Letters to the Editor: Concern of threat to wild bird species of Ireland

The once common kestrel has been added to the list of those birds with a high risk of extinction in Ireland. Picture Denis Minihane.

Niall Hatch’s article — ‘Ireland’s birds species faring worse than ever’ (Irish Examiner, April 16) reminds me of the poignant but beautiful poem by Francis Ledwidge, Lament for Thomas MacDonagh:

He shall not hear the bittern cry
In the wild sky, where he is lain,
Nor voices of the sweeter birds
Above the wailing of the rain.