Away from the election battleground, a spate of killings took place at Leinster House last weekend. It emerged yesterday that a number of ducklings, who were living in the pool at the back of Leinster House, had disappeared after presumably being killed by predators.
Ducks have been visiting the pool for the past three years, and when concerned Oireachtas staff highlighted their plight, arrangements were made to remove them. An Oireachtas spokesperson said they were advised to leave the ducklings with their mother as long as possible, but on Sunday it was discovered that only one young duckling and its mother remained.
The main suspects in the Leinster House killings, according to some sources, are local magpies. Already linked with robbery, bullying and murder, the magpie certainly has a bad reputation.
"It would be a common problem, because they're a food source," said a spokeswoman for the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA). "Magpies are predators that need prey so they attack nests, eat eggs and the young, and quite often they will attack ducklings."
Ducklings are easy targets for several predators. "They have it quite tough because they can be attacked by crows, herons, magpies, cats and rats," she said.
In spite of the dangers, it is the habit of ducks to return to the same place each year to lay eggs.
The DSPCA ends up caring for about 50 to 100 ducklings during spring and summer.
The DSPCA can be contacted on (01) 493 5502.