While driving home from Letterkenny recently I noticed a very large bird hovering over an area of boggy land close to a river. The bird eventually swerved off but remained in the general area, soaring high and circling effortlessly in a spiralling pattern with barely a wing beat. Using the binoculars I was able to see a yellowish/golden colour on its back and wings. The underside appeared dark brown but was difficult to make out with the glare of the sun. It had a large hooked yellow beak and while circling the wing tips were spread. At one point a sparrowhawk actually gave chase to this large intruder, but eventually gave up. Could this bird be an golden eagle or buzzard?
- Siobhan Montgomery, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Buzzards are now established in Donegal, so it could well have been one. It is difficult to identify it definitively without more detail. A golden eagle may occasionally wander over from Scotland, but they rarely hover and they tend to hunt over the remote high ground of mountains.
In mid-May I saw a beautiful turtle-dove at my bird table. It spent 20 minutes feeding on seeds and grain. Am I correct in thinking that this bird is not all that common on the western seaboard?
- Michael Gallagher, Roundstone, Co Galway
It is a scarce passage migrant and most birds are seen in west Cork with scattered sightings in other mainly eastern counties. One was seen in Galway at Ballyconneely in September 1997.
In the hot sunny days of mid May large shoals of fish were basking in the River Lee south channel at low tide. An old boatman mending a rowboat on the quay opposite Buckingham Place told me they were bream and "Tis a great sign of the weather. It'll be good now up 'til October. You'll see me in short pants."
- Jeremiah Kelly, Pouladuff Road, Cork
Edited by Michael Viney, who welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo. e-mail: viney@anu.ie. Observations sent by email should be accompanied by postal address as location is sometimes important to identification or behaviour.