Water birds make a splash

CLOSE to where I live a community group has leased a piece of cutaway bog from Bórd na Mona in order to develop it as a biodiversity park.

Last year the drains were blocked and, over the winter, a number of ponds and small lakes appeared.

The first three species of water bird to colonise the new ponds were mute swans, mallard and, slightly less predictably, little grebes. I have been seeing little grebes a lot more often in recent years and I get the impression that their numbers are increasing. I certainly hope so because they are delightful birds.