Madam, – May I congratulate your photographer, Dara Mac Dónaill on his excellent photograph, with the power of the bird bringing life to the Front page (August 10th). Well done. More please. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – It was a joy to see the fantastic photograph of the kestrel (Front page, August 10th), taken by photographer Dara Mac Dónaill, over Dollymount Strand. It captured the essence of the predatory nature of these birds in an instant. Well done to the artist! However, in the caption with the image, it is stated that kestrels tend to feed on small insects and birds. In fact, the main diet of these raptors are small rodents such as mice, rats, shrews etc, although they do at times take small birds, worms and insects when the necessity or opportunity arises. Readers should also keep an eye out for merlins in the Dollymount area in the wintertime; these small falcons (similar to the kestrel) leave the uplands to spend the winter in the coastal areas, hunting the smaller waders and other birds. – Is mise,