Longford shooting club introduce bio-diversity programmes at The Mall

The Mall in Longford town is an important green area providing a vital social, community and recreational space.
The area was originally known as Abbeycartron Avenue, by the late 1700s it people started to refer to it as The Mall.

It features a looped 2.6km walking trail on gravel paths in a beautifully landscaped park on the banks of the river Camlin. The wildlife sanctuary in the centre of the park is home to different species of wild duck.

The park affords local residents the opportunity to connect with nature and with their community, while offering visitors to the town a quiet space to relax.
The wild fowl that inhabit the park are there thanks to the efforts of a number of community members. Work by Philo Kelly to keep it as a recreational space, and others to enhance it have made The Mall what it is today.

For over four decades Templemichael Shooting and Conservation Club has actively contributed to wildlife conservation in Longford. Apart from releasing pheasants and mallard in the wild each year, they run a continuous predator control programme.
Their bio-diversity programmes include canal nesting boxes and they have added to that with the latest initiative.

Among those who pioneered the encouragement of wild fowl at The Mall were Mickey and Anne Duke, Tony Carberry, Sean Kenny, and the late Eamon Glennon. At first the pond was protected by a pole and wire structure. Over time it grew, with native and rare birds making it their home.
In the last number of years there have been setbacks. Dogs attacks on the ducks, and predators like magpie, hooded crows, rats, foxes and the invasive mink, have all impacted on breeding.

Last Saturday, March 16, Templemichael Shooting and Conservation Club was given permission by the Longford County Council to place duck nest tubes, hand made by the club. Among those who lent their skills to the construction of the nest tubes were Cillian Carberry, grandson of Tony, and John McDermott’s daughters Darci and Robyn.

The tubes are a Dutch idea that can be lifesavers for breeding Mallards. They help deter the effect of predators, cutting loss by up to 80%.
The migratory birds mainly come from Scandinavia to winter here before returning back to Scandinavia to breed in the summer months. Templemichael Shooting and Conservation club’s affiliation body the NARGC recently donated €25,000 through the waterfowlers network SOTKA project.

The Templemichael Shooting Club efforts in conservation programs have kept our wild birds in a healthy place, not just by rearing them but also by providing protection in the areas where they breed.