Don’t know what the godwit’s strategy was, did it think standing beside the oystercatcher would make it a more difficult target. It looked like a desperate attempt to save itself and you couldn’t help but pity the godwit. The peregrine kept diving, the godwit kept ducking while the oystercatcher stood immobile. The peregrine broke off its attack perching on one of the metal posts on the DART station platform where hooded crows harassed it. We had to return to counting birds in the marsh but when we looked back a few minutes later the peregrine was gone and we were delighted to see the godwit had survived and was striding around the pool poking its long bill into the mud for food. The name godwit is a derivative of ‘good to eat’ from the time when they used be hunted for the table but this particular individual had no intention of being the peregrines delicacy this particular morning.
   I often mention that Booterstown Marsh is a fantastic place to see wintering Snipe although, since they’re usually at the edge of the reeds in the farthest corner and naturally well camouflaged, you’d need a telescope to get a decent look at their splendid plumage and long thin bill. That same morning we had one appear directly opposite us in the corner nearest the car park and we got great views. Although earlier we’d got soaked by the dark clouds, the peregrine and godwit drama and now the great views of the snipe turned out to be very adequate silver linings. I mentioned last month we’d seen, and later the researcher had trapped, a female squirrel which had recently been lactating, signifying it had recently given birth but we didn’t see any sign of offspring till early November when we spotted two red squirrels, neither of which had ear clips indicating they were offspring of released animals. One tore around the treetops and eventually came down through the trees till it was only a few feet above the ground flat against
a tree trunk just a few feet away from where we stood on the footpath, big red bushy tail protruding but otherwise hidden to walkers and dogs passing just a few feet away. The next day we checked out the same tree, a big very dense Scots Pine, and this time spotted a red carrying a big clump of moss in its mouth. This was a different squirrel, possibly that adult female and we could see it had a ear clip. We followed it and saw it disappear into a old dead tree trunk completely covered in ivy. We presumed it was carrying the moss as lining for a winter dray which it was probably building in the midst of the ivy and a couple of minutes later it emerged and tore off across the treetops. Red squirrels build drays in spring and winter, the former to give birth and rear young in, the latter a more sturdy construction to keep them warm and secure through cold and windy winter nights.

The same squirrel, this time a few feet above the
ground on a tree beside a busy footpath
Photo: Michael Ryan