{"id":3650,"date":"2020-03-16T13:39:36","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T13:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cliffsofmoher.ie\/?p=3650"},"modified":"2023-02-16T14:54:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T14:54:18","slug":"spring-has-sprung-at-cliffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cliffsofmoher.ie\/en\/spring-has-sprung-at-cliffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring has sprung\u2026."},"content":{"rendered":"We sadly closed our site to visitors on 14<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0March due to the pandemic. In the\u00a0<\/span>meantime<\/span>\u00a0Mother nature has been weaving her magic with abandon and gusto and the site is blooming in every aspect. Life for our flora and fauna is flourishing and in the absence of humans, Mother nature has filled the void. The weather has been unseasonably fine for this time of year which has given a helping hand to nature \u2013 flowers arch toward the sun, sea birds indulge in elaborate and time honoured mating rituals, lambs gambol in the fields under the watchful eye of their mothers,\u00a0 nature is in its Spring ascendancy and it truly beautiful to witness\u00a0 our natural world become fecund and animated again\u2026..<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
THE BIRDS<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\r\nSpring at the Cliffs of Moher see the annual arrival of a plethora of seabirds who choose the wonderful peaceful and safe environment of the Cliffs to raise their young each year.\u00a0<\/span>Without travelling <\/span>over the sea to one of our offshore islands there is no better place to view seabirds in numbers than at the Cliffs of Moher.\u202f Over 30,000 pairs of nesting seabirds can be seen during the nesting period from April to<\/span>\r\n\r\nJuly with the months of May and June particularly impressive.\u202f The abundance of nesting sites along the cliff edges and the ability to view these from the cliff top paths make it easy for all to access this natural spectacle. The\u00a0Cliffs is designated a special protected area (SPA) for birds under the EU <\/span>birds<\/span>\u00a0directive and we are fortunate to attract internationally important numbers of guillemot and razorbill as well as significant numbers of puffins, kittiwakes and fulmar.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCurrently the birds are courting and nesting and soon the Cliff edges<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>stack\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0and Goats\u2019 island\u00a0<\/span>will become one giant nursery as the chicks hatch and mum and dad have to ensure they are fed, fledged and ready for fleeing the nests by late July.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\"Puffins\r\n\r\nThe seabird with the largest fan club is most likely the comical clown faced puffin \u2013 we are delighted that contrary to other locations throughout Europe, the numbers of puffins at the cliffs are increasing.\u00a0<\/span>Once paired off, puffins will generally stay with the same mate for life, returning to the burrow they dug together for subsequent mating seasons. The burrows are dug into soft\u00a0<\/span>soil, or<\/span>\u00a0are made from pre-existing holes in rocky shorelines. At the Cliffs Puffins choose to nest\u00a0<\/span>on\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Goat<\/span>\u00a0Island \u2013 the long low promontory below\u00a0<\/span>O\u2019Briens<\/span>\u00a0Tower.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe male and female will rub their beaks together, a practice known as \u201cbilling.\u201d Egg-laying season starts as early as April in more southern colonies, lasting into June for more northern groups.<\/span>\r\n\r\nPuffins lay one egg. If that initial egg is lost early enough in the breeding season, then sometimes a couple will produce another<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span>\u00a0egg hatches somewhere between 5 and 8 weeks. The parents then take turns flying out to catch multiple fish to bring back to the baby, which is known as a \u201c<\/span>puffling<\/span>.\u201d Puffins are one of the few birds that bring food back whole instead of eating it and then regurgitating it into the baby\u2019s mouth.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe baby is finally able to leave the burrow after 7 or 8 weeks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nPuffins live for about 20 years in the wild. The oldest known puffin lived to be 36 years old.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\"A\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOther seabirds that breed at the Cliffs of Moher include guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes, choughs and peregrine falcons. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nHope you enjoyed our\u00a0<\/span>overview of\u00a0<\/span>seabirds<\/span>\u00a0activities here at the\u00a0<\/span>Cliffs of Moher during lockdown and are heartened by nature continuing to enrich our lives with\u00a0<\/span>its<\/span>\u00a0bounty and beauty. We really miss our visitors and we will be ready with a huge \u201c<\/span>cead<\/span>\u00a0mile\u00a0<\/span>failte<\/span>\u201d when we re-open to you \u2013 we know we are blessed to live and work in such an incomparable and astounding area and really want to share it with you soon again<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn the\u00a0<\/span>meantime,<\/span>\u00a0please\u00a0<\/span>stay<\/span>\u00a0safe and well and look after yourselves and each other \u2013 we will meet soon<\/span>\u2026\u2026<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
\r\n
Traditional Irish Blessing<\/h5>\r\n
May the road\u00a0rise up\u00a0to meet you.\r\nMay the wind be always at your back.\r\nMay the\u00a0sun shine\u00a0warm upon your face;\r\nthe rains fall soft upon your fields\r\nand until we meet again<\/h6>\r\n\u00a0<\/span><\/blockquote>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We sadly closed our site to visitors on 14th\u00a0March due to the pandemic. In the\u00a0meantime\u00a0Mother nature has been weaving her magic with abandon and gusto and the site is blooming in every aspect. Life for our flora and fauna is flourishing and in the absence of humans, Mother nature has filled the void. The weather […]","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-66"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSpring has Sprung | Cliffs of Moher Experience<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mother nature has been weaving her magic with abandon and gusto and the site is blooming in every aspect.\" \/>\n<meta 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