools where they feed on tiny aquatic insects. The presence of multicoloured Sphagnum moss is a sign of an actively growing blanket bog. ( Richard Nairn)

copyright R. Nairn

Frog among the bog mosses
copyright R. Nairn

Frog among the bog mosses

An adult frog among the bog mosses in Liffey Head bog. The tadpoles live in the bog pools where they feed on tiny aquatic insects. The presence of multicoloured Sphagnum moss is a sign of an actively growing blanket bog. ( Richard Nairn)

copyright R. Nairn

Enlarge image

Wildlife : Quite large herds of hybrid red-sika deer are often seen in the Upper Dargle valley and occassionally feed in the bog. Mountain hare, fox and badger all use the trails through the bog but sometimes their droppings are the only evidence of their prescence. Meadow pipits are the commonest nesting birds but the song of the skylark is also heard high over the bog in spring and summer. Wheatears arrive in March and set up their territories using rocky areas as song posts. You may be startled by the e calls of red grouse which fly low across the bog. Peregrine and merlin also nest near by and hunt over the bog.

Dippers feed along the upper reaches of the river and ravens often fly overhead, their deep croaking calls carrying far across the bog. Peatland insects include the day-flying emperor moth whose large green caterpillar feeds among the heather. In summer, dragonflies fly around the pools from which the larvae have emerged. There is aquatic life in abundance with pond skaters, whirligig beetles and caddisfly larvae being the the most obvious.