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Glendowns Pond

Laois  >  Ireland

A small man-made lake with a surprising amount of bird diversity and an excellent spot to photograph Обыкновенный зимородок.

Added* by Luke Lambert
Most recent update 28 января 2026

Description

Glendowns Pond is a small man-made lake next to Glendowns estate in Portlaoise with a surprising amount of birdlife and a great place for wildlife photography. Обыкновенный зимородок, Кряква and Камышница are all resident and breed here. Серая цапля and Малая белая цапля breed in the mature trees surrounding the pond. These mature trees also play host to many smaller birds, including breeding Желтоголовый королёк and Серая мухоловка. Other species that can be seen include Славка-черноголовка, Теньковка, Пеночка-весничка, Ополовник, Снегирь and occasionally, Обыкновенная пищуха.

Spring and early summer is the best time to see the most amount of species. Winter is also of interest as there is a huge corvid roost in the trees surrounding the pond, with thousands of Галка and Грач coming in from the countryside and the rest of town to sleep together which makes for a quite a spectacle on cold calm evenings!

Канюк and Перепелятник occasionally pass through, as do Сапсан, who can often be seen on the nearby St. Peter and Pauls' Church. Сипуха has also been seen and heard here at night and may even breed close by.

A Красноголовый королёк was seen here for a number of weeks in 2025 and may have even bred, typifying the importance of the mature trees around the pond and the surprises that can be unearthed here!

Details

Access

Glendowns Pond is located in Portlaoise. Its possible to park right next to the pond in Glendowns estate. The local bus (PL2) stops opposite the estate and the pond is also less than a kilometre from the main street of Portlaoise.

Terrain and Habitat

Pond , City/village , Scattered trees and bushes

Conditions

Flat

Circular trail

No

Is a telescope useful?

No

Good birding season

Summer , Winter , Spring

Best time to visit

Spring

Route

Paved road , Unpaved road

Difficulty walking trail

Easy

Accessible by

Foot , Bicycle , Car , Wheelchair

Birdwatching hide / platform

No

Extra info

Works in recent years have taken place to improve the water quality and habitats in the pond and there are further plans in place that could potentially attract further waterbirds to the pond in the near future.

View other birding spots in the area that are published on Birdingplaces

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