Timahoe Esker is a national nature reserve of approximately located in

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

, Ireland. It is managed by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service.

Features

Timahoe Esker was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1985. It is also deemed to be a site of County Geological Significance by the

Geological Survey of Ireland Geological Survey Ireland or Geological Survey of IrelandS.I. No. 300/2002 - Communications, Energy and Geological Survey of Ireland (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( ga, Suirbhéireacht Gheolaíochta ...

. Timahoe Esker, with Richmond Esker, is one of only a small number of

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...

ridges that remain in Ireland and that have native woodland. The area was planted with conifers in 1963. The woodland is made up of ash,

pedunculate oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

and

grey willow Grey willow or gray willow may refer to: *''Salix atrocinerea'', a species of willow native to Europe commonly called grey willow *''Salix cinerea'', a species of willow native to Europe and western Asia, also occasionally called grey sallow *''Sal ...

with

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

and hawthorn. Other flora on the site include

bugle The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure. History The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...

, shield fern, and bluebells.

Long-tailed tit The long-tailed tit (''Aegithalos caudatus''), also named long-tailed bushtit, is a common bird found throughout Europe and the Palearctic. The genus name ''Aegithalos'' was a term used by Aristotle for some European tits, including the long-tail ...

s nest on the site.

Buckthorn ''Rhamnus'' is a genus of about 110 accepted species of shrubs or small trees, commonly known as buckthorns, in the family Rhamnaceae. Its species range from tall (rarely to ) and are native mainly in east Asia and North America, but found thr ...

blue fleabane ''Erigeron acer'' is a widespread herbaceous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Common names include bitter fleabane and blue fleabane. The species is native to Canada, colder parts of the United States, northern, central, and southeastern ...

and

carline thistle ''Carlina vulgaris'', the carline thistle, is a plant species of the genus '' Carlina''. It is a biennial that grows on limestone, chalky or other alkaline grasslands or dunes. The flowers are clusters of very small brown florets surrounded by br ...

are also found on the site. Timahoe Esker is one of the few extant eskers in County Laois that was not extensively quarried for sand and gravel. Only two of the five esker high ridge segments at Timahoe are intact. The ridges were deposited at the end of the last Ice Age under and at the withdrawing margins of the ice sheet. Four segments of the esker are also Natural Heritage Areas, number 000421. There is a 1 km walk along the site, known as the Esker Walk.

References

{{Reflist Geography of County Laois Forests and woodlands of the Republic of Ireland Nature reserves in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Laois Eskers