eagle

howa .223

Has anyone else seen any eagle in the erris area or was i just seeing things??:D

Birdnuts

howa .223 wrote: »

Has anyone else seen any eagle in the erris area or was i just seeing things??:D

There have been a few reports of Sea-Eagles wandering up from Kerry along the West coast. Indeed 2 were recently sited feeding on a Whale carcass in Sligo. They are probably the closest thing we have to Vultures and tend to prefer scavanging or stealing the prey of other species like otters, large gulls etc.

howa .223

well id say it was feeding on a dead sheep as there was alot of mags and crows around just wondered if anyone seen them near barnatra as thats wherer i spotted it:)

Birdnuts

howa .223 wrote: »

well id say it was feeding on a dead sheep as there was alot of mags and crows around just wondered if anyone seen them near barnatra as thats wherer i spotted it:)

Thats interesting - My other half is from that area and I'm doing a bit of part-time(her dad does much of the work as I'm based in Wicklow;)) farming on her fathers place which is just 3 miles that side of Belmullet. I know Barnatra quiet well(Healy's Shop, Paddy Maguires Pub etc.) and theirs a bit of commonage there which was in the past used as a waste site to dispose of fallen livestock etc.. Dead carcasses still turn up there which is probably why the eagle paid a visit.

PS: I'm just back from there after holidays so unfortunatly I can't check it out:(, but will mention it to the folks down there to see if anyone else has spotted the bird. Though the chances of spotting it again are probably slim as they wander over huge areas, particulary at this time of year.

mecksimay

One of the tagged WTE was hanging around Mayo for a considerable time over late Spring/Summer 2011. Check out the link http://www.goldeneagle.ie/portal.php?z=290

slowburner

Birdnuts wrote: »

There have been a few reports of Sea-Eagles wandering up from Kerry along the West coast. Indeed 2 were recently sited feeding on a Whale carcass in Sligo. They are probably the closest thing we have to Vultures and tend to prefer scavanging or stealing the prey of other species like otters, large gulls etc.

Would you not think that the Red Kites are the closest thing to Vultures in Ireland?

Birdnuts

slowburner wrote: »

Would you not think that the Red Kites are the closest thing to Vultures in Ireland?

I suppose they could be considered "mini" vultures. In Africa where you have both Kites and Vultures, the former tends to wait for their larger cousins to open a carcass and will also hang around towns and villages feeding on various type of offal and waste like they used to in Ireland in Medieval times. They have also learn't in many countries that roadkill is a reliable source of food.

howa .223

Birdnuts wrote: »

Thats interesting - My other half is from that area and I'm doing a bit of part-time(her dad does much of the work as I'm based in Wicklow;)) farming on her fathers place which is just 3 miles that side of Belmullet. I know Barnatra quiet well(Healy's Shop, Paddy Maguires Pub etc.) and theirs a bit of commonage there which was in the past used as a waste site to dispose of fallen livestock etc.. Dead carcasses still turn up there which is probably why the eagle paid a visit.

PS: I'm just back from there after holidays so unfortunatly I can't check it out:(, but will mention it to the folks down there to see if anyone else has spotted the bird. Though the chances of spotting it again are probably slim as they wander over huge areas, particulary at this time of year.

im from the area and spotted it up along the lake after the last house on bangor side:D i mentioned it too a few but no one seems to have seen it:(