The Flora and Fauna of the Milltown area

The flora and fauna of the Milltown area are rich and diverse, which is not surprising when one considers the wide range of different habitats to be found in the region. There is bog land, marshland, river, estuary, streams, groves and within the town itself, old walled gardens and waste ground. Each of these supports a specific form of animal, bird, pant and insect life.

The pre-dominantly coniferous woodlands of Kilderry and Keelacloghane are homes to badgers, foxes, stoats, rabbits, wood mice and pygmy shrews. The occasional red squirrel may be observed and rarely, a Red or Sika deer from Killarney. The colourful Jay bird and nocturnal long-eared Owl live in the woodlands, as a well as a host of other species including the migrant Chiffchaff, Siskin, Woodcock, Redpoll and Treecreeper. Attractive carpets of Wood Anemone, Wood Sorrell and Bluebell cover the ground in late Spring and early Summer.

In the bog lands of Dromin and Nauntinane you will find the hare, the pheasant and the tuneful Lark. In the balmy evenings of late summer, the stillness of the bogs are broken by the drumming of the Snipe - a spectacular display this, the loud ticking of the green Grasshopper and for the cover of plant infested streams, the piercing wail of the secretive Water Rail - a close relative of the rare Corncrake. The bogs are a blaze of colour from late Spring to Early Autumn. The yellow furze is abundant, Wild Orchids, Heathers, Yellow Iris and Bog Cotton are a few of the many plants found here. This is also home to the insect-eating Sundew and Butterwort plants.

The river Maine estuary is home to thousands of birds, mainly ducks and waders, from late Autumn to early Spring. Numerous ducks in winter include: Mallard, Teal, Wigeon and Shellduck.Waders include: Lapwing, Plovers, Dunlin, Curlew, Snipe, Oystercatchers, Sedge Warbler, Common Sandpiper. Summer visitors include: Kingfisher and Barn Owl. If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the otter, bank vole or American Mink. Snow Geese have occasionally been spotted and Common seals can also be seen in early Autumn. The area is awash with colour from April to October. Among the many wildflowers are yellow kingcups, michaelmas daisies, seapinks, yellow iris and ragged robin.

Milltown can also lay claim to a number of unusual or rare plants. A subfertile variety of raspberry is plentiful on the Canal Bank Abbeylands. The yellow Welsh Poppy can be found on the margins of the road to Woodville while further west near the stream by the bridge there is a colony of three cornered leek.

Margot Lawlor, keen local bird-watcher has recorded the following common birds of Milltown:
Blackbird, chaffinch, hooded crow, dipper, dunnock, goldcrest, greenfinch, jackdaw, kingfisher, mallard, mistle thrush, barn owl, wood pigeon, robin, skylark, house sparrow, sparrow hawk, stonechat, swan, coal tit, grey wagtail, wren, siskin, bullfinch, cormorant, cuckoo, collared dove, fieldfare, goldfinch, heron, kestrel, magpie, house martin, song thrush, pheasant, meadow pipit, rook, snipe, tree sparrow, starling, swallow, blue tit, great tit, pied wagtail, redwing, swift.

Killderry Wood is one of the choicest of our state forests, a mile or so west of Milltown on the Killorglin road. It was here the early Cromwellian planters including the Godfrey family, made their first homes. The good clean land of the district rolls in soft low green hills to the west and to the north the terrain falls abruptly giving a superb view of the Maine valley with its winding reaches and silver bright estuary. Beyond the valley is the immeme intense blue of Sliabh Mish - it is truly ramblers country. One such rambler in his youth was Robert Turner Eager who lived well over 100 years ago. He wrote the song “The Hills of Kilderry” – it is an emigrant song, nostalgic, remembering the sights and scenes of childhood and youth:

The Hills of Killderry

Away down in Kilderry, where oft in my childhood,
I roamed through your woods with a heart free form care,
And gathered the fruits from the vines in the wild woods,
And plucked the wild roses perfuming the air.
And often at evening when homeward returning,
I watched the sun setting beyond the blue vale,
And oh, with what joy my young heart was burning,
As I hoped in Killderry I would always remain.

How delightful to walk through the fields of Kilderry,
When the sun in the west sheds its rays o’er the scent, And the boatmen of Lurga are crossing the ferry
And casting their nets in the rushy Tureen.
That serpentine river with its silvery waters,
Moves calm and serene through valley and swamp,
Further off in the twilight the far-distant mountain,
Could be seen from Kilderry on the high road to Camp.

In a cluster of trees by the hills of Kilderry,
Stands the old abbey ruin with its ivy-clad walls,
Where the poplar, the elm, the oak and wild cherry,
Around that old Abbey grown stately and tall.
Kind nature’s wild flowers in profusion have gown there,
O’er the graves which are marked by a cross at each head,
And the evergreen palms that for ages have grown there,
Stand like sentinels guarding the homes of the dead.

Yet whenever I wander I think of Kilderry,
Though the waves of the ocean between us do swell,
So I’ll now bid adieu to the Kingdom of Kerry,
And charming Kilderry for ever farewell.

Robert Turner Eager

(Lurriga and Turreen are place names along the River Maine, favourites fishing grounds for the fishermen of Callinafercy).