Events
14/08/2026
Baltray Little Tern Conservancy Walk
21 August, 12pm - 2pm
- Car Park at the 19th Bar pub
- 19th Bar pub Baltray, Co. Louth
- A92 H228
- Co. Louth
- Join Ivan McKenna and the Louth Nature Trust for a guided walk and talk at The Haven, Baltray, one of Ireland's most important breeding sites for the Little Tern, Ireland's smallest and rarest tern species. This unique coastal site, located at the mouth of the Boyne Estuary, is home to a nationally important colony of these remarkable migratory seabirds, which travel thousands of kilometres between West Africa and Ireland each year.
During this walk, participants will learn about the ecology and behaviour of the Little Tern, the challenges facing the species, and the conservation work that has transformed Baltray into one of Ireland's most successful tern colonies. Louth Nature Trust will explain how habitat loss, human disturbance, predators, storms and rising sea levels threaten these vulnerable ground-nesting birds, and how ongoing conservation measures are helping to secure their future.
The walk will also explore the wider natural and cultural heritage of this protected landscape, which forms part of several internationally important conservation designations. Visitors will hear first-hand about the work of wardens and volunteers who protect the colony throughout the breeding season and discover how local communities play a vital role in safeguarding this special place for future generations.
This event is being held outdoors and requires walking over rough terrain, please come dressed with appropriate clothing and footwear for the weather conditions on the day.
** Booking is not required **
This session is funded through the Local Biodiversity Action Fund with support from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Louth County Council Biodiversity Office. The Local Authority Biodiversity Officer Programme is delivered in partnership between Local Government Ireland and the Heritage Council, and is part of the Ceangal Local Authority Heritage Programme.
30/07/2026
Guided Bat Walk
The Louth Bat Group will lead a guided bat walk on the 6th August 2026 in the Dale Drogheda, County Louth.
Please meet at the War Memorial, Mary's Street, Drogheda.
17/05/2026
A biodiversity walk in the cooley mountains
The walk will be led by Derek Watters. hopefully there will be cuckoos!
Breffni
17/05/2026
Pollinator investigation lab
A biodiversity week event!
17/05/2026
Drogheda Cycling event
17/05/2026
Bee Habitat Demo
For biodiversity week!
17/05/2026
Whale Watch 2026
We will be hosting the 2026 whale watch for Biodiversity Week at Clogherhead from 5pm on the 23rd May. Meet at the top of the upper car park at Port Oriel.
Breffni
06/05/2026
Bioblitz Omeath 17the to 18th May
For Biodiversity Week the Omeath District Development will run a Bioblitz with Goska Wilkowska at Omeath. For those interested Rachel and Goska’s contact details are: info@dbusiness.ie Goska Wilkowska goskawilkowska@yahoo.ie
Omeath District Development | Omeath | Facebook
Breffni
13/04/2026
Earth Day event
A day of fun in Rostrevor just over the border!
10/10/2025
An illustrated presentation on Little Terns at Baltray
On Tuesday October 14th Dominic Hartigan of the Louth Nature Trust will give a talk on the Little Tern colony at Baltray.
all are welcome!
Breffni
01/08/2025
Heritage Week 2025
The theme for this year's Heritage Week is focused on Exploring Our Foundations and runs from 16 – 24 August 2025
The theme invites us to delve into the building blocks of our heritage; not just the structures, but the landscapes and cultural activities that have shaped us.
National Heritage Week celebrates Ireland’s cultural, built and natural heritage. It brings together volunteers, community groups and heritage enthusiasts to share their experience, knowledge culture and practices.
For events near you please see: https://www.heritageweek.ie/event-listings
21/05/2025
BWI Meath Outing
The Meath branch of Birdwatch Ireland will visit the site at Baltray on the 14th June 2025 meeting at 12:30 at the 19th Hole pub for a walk to the little tern site, lead by our old friend Franck Le Moënner.
16/05/2025
Dublin Zoo Native Species Weekend 2025
The Louth nature Trust will have a stall at the native species weekend at Dublin Zoo this weekend, 17th and 18th May 2025.
Drop by our stand and pick up a T-shirt!
See you there!
14/05/2025
Whale Watch 2025
The IWDG and Louth Nature Trust will host a whale watching outing at Clogherhead on the 17th May 2025 from 5 to 7pm. Please meet at the upper carpark at Port oriel Clogherhead. Bring binoculars!
All welcome.
Breffni
25/02/2025
Biodiversity Week 2025
This year National Biodiversity Week will run from the 16th – 25th May. We will run a whale watching session at Clogherhead on the 17th May starting 17:00. We will also run an open day at the site at Baltray.
17/08/2024
A Turn for the Terns - Talk and Walk
The Louth Nature Trust will be hosting a talk followed by a walk on the subject of Irish terns. The talk will be followed by a walk along Dundalk quay wall and Navvy bank. The talk will introduce the audience to the most regular terns in Ireland and the walk will involve viewing them in their natural habitat, Presented by Breffni Martin.
25 August, 2:30pm - 4:30pm
- Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk, County Louth
- George's Quay, Dundalk Docks
- A91 NR79
- Co. Louth
29/05/2024
Biodiversity Week Open Day
We had an open day at the site in Baltray on Wednesday 22nd of May when we welcomed members of the public to the site and showed them around. In attendance were Nina, Bronagh, Dominic, Tom, and Helen Hanratty our Biodiversity Officer. the tour covered the little tern site but also the many other interesting biodiversity features of the Baltray dune system, grasslands and shore.
Thanks to all concerned
Breffni
15/05/2024
Biodiversity Week 2024
11/05/2024
Dublin Zoo Native Species Weekend
Please come and visit the Louth Nature Trust stand at the Native Species Weekend at Dublin Zoon Saturday, 11th, and Sunday, 12th May. Details here: https://www.dublinzoo.ie/event/native-species-weekend/
It will take place from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM on both days and is suitable for all the family.
Breffni
06/05/2024
Louth Hedge Walk 23rd May
Celebrate Biodiversity Week at an evening Hedge Walk in Co. Louth on Thursday 23rd May. Join us in exploring the plants and animals of hedgerows, how they protect our land from drought and flooding, and best practices for nature-friendly hedgerow management.
Register Here: https://hedgerows.ie/louth-hedge-walk-23rd/
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Katie Smirnova Campaigns Officer Hedgerows Ireland |
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19/08/2023
Heritage Week events deferred due to storm Betty
The decision has been taken to cancel the whale watching event at Clogherhead at 2pm today due to expected wind gusts of 60kmph and sea state of 5, making whale watching a bit pointless. Similarly wind at Baltray would make walking amongst the dunes unpleasant.
Both events are deferred until tomorrow at the same times and places.
Apologies for any inconvenience!
Breffni
16/08/2023
Heritage Week event
A Walk in the Dunes at Baltray Beach
19 August, 4:30pm - 6pm
- Entrance to Baltray Beach - At Gate
- A92 DX62
- Co. Louth
A walk in the dune system at Baltray beach focusing on succession ecology, birds, plants, habitats.
Baltray dunes lie on the northern side of the Boyne Estuary and extend as far as Clogher Head. A substantial part of the stable areas of dune support two golf courses (County Louth Golf Club and Seapoint Golf Club), which were excluded from the SAC site.
An area south east of County Louth Golf Club was left within the SAC since it is actively accreting and contains species-rich semi-fixed and Marram dunes that warrant conservation (Gaynor & Browne, 1999).
Embryonic dunes, marram dunes, fixed dunes, driftlines and vegetated shingle were recorded by Ryle et al. (2009), the first three of which are qualifying interests for this SAC.
16/08/2023
Heritage Week Whale Watching
Whale Watch Ireland 2023
19 August, 2pm - 4pm
- Port Oriel Upper Car Park
- Clogher Head
- Co. Louth
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group invite you to Whale Watch Ireland 2023 on Saturday 19th August 2023, between 2:00-4:00 PM:. This annual event comprises free and guided whale watches at local headlands or vantage points, as part of All-Ireland whale watch day.
These simultaneous land-based watches at 19 locations around the Irish coast provide IWDG researchers with a unique overview of whale and dolphin activity on the day; and as Citizen Scientists you can play your part.
While there are no guarantees of sightings, given reasonable weather you have a good chance of seeing some of the varied marine species that can be viewed locally.
You should dress appropriately for the weather conditions on the day. Please note, there are no boats involved and no bookings necessary. There may be a short elevated walk from the meeting point to your watch site, so sensible footwear is recommended.
You should bring binoculars, your sense of humour and refreshments. Please leave your pets at home.
This event is suitable for all ages and is aimed at everyone from the novice wildlife enthusiast to more experienced naturalist with an interest in biological recording.
In the event of unsuitable weather your watch leader may decide to cancel your local event. So, if in doubt, please check in with your watch leader using the contact details provided 24-48 hours before the event.
Further details or updates on www.iwdg.ie.
07/06/2023
Webinars from Green Foundation Ireland
Surfers Against Sewage
19:00, Wednesday 7 June 2023 – Evening online talk
Our next event is happening online this coming Wednesday (7 Jun 2023) at 19:00 (Irish time). It's titled "Ocean Activism" and our guest speaker will be Declan McMenamin who has been the Northern Ireland Regional Rep for Surfers Against Sewage for the past 5 years.
Theme: During this talk, we will explore the question of what does it really mean to be an ocean activist? It all starts with one small action, and a passion to protect what we love.
How to
register: As usual with most of our events, admission
is FREE to this talk, but you MUST register beforehand as places are strictly limited.
Log-on details will be
issued nearer the time to those who register.
More details: You can find out more details on our website here.
We look forward to welcoming you this interesting talk this coming Wednesday evening, 7 June 2023.
Coral Reef Time Machine
19:00, Wednesday 5 July 2023 – Evening online talk
After that event, we will
be hosting an online talk on Wednesday 5 July 2023 at 19:00 (Irish
time). It's titled
"Coral Reef Time Machine"
and our guest speaker will
be Mike Hynes, who is originally from Canada and
is currently an Early Stage Researcher with 4D-REEF (EU
Horizon 2020/Marie Sklodowska-Curie) and a PhD Candidate at the Universitiet
van Amsterdam.
Theme: Coral reefs are home to over 25% of all ocean diversity. However, they are increasingly facing pressures from overfishing, climate change, sea level rise, and more environmental factors. To better understand how reefs might fare in the coming century, we will look to understand how reefs have coped with ever changing environments over the last few thousand years.
How to
register: As usual with most of our events, admission
is FREE to this talk, but you MUST register beforehand as places are strictly limited.
Log-on details will be
issued nearer the time to those who register.
More details: You can find out more details on our website here.
We look forward to welcoming you this fascinating talk on Wednesday evening, 5 July 2023.
28/03/2023
ORRCA talk April 2023
Alan McCabe of the Blackwater Catchment Trust will give a talk on Local Solutions for Local Water Quality - a cross border initiative.
he talk will take place at the Spirit Store Dundalk Docks 7:30 to 9:00pm on the 7th April 2023.
15/11/2022
Cavan Monaghan Science Festival
A number of Cavan Monaghan Science Festival water-themed webinars that are currently available to view for a limited time only. These cover topics such as invasive species & native woodlands and are available to watch back until Sunday 20th November when the festival concludes. Links for watching the sessions back can be found below.
link to register for our final water-themed webinar taking place this evening, 7pm Tuesday 15th November, exploring alternative solutions to mitigating flood risk in our river catchments can be also found below.
Invasive Alien Species by the Waterside [Recording]
Watch recording here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/invasive
Ancient Woodlands & Water [Recording]
Watch recording here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/woodlands
Natural Flood Management
This presentation will introduce the concept of ‘Natural Flood Management’ with Dr. Mary Bourke from Trinity College Dublin, explore some of the ways we can manage flood risk more sensitively across our river catchments and examine how the Inishowen Rivers Trust have been implementing measures on the ground in Co. Donegal with Trish Murphy of Inishowen Rivers Trust.
When: 7.00pm Tuesday 15th November
Where: Online - Crowdcast
More information & registration: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/naturalflood
08/11/2022
Finding the One - 7:30 Tuesday 8th November - Spirit Store
This is an illustrated talk by Peter Phillips about finding those spectacular rarities, mostly found on Irelands west coast following major Atlantic weather events. Peter was lucky enough to connect with a few of these trans Atlantic vagrants over the autumn and will tell the story of how.
Entry is free and all are welcome!
11/10/2022
Little terns Baltray 2022 - Franck Ar Moenner
Franck will give an illustrated talk on the little tern season at Baltray in 2022 this evening Tuesday 11th October 2022 in the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, at 7:30pm. Franck, who hails from Brittany in France, did a fantastic job on the site at Baltray with over 100 birds fledged (he will present the final numbers during the talk). Franck is an entertaining speaker with loads of anecdotes from his work on similar projects in France in the past.
Entry is free and all are welcome!
Breffni