| Sighting Ref : | IB98588 |
| Sighting Date : | 10 May 17 |
| Common Name : | Crane |
| Scientific Name : | Grus grus |
| Location : | Ballinafagh |
| County : | Kildare |
| Number Seen : | 1 |
| Principal Observer(s) : | Dara Wyer Not Specified |
| Reported By : | Not Specified |
| Comments : | On Monday evening just gone(8th), I observed what looked like a very large heron flying past my garden, being mobbed by some swallows. It seemed too big, and was flying somewhat unusually- less flapping than a heron. it then started to circle and began riding a thermal, in broad circles. It rose to about 400-500m and in that time I observed (from checking after)- that the underparts of it's wings were quite dark- ruling out the even more unlikely stork which has a distinctive black/white contrast- it also had it's legs trailing noticeably and the head wasn't curled back over the body like a heron, but more pointed forward with a long, thin bill making it look "stretched". I'm located 1km north of Prosperous, Co. Kildare. A beautiful sunny day (hence the thermals) with a strong easterly onshore breeze- the crane seemed happy to being carried in a westerly direction I note from Tom McCormack in BWI Kildare, that a crane was spotted in Inishbofin recently- also during the period of easterly winds. I'm not a birding expert- but this definitely was not a heron, so I think crane is the best guess- I would be interested if othe reports emerge. |
| Status : | See IRBC Appendix 2 |
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