Fauna

As we walk the hillsides we will observe the raven glide majestically on the currents of air rising from the valley. One of the largest crow species they usually confine themselves to the high hills around Cnoc Bui and the Cahas.

The Common Crow is as the name suggests abundant in the parish while his cousin the Grey Crow has earned himself a bad reputation with the farmers, occasionally attacking young lambs in the fields.

Our rarest crow is the Chough, they also reside in the hills and usually pair for life. Their most distinguishing characteristic is their reddish / orange legs.

The woodcock and pheasant are birds of the gorse and briar while the snipe prefers the wetlands.

Our rarest bird is the red grouse, while there are still small pockets of grouse in the hills around Bonane, one fears that we are witnessing the extinction of species.

It has unfortunately been many years since the corncrake was heard in Bonane.

The heron is a regular sight along our rivers and streams, waiting patiently for a fish and in one swift move meal time is over.

We have healthy populations of most of the common species, finches, tits, siskins, wagtails, robins, thrushes, woodpigeons and blackbirds.

The largest wild mammal to be found in Bonane is the Sika deer, they were introduced to Killarney in 1865 from Wicklow. They are no doubt aided in their colonisation of the parish with the introduction of conifer plantations. They can on occasion cause damage to a field of freshly sown grass seeds.

On the hills you will occasionally find a herd of feral goats, it is said that these herds may date back to famine times when farms were deserted and the goats allowed to roam free.

Our next widespread mammal is the fox, they can be found in all areas and are usually opportunist feeders but will attack lambs and poultry when hungry cubs are to be fed.

Badgers are less often seen, primarily because they are nocturnal creatures, they are highly social animals and may be found living in groups of six or more animals. Their diet consists of earthworms, fruit, carrion and small invertebrates.

Our newest naturalised mammal is the mink, originally introduced in 1951 from North America for fur breeding they escaped and are now widespread all over Kerry. The mink are usually found along waterways and can cause serious harm to ground nesting birds.

Our scarcest mammal is the otter, they are nocturnal and very wary of intruders in their domain. You will sometimes see their droppings along the rivers and this is the more usual evidence of their presence.

The rabbit was introduced to our shores by the Normans between 1274 and 1301, they are now probably our most abundant mammal. Their population is kept in check by the occasional outbreak of myxomatosis.

Our smallest mammal is the pygmy shrew, their diet consists primarily of insects and because of their small size they must eat continuously, if they are deprived of food for more than a few hours they would die.

The frog, while a threatened species in parts of Ireland, we are fortunate to have an abundance of the amphibians and from February onward you will find frogspawn in most wet areas.

If you are out and about on a hot summers day you may be fortunate enough to see our only native reptile, the viviparous lizard. Being cold-blooded they usually start their day by basking in the early morning sun.

Another unique resident in the parish is the Kerry Spotted Slug, they can vary in colour but are usually beige in colour with dark brown spots. This slug is found only in the south west and is believed to be a slug of the old forests and only survives here because of the mild wet climate. 

Flora