Buíóg

When I was in Rogerstown the other day I spent some time looking for other birds that maybe around. I remembered from last winter that it is a pretty good spot for Yellowhammers (Buíóg in Irish) so I went for a look and sure enough I found 10 birds, mixed males and females. The reason I reckon its a good spot is down to crops and horses in the area. They love to feed on the rolled oats that the horses get to supplement them through the winter months. I also came across a few Tree Sparrows, these little birds are now not so common in Ireland with Clare and Dublin been the only 2 counties I have had them in. So it was nice to get them on my year list for 2015.

Rogerstown Lesser Yellowlegs

There is a lesser Yellowlegs knocking about Rogerstown in Co Dublin since last September 2014. So I eventually made it up there to get to see this bird. It is my second Lesser Yellowlegs in Dublin over the last 3 years and only my second Lesser Yellowlegs ever. So to have it give good but distant views for 2 hours was great. So I managed a few distant shots for this blog.

Back Birding

I was out in Howth recently and managed to get a few shots off of a couple of the usual regulars as well as some winter visitors.

      Female Stonechat

 Male Stonechat

  Black Guillimot

 Purple Sandpipers

        Female and Male Wigeon in Flight

Another blow to the Irish White-tailed Eagle re-introduction

Last year there was a great buzz about the place as a pair of WTE  had successfully breed on Lough Derg on the Tipperary/Clare border. And given the fact the female bird abandoned the nest after the chicks hatched, the male did a great job of raring the young birds on his own. When both chick fledged it was amazing, the first wild White-tailed Eagles in over a hundred years were now ready to explore this little island of ours. But like many of the captive birds released during this re-introduction their path was paved with peril and danger. This comes for a small group of ignorant and thick idiots who believe these birds will kill all their lambs and sheep. So it come as no surprise to me that one of the chicks was found dead today. It was shot and left to die a cold and lonely death as the bird was badly injured but not killed out right by the person/s who shot it. I have attached a link to the story that broke on RTE News today.  Please have a read and voice your concerns to our Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan. The culprit must be caught and punished to the full extent of the law if the rest of these birds are to have any hope of been safe in our skies.

   http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0305/600355-white-tailed-eagle-tipperary/

One of the Kerry birds I had not so long ago.

                                           
 
    

Caspian Gull and Red-necked Grebe

While in work during the week, I received a text to say the Caspian Gull was spotted back in Tallaght so with that knowledge, and knowing the Red-necked Grebe was giving good views, my mind was made up to head out Saturday morning to get these birds. The Caspian Gull was a life and Irish tick for me and when I got to Sean Walsh park in Tallaght this morning, it took a bit of searching but I located the bird on the roof of a house. However, the bird proved flighty as it was being harassed by a Lesser Black Back Gull. I did manage a few shots which I have attached below.
After that, we headed for Dun Laoghaire and the Red-necked Grebe, which I located in the harbour by the east pier. The bird gave good but distant views and was constantly on the move. The bird was coming into summer plumage, which I have not previously seen, and to have the views I had was a joy. Also in the harbour, were plenty of Great Northern Divers. This is a bird which is normally off the south, west and north west coasts of Ireland, so to see them in high numbers off the east coast is unusual.

Dublin Ross's, a hit and miss for some!!!

I've been trying to get out and about recently but with work it's been hard. There are some nice birds knocking about in Dublin and I finally got out for a few hours on Saturday. So I met up with a good friend and we headed for the Ross's Gull at Poolbeg.

This bird has been a hit and miss for a lot of the guys up here and when it does show up it only usually hangs about for 15 minutes. So we decided to do Poolbeg first and if the Red-necked Grebe was to show up we would head for it. So four and a half hours later a text came through that the Red-necked Grebe was showing well in Dun Laoghaire inside the harbour. So there was no sign of the Ross's we said we would go and get it. But before we left I made a quick call to make sure the bird was still there and to my disappointment it hand moved out of the harbour . So we stayed where we were and hung around to see if the Gull would show.

Eight and a half hours and at least 30-40 birders later there was no joy and with other engagements and the light going we had to call it a day. So picture my annoyance when I got a text 30 minutes after we left that the Ross's was after appearing and hung around for 15 minutes gave good views. So roll on Sunday morning, and not making the same mistake I made the day before I headed straight for The Red-necked Grebe. While on my way through Blackrock I received a text that the Ross's was back at Poolbeg. It was an easy decision, Ross's would be a life tick and an Irish one at that. When I got there it was out in the middle of the channel but it was giving nice views. So another new gull of the year and what a relief. In the end I didn't go for the grebe, I may do that this weekend.

 2 shots of the Ross`s from last Sunday

 There is still one Snow Bunting knocking about on the Bull

 There are plenty of Black Guillemots about at present

 And also plenty of Kittiwakes around too

Snow Buntings still on the North Bull Island.

For the last few months there has been an average of six Snow Bunting hanging about the beach on Bull Island. I went to see these birds back in November and was surprised to see they have hung around for so long. In saying that, there has been birds coming and going as where there were no female birds originally, they have been joined by a juvenile female now but there are still only 6 birds. So the group has changed but not the number. They have to be one of my favourites, especially the adult males, they can be so striking in appearance. I took a few snaps recently so I`ll attach them below.

 

Northern Delight

On a very wet and windy Saturday morning, myself and a few friends headed up to Co. Tyrone to see the Pacific Diver that has been at Lough Fea for the past week. We were no sooner out of the car when the bird flew down towards us and landed at the other side of the lough. Within minutes, there was a large group of birders enjoying distant, but good views, of this mega bird in the early morning wind and rain.While up North, we decided to head for a trip to Oxford Island to catch up with some woodland birds. Among those seen were Jay, Redpoll, Bullfinch, all four Tit species as well as plenty of diving ducks. After that we headed towards Bangor Harbour looking for Eider, where we found 12 sitting on the water. On the way back, we encountered a Buzzard on a telegraph wire, which gave us great views. A cracking end to a cracking day.

Below the Pacific Diver in shots 1-4

 Buzzard giving me the evil eye.

1 of 3 Jays present in Oxford Island Nature Reserve.

New Year, New List!

With a New Year a new Year List starts. This year has started really well with a life and Irish tick within the first month. A really mega bird has shown up in Tacumshin, Co. Wexford and has hung around giving excellent views to birders. The bird in question is an Ivory Gull. These extremely rare visitors to Ireland are normally found in the high Arctic following polar bears around to pick at their leftovers or any carrion they may find. The last record for this bird was in Baltiomore, Co. Cork a few years back, so it wasn't surprising to see a very busy Tacumshin yesterday. While down there, we decided to go looking for a Glossy Ibis that had been seen on the South Slob. After a while looking, the bird obliged us by flying into a field behind us and giving us good views, although the light was far from ideal for photography. Other birds of note I have seen this year include a Little Gull from Sutton, Co. Dublin and Mediterranean and Iceland Gulls and an Eastern Jackdaw from Tallaght, Co. Dublin. The Caspian Gull that had been seen in Tallaght in the last week remained illusive today, as for the last few days, unfortunately. Perhaps he has left the area? I hope the rest of the year continues as it has begun......

 

What a beauty, Ivory Gull

 Nice to get a shot of its wings

 Glossy Ibis, Still great to have in any light.

 First winter Iceland Gull

Adult Mediterranean Gull

Eastern Jackdaw

Little Gull

Starling Murmuration

I was home over the Christmas and decided to catch up on a couple of local sites. With things being pretty quiet, I decided to go look for the Starling Murmuration which has been outside Croom for the last few years. I stood around for a while where I had seen the murmuration previously, and within 20 minutes, the birds started to gather and the flock grew and grew until I had an estimated 60k birds doing their sky dance. It is such an awe inspiring site to see so many birds twist and turn and fly in their masses with such precision. So if you happen to be around Croom in the next few months, it's well worth a look. I have attached a 6 minute video (taken at some distance by hand) below. It won't win any wildlife awards, but you'll get the picture!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2TCHk_JIPQ&feature=youtu.be

Yellow-legged Herring Gull?

As I was out and around Howth today I decided to have a quick look through the gulls hanging around the local fish factory. There was one gull of interest and that bird was a very possible Yellow-legged Herring gull. Please see the comment from Birdwatch Irelands Niall T Keogh below. If anyone one else has a view on this bird please leave a comment below as as I would be very interested to read them. The bird was sheltering with a group of Herring gulls on the roof of the fish factory. This particular bird had a silver leg ring on the right leg.

littoralis Rock Pipit

I am snowed under these days, so my birding days out are few and far between with. Lately I have only been able to get an hour here and an hour there so it is near impossible to cover any good birding areas. However there is one or two places nearby that have a good chance of holding something unusual, and one place is Howth. There is good numbers of gulls that hang around the local fish factory as well as the harbour which always has the likes of grebes and divers. But the east pier has one of the best chances of hiding a little gem. Water Pipit has shown up here in the past so it is always worth checking them. There wasn't many pipits about today but as I was about mid-way along the pier, I spotted a rock pipit, but it was paler than normal and on closer inspection I was right to pick up on it as it turned out to be a littoralis Rock Pipit. This is the second bird of this year for me with the previous one being back in March at Bull Island. I also had 1 Snow Bunting which was flushed by a dog and its walker and 7 Purple Sandpipiers.

 littoralis Rock Pipit above and below.

Purple Sandpipier, 1 of 7 birds present.