Walking in Connemara National Park during the summer, I was following the barest hint of a trail through the boggy grass when a small bird fluttered up and away from where I was about to step next. It was a Meadow Pipit and I figured that it had just fled it’s nest. Even though I had seen where it had emerged, it took a bit of searching to spot the nest (in the picture below, the nest is located at the very left of the dark area in the middle of the picture). There were 3 eggs which is not bad (my Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland gives a typical brood to be 4-5 eggs).
Can you see the meadow pipit’s nest in this picture ?
As a ground dweller, meadow pipits are vulnerable to the usual predators (as well as being just walked on by sheep, cattle or the likes of me). They also have to worry about cuckoos. This article from the Kerry Birding blog shows exactly what happens if a cuckoo finds a pipit’s nest.