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Our Feathered Friends
Franklin Township School, Quakertown, Clifton Hills Primary, Chattanooga and Mother of Divine Grace Primary School have been writing about their favourite birds and birds in their locality.
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There are many feathered visitors to our school and to our gardens. We have written about our favourites.
We took photographs in school to illustrate our stories and we downloaded some pictures from the internet when we didn't have a photograph. We have typed the url under each picture we downloaded.
All images of Irish stamps are from the An Post website. |
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Thrushes and Song Birds |
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The Blackbird (lon dubh)
The blackbird or lon dubh in Irish is a common garden bird. It is around 24-28cm long. The male is black with an orange bill and an orange ring around his eye. The female (céirseach) is brown with a dark bill. The blackbird belongs to the thrush family and eats worms, snails, slugs, insects, berries and fallen fruit. I see the blackbird in the school grounds and in my garden. Aisling
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Fieldfare (sacán)
www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/ bird-guide/fieldfare.htm
The Fieldfare is a large thrush which is 24-28cm in length. It has bright very spotted underparts. It is a common visitor to Ireland from Scandinavia and northern Europe and is usually seen in large flocks. They leave northern Europe in late autumn or early winter and fly to Ireland where the weather is milder. The Fieldfare eats insects, worms, slugs, berries and windfall fruits. Fieldfares visit our school around February. Christine
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The Song Thrush (smólach)
The thrush is normally seen in gardens and parks. It is brown with spotted underparts. The thrush builds its nest out of grass and leaves and then lines it with mud. The nest is built in a bush or low down in trees. In summer when the thrush wants to eat, it hammers a snail on to a rock to get its shell off. The thrush has a tuneful song and it repeats its song twice making it easy to recognise
Thrushes came to the school in autumn to eat the berries of the rowan tree. Ciara. |
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The Redwing (deargán sneachta )
www.percep.demon.co.uk/ birdstest/fiellist.htm
The Irish for redwing is deargán sneachta. It is a striking dark brown thrush with red patches under its wings. Its bill is dark with a yellow base. It is common all over the world. It feeds on berries, insects, worms and slugs. It’s a common winter visitor to our school. It travels south from Scandinavia because food is scarce there in the winter. It can be found in mixed thrush flocks and we see it in school during the winter months with fieldfares. Niamh |
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Starlings (druid)
www.thenaturecenter.org/ birds/starling.htm A starling is a common bird. It has black feathers, with green and blue sheens and many pales speckles. Its beak is pointed and is yellow in summer and gets darker in the winter. Starlings build their nests in trees. They can be found in parks. Starlings copy other bird’s songs, dog’s barks, telephone bells and they will even copy chickens. Flocks of starlings fly in a tight formation especially in winter. They eat insects, worms and slugs as well as grain fruit, berries and scraps. They like to eat in large flocks on the ground. We often see flocks of starlings in school. Leanne |
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The Crow Family |
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Jackdaw (cág)
Like the other crows the jackdaw (cág in Irish)is very cheeky and it will eat anything it can reach – slugs, snails, fruit, bread, rubbish and it will even steal eggs. The jackdaw’s nest is made out of sticks, wool and hair and he lays 3-6 eggs. His colour is shiny black except for his dark grey head. His beak and legs are black. His length is 30-34cm. You will usually see jackdaws in flocks with rooks. Jackdaws are very common. They can build their nests in chimneys.
I saw jackdaws out in the playground today and one was very unusual, his tail feathers were white! VANESSA |
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The Hooded Crow (feannóg)
www.izi-co.com/crow/ hooded/hooded3.htm
The hooded crow is a common large grey and black bird (45 to 50cms) with a dark thick set blunt bill. It has a black head with grey wings and a tail. It has a short black square tail. A hooded crow gives a loud harsh knaw. The hooded crow eats a wide variety of food. Hooded crows are not usually found in flocks though it can be seen with rooks and jackdaws. Lindsay |
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The Rook (rúcach)
The rook looks all black but in the sun the plumage can have a purple, blue sheen. Its large long beak is pointed and pale grey. The eye is dark and where the feathers meet the legs they give on untidy “shaggy trousers” look. It’s usually a big bird and can measure from 43 to 47cms. You can find rooks anywhere. They will eat anything. They build their nests in groups called rookeries in high trees.
Rooks are usually found in noisy flocks with jackdaws. These photographs were taken from the classroom. Michelle. |
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The Magpie (snag breac)
The magpie is probably the easiest bird recognise because of its black and white colour. It has a very long tail. It prefers to feed on ground and will eat anything. Magpies like to chase each other and chatter loudly. It is between 40 and 51 cm long. Magpies are very common. They build twiggy nests in trees. It lays about 4 to 7 eggs.
You can see magpies in the schoolyard and they build nests in the trees. The photographs of the magpie and magpie’s nest in the tree above were taken through the window outside our classroom. By Stacey |
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Small Garden Birds |
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The Pied Wagtail (glasóg sráide)
The pied wagtail is a common bird. Its habitat can be on farms in towns and in cities. It is 16 to 19 cm in length. You can spot a wagtail because it often wags its tail up and down. The nickname for a pied wagtail is a “Willie Wagtail”. The colour of the wagtail is black and white. It looks like it is wearing a black bib. When the female wagtail finds a suitable hole for a nest she lines it with wool, hair and feathers. She lays 5 - 6 eggs. It eats flies and other insects like moths. It also eats seeds. Orla |
The Blue Tit (meantán gorm)
The Irish name for the blue tit is meantán gorm. It has a blue tail, wings and the top of its head is blue. Also it has a green back, yellow belly, white cheeks and a black stripe across its eyes. It is between 10 and 12 cm in length. It eats insects, berries, and seeds off bird tables. It lives in woodlands, gardens and hedges. The blue tit collects moss, grass, wool and hair and it makes its nest in the holes of trees, walls and nest boxes. It lays between 8 and 15 eggs.
I see the blue tit in my garden. Danielle |
The Robin (spideog)
The robin is a very common garden bird. It is cheeky and noisy. It is between 13 and 14cms long. It has a bright red breast. It has a pointed black beak. It hops along the ground. Robins don’t like other robins in their area. If another robin comes too near it puffs it’s red breast and sings out in alarm to warn the trespassers off.The female robin builds its nest in walls, hedges, sheds, and trees and even in cans. A robin eats insects, worms and seeds.
I see him in my back garden. Clare |
Wren (dreoilín)
The wren is one of the smallest birds in Ireland. The wren is a tiny bird measuring 9 – 10 cms. It is brown with a hint of red. It has a pointed beak. It is a common bird and can be found in many places, gardens, woodlands, hedges and farms. Its diet is spiders, insects, larvae and seeds. The wren builds a nest of moss shaped like a sphere. Most wrens are found huddled together to keep each other warm in winter. Shauna |
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Country Birds |
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Wood Pigeon (colm coille)
members.tripod.co.uk/nigelblake/ images/april08/april08.htm
The Wood Pigeon is Colm Coille in Irish. It is mid grey in colour with a bright white collar. It is 38-43cm in length. In the garden it usually eats on the ground and rarely on a bird table. You may see them in town, in the city or in the country. Its habitat is woodlands, roadsides, towns, farmlands, hedges and gardens. It builds its nest in trees and it lays up to two eggs. It eats seeds, cereals, leaves and berries.
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Pheasant (piasún)
Pheasants are very common birds in the country. The male is very colourful with a long tail. He has reddish-brown feathers with black bars, a green black and violet head and red around the eyes. They are between 53 and 90cm long. The female is brown and they build their nests on the ground in thick cover to be safe from foxes. They lay eight to fifteen eggs. Pheasants eat roots, seeds, fruit, berries leaves and stems as well as insects, worms and slugs.
I see pheasants in the field near my house. Ailish |
Seabirds and Waders |
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The Herring Gull (faoileán scadán)
I mostly see the Herring Gull in the field a few houses down from mine or sometimes in our school grounds. They have a grey back, white stomach, pink legs and a yellow beak with a red spot. The male and female both make the nest out of seaweed, feathers and plants. They build their nests on cliffs, islands, stony beaches, chimneys and roofs. They lay around three eggs. They can be found on the coast, inland dumps or in fields. They eat worms, crabs and eggs of other birds. They are fifty-four to sixty cm.
These photographs were taken in the school grounds. Jade |
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Oystercatcher (roilleach)
The oystercatcher is a common wading bird. It is usually found near the sea. It is black and white with long pink legs and red eyes with a ring around them and a long red beak. It eats worms and shellfish that are mostly found on beaches coastal farms and fields. To build a nest, called a scrape, the female lines a shallow hole on the beach with sand, grass or gravel and then she puts stones or pebbles around it. When she lays eggs she lays about two or three at a time.
Every autumn, around the beginning of October, I see flocks of them in my playground when they are looking for worms. The photograph was taken from the classroom window. Clare |
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Rivers, Canals and Ponds |
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Mallard (mallard)
The mallard would probably be the most common duck around Ireland. You will see them in ponds in parks, on rivers and on canals. The male is brightly coloured and the female is speckled brown. A female makes its nest on the ground with thick grass and leaves and its own feathers. The mallard has a green head, with a white stripe on a purple brown neck. He has a grey body, purple patches on the wings and a black tail with two curly feathers. The male mallard is called a drake and the female is called a duck. Mallard ducks eat plants off the bottom of rivers and streams, seeds and grasses.
I used to see mallard ducks on my way into town swimming on the Grand Canal. Mairéad |
Moorhen (cearc uisce)
www.drbirds.com/images/ WaterMartk/moorhen.jpg
The adult moorhens colour is a blackish with a brightly coloured red and yellow bill. His eyes are red and brown and a black pupil. He is 30 –35cm long.The young moorhens colour is brownish. He eats, plants and grass but doesn’t like to dive in the water. Shauna
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The Mute Swan (eala bhalbh)
www.kidzone.ws/animals/ birds3.htm
This elegant bird can be found all around Ireland. The swan is white with an orange and black beak. It is large and can be from 144 to160cms long. Swans eat weeds and grasses that they pull up from the river. The swans build their nest on the bank of a river or canal or on an island in the middle of a lake. The male (cob) helps the female (hen) build the enormous nest by bringing her reeds and sticks which she then arranges into place. Baby swans are called cygnets.
I like the colour of the swan because I like white. It is one of my favourite colours. Claire |
The Grey Heron (corr réisc)
www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/ grey-heron.htm
The Grey Heron is usually found near water standing still or on trees standing still. It is grey, black and white with a long grey neck, black shoulders and yellow bill. It is 84 -102cm long. It flies with its neck tucked in. It lives on fish, birds, frogs, insects and worms. Its habitat is on lakes, rivers, canals, marshes and near the coast. It stands very still on the edge of the water to catch fish. It builds its nest in tall trees and it lays 3-5 eggs. I always see the Grey Heron in the cornfield near my house where there is a pool or on a tree near the airport. Kate |
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Geese |
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The Brent Goose (cadhan)
The brent goose has a black head, neck and tail, with small white patch on the side of its neck. It has dark grey wings and back and is light grey underneath. The brent goose is 55-62 cm long. Its habitat is in estuaries and mudflats. They spend the summer in Northern Canada where they build their nests and lay 3-5 eggs. They spend the winter Ireland where they eat green algae, eelgrass and other grasses.
I see the brent geese in the school grounds and in the park in winter. They visit our school every winter, in large flocks, to eat the grass. Brent geese, when gathered in huge flocks, are very noisy. The photograph was taken from our classroom. Emma. |
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We think these websites are useful for studying birds:
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