Sheer skill of adaptable bird

Some years ago, Tom McDermott created a pond on his farm near Naas in Co Kildare. Up to 120 mallard roost there nowadays, attracted by the grain he puts out for them.

A pair of swans fledged 17 cygnets over the years, migrating green sandpipers pay a brief annual visit and a rare orchid, the green-flowered helleborine, is a plant celebrity. Now the farm has another distinction.

When walking the land with her master on September 12, Tom’s Irish setter Gren picked up the scent of something lurking in the barley. Nose down, she began to investigate.