Dusk Bird Walk

Over 20 volunteers joined Joe Shannon for a Dusk Bird Walk.  We met at Monaghan Harps car park at 7pm and set out with low expectations after a few hours of steady rain and grey skies.  However as there was a break in the clouds, Joe pointed out a swift circling high above us.  It was a delight to see this rare visitor in Monaghan who had travelled 3,400miles from Africa to spend the summer here in Monaghan.  The bird is the fastest bird in straight flight calculated at 69miles per hour.   It only touches land to rear it young.  It can spend months in the air – sleeping, eating, mating and even bathing while in flight.  

Over the next hour, Joe pointed out 15 different species of bird on a short walk along the Ulster Canal Greenway including mallard chick on the canal and the delicate calls of the Goldcrest.

Click on the link to download a profile and recording of the 15 birds seen and heard in Monaghan in May 2023.