The sight of two rare birds in Monaghan is being hailed as a massive positive for the ecosystem. A listener in Monaghan investigating tapping noises outside discovered two great spotted woodpeckers as the source of them. These birds are a rare sight in Ireland and their population has also been in decline until quite recently.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show this morning, Niall Hatch from Birdwatch Ireland says great spotted woodpeckers are more common in Britain but it's a great sign to see them here; "It's really great to see as it's a species that has been absent from our ecosystem. They drill holes in trees and therefore are making habitats for other creatures. It's great for what we would call an ecosystem engineer They make the habitat better for all sorts of other creatures too so it's great to have these sorts of birds here."
