Cuckoo

The best time to hear a cuckoo is during most evenings between mid-April and June. It is summer migrant from Africa the Cuckoo is a brood Parasite (lays eggs in other birds nests). The cuckoo s favoured foster parent species include pipits, warblers, dunnocks and robins. The cuckoo is now a protected bird but populations continue to decrease due to loss of habitat and the use of insecticides.  The male cuckoo is famous for its   distinctive koo-kooO  call. Females have a bubbly chuckle sound different from the males.  Juvenile cuckoos migrate several weeks later than their real parents, and they manage to find their way to the regular wintering areas despite never having made the journey before.  Cuckoos feed on the ground, but are clumsy walkers. They can often be seen perched on telegraph lines.  The cuckoo has long been associated with fate for humans. Numerous beliefs exist, including: it is good luck to have money in your pocket when you hear a cuckoo; whatever you are doing when you hear a cuckoo, you should repeat throughout the year as the call was a sign that the particular activity will be beneficial; for single people, the number of calls or notes would signify how many years they would remain unmarried; and in Sweden, the direction of the call signifies either good luck (west), death (south), consolation (east), or sorrow (north).

Chaffinch

With just over two million breeding pairs this is one of Irelands most common birds. It occurs wherever trees and bushes are present with the highest densities being found in broad leaved woodlands. With just over two million breeding pairs this is one of Irelands most common birds. It occurs wherever trees and bushes are present with the highest densities being found in broad leaved woodlands.    Chaffinches are social outside the breeding season often joining mixed flocks of bramblings, greenfinches, house sparrows and yellow hammers.    Irish chaffinches do not normally migrate but there is a large influx of birds from Scandinavia in October/November. These arrivals birds are larger and paler, and prefer to form large flocks feeding in open fields. Irish birds prefer to keep near hedgerows and woodlands.

Blue Tit

They are common throughout Connemara. In Ireland there are an estimated 1 million breeding pairs. They are common throughout Connemara. In Ireland there are an estimated 1 million breeding pairs.    The blue tit is the only tit with bright blue in its plumage. It has a crown is cobalt-blue, surrounded by white and a black eye stripe. Its cheeks are white and the under parts are sulphur  yellow.   Blue tits prefer broad leafed woodland (especially oaks), hedgerows and gardens. They are often very tame and are regular users of bird tables. Blue tits breed less successfully in urban environments probably due to the poor food value provided by bird tables and the lack of high calorie insects.    Irish blue tits are sedentary not moving very far from their birth areas. They will, however, join roaming flocks of tits in the autumn.   The small size of the blue tit makes it vulnerable to prey by larger birds such as Jays who catch fledglings when leaving the nest.  The most important predator is probably the sparrow hawk. Nests may also be robbed by mammals such as weasels and red squirrels and grey squirrels.   The Blue Tit has an average life expectancy of 1.5 to 3 years. The oldest recorded ringed blue tit was 11 years 7 months.

Blackbird

The blackbird is one of our most familiar garden birds and the principal songster of the dawn chorus. The male is jet black with a yellow bill and eye The female and juveniles are brown.  The blackbird is the only species of our three commonly breeding thrushes in which the plumage of the male is different. Pied or partial albino blackbirds are not uncommon. The blackbird is one of our most familiar garden birds and the principal songster of the dawn chorus. The male is jet black with a yellow bill and eye The female and juveniles are brown.  The blackbird is the only species of our three commonly breeding thrushes in which the plumage of the male is different. Pied or partial albino blackbirds are not uncommon.   Their song is a loud and warbling and non repetitive.  Blackbirds have increased in numbers and there are now estimated to be over 1.9 million breeding pairs in Ireland. Blackbirds are joined during October and November by a large migration of birds from Scotland, northern England and Scandinavia .    Blackbirds eat a wide range of insects, earthworms, seeds and berries. It is mainly a ground feeder and it pulls earthworms from the soil. These it located with sight or hearing. It also forages in leaf litter for other invertebrates. Small vertebrates such as frogs, tadpoles and lizards are occasionally hunted. It will also take berries and collect caterpillars and flying insects. Animal prey is particularly important during the breeding season. Berries and fruit are more important in autumn and winter.    The main predator of the Blackbird is the domestic cat, with newly-fledged young especially vulnerable. Foxes and predatory birds, such as the Sparrow hawk also take blackbirds. Cuckoos sometimes attempt to lay eggs in blackbird nests but this rarely succeeds as blackbirds recognize the foreign egg and destroy it.   The Blackbird is one of a number of species which can have One half of the brain effectively asleep, while the other half is in a state of wakefulness. The benefit of this is that the bird can rest in areas of high predation or during long migratory flights, but always remain alert alertness.   Blackbirds have an average life expectancy of 2.4 years. The  oldest recorded ringed Blackbird was 21 years and 10 months.

Artic Tern

Artic terns are common on the coasts of Ireland where undisturbed breeding grounds can be found. They have the longest migrations of any bird. Recent studies have shown average annual round trip lengths of about 70,900 kms. The average Arctic tern lives up to 30 years, and travels some 2.4 million km (1.5 million mi) during its lifetime.  Arctic terns are medium-sized birds. They have a length of 33 to 39 cm (13 to 15 in) and a wingspan of 76 to 85 cm (26 to 30 in). They are mainly grey and white plumage, with a red beak. They weigh 86 to 127 g (3.0 to 4.5 oz.).  It nests once every one to three years (depending on its mating cycle); once it has finished nesting it starts its southern migration.  It is one of the most aggressive terns, fiercely defensive of its nest and young. It will attack humans and large predators, usually striking the top or back of the head. Although it is too small to cause serious injury to an animal of a human s size, it is still capable of drawing blood.  They eat mainly fish and small marine invertebrates.