My Goodness, A Toucan!
Another in my ‘Birds of Ireland’ series.
A more recent addition to the Irish countryside, the Toucan was first sighted in the autumn of 1935 by a group of amateur ornithologists in an establishment off James’s Gate and could soon be spotted all over the country.
The Irish landlords quickly adopted the bird as one of their own, giving them pride of place at the bar and the punters couldn’t get enough of them.
The toucans, migrating from Southern Mexico, were at first an irregular visitor to these shores but in the summer of 1953 it was announced a breeding pair of birds had successfully raised chicks; the Toucan had officially made Ireland its second home. In the 90s flocks of tourists were flying to Dublin, searching city centre bars in the hope of getting their hands on one. They became so ingrained in Irish culture that by the turn of the Millennium, a dedicated museum was opened in James’s Gate to honour the bird.
Although more than 2000 nesting sites have been lost in the past 20 years, the Toucan is as popular as ever with locals.
Sláinte!
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