HERONS are mostly solitary birds, spotted in among the reeds alongside a slow-flowing river, or knee-deep in a rock pool along the coast.
They are tall and elegant, standing stock still and when they move it is with the slow precision of a master hunter until with a dart of the head they skewer their prey on their long bills and eat it.
Shy birds, they will take off if you get too close or even make a sudden movement while watching them. Except in the suburbs of Dublin, it seems.
Tallaght is not the first place that springs to mind when you think of going birdwatching, particularly when trying to spot such a shy species. Separated from the capital by the M50, it is a commuter town of housing estates, blocks of continental-style apartments, shopping outlets and the soccer stadium home ground of Shamrock Rovers.
In among this urban sprawl is Sean Walsh Memorial Park, a long narrow strip of woodland, green areas and children’s play areas alongside a small river and man-made lakes.
But on the banks of these lakes and sitting on the branches of the trees were dozens of herons, just a few metres from the paths where people were walking, running and kids were playing.
It was almost surreal to see so many grouped together. During a summer visit I counted seven in one tree – and herons are big birds, so the branches were sagging beneath them. Others stood in huddles along the shores of the lakes, nonplussed as ducks and swans scurried over the water’s surface to see what offerings were being tossed by passers-by for them to feast upon.
In among the reeds I saw a little white egret, a north African cousin of the Irish grey heron which have been only breeding in Ireland since the late 1990s.
Bringing nature back into urban settings is something this column has championed over the past three years and there can be no doubt about the huge psychological benefits it has brought to people living in towns and cities in recent months.
There is a movement towards re-wilding some of our urban green areas simply by taking a less controlling approach and creating spaces where nature can get on with its thing.
One of the pioneers was The Don't Mow, Let It Grow project initiative at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Fives areas were set aside at Riverside Park in the centre of Ballymoney and allowed to grow wild – carefully trimmed grass was replaced with wild orchids, eyebright, clover, irises, buttercups and bluebells.
Roadways in the council area were cut just once a year and then allowed to grow wild, providing habitats for hoverflies, butterflies and bees. Insects are pollinators for around three quarters of wild plants in Ireland and a thriving insect population is a vital food source for higher up the food chain.
The scheme has also been adopted by other council areas.
On the downside the charity Sustrans says Northern Ireland has the lowest level of official investment in walking and cycling routes in the UK.
Sustrans Northern Ireland director Caroline Bloomfield said: "The new coalition government in the Republic of Ireland has committed to investing €360 million per year over the next five years on walking and cycling – £66 per head or 20 per cent of its transport budget.
"With this differential in spending you can see how Northern Ireland is being left behind. Essentially, if you live in Fermanagh funding for walking and cycling is 33 times less than if you live just across the border in Monaghan."
