Today was a mixed bird bag! When I got home from school, my mum told me that the peregrine falcon nest we were due to visit at the weekend had been abandoned by the adult birds. I was pretty disappointed, I had really looked forward to seeing the chicks, which were due to hatch any day. Peregrines are really majestic, I had to gulp down my sadness for the unhatched chicks. It is perhaps likely that the young male was inexperienced and the female went hungry, she flew off the nest and the eggs chilled. Thanks to http://www.nirsg.com/ for the information and for organising the event. I really hope next year is better.

However, we were pretty excited when we heard the news from Brad Robson (RSPB Fermanagh Area Manager), that a Ring-Billed Gull had appeared very near our house in Enniskillen! I hadn’t heard of that particular bird (not in any of my books), so I looked it  up online, it’s a close relative of our ‘Common Gull’ except it mostly lives in North America. It’s bill ‘ ring’ is more striking and complete and its Iris is pale yellow. My mum showed me a picture and I thought it looked beautiful. I like gulls and even though everyone calls anything that cackle’s a sea-gull, there is no such thing – they all have proper names (I won’t go into that now) and all look very different! Anyway, we set out, binoculars in hand only to find that our gull had probably gone to roost for the night. Gah, another disappointment!

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Ring-billed Gull in Enniskillen by Brad Robson

I have trouble dealing with things, when they don’t go to plan, but I really tried to keep my Asperger’s anxiety in check and look for something to cheer me up. I only had to look out my window to feel happier, the birdsong was glorious. We have had lots of activity in the garden, with dunnocks, blackbirds, coal tits and bullfinches nesting in our and our neighbours trees. We can hear the chicks daily and the day before yesterday, we nearly tripped over a blackbird fledgling – it was ok in the end, it has great parents!

 

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A bad photo of our fledgling but didn’t want to intrude!

 

I guess I realised that happiness can come from something that happens on your doorstep, although I really hope to see a Sparrowhawk in my garden one day!

Thanks for reading

Dara