Nature Discovery
The team at Ballygarry Estate Hotel continue to conserve and protect the wildlife population. Our gardens are maintained with wildlife conservation in mind, with native plants being used to create a haven for local wildlife.
Return To Nature
Wet grassland meadows are among the most important habitats on the island of Ireland. Our team at Ballygarry Estate endeavors to be guided by our landscape in how we develop and care for this unique and evolving ecosystem.
By a combination of conscious neglect and careful management, we set out to restore the species-rich grassland through natural regeneration. An emphasis on re-creating the land’s uncultivated state back to its natural beauty and ever-changing displays of colour that evolve throughout the seasons.
The benefits of our grassland meadow extend far beyond their aesthetic appeal. They play a vital role in capturing and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Increasing biodiversity, offering a home for a wealth of flora and fauna, above and below ground. It supports a diversity of native plant species, and the extensive root systems of these native wildflowers help improve soil health and stability. This combines to generate a very naturalised aesthetic, contributing to the hotel’s landscape.
Over time and under our stewardship the native grassland meadow will heal itself, each year offering more variety of the old flowers and grasses whose seeds have lain dormant for years, offering you a rare window to a landscape now long forgotten, a beautiful reminder of nature’s beauty and bounty.
Wildlife in The Estate
Ballygarry Estate is home to a variety of wildlife, including birds, mammals, and insects. Here are some of the wildlife species that can be found throughout the estate:
- Birds of prey: Buzzard, Kestrels and Sparrowhawks can be seen soaring overhead or perched in the trees, including Barn Owls by night.
- Songbirds: Robins, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Sparrows, and Wrens are common visitors to the gardens and grasslands.
- Rabbits: Rabbits are abundant on the estate and can be seen hopping through the gardens and woodlands.
- Squirrels: Ireland’s elusive and beautiful Red squirrel. In time, Ballygarry’s planting of Scots pine will benefit this protected species as it is their favoured habitat and the seeds are their favoured food source.
- Butterflies: The estate’s gardens are home to a variety of butterfly species.
- Bees: Our on-site apiary is home to our own Honey Bees. You will also find Bumblebees in the hotel’s gardens, and not forgetting our reserve for the native Irish Black Bee.
- The Estate’s ponds are home to not only Ireland’s only native frog but also damselflies, dragonflies, pond skaters and whirligig beetles.
- Ravens: Super smart and cool, they’re a significant part of the Irish landscape and protected by the EU’s bird directive. ‘Look’ out for the conspiracy of ravens in Ballygarry Estate.
- Hedgehogs, Badgers and Foxes: have all been spotted around our Estate from dusk to dawn.
- Bats: Several species of bats have been known to roost within Ballyseedy Woods.