Beauty and the beast

All the way from the west Cork byroads to the byroads of Clare and Galway we saw balls of twigs in the wayside trees with tunnels of light showing through, neatly arched entrances nearer the base than the roof.

Were magpies building early?

Were they were following the strategy of the Eleonora’s falcon and timing their breeding to coincide with easy pickings supplied by their feathered friends?