Other Birds
Barn Swallows / Fáinleag
There are lots of different families of birds so here are a few more that we chose to highlight but not pigeonhole (the bird puns are just too easy!) into the groups above. Some birds are surrounded by nostalgia or folklore. Two that stand out are the Cuckoo (Cuach) and the Corncrake (Traonach). Both have iconic calls that herald the arrival of spring or hark of bygone days. Arriving from West Africa, the distinctive ‘coo-kooo’ (or often more of a ‘wuh-kooo’) recalls lore stating “The cuckoo comes in April. She sings her song in May. In the middle of June she changes her tune and in July she flies away”. The repetitive ‘crex-crex’ of the corncrake was once a familiar call but has now been lost from much of our landscape. This small, shy bird needs habitats of nettle beds, meadows, and tall crops, so the changes in our land usage have left them with few places of refuge in Ireland.
A group of birds that signal the changing seasons for many are the hirundines – swallows, swifts and martins. Seeing your first and last of the year is a ritual for those who perhaps have them nesting around their homes or farm buildings. These aerobatic speedsters undertake epic migrations, crossing continents to arrive here on Iveragh to time their nesting with our spring/summer increase in insects. Their departure months later coincides with the air feeling crisper, the sun dipping lower in the evenings, and the leaves fading from green to gold. Our birds coming and going, singing and nesting, have been our seasonal guides for generations. Long may it continue.
Wheatear / Clochrán
Meadow Pipit / Riabhóg mhóna
Male Stonechat / Caislín dearg fireann
Female Stonechat / Caislín dearg baineann
Grey Wagtail / Glasóg liath
Pied Wagtail / Siubháinín an bhóthair
House Martin / Gabhlán binne
Sand martin / Gamhlán gainimh
Swallow / Fáinleog
