School: Mc Kelvey's Grove (roll number 9130)
- Location:
- Loughbrattoge, Co. Monaghan
- Teacher: Eva Campbell
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0942, Page 281
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- XML School: Mc Kelvey's Grove
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- XML “Bird-Lore”
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- The birds which are commonly found in my district are, robins, wrens, blackbirds, thrushes, larks, house martins, blue tits and yellow hammers or yelties. These birds stay with us all through the winter. The cuckoo, swallow and corn crake migrate to another country across the seas. Before the cuckoo leaves, her voice gets hoarse.
The robins and the wrens build their nests at the roots of trees or bushes. Blackbirds and thrushes build in thorn hedges and larks in the sides of ditches on in fields. House martins build in the eaves of houses. The blue tit will build in the sides of windows and the yeltie in briars or whins.
The birds' nests are wonderfully made. They are principally made with fog and hair. The birds weave the fog together with their beak and feet. Then they bird lays eggs and hatches them. It takes about three weeks to hatch them.
Boys are told if they rob birds nests that it is a sin for them because they could not build a nest like it themselves and they have two hands with which to do it.
The birds are great weather guides for us. They can tell us when there is going to be good weather. For instance if the swallow flies up high it is(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Meta Nesbitt
- Gender
- Female
- Age
- 14
- Address
- Tullynageer, Co. Monaghan
