Cliffs of Moher

Wow!  We walked along the rim very near the edge (but not too close), and got in some amazing views at the Cliffs of Moher. Josie asked a ranger where the puffins liked to hang out, and instead of just answering her question, he took us all to the spot where you could see many kinds of birds. He told us a lot of interesting information about how the birds live in the area, including answering a question the kids asked of me earlier in the trip (what are the birds of prey in Ireland? Answer: peregrine falcons, golden eagles (both recently reintroduced), kestrels).  He was so nice to escort us to the spot and let the kids borrow his binoculars to see all the nesting birds on the cliffs - guillemots and fulmars, mostly, but also an occasional puffin and, in far fewer numbers, the birds of prey.  He told us about his experience rearing a raven a couple of years ago and how much they eat (up to 12 chicks (1-day old chicks) a day until they reach maturity at 6 weeks). And he told us about European starlings - he knew full well what a nuisance they are in North America. He has one as a pet and it talks. The kids will be hitting YouTube for these videos as soon as we get home. 

Josie and I on the ferry back to Doolin

Cliffs of Moher:

(O'Brien Tower on the northern end)

A nice lady took a group photo for us!  Thank you, nice lady from Iowa!

Our new ranger friend taking us to the good spot for birding. 

Stone for the paths here was cut from this region - the patterns are fossil traces of worm trails. Cool!

View of the countryside east of Cliffs of Moher. What a beautiful day we had today!

We capped the day with another delicious meal from a local pub. Tonight's dish came from Fitzpatrick's in New Doolin, which is even tinier than Old Doolin. Bill had seafood chowder and brown bread.  I had something called a boxty potato, stuffed with bacon and cabbage and a parsley sauce. Holy moley, it was so good.  The potatoes were shredded very thin and made into a hash brown pancake, of sorts. The bacon (ham bites) and cabbage mixture was tucked into the boxty like a fat taco or burrito.  I'll be searching online recipes for this as soon as this posts. Yum yum yummy yum yum! =)