Only one GWF satellite tagged bird remains.
Goose news!
The Greenland White-fronted Geese are here and the migration is in full swing! By now over 6,000 or so have arrived, brought down by the Northerly winds that produced the cold dry snap of the third week of October. Prevailing winds off Iceland were delaying the migration of many but after a slow start, both White-fronts and the darker Brent geese now dot our fields by the hundred. Over 150 Whooper swans have also been recorded in neighbouring wetlands and 6 Bewick's Swans. Lapwings are here in numbers now also. Teal, our smallest duck can be seen form the tower or just stting in the Silo pond, visible from the Centre windows.
When Autumn comes, can the wild geese be far behind?
2010 was a great breeding season for White-fronts, read all about it
New Sightings
Find out what's new to the Reserve here
Opening Hours This Winter
We regret that due to current staffing levels, the Visitor Centre may not be open at certain times during the week from the end of October, although the grounds and hides should be open. On weekends we may have to close the centre and grounds. We regret any inconvenience. We are open every day until the end of October and we hope to be reliably open from then on.
Wexford Wildfowl Reserve
Wexford Harbour and its Slobs, by their location and geomorphological structure, are natural havens for birds. Situated on the south-east coast of Ireland, they are the closest point for birds migrating into or out of Ireland from Britain and the Continent from a southerly direction.
Waders and wildfowl in particular are attracted to the area where the flat landscape and the wide shallow harbour with its sandbars and mud banks provide safe areas to feed, loaf, roost and breed.
Wexford Harbour opening to the Irish Sea to the east, is partially protected by Rosslare Point to the south, the Raven sand dune system to the north and the Fort and adjacent sandbars in the middle. From the west, the harbour is fed by the meandering River Slaney which, in its lower reaches, is tidal.
The Slob lands were reclaimed from the sea in the 1840's, with the building of the sea wall and the pumphouse. For more information on the history of the area please visit our history section.
From early October through to the middle of April, the North and South Slobs and the Harbour are home to thousands of ducks, geese, swans and waders making this a site of major international importance for wildfowl and waders. In addition, during spring and autumn, large numbers of birds on migration stop to feed in these rich areas.