While we conduct biodiversity walks on a regular basis through the summer months, yesterday’s was perhaps the nicest yet.

For one thing we had a beautiful warm, sunny day; so warm in fact that quite a few of those people booked went to the beach instead. This meant that we had a relatively small group of some dozen or 15 people. That’s actually okay in a way; smaller groups are both more manageable and intimate, we all enjoyed the occasion.

The other reason the walk was memorable was that it is a brand new biodiversity site in the town, we were keen to see what it looks like now and how it progresses over time. It also lies at the extreme North-western end of the town and effectively extends our biodiversity corridor as far as Ardgillan.

The Hamilton Hill Estate is a relative new-build, and house construction was completed a few years ago; the tidying up and landscaping work continues and at the time of writing is just about complete. Part of the site could not be built on because it’s an old landfill and was thus spared development. Instead Fingal County Council had it turned into an amenity area which includes a basketball court and an extensive wildflower meadow.

The somewhat dated satellite image below shows the area clearly; the brown area at bottom right which doesn’t yet show the basketball court next to the road and the meadow running up the slope to the railway line.

The meadow was seeded with wildflowers some time last year which means that this will be its first full year in flower. While the seeds obviously took very well, there was very little flora showing this early except masses of Oxeye daises; good for pollinators but not of very much interest to the Bumblebees which we were looking for. Between all 15 of us I think we found a paltry three! Not to worry; the other wildflowers will soon be in bloom.

From here we walked North-west to the other, slightly smaller brown area, where we found a different story. Below is a closer look:

More bare earth can clearly be seen. Quite why it was bulldozed, levelled and left no-one seems to know, but that’s what happened. Wildflowers quickly recolonised it from the natural seedbank that was there in the soil all along, and today it looks like this…

Sustainable Skerries member Miriam had brought her two children and husband along, and it was Cormac who stole the show with a photo, using his phone, taking a picture of two Hoverflies making some more Hoverflies:

It may seem strange to think that bulldozing an area into submission ultimately encourages wildlife but in this case that’s exactly what has happened. Wildflowers are outcompeted by heavy grass or woody plants such as Gorse and Bramble and have to patiently wait their chance for some sort of disturbance. In days gone by this disturbance would have been provided by the likes of Wild Boar digging or large herbivores churning up the ground. They’re long gone; here heavy machinery has done the job instead.

If left alone this area will eventually return to Gorse and Bramble. A good management regime might be to divide the area up and actually bulldoze different sections in rotation. Those decisions are not up to me but one would hope that FCC will do the right thing to preserve it.

In the meantime nature is being given a chance, people and their dogs (if they have one) can use the space, and children can chase Butterflies or, if they’re brave enough, catch Bumblebees in jam jars.

The next Biodiversity Walk will take place on Fri 7 June, 7 pm. It’s part of our First Fridays for Future series.
And maybe you can join us for a “Pint for the Planet” afterwards! (Location to be decided after the walk.)