Bird Island Wild on Water

We're on our way to the appropriately named Bird Island,

right in the middle of the lough,

it's one of the most important bird nesting sites in Ireland

Jen, so many birds here on Bird Island, what are we looking at?

Bird Island is one of the biggest cormorant colonies

we have here in the lough and in Northern Ireland.

This is where most of them come to have their young,

and you'll see them all just resting up at the top there,

while the tide goes out.

They're really distinctive and they have big, long necks

and you'll often see them with their wings stretched out like Dracula.

And the reason they do that is because they don't have

the same waterproofing oils that other birds have,

so they actually have to dry them out in the wind,

the way we dry our hair.

And that means when they're actually under the water,

or flying around, they'll be nice and warm and dry underneath.

They really aren't a pretty bird,

they're a bit like a dinosaur, reptile even.

They are, it's one of the reasons why I love them.

They're so unusual looking, they're quite scaly around the eyes

and then they have this big, long, hooked beak.

-And they do, they just remind you of the dinosaurs, really.

-Yeah.

And what stage in the season are they at now?

We're nearly at the end of the season,

so a lot of the young birds will be starting to lose their downy

feathers and practising to fly and they'll get more and more hungry

and start to leave the nest and search for their own food.

-And are they good mums and dads?

-Brilliant mums and dads!

They only have one brood during the summer,

so they can put all their energy into that one brood

and they're also monogamous, so they stick to the same partner,

and every year, they'll come back to the same spot, the same partner

and do a little dance to each other to confirm their partnership.

-How romantic!

-Old romantics, yes.

And what about the seagulls, too, lots of them around?

Yes, there's lots of seagulls.

One of the most impressive would be the black back.

He's huge!

He's massive, yeah.

And quite intimidating, if you see them up close

and also to the other birds, because these guys are actually

one of the biggest predators in the air

and they will take the small chicks off the other birds,

and that's why they nest beside other colonies.

So, they take the live chicks, not just the eggs?

No, they take the chicks, yeah, unfortunately.

It's a hard world out there for the birds, yeah.

And what sort of lifespan does the average seagull have?

Well, some seagulls can live quite a lengthy life.

The oldest seagulls have been found up to 30 years, or more.

-Really?

-And the cormorant, the oldest cormorant, was 23.

But, on average, the only live maybe 12, or a wee bit more than that,

because life out here is very difficult,

especially in the winter, and they don't always survive that long.

-So why are you such a fan of the ugly old cormorant?

-They just...

-You don't even think he's ugly!

-No, I think he's fantastic.

When you see the sun on their feathers,

they glisten because they're black.

They are brilliant divers, they have really unusual webbed feet,

that they use as propellers under the water

and because they look so reptilian,

they're so different and so distinctive.

and when you see them gliding along the glassy water in the lough,

it's just beautiful.

-You're doing a really good sales pitch for them, I have to say.

-Yeah!

If we wanted to go onto this island

-and have a bit of a walk around, is that possible?

-Unfortunately, not.

Bird Island is a sanctuary

which means it is totally protected for the birds.

And I think it's better that way, because it means the birds know

they can go somewhere, be safe and not be disturbed.

And it also means that we can watch from a distance

and see so many birds together in one place.

Such a special thing, right on our doorstep.

Oh, it's fantastic. I love it.