Birds of Prey
April 2000... Birds of Prey visit Whitechurch
On Monday 10th of April 2000, Brian O’Connor and colleagues from Fota Island visited our school. With them they brought six birds of prey. The birds they brought were an Eagle Owl which comes from Scandinavia and has the power to kill a fox with its talons, two Harrishawk, one male and one female, which originate in North America and three native Irish birds: a buzzard, a falcon and a sparrowhawk. It was very exciting and lots of the pupils were allowed hold the birds. They also put on a display of the birds flying. According to Brian O’Connor we were the first primary school in Ireland to have birds of prey to visit us.European Eagle Owl: The european eagle owls are the largest of all owls. Eagle owls can live up to thirty years in captivity. There are several species of eagle owls these include Iranian and Indian Eagle owls.
Common Buzzard: The common buzzard is native to Ireland and Europe. They are very rare in the wild in Ireland due to chemicals released in the 60’s and 70’s. They are also under threat due to illegal hunting and loss of habitat. They hunt rabbits and rats and live up to 15 years.
Sparrow Hawk: The sparrow Hawk is native to Ireland. It hunts birds in the air. It lives up to ten years.
Kestrel: The kestrel is Irelands smallest falcon. It hunts mice and insects. It is the most common bird of prey in Ireland. It lives up to ten years.
Harris Hawk: The Harris Hawk is native to North America. They are very intelligent birds and can be flown and hunted in groups. They hunt rabbits and hares.