An Avocet was a pretty extraordinary find at Ormond's Island, Kenmare Bay on Sunday, still present today.
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Avocet, Ormond's Island, Kenmare Bay, 15th June 2021 (David O'Connor).
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| Avocet, Ormond's Island, Kenmare Bay, 15th June 2021 (David O'Connor). |
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| Marsh Harrier, Baile an Reannaigh, 15th June 2021 (David O'Connor). |
I asked a couple of 'moult gurus' about the moulting wing feathers on this bird, and ringer Sam Bayley commented that, although not 100%, he "...would say that a 5 [a bird born in the previous summer] is a good shout for this bird. I would have expected a full adult to have progressed further with moult at this stage and the wear on the flight feathers is far more than I would expect from adult feathers." Thanks, Sam! So, most likely a first-summer bird, and with no grey male feathers showing through, a female.
She was stick-collecting for a brief period in early June, but of course, we need a male to appear before any real ideas of nesting can be entertained. But that idea is not without merit... two pairs successfully bred in Ireland last summer, and the huge reedbed at Baile an Reannaigh (the largest intact reedbed in Kerry) is superb habitat for this species.
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| Marsh Harrier, Baile an Reannaigh, 15th June 2021 (David O'Connor). |
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| Baile an Reannaigh, June 2021 (Michael O'Clery). |
Anywhere else in Europe, Baile an Reannaigh would be a nationally important nature reserve, but in Kerry, it survives almost by accident. The largest intact reed bed in Kerry, an area full of Orchids and unusual insects and flowers and, of course, host to many rare breeding, passage and vagrant birds. In the near future, Marsh Harrier could be an addition to the breeding birds of this extraordinary habitat, if it survives.
