A need to connect to mother nature is present in all of us and the sooner we take advantage of her in all her glory, the better we will be for it.
Whatever your reason, watching wildlife can be good for you in so many ways, especially if you have an abundance of what the natural world has to offer in your local areas.
Here are 9 destinations across Northern Ireland where you can go to watch or be near wildlife without needing to travel too far:
9. Isle Namanfin, County Fermanagh
Another County Fermanagh gem, Isle Namanfin is one of the few Northern Irish locations to find the rare ivy broomrape, a plant known for parasiting the roots of ivy. Alongside the impressive and slightly ominous greenery, another uncommon feature of this island is its buckthorn pygmy habitat, which houses an extremely unique leaf-mining micro-mouth. Whilst there is no public access due to the size and isolated nature of the land, different wildlife can still be seen from a distance, but you might have to squint quite hard to see some of the tiny creatures it is home for. For more information, go to ulsterwildlife.org/nature-reserves/isle-namanfin Photo: pexels