Hundreds of birdwatching enthusiasts from Ireland, the UK and Europe are expected to descend upon Belcarra village, near Castlebar, in the coming days following the sighting of a rare North American bird.
Nestled in the trees above the Belcarra riverside walk is a yellow-crowned night heron, which has stirred great excitement among villagers and birdwatchers, and already there have been lots of visitors to the village armed with cameras and long lenses.
As the Western People report, the heron, which is typically only found in North America, was first spotted in Belcarra by local woman Lorraine Ryan Jennings.
Sightings of the bird in mainland Europe have been rare, with the only previous sighting recorded in Madeira in Portugal a number of years ago. Remarkably, this is the first time it has been spotted in the UK or Ireland.
A group of around 50 birdwatchers from the UK arrived in Belcarra on Sunday morning and visitors eager to catch a glimpse of the bird have been coming and going consistently since.
Aaron Long and Ian Young drove to Belcarra from Belfast early on Monday morning to see the heron.
“What you have here is a bird that is a first for the UK and Ireland, it is hugely significant,” said Aaron.
Ian said he was intrigued to hear the news of the heron's arrival.
“You never know what could turn up where, but we couldn’t have expected this,” he said.
It's expected that a large group of birdwatchers from England will fly into Ireland West Airport this evening.
Chairperson of the Belcarra Community Council Fionnan Nestor said it was wonderful to see so many visitors flocking to the village to see the heron.
“We are so pleased to see so many people coming into the village to see the bird. This beautiful bird lives right above our riverside walk, and we are delighted to be able to showcase this part of our village to all the visitors coming in.”
