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1 ROSSLARE’S NATURAL HERITAGE

— by Jim Hurley —

2 INTRODUCTION

Rosslare, also known as Rosslare Strand, supports a wealth of wildlife, habitats and natural amenities. The village’s most significant natural heritage amenities are mudflats and sandflats and the internationally-important population of wintering waterbirds that can regularly be seen feeding on these flats close to Burrow Road and Rosslare Point. Other notable wildlife interests and amenities of the area include

An adult female Blue Whale, the largest animal ever known to have lived on Earth, that live-stranded on the Hantoon Bank in 1891.

A profusion of wild flowers including some very rare plants.

A wealth of wild bird life including a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Sand-loving wildlife on the very popular seaward beach that is Rosslare Strand and mud-loving wildlife on the Back Strand.

This guide introduces the reader to the natural heritage resource values of the Rosslare area, outlines the habitat types and protected areas found there, presents a country code, suggests six places to visit in and around the village and gives sources of further information.

Figure 1. Location map.

(Map: Wexford County Council’s iMaps viewer at https://maps.wexford.ie/imaps/; © Ordnance Survey Ireland / Government of Ireland; OSi Permit No 9035)

3 ROSSLARE’S SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES

Wetlands and waterbirds. Wexford Harbour and Slobs regularly support over 20,000 wintering waterbirds; the site is one of the top wetland sites in Ireland for both the numbers and diversity of wild birds that it supports. When the tide ebbs at Rosslare Back Strand, the very extensive area of mudflats and sandflats that is exposed at the south-eastern extremity of Wexford Harbour attracts birds, mainly waders, to feed on life forms living in the freshly exposed muddy substrate. While the area is of interest at all times of year, the winter half of the year (September to March) is the best time to

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see the most birds, morning, with the sun behind, is the best time of day, a falling tide is ideal and dry, calm sunny weather conditions are a welcome added bonus. As the tide starts to fall birds move in from their high tide roosts on islands and sand banks in Wexford Harbour to feed on the freshly exposed areas. As the tide falls lower the birds move farther away from the shore and are therefore more difficult to see as the area is very extensive (see Section 7.4).

One-third of the world’s population of the Greenland White-fronted Goose is entirely reliant on sand banks in Wexford Harbour as safe night roosts. The daily spectacle of thousands of geese flying to and from the North and South Slobs can be viewed early each morning and late each evening during winter from both Rosslare Bird Hide (see Section 7.4) and Rosslare Point (see Section 7.5). These are two of a very few locations in Ireland from where this species can be so readily observed.

Blue Whale. When visitors access the Natural History Museum in London via the main entrance on Cromwell Road they enter the huge Hintze Hall dominated by a cast of Diplodocus carnegii, popularly known as Dippy, a very long-necked, small-headed,

long-tailed, plant-eating North American dinosaur. In the summer of 2017 the museum authorities plan to remove the artificial dinosaur bones and to give pride of place to the genuine skeleton of the adult female Blue Whale that live stranded in 1891 on the Hantoon Bank off Rosslare Point. Blue Whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth; bigger than the largest of the dinosaurs.

Wild flowers. Wild plants flourish in Rosslare due to the area’s great diversity of

habitats, its abundance of sand and its location in the Sunny South East. Two nationally very rare native clovers are of particular note; Clustered Clover Trifolium glomeratum and Subterranean Clover Trifolium subterraneum have been recorded growing with Spring Vetch Vicia lathyroides, another rare plant, in short grass on sandy

ground in the village. The two rare clovers have each been recorded at fewer than five sites in Ireland and are scheduled in the Flora (Protection) Order, 2015 (SI 356/2015). Another plant that is rare in Ireland but is common in the Sunny South East, and in Rosslare in particular, is the Tree Lupin Lupinus arboreus, a small shrub with pale

yellow flowers. It is an alien that is native to California. Other North America aliens recorded growing in Rosslare include Springbeauty Claytonia perfoliata and Skunkweed Navarretia squarrosa.

Great Spotted Woodpecker. Since bones of woodpeckers have been found in caves, it is known that these birds once lived in Ireland. However, they became extinct in the distant past. Over the years, small numbers turned up annually as rare and irregular visitors. One turned up at Rosslare Golf Club in 1989; its arrival hailed, jokingly, by the local press as ‘a rare birdie’ on the golf course. It was not until 2009 that breeding by these birds was proven in the Republic of Ireland. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are now found in a number of counties along the eastern seaboard. Though they are breeding in County Wexford they have not yet colonised the Rosslare area.

Sand and mud. Sand-loving wildlife thrives on the very fine seaward beach that is

Rosslare Strand on the eastern side of the village (see Section 7.2). Mud-loving wildlife thrives on the more sheltered Back Strand on the western side of the village (see Sections 7.4 and 7.5). The sand and mud are separated by the Burrow, a long, narrow sand spit stretching northwards from Rosslare village. The spit used to be very long but in the winter of 1924-25 a storm breached the sandy landform and over time it was gradually washed away; its end is now protected by rock armouring to stave off further coastal erosion (see Section 7.5).

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4 HABITAT TYPES

A habitat is a place where plants and animals live. The habitat types found in Rosslare are described very briefly and are mapped below. The letters and numbers in brackets are the Fossitt codes, that is, the reference codes used in the standard habitat classification system used in the Republic of Ireland (Fossitt, 2000).

Figure 2. Gross habitat types in Rosslare.

Wetland habitats (yellow). Freshwater wetland habitats are represented by a number of small streams disgorging into the drainage ditches (FW4) and canals that were dug in the 19th century during the intaking of the former tidal marshes and their reclamation as polders for agricultural production. The most significant watercourse near the village is the Grange Big river (FW2) (see Section 7.6). There are about eight ponds in the area but most of these are small, overgrown, silted and/or filled in; the most sizeable are four artificial ponds (FL8) excavated on Rosslare Golf Course.

Grassland habitats (green). Improved grassland habitats are represented by intensively managed agricultural fields (GA1) around the village and by amenity grasslands (GA2) in the village such as lawns and grassy areas in gardens, parks, around buildings, golf course fairways, sports fields, etc. Semi-natural grasslands (GS2) are represented by roadside verges, headlands of fields, railway embankments, rough areas on the golf courses and neglected fields and gardens. Wet or waterlogged ground supports either wet grassland (GS4) if grasses are dominant, or marsh (GM1) if herbs are dominant. Dry old grassland near the sand dunes is clothed in dense Bracken (HD1). [Since arable crops (BC1), tilled land (BC3) and other cultivated lands make up a very small proportion of the mapped area, these habitat types are included here with the grassland habitats.]

Woodland habitats (purple). The Grove, the largest local stand of old woodland (see Section 7.3), is a highly modified, mixed, broadleaved woodland (WD1) with areas dominated by scrub (WS1) and Sycamore saplings (WS2). Forestry plantations (WD4) are found near the Grange Big river (see Section 7.6). Hedgerows (WL1) are common in farmland. Scattered trees (WD5) and treeline (WL2) occur around the village with several significant old pines and cypresses and both stands and lines of ornamental shrubs (WS3) abound in people’s gardens.

Built land habitats (orange). Built habitats include all the buildings, footpaths, tracks, roads, railways and other artificial surfaces (BL3) throughout the village including gardens (BC2), flower beds and borders (BC4), earth banks (BL2), stone walls and other stonework (BL1).

Coastland habitats (cyan). Coastland habitats comprise soft cliffs (CS3) (see Section 7.1), upper (CM2) and lower (CM1) salt marsh (see Section 7.5), Marram dunes (CD2) (see Section 7.2), fixed dunes (CD3), dune slacks (CD5) (see Section 7.5), coastal constructions (CC1) (see Section 7.2), and intertidal sediments of sand (LS2) (see Section 7.2), muddy sand (LS3) and mud (LS4) (see Section 7.5).

(Map: Courtesy of Wexford County Council; © Ordnance Survey Ireland and Government of Ireland; OSi Permit No 9035)

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5 PROTECTED AREA

The network of protected natural heritage sites that extends throughout the European Union is known as ‘Natura 2000’.

Natura 2000 sites in the Republic of Ireland can be either SPAs or cSACs or both.

SPAs are Special Protection Areas for wild birds and they have been

designated since 1985.

cSACs are candidate Special Areas of Conservation for habitats and life forms other than wild birds. While these candidate sites await formal designation, the protective mechanisms in respect of Natura 2000 sites are effective from the date of initial notification of these sites.

Rosslare Back Strand is part of a large protected area comprising two overlapping Natura 2000 sites. The protected area comprises Wexford Harbour, the North and South Slobs, Castlebridge Marsh, the estuary and the tidal waters of the Slaney River almost to Enniscorthy town, the River Slaney as far north as the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains and Rosslare Back Strand.

Figure 3. The protected area for wildlife at Rosslare.

(Map source: National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) map viewer at http://webgis.npws.ie/npwsviewer/; © Ordnance Survey Ireland and

Government of Ireland; OSi Permit No 9035)

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The two overlapping Natura 2000 sites that comprise the protected area are:

Wexford Harbour and Slobs Special Protection Area (SPA) No IE004076 (SI 194/2012, NPWS, 2012 and NPWS, 2011c) and

The Slaney River Valley, candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) No 000781 (NPWS, 2011b, NPWS, 2011a and McCorry and Ryle, 2009).

At Rosslare Back Strand the SPA (below left) extends to the southern extremity of the former Hopeland intake whereas the cSAC southern boundary (below right) stops at

the line of rocks in front of the Rosslare Bird Hide.

Figure 4. Spatial extent of the

overlapping SPA and cSAC at Rosslare Back Strand.

(Map source: National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) map viewer at http://webgis.npws.ie/npwsviewer/; © Ordnance Survey Ireland and

Government of Ireland; OSi Permit No 9035)

The qualifying interest of the SPA is its ‘Wetland and Waterbirds’, specifically 32 named species of wild birds annexed in the EU Birds Directive (NPWS, 2012 and EU, 2010). The qualifying habitat interests of the cSAC are ‘Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide’. Both Otters and Harbour Seals are annexed in the EU Habitats Directive and are qualifying life forms of the cSAC (NPWS, 2011b and EU, 2007).

The conservation objectives for the site are to maintain the favourable conservation condition of the qualifying interests.

SPA cSAC

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6 CONSERVATION AND SAFETY

Wexford County Council, Rosslare Community Development Association and Rosslare Tidy Towns Committee all want to preserve and protect the natural heritage resource values of the Rosslare area and to ensure that your visit to the area is a safe one. You can help by following the Country Code.

Respect the natural environment. Bring your litter home. Leave nothing but footprints.

Respect other life forms. Kill nothing but time. Take nothing but memories and photographs. Leave wild flowers for others to enjoy.

Respect landowners’ property and privacy. Seek permission to enter private lands or properties. Be aware of the possibility of stray golf balls near the golf courses.

Keep dogs under control especially near wild bird feeding areas. Do use biodegradable and compostable poop bags and dispose of them responsibly.

Leave Rosslare Bird Hide in the state you would like to find it in. Park safely and responsibly if using your car as a mobile hide.

Be aware of deep water and strong currents around some of the rock groynes on Rosslare Strand.

Help protect the salt marsh at Rosslare Back Strand by not driving over it. Be aware that the mudflats can be treacherously soft in places and that the tide rises rapidly.

Safeguard against fire on the sand dunes during periods of prolonged dry weather.

Rare birds like Little Terns nest on the sand banks in Wexford Harbour in summer. Since their eggs and chicks are very well-camouflaged, people landing on these sand banks pose a threat of unknowingly trampling on their nests. Landing may also frighten incubating birds off their nests causing eggs and chicks to die from exposure or predation.

Enjoy your visit to Rosslare and contribute to the conservation of the amenities you have come to enjoy by following the Country Code. Thank you.

Concerns regarding nature conservation should be

addressed to Tony Murray, the local National Parks

and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Conservation Ranger,

e-mail Tony.Murray@ahg.gov.ie

telephone (076) 100 2662.

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7 PLACES TO VISIT

The following locations in and around the village are well worth a visit.

Figure 5. Places to visit in Rosslare (see text below for details).

(Map: Wexford County Council’s iMaps viewer at https://maps.wexford.ie/imaps/; © Ordnance Survey Ireland / Government of Ireland; OSi Permit No 9035)

Rosslare Point

Rosslare Back Strand

Rosslare Strand

The Grove

Grange River

Cliff Road

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7.1 Cliff Road

Location, access and directions. Cliff Road is an elevated, cliff top, sitting, viewing

and picnic area at the junction of Mauritiustown Road and Coast Road at the southern end of the village. It is an ideal location for those who want to enjoy a leisurely picnic with an overview of the village, strand and sea.

Main interests. Scenery and coastal erosion.

Description. The view to the left (north) carries the eye along the sweep of Rosslare Strand (see Section 7.2) ending in Rosslare Point and across the mouth of Wexford Harbour to the forestry plantations on The Raven Point in the distance. The view to the right (south) is to Rosslare Harbour Europort with ferries regularly arriving and departing. A mushroom-shaped water tower is prominent on the skyline. The view out to sea comprises Rosslare Bay an area that is often a hot spot for seeing rafts of Common Scoter, dark-coloured sea ducks, bobbing on the surface in winter. The bay has a fishery for Razor Clams. It is also a breeding ground for Barrel Jellyfish an important food source for Leathery Turtles that migrate to Irish waters to feed during the summer.

The edge of the clifftop is clothed with Winter Heliotrope a garden throw-out. The native of North Africa was a popular garden plant in the past and has now become naturalised on waste ground in many areas. Pampas Grass from South America and Cabbage-palm from New Zealand both add an exotic touch to the holiday resort.

The large boulders along the cliff top are glacial erratics from Carnsore Point. The rock type is Carnsore granite, a very coarse brown rock with large crystals showing that the molten parent material cooled slowly deep underground. The granite is some 428 million years old.

Plate 1. The Cliff Road picnic area overlooks Rosslare Strand.

The soft cliff is composed of Irish Sea till, unsorted sediment left behind by the Irish Sea ice sheet as it melted and retreated northwards at the end of the last ice age some 13,000 years ago. The soft cliff is prone to erosion by the sea and, despite extensive coastal protection works, the shoreline is receding at a mean rate of about 0.6m/year.

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In the past, the townland of Doogans Warren was more extensive with breeding Rabbits. It is now eroded to the extent that its present width, at this point, comprises Cliff Road, the picnic area and the beach; it tapers away to nothing farther south. A flight of steps leads to the beach where a rock armour revetment protecting the base of the cliff can be seen.

A rock armour revetment is a sloping structure built at the base of a cliff to absorb and disperse the energy of the incoming waves thereby preventing the sea from eroding the base of the soft cliff. In Rosslare, revetments are built using 2-3 tonne boulders of quarried stone. When the cliff is protected vegetation grows on it helping to stabilise it.

Plate 2. Coastal protection works at Doogans Warren.

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7.2 Rosslare Strand

Location, access and directions. Rosslare Strand is the long, sandy beach that

fringes the eastern side of the village. The main access point to the Blue Flag beach is the car park opposite Centra supermarket on Strand Road in the centre of the village.

Main interests. Sand dune wild plants and beach combing for seashells.

Description. From the car park the beach stretches north to Rosslare Point for a

distance of 8km. The walk to Rosslare Point and back takes about two hours to complete.

Wild plants. Two plants native to New Zealand are very prominent on the dunes

adjoining the car park and around the village: Cabbage-palm trees, also known by their botanical name Cordyline, and New Zealand Flax. With the exception of a hummocky

dune field at Rosslare Point and some vegetated islands perched on the landward ends of the rock groynes, the dunes at Rosslare mainly comprise a single tall, narrow ridge separating Rosslare Golf Course from the beach.

Plate 3. The sand dunes at Rosslare comprise a single tall, narrow ridge separating Rosslare Golf Course from the beach.

Marram, a native maritime grass, binds and holds the sand. Sea-buckthorn, a spiny shrub with narrow, shining, pale silvery green leaves has been widely planted to help stabilise and bind the sand. In autumn Sea-buckthorn bears masses of orange-yellow berries. Sea Rocket, an annual with mauve petals, is very common along the drift-line at the interface between the dunes and the beach. It is a rich source of nectar for butterflies especially Painted Ladies, migrants from North Africa.

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Seashells. The strand is a good source of empty bivalve seashells cast up on the

beach from molluscs living offshore in fine sand. The Otter Shell is usually the most common species. The animals that are enclosed by these shells live offshore in Rosslare Bay completely buried in muddy sand. They maintain contact with the surface

by means of two long, fused siphons through which they feed and breathe. Other common species include Razor Shell, Rayed Trough Shell, Common Cockle and Prickly Cockle. Native Flat Oyster, Common Mussel, Horse Mussel and Variegated Scallop also occur. Shells of sea snails are rare with the exception of a few Common Whelk near Rosslare Point.

Plate 4. The Otter Shell is the most common seashell on Rosslare Strand.

Coastal protection. Sand is finite resource and since it is constantly being eroded by

the sea at Rosslare various techniques are employed to try to hold onto it. Groynes are barriers built at right angles to the beach to trap sand moving along the shore. Historical groynes made from wooden posts driven into the sand in 1957 are evident at low water together with more recent walls of rock. Twelve 100m-long rock groynes,

spaced about 300m apart, were built in the period 1991-1995. In 1994-1995, as a coast protection pilot project, 275,000m3 sand was dredged from a borrow area 6km offshore and was pumped ashore to nourish the beach (ECOPRO, 1996).

Plate 5. Sand eroded from the seaward base of the dune ridge.

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7.3 The Grove Location, access and directions. The Grove is an

area of woodland beside Scoil Mhuire (Rosslare National School) on Strand Road. Access is via an entrance between the school and the Rosslare Community and Sports Centre complex opposite St Brigid’s Catholic Church.

Main interests. Trees, wild

flowers and woodland wildlife.

Description. The Grove is the

largest stand of old woodland in the Rosslare area. The wood was part of the estate of Rosslare House and is featured on the 1841 Ordnance Survey sheet of the area.

Near the entrance the ground is carpeted with Bluebells and Three-cornered Garlic an invasive alien native to the western Mediterranean. Bird boxes and bat boxes have been erected and staff and pupils in the school use a camera nestbox kit to record breeding birds, especially Blue Tits, as part of a Green Schools project. Blackbirds, Robins and Wrens are plentiful throughout the woodland.

There are some fine Beech and Horse-chestnut trees. After a short distance the wood becomes overgrown with Sycamore with some Ash, Elm, Norway Spruce, Holly and Monterey Pine.

There is a small pond area that floods in wet weather. Broad Buckler-fern is prominent in the understory that comprises a mosaic of Bramble scrub, Ground Elder, Nettles, Hogweed and Ivy.

Plate 6. Entrance to The Grove on Strand Road with Scoil Mhuire (Rosslare National School), on the left.

Plate 7. Nest box for Blue Tits on the Ivy-covered trunk of a Beech tree.

Plate 8. The Nuns’ Walk, part of a path formerly used by the Sisters of Mercy to access the beach from their convent on Strand Road.

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7.4 Rosslare Back Strand

Location, access and directions. Rosslare Back Strand is located on the north-

western side of the village. Access is via the public road. Follow Strand Road, the road that runs north past Kelly’s Resort Hotel, Saint Brigid’s Catholic Church, Scoil Mhuire (Rosslare National School) and Rosslare Golf Club (see Figure 1). After the golf club the road continues as Burrow Road. Follow the road until the sea appears on your left. Park safely on your left using either the Rosslare Bird Hide sponsored by Southfield residents or your transport as a mobile hide.

Main interest. Birdwatching; mainly waders

feeding on the mudflats as the tide falls (see Section 3). Time of high water at Wexford Harbour is provided in tide tables and on the website of the Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club at http://www.whbtc.ie/sailing/tide.php. Waders start to move in to feed at the Back Strand from about three hours after the predicted time of high water at Wexford Harbour. Turnstones are usually the first species to arrive.

Description. Birds are habituated to both the hide and to vehicles so they can be seen at very close quarters under suitable conditions. While the hide door is normally closed, visitors are very welcome to open it and to use the amenity if they so wish. The mudflats are very level so the tide falls and rises again rapidly. Very obvious at low water are the remains of the rock armouring of the embankment that was built to intake Hopeland, the area to the left of the Rosslare Bird Hide. The embankment was breached by the sea in the 1930s, the intake was flooded and was reclaimed by the waves. Commonly seen species include the following in alphabetical order; 12 of these species are illustrated on the display boards by the Rosslare Bird Hide and by the RNLI memorial. Otherwise, illustrations can be sourced in bird books or online.

Bar-tailed Godwit Black-headed Gull Black-tailed Godwit Common Gull Cormorant Curlew Dunlin Great Crested Grebe

Grey Heron Grey Plover Herring Gull Knot Light-bellied Brent Goose Little Egret Mallard Oystercatcher

Redshank Ringed Plover Sanderling Shelduck Teal Turnstone Wigeon

Detailed accounts of bird usage of the Rosslare Back Strand area have been published and are available online (NPWS, 2011c).

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7.5 Rosslare Point

Location, access and directions. Rosslare Point is located at the northern extremity

of the village. Access is mainly via the public road. Follow Strand Road, the road that runs north past Kelly’s Resort Hotel, Saint Brigid’s Catholic Church, Scoil Mhuire (Rosslare National School) and Rosslare Golf Club (see Figure 1). After the golf club the road continues as Burrow Road. Follow the road to its end and park there. Rosslare Point is a 15-minute walk farther on. It is possible to drive to Rosslare Point but be aware that the track is covered by high tides. Also, away from the track there are patches of apparently firm-looking sand overlying areas of soft mud.

Main interests. Saltmarsh, sand dune wildlife and birdwatching.

Description. As one travels north towards Rosslare Point, the mudflats found at

Rosslare Back Strand (see Section 7.4) transition into muddy-sand, sandflats and fine sandy beaches. At low tide the extensive areas of exposed intertidal sandflats and mudflats are a qualifying interest of the candidate Special Area of Conservation (see Section 5). Common Cockle, Lugworm, Catworm, Ragworm and Mud Shrimps are abundant in the muddy sand.

Saltmarsh. The saltmarsh is dominated by Sea-purslane, a much-branched, sprawling shrub. The stand of Sea-purslane is relatively uniform with no salt pans or creeks present.

Plate 9. Salt marsh dominated by Sea-purslane with Rosslare Point in the distance, the mouth of Wexford Harbour (left) and forested The Raven Point (extreme left).

Other saltmarsh plants that occur include Lax-flowered Sea Lavender, Common Saltmarsh-grass and less frequently Annual Sea-blite, Sea Aster, Thrift and Glasswort. The habitat type is classified as ‘Atlantic salt meadows’ (McCorry and Ryle, 2009). The lower marsh comprises a sward of Common Cord-grass, an alien that was originally introduced to Ireland to trap, bind and stabilise mud in estuaries prior to reclamation.

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The plant subsequently spread around the coast and stands of it are now very common around all the major sea ports.

Sand dunes. A small, hummocky dune field at Rosslare Point occupies the area at the end of the golf course and is an example of dune habitat. The fixed dunes support wild flowers, butterflies, other insects and birds like Skylark and Meadow Pipit. Some impressive specimens of Sharp Rush occupy the dune slacks. The stems of Sharp Rush are extremely stiff and are dangerously sharp.

Plate 10. Extreme northern end of the golf course (left) followed by a small area of sand dunes, Rosslare Point with its rock armouring, the mouth of Wexford Harbour and The Raven Point in the distance. A sand bank and high tide bird roost can be seen in Wexford Harbour (upper left).

Bird and seal watching. Rosslare Point is entirely surrounded by rock armouring to protect the soft end of the spit from coastal erosion. The area behind the rocks provides viewing places for looking both out to the open sea to the east or into Wexford Harbour to the west. At high water birds can be watched by telescope at their high tide roosts in the harbour. Seals may be spotted too as Harbour Seals have breeding, moulting and resting sites in Wexford Harbour (NPWS, 2011b Map 7) and Grey Seals regularly haul out on sandbanks there also. Grey Seals are much more common and more numerous than Harbour Seals with hundreds present on occasion.

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7.6 Grange Big River

Location, access and directions. This

site is located at the small layby and picnic area at the Tidy Towns sign immediately before the signs for both the roundabout and the 50km per hour speed limit on the R470 approach road to Rosslare village.

Main interests. Wetlands.

Description. The layby is on a road bridge

and the watercourse flowing under the bridge is the Grange Big, a lowland river that collects a number of streams draining Rosslare village and lands surrounding the neighbouring villages of Tagoat and Kilrane. The Grange Big discharges these headwater streams to the main channel of the Drinagh Intake, an extensive area intaken from the sea during the nineteenth century at the southern extremity of Wexford Harbour. Both sides of the road are parts of the southern extremity of the Drinagh Intake. On the opposite side of the road, the southern side of the bridge, a number of tributaries can be seen disgorging on the low ground of the southern extremity of the Drinagh Intake.

The soil around the watercourses is classified as ‘tidal marsh’ and it overlies the boundary between two rock units that are not exposed. The rocks immediately downriver are Ballycogly Group rocks dating from late in the Cambrian Period of geological time some 515 million years ago while the rocks immediately upriver are Milltown Formation rocks dating from the late Ordovician Period some 450 million years ago.

Wild plants on the parapet of the bridges and immediately adjoining them include Herb Robert, Ivy, Bramble, Gorse and Hawthorn. Common Reed, Ireland’s tallest native wild grass fringes the watercourses. Forestry plantations may be seen downriver on the left and in the distance.

Plate 11. The Grange Big watercourse looking downriver from the R470 road.

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8 SOURCES AND FURTHER INFORMATION ECOPRO. 1996. Environmentally Friendly Coastal Protection Code of Practice.

Chapter 4: Case Study 4.2 ECOPRO Pilot Project – Beach nourishment at Rosslare Strand, Co Wexford. Pages 94-105. Dublin: The Stationary Office.

EU. 2007. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. Consolidated version 1.1.2007. Official Journal of the European Union, L 206, 22.7.1992, pages 1-66. Brussels: European Commission. Available online at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01992L0043-20070101&from=EN.

EU. 2010. Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds. Codified version. Official Journal of the European Union, L 20, 26.1.2010, pages 7-25. Brussels: European

Commission. Available online at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32009L0147&from=EN.

Fossitt, J. A. 2000. A guide to Habitats in Ireland. Kilkenny: The Heritage Council.

Available online at http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Wildlife/Guide_to_Habitats.pdf.

McCorry, M. and Ryle, T. 2009. Saltmarsh Monitoring Project 2007-2008. Contract

reference D/C/227. Volume 5; final report. Report for Research Branch, National Parks and Wildlife Service. Dublin: Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Available online at http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/McCorry_&_Ryle_2009_Saltmarsh_survey_V5.pdf.

NPWS. 2011a. Slaney River Valley SAC (site code: 0781) - Conservation objectives supporting document -marine habitats and species. Version 1 dated August 2011. Dublin: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Available online at http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/000781_Slaney%20River%20Valley%20SAC%20Marine%20Supporting%20Doc_V1.pdf.

NPWS. 2011b. Slaney River Valley SAC 000781. Version 1.0 dated 21 October 2011. Conservation Objectives Series. Dublin: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Available online at http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/conservation_objectives/CO000781.pdf.

NPWS. 2011c. Wexford Harbour and Slobs Special Protection Area (Site Code 4076) and The Raven Special Protection Area (Site Code 4019) - Conservation Objectives Supporting Document. Version 1, December 2011. Dublin: National

Parks and Wildlife Service. Available online at http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/4076_4019_Wexford%20Harbour%20and%20Slobs%20&%20The%20Raven%20SPAs%20Supporting%20Doc_V1.pdf.

NPWS. 2012. Wexford Harbour and Slobs SPA 004076. Version 1.0 dated 21 March 2012. Conservation Objectives Series. Dublin: National Parks and Wildlife

Service. Available online at http://www.npws.ie/sites/default/files/protected-sites/conservation_objectives/CO004076.pdf.

SI 194/2012. 2012. European Communities (Conservation of Wild Birds (Wexford Harbour and Slobs Special Protection Area 004076)) Regulations 2012. Statutory

Instrument Number 194 of 2012. Available online at http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/si/194/made/en/print.

SI 356/2015. 2015. Flora (Protection) Order, 2015. Statutory Instrument Number 356 of

2015. Available online at http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2015/si/356/made/en/print.

WCC. 2013. Wexford County Development Plan 2013-2019. Made by the Members of

Wexford County Council on Monday 11 February 2013. Volume 1: Written

Introductory guide to Rosslare’s Natural Heritage Page 18 of 18.

Statement. Wexford: Wexford County Council. Available online at http://www.wexford.ie/largefiles/planning/Volume1.pdf.

9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The invaluable help of the following in compiling this guide to Rosslare’s Natural Heritage is gratefully acknowledged.

Rosslare Tidy Towns Group for conceiving the idea of this production and Ray Flynn (Chair), Vivian Lambert-Murphy (Secretary) and Peter McQueen (Treasurer) for local information, for several very helpful discussions and for driving the project forward to fruition.

Phil Callery, Consultant Engineer and Chair, Rosslare Community Development Association, for information about the Nun’s Walk, the golf courses, coastal erosion and coastal protection.

Paul Green and Paula O’Meara, County Recorders for Wexford (H12) for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, and Roy Watson and Frankie Tennant, local botanists, for information about rare wild plants.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Dominic Berridge, Warden of the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, for comments on an earlier draft, for several helpful suggestions, proof reading and correction of typographical errors, Alyn Walsh, Research Branch, for information about Greenland White-fronted Geese and Tony Murray, Conservation Ranger for south Wexford for a number of useful suggestions.

Wexford County Council Environment Department for supporting the project and for financial assistance, Clíona Connelly, Environment Awareness Officer, for organising sponsorship, Shem Byrne, Chief Technician, for redrawing the map on page 3, and Gerry Forde, Acting Senior Engineer, for facilitating the project; also Niamh Lennon, Executive Planner at the biodiversity desk in the Forward Planning Department, for helpful comments.

Jim Hurley, 25 January 2016.

Version 1: dated 25 January 2016. Version 2: dated 7 March 2016. Six sites rearranged in order of the route of the village’s Eco-Heritage Trail together with some minor edits.

Guide compiled by Jim Hurley

SWC Promotions Grange, Kilmore, Co Wexford Y35 YN35

'Phone: (053) 912 9671. Mobile (086)

163 7199. E-mail: swc@eircom.net

SWC Promotions: promoting the natural heritage resource values of the South Wexford Coast.