Reenascreena's Wildlife

Written by Calvin Jones
Friday, 31 March 2006
The blue tit is one of our most familiar garden birds The blue tit is one of our smallest and most attractive birds. Its distinctive cobalt crown, blue and yellow plumage, white cheek patches and black eye-stripe are unmistakable as it hops acrobatically from branch to branch in search of insect larvae, or hangs upside down at the garden peanut feeder. Ireland’s commonest tit species, the blue tit is found all over the country and can be seen all year around in all kinds of habitats. They have a wingspan of 12 to 14 centimetres (4.7 to 5.5 inches), are about 12cm (4.7 inches) long and weigh about 11 grams (0.4 of an ounce).
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Written by Calvin Jones
Monday, 27 February 2006
Barn Owl (Tyto alba), photograph by Mike Brown The barn owl will be familiar to many as the signature bird of RTE’s flagship Friday night programme, “The Late Late Show”. This is undoubtedly one of Ireland’s most striking birds, but unfortunately the Barn Owl’s ghostly silhouette and its characteristic rasping shriek are becoming increasingly scarce in Ireland. Adult barn owls are 33 – 39 cm (13 – 15½ inches) long with a wingspan of 80 – 95 cm (31½ – 37 ½ inches). They are a beautiful orange-buff colour with grey mottling above and either pure white or white with slight buff marking on the underside. The distinctive, heart-shaped face is also white, as are the long legs, an adaptation to hunting small prey in long grass.
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