Shannon Callows

These areas lie between Athlone in County Westmeath, where the river flows out of Lough Ree, and Portumna in County Galway, where it enters Lough Derg, in central Ireland.

The shallow grade of the river here results in occasional flooding of the Callows.

[2] The Irish Wildlife Trust has a "callow reserve" on Bullock Island in County Offaly.

Sections of Callow at higher elevation and therefore less prone to flooding have a greater diversity of plants, in particular clover, creeping buttercup, cuckoo flower, marsh bedstraw, marsh marigold, meadow grass, meadowsweet, sedge and water mint.

[5] The area was one of the most important breeding areas for corncrakes in Ireland and the local farmers supported a project to mow the callows later in the summer to give the birds the chance to rear a second brood.