The Birds of Creggs

We began looking at the birds around the school in March. We have a bird house next to a tree, which the birds have always seemed to love. We tried to observe them by looking through the window. But we couldn't get close enough to the birds or keep them there long enough to be able to identify them.
Then Daire Ó hUallachain from the Galway County Council Heritage Project came to our school to show us some birds and to tell us all about native Irish birds.
He also gave us a Bird Table. It was first set up next to the pitch at school. We tried to observe our feathered friends there but they kept getting scared away by the presence of so many pupils in the area. We quickly realised that we needed a camera to record the birds first. Furthermore, we decided to move the feeder to outside our class window so that we could record them without being seen.
We then saw lots of birds come to the table as well as in the field nearby.
We tried to identify them by using books. Some were easy to find like the Blue Tit and the Gold Finch. Others such as the Chaffinch were harder because they looked like so many other birds. We realised that we needed to look at not only at the colours of the birds but also at their beak, size and eating habits.
When we found out what the individual bird type was, we recorded it on a chart. We also wrote down the date, weather and what they were eating. This helped us to know if the bird should have been in that habitat or not.
We have learned a lot about birds in our environment and can now recognise some of them at home without using a book!

Galway's Largest Field
Located at the back of our school is Galway county's largest field.

No wonder we have much birds in our school grounds!

Our School's Famous Wildlife Mural

Reflecting the surrounding beautiful rural landscape of its hinterland, Creggs National School has a rich tradition of environmental awareness.

This is amply demonstrated by the wonderful wildlife mural that covers a large section of the building's exterior wall.

In 2002 the pupils, under the expert guidance of artist Lorna Brennan, completed a fantastic painting of the birds and mammals that live in the nearby woods and fields.




Bird Profiles & Written Recordings