Going down by the river

Kilcullen has some 'fantastic' bird habitats along the river, writes Brian Byrne, according to consultant ornithologist Tom Cooney. But there's a dearth of wild water fowl.

And that's because of the depradations of mink, Tom told us on the recent and fascinating Bird & Wildlife Walk & Talk he conducted as part of the Biodiversity Study commissioned by Kilcullen Community Action.

"I came across a couple of pairs of baby mallards, and there's a mute swan with four cygnets," he noted from his previous early morning reconnaisance of the area. "That's an absolutely clear and healthy river there, and it should be thronged with wildfowl."

That it isn't is a clear example of the dangers of introducing a completely non-native predatory species, in this case American mink which were farmed in these islands during the 70s and 80s. Many escaped into the wild. "They're just cleaning out wildfowl in Ireland and Britain. They should have been dealt with years ago, with maybe a bounty for hunting them which did help to clear out muskrats that had escaped the same way."



Still, there was much to see, or mostly to hear, on the walk through the Valley Park and as far as the Mill Stream on the mass path to New Abbey. In his earlier morning wanders, Tom said he had encountered more than 30 different bird species.

"What I didn't expect was the number of species that were long distance migrant birds from Africa," he said. "I'm quite pleased that they were there, and I'm sure if I came back at night-time there'd be one or two others."

Some of these, like the willow-warblers, chiffchaffs and sand-martens, come from sub-Saharan Africa, and even from as far as South Africa itself. And we're going to see more of them.

"With climate change we're going to lose a lot of species, but others from warmer countries are going to need the habitats that you have here. And what you have has to be protected, because there are going to be big changes over the next 50 years."

Most of Tom's work these days is research into the effects of climate change on bird species here. Kilcullen is in the middle of a particular area which has lost six species in 15 years. "These include the corncrake and lapwing, for instance. We're losing species as we get warmer, but new species are coming in."



As he walked, or stopped to talk, Tom's ornithological antennae were constantly alert. He'd suddenly break a thread of conversation to mention or point out a particular sound, or bird on a branch. Some travellers, others resident like the wrens. At one point he tapped his phone and played a wren's call. Immediately there was a real one in return, a male challenging what seemed to be another in his territory.

"He's up there in the bush," Tom pointed. "He'll come closer to have a look." And sure enough, he did come, then flew up to a high ivyed elder to get a better view. Tom said he'd been surprised to find as many wrens, because in other parts of the country the recent hard winters had taken a big toll.

"It's quite normal. A hard winter can cause huge population crashes in birds."

He pointed out a family of great tits feeding on a tree, leaning to pick insects from the underside of branches and leaves. He was also pleased to see wagtails, a sign that the habitat is sound. "Especially the pied wagtail, which will only be found near fast and healthy water."



The reeds on both sides of the river and the hedgegrows along the mass path to New Abbey are something to be carefully treasured, he emphasised. "That scrub is great. What's in the hedges here is beautiful, the wild rose, and those thorn bushes should never be removed."



As he spoke, a willow warbler burst into song, even though it was close to the middle of the day when birds tend to go quiet. "He loves tangled undergrowth, and he has come 8,000 kilometres to sing for us."

We saw a sparrow hawk chased by a number of swallows. Tom said smaller birds will always 'mob' a predator species that comes into their territory. "They're fearless, and they will draw blood and drive the bigger bird away."

He was surprised, and pleased, to see the sparrow hawk here. And the buzzards he had spotted earlier, previously almost wiped out by pesticides and shooting. "They're great to have. They'll control the population of other birds like rooks, and they also feed on rabbits and other small animals. They'll pick off the weakest, allowing the stronger to survive. That's how nature keeps its balance."

He gave tips to the group, some of whom had also been out the night before on the Bats Talk & Walk, the first feature of Kilcullen's Wild Weekend. "It's as much about standing still and listening as it is watching. Cup your ears with your hands, focus on a particular area. Concentrate on learning one common bird's call. Then you can eliminate that one from the others and pick up on another one. Slowly but surely you'll get your ear in."

Over the couple of hours we learned an eclectic range of things about birds. How woodpeckers are spreading rapidly in Ireland, that a kestrel is able to maintain an absolutely still head while its wings and body manage difficult winds and keep it hovering, and that insect-eating birds have pointed beaks while seed-eaters have conical ones.

But what Tom Cooney wanted most to tell us is that in Kilcullen we are fortunate to have something well worth looking after. "If you're planning something here as a community, it's not for this year or next year or for the Tidy Towns competition. It's for producing a good healthy environment for birds and wildlife because the pattern will be very different in 50 years' time. In the past Ireland was rather isolated and didn't get so many species, but we will get more. So think about the future."

And there's a past to be remembered too. He pointed out on the walk back that Kilcullen is part of a very ancient riverscape, from a time after the last Ice Age when what is now the Liffey was a much deeper, wider and faster waterway. Digging into and being directed by today's Valley Park bluff. Even the conglomerate 'boulder' in the Valley was borne down from way upstream by a massive flow of water.



"There was a lot of talk in the 1970s, when we were developing the Valley, about how we might get rid of that," Noel Clare recalled as we passed it. "There was even a suggestion of blowing it up."

Sometimes we don't know the value of what we have. Which is why it's important that, from time to time, we have the benefit of outside eyes like Tom Cooney's to remind us.