An endangered bird species was spotted in the north-west recently.
County Roscommon was treated to quite the site on New Year's Eve.
The second only siting of an 'Egyptian Vulture' happened near Lough Rea.
National Parks and Wildlife Services warden, Owen Murphy, spoke to RTÉ's Morning Ireland about it.
He said it was "a fairly chance encounter" to come across the bird in the first place.
@npwsBioData Warden for Lough Ree & the Mid-Shannon Callows Owen Murphy & @MTU_ie student Conor Henry were lucky witnesses today to witness first hand a rare Egyptian Vulture whilst surveying Winter waders. pic.twitter.com/gAOJHOQoLj
— Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage (@DeptHousingIRL) December 31, 2021
Murphy had only spotted the vulture from a distance and used his binoculars to take a closer look.
He said he was able to identify the bird on sight due to its size, the colour of its feathers and beak shape.
"It turned out to be an Egyptian Vulture," Murphy said. "Not something I was expecting to see on a New Year's Eve morning."
A local photographer managed to capture a photo of the bird after the siting at Lough Rea.
A lot of bird watchers have travelled to Roscommon to get their own glimpse of the mysterious bird.
