The Water Hen at Cabragh Wetlands

Cabragh at the moment is serene - standing by the meadow in front of the centre it could be an oil painting. The sound of the warblers and the reed buntings permeate the evening stillness but they are difficult to see in the enveloping vegetation - just an odd twitch of a reed head belies the presence of bird life.
Suddenly I notice some movement across the pond as a moorhen emerges out of the shallows near the bank. The moorhen is smaller than the mallard and has a small head, a large oval body, a short stiff tail and long legs. The head, neck and underside are a dark silver-grey apart from a series of white streaks on its sides and obvious white patches under the tail. The back and wings are plain dark brown. It has a bright red forehead shield, a short red beak with a yellow tip and long olive green legs with large unwebbed feet. The youngsters have tiny, black, fluffy bodies, reddish heads and stumps for wings. The moorhen rarely flies and when frightened or in danger, it usually runs along the surface of the water with neck outstretched and wings flapping furiously towards the nearest cover of reeds or other waterside vegetation. It flicks its tail while swimming and walking on land. Its call is harsh and highly pitched.
The moorhen hunts for food on land as well as in water and when feeding in water it rarely dives. It has a broad diet including worms, snails, insects and their larvae, spiders, fish, acquatic plants, berries and even small mammals. The moorhen can live for over eighteen years but the average life span is about three years. It is called “An Cearc Uisce” in Irish. It breeds in any type of wetland habitat ranging from large lakes to small ponds and slow moving waterways. An estimated 75,000 pairs were found breeding in Ireland during the last Breeding Atlas of Ireland Survey.
The nest is quite big and made of dead plant material in waterside vegetation. The male collects most of the material but it is usually built by the female. About six eggs are laid and hatch after about twenty one days incubation by both parents. After about three weeks they are able to feed themselves but continue to be tended by parents until they can fly at about six weeks and become fully independent at about eight weeks. Some moorhen pairs are able to enlist help from unattached adults in feeding their young, making their parenting something of a community project. Co-operation in moorhens is something of a theme and it starts early in life. They attempt two or three broods a season and when this happens the young from the earlier brood often help their parents in caring for subsequent broods. These youngsters have not yet left home so while they are hanging about they are put to use. They will assist with nest refurbishment, bring snacks to the young brood of the newly hatched chicks and even do stints of incubation.
Even more surprising, an exceptionally unusual type of co-operation will sometimes happen. On occasion it seems that the mother of one of the daughters from a previous year make a nesting attempt. So the older female is empowering a younger one in the important task of rearing young. There is another common practice of laying eggs in the nest of another bird, usually another moorhen. This is a way of maximising production without the effort of raising subsequent chicks. So moorhens use their neighbours furtively, stealing into a nest and laying an extra egg while the owner isn’t looking. So much for the joys of co-operation!
Yet the constant bobbing tail of the moorhen across the pond in Cabragh as viewed from the windows of the hide is one of the most attractive sights for young children on the annual Cabragh Wetlands Summer Camp. It takes place this year Monday, August 12 to Friday, August 16, from 9:30am-1:00pm daily. Details from Cabragh Wetlands at 0504 43879 or Maura at 085 7748177. There are still some places available.
Heritage Week is also almost upon us and on Tuesday August 20 we officially open our Cosmic Walk at 4 pm. All are welcome and particularly wheelchair users. Philip and Liz Quinn have done a tremendous job and the walk seems to fit in so well with the bounty of nature that is so much in evidence at Cabragh at the moment. Put the date in your diary!
Slán go fóill.