Current view: Text account
Site description (2009 baseline):
Site location and context
The land rises to moorland hills of Slievecallan and Ben Dash. Surrounding land is a mix of pasture, silage and coniferous habitats. There is very little settlement. Areas become increasingly rural away from the coast. The uplands are very exposed, valleys contained but unenclosed. It is an upland area, composed of hills with quite extensive plateaux in parts. Broad valleys are found between upland areas and are aligned northeast-southwest.
Peats are the most common soil type with gleys in lower areas and very limited pockets of brown earths. The area is extensively afforested, largely with coniferous plantations. This is interspersed with blanket bog and marshy areas, and quite large amounts of more recent planting. Land use on the lower areas is a mixture of pasture and silage production. Doon Lough is the largest water body within the area..
Recent planting of plantation forestry appears to be benefitting Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: West Clare Uplands (Ireland). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/west-clare-uplands-iba-ireland on 28/12/2024.
