A bittern end for bird the storm blew in

AN unexpected visitor brought here by Storm Lorenzo met a fateful end – but his legacy will last a lifetime.

An extremely rare American bird found in a Co. Kerry garden is so rare that the Natural History Museum are set to preserve its body.

The male least bittern is thought to have been blown across the Atlantic by Hurricane Lorenzo, thousands of miles off course from its normal migration route from America to Mexico.

It is the first ever sighting of the bird in Ireland or mainland Europe. Unfortunately, the male died of exhaustion around 30 minutes after he was found in pensioner John O’Donoghue’s garden in Farranfore.

Project officer with Birdwatch Ireland Brian Burke said he can’t overemphasise how rare the bird it. ‘This is as rare as it gets; it’s ridiculously rare. Species like bald eagles have turned up in Ireland more than this species. It’s once in a lifetime.’

If the least bittern had lived, it would have attracted bird watchers from overseas. ‘You would probably have got people from the UK chartering planes to come over,’ said Mr Burke. ‘No one has this bird on their list.’

Anthony O’Connor, who works in Moriarty’s Garage, across the road from Mr O’Donoghue’s house, said they are chuffed to have come across such a rare find. ‘I’d say it just died from exhaustion,’ he said. ‘More than likely it was brought in by the recent storms. It was disorientated and quite weak when he found it. We will probably never again see anything like it.’

Mr Burke said: ‘The Natural History Museum will take it and preserve it. It’s quite unfortunate but at least there will be some scientific value out of it.’