Wild waterland

Montiaghs Moss and Portmore Lough, Co Antrim

Lying just five minutes’ drive apart and managed by the same RSPB team – so treated here as a single site – are two hidden gems. The lowland raised bog of Montiaghs Moss has recently been restored following 19th-century peat extraction.

Explore the brand-new boardwalk and grassy pathways that weave between dark pools, damp meadows, willow carr and stately hedgerows. In May, the rare marsh fritillary flits between nectar-rich flowers. In June, another localised butterfly, cryptic wood white, frequents rough grassland, while scrutiny of the manifold dragonflies could reveal a fragile-looking Irish damselfly. Come July, star billing goes to Irish lady’s-tresses, a delicate swirling, ivory orchid.

At nearby Portmore Lough, many more dragonflies and damselflies dart, chase and hawk as you zigzag down another boardwalk to reach a hide overlooking the water. Here common terns plungedive before returning to their chicks with a fish supper.

Earlier in the year, Portmore’s spring air resounds with the territorial calls of breeding waders, for whose benefit wet grasslands are managed. Lapwings tumble through the air, calling out their country name – peewit! pee-wit! – while redshanks chivvy and snipes bleat. Tree sparrows peer nervously out of special nestboxes, while Irish hares scamper past as if late for a meeting.

In winter, the lough fills with wildfowl. Teal and tufted ducks rub shoulders with two visitors from Iceland – whooper swans and greylag geese – the latter compact, nervous birds quite unlike their raucous brethren.