BoP's

Plenty of BoP activity over the last couple of days.  Six kestrels hovering or perched at different locations along the M3 between Clonee and Navan yesterday. 

In Skryne between the crossroads and the GAA pitches a sparrowhawk burst from the cover of a hedgerow and flew straight into a mixed flock of finches and sparrows.  What a commotion!!  The chase went over the opposite hedgerow and across the pitches, by the time I got a look over the chase had moved on and the sparrowhawk was nowhere to be seen.  It's always a sight to savour the speed the sparrowhawk achieves at such low altitude and the mayhem they cause when they crash into an unsuspecting gathering.

The usual three buzzards were out and about in Bracetown today.  One flew off in the direction of the N3 towards Dunboyne and missed out on a bit of a feed.  The two that remained within sight were quartering some fields just outside my field of view when they returned to one of their favourite trees and proceeded to take turns tearing and ripping at something they'd caught.  I couldn't make out what exactly had fallen prey to them as a rather large branch was obscuring the view, however there was no hiding the fact that they were ripping flesh and entrails and having a right good feed, not simultaneously, one had a good go for about five minutes then moved aside and the other had a feed.

They eventually flew out of the tree and the larger one (of the three, the female) was clutching the remains of the feed in her talons.  I got great views with the bins and the long tail and body colouring suggested they'd just had rat for lunch.

Later on on the N2 a kestrel was perched on the clock a mile south of Ashbourne, and another one was hovering just above the Ashbourne roundabout up the road.