Why Ireland is for the birds

Richard Collins says some species of bird refuse to visit our little island.

SOME bird species look down their ‘noses’, or their beaks, at Ireland. We are not good enough for them, despite our welcoming attitude. The woodpeckers are a case in point. From time to time, they visit and look at what we have to offer, but steadfastly decline the invitation to take up residence. One of them, the greater-spotted, was here long ago; its bones have been found in archaeological digs. Although there is no conclusive evidence that the bird bred, it’s likely that it did. Every other year, a greater-spotted visits us and, occasionally, there’s an influx of them. However, the visitors don’t stay to breed.

Woodpeckers have a good excuse for not liking us; we destroyed most of our woods in medieval times, leaving few trees with large holes for nests. Another shortcoming is the absence of wood ants, a favourite of the green woodpecker, a species that has wandered here on a handful of occasions.