Just weeks after the restoration works were completed, the first signs of life are returning to Glashapullagh. Pools are forming behind the dams, frogs have begun spawning, and wintering snipe are feeding in the soft mud.
The site still looks a bit messy — bare peat, fresh timber, and churned ground are everywhere. But beneath the surface, things are changing. Water is being held in the drains for the first time in decades. The peat is beginning to soak it up like a sponge.
We installed acoustic monitors and trail cameras this week to begin recording what species are using the site. Over the coming months we expect to see insects colonising the pools, vegetation creeping across the bare peat, and with luck, breeding birds returning.
Recovery takes time, but at Glashapullagh, it has begun.