Flora
Western blanket bog and heathland are the most common vegetation of Connemara National Park. The boglands are situated in the wet low lying environments whereas the blanket bog exists within the drier mountain atmosphere. Purple moorgrass is the most bountiful plant, creating colorful landscapes throughout the country side. Carnivorous plants play an important role in the park's ecosystem, the most common being sundew and butterworts trap. Bogs hold very little nutrients so many plants obtain their energy from the digestion of insects. Other common plants include lousewort, bog cotton, milkwort, bog asphodel, orchids and bog myrtle, with a variety of lichens and mosses.
Fauna
Connemara National Park is noted for its diversity of bird life. Common song birds include meadow pipits, skylarks, stonechats, chaffinches, robins and wrens. Native birds of prey include the kestrel and Eurasian Sparrowhawk with the merlin and peregrine falcon being seen less frequently. Woodcock, snipe, starling, song thrush, mistle thrush, redwing and fieldfare migrate to Connemara during the winter.
|
