Dublin Bay & Bull Island

Dublin Bay is recognised as an internationally important area for wintering waterfowl, as there are over 20,000 waders at Bull Island on a regular basis. The intertidal mudflats provide plenty of food for birds, while the salt marshes and beaches of Bull Island are an ideal for high tide roosts.

Map of Bull Island

Map of Bull Island

By kind permission of Dublin City Council.

Map of Bull Island
By kind permission of Dublin City Council.

Map of Bull Island

Map of Bull Island

By kind permission of Dublin City Council.

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Oystercatcher

This bird is classed as a resident & winter visitor (from Iceland and the Faeroes) - largest numbers in Ireland between September & March.

Copyright Mike Brown

Oystercatcher
Copyright Mike Brown

Oystercatcher

This bird is classed as a resident & winter visitor (from Iceland and the Faeroes) - largest numbers in Ireland between September & March.

Copyright Mike Brown

Enlarge image

The Irish Wetland Birds Survey, which covers the period 2003/04-2007/08, shows that Bull Island maintains an internationally important population of Brent Goose, Bar-tailed Godwit and Black-tailed Godwit. The survey also indicates that there are 20 species inhabiting the area that have national importance.

South Bull Island hosts 70% of the Dublin Bay populations of Shoveler, Golden Plover, Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit, while Ringed Plover and Sanderling occur mainly along the sandy beaches of North Bull Island . Other birds of national importance that inhabit Bull Island include:

Cormorant, Grey Heron, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Pintail, Red-brested Merganse, Oystercatcher, Tinged Plover, Grey Plover, Dulin, Curlew, Redshank, Greenshank, Turnstone and Great Crested Grebe.

The mean total of waterfowl recorded for each winter in the period 2003/04 – 2007/08 was 25,000.

Bull Island is protected under the EU Habitats Directive, EU Birds Directive, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. It is also recognised as part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, together with South Dublin Bay and the Tolka Estuary.

Bull Island is managed by the Parks and Landscape Services Division of Dublin City Council.

Flora of Bull Island

Bull Island is home to approximately half of the number of wildflower species recorded in County Dublin. This also represents approximately 30% of species recorded within Ireland. Some examples of wildflowers found on Bull Island include Wild Orchids, Vetch Wildflower, Forget-Me-Not, Lady’s Bedstraw and Wild Thyme. For descriptions, images and further information on these wildflowers, as well as others found on Bull Island, please visit our page on The Wildflowers of Bull Island:The Grassland Dunes.

Gallery

Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris)

COMMON MILKWORT (Polygala vulgaris) This short branching plant looks like a blue and green carpet spread across the short dune grasses of Bull Island, Dublin. The many woody stems angle upwards and have smooth glossy green leaves, oval at base and spear-shaped higher up the stem. Sepals of milkwort are distinctive: there is an outer set of three small green sepals and then an inner set of two wide flat deeply blue ones. These are rather like a pair of wings enclosing the flower tube of three fused blue petals. The centre petal is fringed and whitish at the tip and protrudes beyond the blue sepal “wings.” The fruit is a two celled heart-shaped flattened capsule hidden by the sepals. Flowers: May-August

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Common Milkwort (Polygala vulgaris) - By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum)

Colour photograph of the Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin. Dense patches of lady’s bedstraw among the dune grasses adds to the wave of yellow colour in late summer. Its erect branching stems are slightly downy, four-angled, and can reach 60 cm. The leaves are thin, pointed and unstalked in whorls of 8-12 around the stem. The minute flowers are bright yellow and in dense clusters on the branching stems. They are just 2-4 mm across with four tiny sepals, four outspread oval petals and four long stamens projecting beyond the petals. Fruit is a smooth 2-lobed green capsule which blackens and splits in half, dropping with the seed retained inside. Old Irish herbal medicine used the plant for healing wounds and stopping nosebleeds. Flowers: July-August, but can be seen on the dunes into late autumn.

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) - By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Colour photograph of the Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin. This spectacular orchid resembling a bee is quite difficult to locate on the dry grassy dune edges it favours, yet can often be only inches from a well-trodden path. The bee orchid has a basal rosette of several unstalked grey-green oval leaves and an erect stalk from 15-50 cm high carrying from 2-7 flowers. The bud is light and prominately green-veined, opening with three crisp pink sepals framing the flower. Each flower has two small side petals, spear-shaped, and the large incredible bee-mimic lower lip. This is velvety brown and patterned with yellow markings to resemble a bee and attract a pollinator, although the flower has the ability to self-pollinate. Seed is prolific, fine and dustlike, but can take up to eight years to produce a flowering stem. Flowers: June-July

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) - By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)

Colour photograph of the Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin. The pyramidal orchid of the dune grasslands is easily recognized by its dense pyramid spike of flowers in pink tones to deep crimson. Like all orchids, each flower has three sepals and three petals. The two lateral or side sepals are spreading, while the top sepal and upper petals form a tight hood. The lower petal has three broad blunt lobes and there is a long pointed spur. The stem is slender and erect to about 30-45 cm. Unstalked leaves clasp the stem, getting shorter and narrower as they go higher up. The seed capsule splits open to release numerous dust-fine seeds, but it can take up to seven years for the seed to form a flowering stem after germination. Flowers: June-July

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) - By kind permission of Dorothy Forde