The unique birdwatching scene here in Dundalk

Gerry O'Neill earns a crust cutting hair at his well-known barbers shop on Peter Street ‘down the Quay’ in Dundalk.

But when he's not chewing the fat with his customers or waving scissors and comb over heads, he can mostly be found down the Navvy Bank, just a short distance away.

Although 65-years-old now, birdwatching isn't something Gerry stumbled into in recent times as impending retirement beckoned. It goes back a good bit further, he says.

"I have always been interested in nature, art and photography and in about 1990 a birder friend of mine showed me what you could see around County Louth and helped me choose some good optics or binoculars to use."

A ‘birder’, in case you're wondering, is the term for a birdwatcher. Gerry says that there are about ten dedicated 'birders' in the area and there's plenty more casual 'hobbyists' - who are always welcome too.

The Navvy Bank, the docks, Soldiers Point and Dundalk Bay in general has a national reputation as an outstanding area in which to birdwatch, mainly because it is a prominent feeding area for overwintering waders, of "international importance", Gerry adds.

"With large numbers of waders coming to feed in the area, sometimes very rare birds turn up now and again such as the short-billed dowitcher."

According to Gerry, the aforementioned Dowitcher, which has been spotted in recent weeks in the Dundalk Bay area, is not a natural visitor to the country, with only four previous recorded sightings of the bird across Ireland.

Gerry believes the Dowitcher is likely to have been blown off-course while migrating from the US by a recent hurricane and landed on the Navvy Bank.

The birdwatching scene in Dundalk is one which draws 'birders' from all over the country these days. At the weekend, it is not uncommon to see folk with folding chairs and binoculars sitting on the edge of the docks close to the Spirit Store. Ask them where they are from and you'll get a quick geography lesson - Skerries, Wicklow, Antrim - the place certainly has a growing reputation.

For the local birders, the scene caters for those with both a passing and more profound interest.

"We have a branch of Birdwatch Ireland in Louth, which has a meeting (a slide show with talks etc.) the first Tuesday of every month upstairs in the Spirit Store, with free entry and all our welcome," explains Gerry.

So, where exactly are the best sites?

"Birdwatching sites in County Louth are many," Gerry explains, "from the Cooley coastal area of Carlingford, Ballaghan and Giles Quay to Dundalk docks, Lurgangreen and Clogherhead.

"Most bird watching is done along the coast where you can see a bigger variety of birds."

Even for the more, ahem, ‘sedentary’ people out there, Gerry also keeps his Twitter account updated regularly with fresh sightings.

As is the overriding concern for many these days, environmental issues are something Gerry understands in the context of his passion.

"Environmental worries, for me, would be the destruction of good habitat," he warns.

One way to combat that, Gerry feels, is to get more people interested and involved. To make locals realise just what they have on their doorstep, so they won't take it for granted, and assume it will always be here.

The local birders are an open and approachable lot, according to Gerry: "We have a hide-out at Lurgangreen which can be used by anyone - the keys can be got from the shop at the Greengates (Dublin Road, across from the turn for Blackrock). (There's) another hideout at Soldiers Point and we hope to have another one at Bellurgan/Ballymac estuary."

Gerry's passion for birdwatching is unquestionable. He wants to spread the 'good word' and it is clear that he would happily go out of his way to accommodate anyone and everyone. It's a crusade.

As for the Short Billed Dowitcher, when and where is the best place to spot this particular feathered rarity?

"For anyone looking to see it, it's best seen two or three hours before or after high tide on the Navvy Bank around where the new SS Dundalk monument is - on the Dundalk side of the water plant.

"You would need at least a pair of binoculars, or just ask any birders on the Navvy Bank, who, I am sure would be happy to show anyone interested in seeing it."

Indeed they would.