 |
Bird Life in the Park
|
In all, 141 species of birds have been recorded in Killarney National Park to date. Some of these are resident, some are migrants, spending only part of the year here, whilst others occur as vagrants, appearing sporadically for such reasons as stormy weather conditions or unusually cold spells on the continent. The wide variety of habitat types present within the National Park is one reason for the great diversity of bird life found here, from waterfowl to woodland birds to birds of mountain and moorland. Common summer visitors include the Swallow, Swift and Cuckoo, which migrate northwards from Africa during the summer months to avail of the more temperate Irish climate. Southwest Ireland is, however, probably more important as a wintering ground for species which travel from higher latitudes to escape the harsh arctic winter. Such species include the Redwing, Fieldfare, Golden Plover and waterfowl such as Teal, Goldeneye, Wigeon, Pochard and Whooper Swan. |
White Tailed Eagle
Photo Paudie O'Leary
|
The most important of our winter visitors is the small flock of Greenland White-fronted Geese which spend the winter months grazing on some of the bogs in the Killarney valley. This is virtually the last remaining flock in Co. Kerry, and the only flock in the country whose bogland feeding ground occurs almost entirely within a protected area. A long-term study is underway to establish management practices which will aid the continued survival of this flock. Other noteworthy species include the Peregrine Falcon (which nests on isolated mountain crags), the Ring Ouzel, the Chough, the Nightjar and the Osprey, which sometimes passes through the Park as it migrates between Northern Africa and Scandinavia (past accounts and place names suggest that the Osprey almost certainly bred here in the past). Golden Eagles also nested in the National Park up until approximately the turn of the century, but finally became extinct due to a combination of persecution, disturbance and nest robbing. White tailed eagles were introduced into the wild in Killarney National Park in August 2007. The chicks had been brought from Norway in June and were reared in special pens in the National Park. By the Spring of 2008 twelve of the birds had survived and had been recorded as far east as Waterford and as far north as Galway. Apart from the species mentioned here, all the common bird species one would expect in an area such as this are also present in Killarney National Park. The National Park implements a series of census and ringing programmes in order to increase our knowledge of the bird life in the area, for example to discover how far migrant species travel and so on. |
Ringing a Female Blackcap
Photo Paudie O'Leary
|
A full account of bird life in the Park and the ongoing ringing studies can be obtained by reading "The Birds of Killarney National Park" by Terry Carruthers, which is available from Muckross House. |
