Heather snapped!

Heather in South Cork (Photo coutesy of Dave McGrath)

Heather is still holding territory in South Cork. Dave McGrath sent this wonderful photograph of her and believe it or not, this is the first time she has been photographed since she left her place of birth near Mount Eagle in Kerry at the end of the summer. It is a joy to know that she is doing well and to see her in the flesh. Heather has now been visually seen in Kerry, Kildare, Wicklow and Cork. Of course the satellite tag has given us so much more of an insight into her life, which would not have been possible otherwise.

Last night (night of 24/25 October), Heather returned to the original roost that she occupied after first touching down in South Cork, following her epic journey from Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. This roost in South Cork was used originally for a couple of weeks until she moved to occupy her other roost less than 10km further west. She has spent well over a month at this more westerly roost now, until last night when she returned to the original roost. Was it the wet weather in the last couple of days that prompted this move? Will she return to her normal roost again? Stay tuned!

News on Miranda is good. She has spent the past week in Glenveagh National Park in Donegal now and has found another new roost for us! It is interesting that both Miranda and Heather have now spent time in two of our six national parks (Heather having spent a few weeks in Wicklow Mountains National Park).

Unfortunately, another young male harrier that has been satellite tagged in Scotland is feared to have been shot after moving to England. Let's hope that we can show a good impression in Ireland by taking care of Miranda and Heather and of course the habitats that they depend on also.