29 February 2012
Sandycove: 41 Mediterranean Gulls including 9 first
winter birds and 5 colour-ringed gulls including Irish Sandycove
yellow-ringed birds 2XA0 and 2XA1.SK
Little Egret at Causeway to
Bull Island (Photo by Dave MacPherson)
28 February 2012
At Blessington Basin this morning (Tuesday 28th Feb), a
Mallard with 5 early chicks! PV
Skylark at North Bull (Photo
by Harry Bailey)
Meadow Pipit at North Bull
(Photo by Harry Bailey)
Raheny: 4 Stock Doves and Long-tailed Tits
gathering nesting material in St. Anne's Park, Raheny.GF
Stock Doves in St. Anne's
Park (Photo by Ger Franck)
Long-tailed Tit in St.
Anne's Park (Photo by Ger Franck)
27 February 2012
Tacumshin Lake, Wexford: 10 Bearded Reedlings, 1 Water
Pipit, 4 Lapland Bunting and 4 Hen Harriers.BS
Bearded Reedling - one of 10
at east end pool at Tacumshin Lake (Photo by Brendan Sheils)
26 February 2012
Merlin at Bull
Island
25 February 2012
Bull Island: 1 Short- eared Owl at 9:30 this morning in
northern salt marsh along with a Merlin in the same area.
A Kestrel hunting over the causeway & good numbers
of Skylarks.AR
Merlin at North Bull Island
(Photo by Brian McDonnell)
Red Kite over Skerries (Photo by
Cian Merne)
Grey Partridges are part of a release program in North
County Dublin - a bumper day for sightings of them today!
Grey Partridge at Rogerstown (Photo by
Shay Connolly)
Grey Partridge at Skerries (Photo by Cian Merne)
Grey Partridge at Rogerstown (Photo by
Shay Connolly)
Grey Partridge at Skerries (Photo by Cian Merne)
24 February 2012
Peregrine being mobbed by
crows at Bull Island (Photo by Ciaran Walsh)
Peregrine with a kill at Bull Island (Photo by Ciaran Walsh)
Redshank at Bull Island
(Photo by Ciaran Walsh)
23 February 2012
Redpoll (Photo by Tom
Gregan)
21 February 2012
Dun Laoghaire: A total of 36 Mediterranean Gulls (28
adults, 5 2nd-winter & 3 1st-winters) were present between the
East Pier, Dun Laoghaire & the 40-foot at 10:00am this
morning. A Grey Wagtail & c.110 Shags were
also seen at the base of the East Pier. The 3 Black-necked
Grebes were in Dublin Bay at 10:45am, seen from the base of
the West Pier, Dun Laoghaire, looking across towards The Poolbeg.
Further single Mediterranean Gulls included a Hungarian
(red ringed) 1st-winter bird at Seapoint & an adult at
Blackrock. A 2nd-winter Iceland Gull was also seen
flying south past Merrion Gates, Sandymount Strand in the late
evening. NTK
Robin in full flow, Clontarf (Photo
by Dave MacPherson)
Greystones: 9 Snow Buntings seen at the
harbour compound.HB
Snow Bunting after taken a
bath at Greystones harbour compound (Photo
by Harry Bailey)
20 February 2012
Islandbridge: At the war memorial garden this morning I
saw 15 or so Redwing, a flock of 20 to 30 Siskins
and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.IS
19 February 2012
Long tailed Tit in Clontarf
garden (Photo
by Dave MacPherson)
Rogerstown: 2 Ringtail Hen Harriers, a female type Merlin,
a Sparrowhawk, 2 Red Kites, numerous Buzzards,
Kestrels & a Water Rail beside South hide.AR
Kestrel at Rogerstown (Photo
by Adrian Rooney)
House Sparrow in Naul Garden
(Photo by Joe Curtis)
Yellowhammer in Naul Garden - 1st visit since Dec 2010 (Photo by
Joe Curtis)
Chaffinch in Naul Garden
(Photo by Joe Curtis)
Kestrel at Turvey Park
(Photo by Brian Carruthers)
18 February 2012
Tolka Outing to
Kilcoole:
Despite the forecast for rain, over 20
Tolka Members met at Kilcoole car park this morning. After
getting out of the cars we were straight away greeted by a
beautiful Peregrine Falcon doing laps of the car park high
above our heads. Other Raptors on the day included 2 Kestrels,
Merlin and a ringtail Hen Harrier. Two Stonechat
were nice to see at the start of the walk and almost straight away
we were greeted by the sound of Skylarks - a wonderful
spring sound. Other birds seen included Teal, Shoveler,
Wigeon, Mallard, Shelduck, Grey Heron,
Little Egret, 5 Red-throated Divers, Little Grebe,
Dunlin, Ringed Plover, and Golden Plover
which also put on a beautiful display for us in the strong winter
sun. The wind as well as the Geese and Swans being
so far away lead to distant views on the day and so it was
virtually impossible to pick out a Bewick Swan or a Bean Goose. We
did however count about 80 Whooper Swans, lots of Greylag
& Brent Geese. Highlights of the day were a Glossy
Ibis which was picked up flying towards us. It then went right
over our heads and on towards Newcastle. The other highlight was
10 Snow Bunting at Greystones. A great day was had by
all.PC
Snow Buntings at Greystones
(Photo by Philip Clancy)
Red-throated Diver at
Kilcoole (Photo by Brian Carruthers)
Dundalk: I had a Great
White Egret flying over the M1 Motorway at the Dundalk
South Turnoff for Dundalk Town at 8am. The bird was flying flow
over M1 heading towards the coast. Could possibly be around
Lurgangreen or Dundalk Docks! BS
Baldoyle Estuary: 4 Shelduck, 200+ Black-tailed Godwit,
Redshank. Hole in the Wall beach: 5 Red-breasted
Merganser. Gulls: 9 Common, 4 Herring, 4 Black-headed
and some territorial Hooded Crows. EMcC
Dún Laoghaire West Pier: 2 Black-necked Grebes gave good,
if distant, views - far out at sea.
Bullock Harbour: No white-winged gulls, but plenty of Mediterranean
Gulls, plus a ringed Great Black-backed Gull. Also one Gannet.FM,
MC, IS & HM
Mediterranean Gull at
Bullock Harbour
(Photo by Francois Mullan)
A ringed Great
Black-backed Gull at Bullock Harbour (Photo by Francois Mullan)
Female Blackcap in Ranelagh
Garden (Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Female Chaffinch in Ranelagh
Garden
(Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Male Greenfinch in Ranelagh
Garden
(Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Dunnock in Ranelagh Garden
(Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
15 February 2012
Blue Tit in Naas Garden
(Photo by Marie O'Brien)
14 February 2012
Water Rail at UCD wetlands
(Photo by Vincent Hall)
Kestrel at Rogerstown
(Photo by Harry Bailey)
13 February 2012
Wigeon at Newcastle
(Photo by Harry Bailey)
12 February 2012
Booterstown Marsh: 1 Kingfisher seen today at the
Marsh.
Dundalk Bay - Between Marsh South and Clogher Head
there were 34,894 waterbirds, of 36 species. The top ten were
10,645 Knot, 6,414 Oystercatchers, 5,600 Golden
Plover, 3,710 Lapwing, 3,121 Bar-tailed Godwits,
1,191 Brent Geese, 1,066 Common Gulls, 830 Redshanks,
815 Curlews and 815 Common Scoters.OM
Inchicore Road: Male Sparrowhawk;
M1/N1/Donabate area: A Buzzard, a Kestrel & a Red
Kite;
Rogerstown north hide: 3 Buzzards & a female type Merlin;
and
Turvey: A ringtail Hen Harrier, a female Sparrowhawk,
a Buzzard & 2 male Kestrels.AR&PH
Ring tail Hen Harrier at
Turvey (Photo by Paul Heneghan)
One Turnstone amongst the
Redshank at Dun Laoghaire (Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Mediterranean Gull at Dun
Laoghaire (Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Chaffinch at Ranelagh (Photo
by Nicola Dunphy)
Hen Harrier at Rogerstown
having a little trouble holding on to his snack (Photos by Brian
Carruthers)
Brent Geese at Seabury,
Malahide (Photos by James Wood)
11 February 2012
Bray Harbour - 1 Glaucous Gull (immature) and 1 Mediterranean
Gull.OM
Booterstown Marsh: 1 Water Rail seen by Frank
Doyle.
Colours for Spring? No, WHITE
is all the rage. We've had Chaffinch, Oystercatcher,
Blackbirds all sporting the new look. Today's latest
is a leucistic Black-headed
Gull, promenading along Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix
Park. As you can see it is sporting a bit of "bling" and
we think the accessories reveal that it was tagged on Lough Mask.
Update from Eoin McGreal
who ringed this featured BHG: "Black-headed
Gull 252D which was colour-ringed on Lough Mask, County Mayo on
15/06/2008 and this is now the 3rd consecutive winter that it has
been re-sighted in the Phoenix Park.
252D 15/06/08
09/02/10 Phoenix Park Sèan Geraty
10/11/10 Phoenix Park Sèan Geraty
28/12/10 Phoenix Park Stephen Lawlor
11/02/12 Phoenix Park Ciaran Walsh
It is probable that this individual returned as a possible
breeding adult to its natal colony in June, 2010 - a leucistic
colour-ringed adult was seen briefly at the colony but
unfortunately it was not possible to read the ring codes."
Leucistic Black-headed Gull
in Phoenix Park (Photo by Ciaran Walsh)
At Rogerstown north hide: Female Merlin, female Sparrowhawk,
3 Buzzards & pair of Bullfinch & 3 separate
ringtail Hen Harriers at Turvey.AR,BC,LF
Goldfinch in Naas Garden (Photo by
Marie O'Brien)
9 February 2012
Drogheda: 4 Chiffchaff present during the
afternoon in roving tit flock moving along the hedges at
St.Joesph's CBS in Drogheda. Also present was 10 Redwing on
the football pitch.BS
7 February 2012
Normally on the playing grounds in Trinity College between
November and March Redwing numbers are generally around 25 – 100
birds however this winter there has been none; that is until
today; a single Redwing was with a group of Mistle
Thrushes on the Trinity Rugby pitch. Maybe with the cold snap
in Europe we might see a few more arriving to our shores. Other
birds of note was a flock of approx 25 Siskins in the Alder
trees.IS
High Tide counts from the Rogerstown Estuary south hide today
included: 295+ Light-bellied Brent Geese, 110 Shelduck,
265+ Wigeon, 820 Teal, 50 Mallard, 2,750+ Lapwing,
420+ Golden Plover, 46 Grey Plover, 355 Curlew,
7 Greenshank, 395+ Redshank, 205+ Black-tailed
Godwits, 130 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Ruff, 15 Knot,
230 Dunlin, 440+ Black-headed Gulls, 13 Common
Gulls, an adult Mediterranean Gull, 210 Herring
Gulls, an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, a 1st-winter Iceland
Gull, a ringtail Hen Harrier, 4 Buzzards, a Sparrowhawk,
3 Kestrels & a Kingfisher. Skylark in
song also! NTK
6 February 2012
Stonechat, female at
Greystones (Photo by Harry Bailey)
5 February 2012
Kilcoole: The 2 Tundra Bean Geese were
still at Webb's field, Kilcoole amongst a flock of c.250 Greylag
Geese (including a leucistic individual). Plenty of other
wildfowl & waders present there at the moment with notable
counts of c.650 Light-bellied Brent, 141 Black-tailed
Godwits, 5 Bar-tailed Godwits & a Grey Plover.
South of The Breaches: an adult Bewick's Swan was
seen with a flock of c.80 Whooper Swans & a ringtail Hen
Harrier flew south at 12:35. A pair of Stonechats
were on the track alongside Newcastle Airfield.
NOTE: at
Kilcoole there is also what appears to be a hybrid Black Brant
X Light-bellied Brent Goose (male) paired with a female Light-bellied
Brent Goose & accompanied by two 1st-winters exhibiting
some hybrid features.NTK
Rogerstown: 2 Hen Harrier; 2 Peregrine; up to 6 Buzzards; 1
Merlin; 2 Kestrels.SC
Hen Harrier
at Rogerstown (Photo by Shay Connolly)
Peregrine at Rogerstown (Photo by
Shay Connolly)
Hen Harrier
at Turvey (Photo by Brian Carruthers)
Redpoll and Great Tit in
Naas Garden (Photos by Marie O'Brien)
4 February 2012
Brent Geese in St Benildus
field, Kilmacud from 9am-3pm (Photo by Linda Farrell)
Merlin at Turvey (Photo by Brian
Carruthers)
3 February 2012
Botanic Gardens from 11 to 12.30: 3 Bullfinch, 1 Treecreeper
and 1 Dipper (giving excellent views from Tolka House
bridge).CD
Baldoyle Estuary / Hole in the wall beach: Waders,
circa 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Greenshank, 10 Redshank,
Turnstone, Oystercatcher. Gulls:
mostly.. Herring, Black-headed and Greater
Black-backed also 1 Common Gull. Two Great-crested
Grebe, 5 Brent Geese and Hooded Crows aerial
bombing.EMC
Counts from Rogerstown Estuary south hide today included: 240 Light-bellied
Brent Geese, 30 Shelduck, 355+ Wigeon, 360+ Teal,
30 Mallard, 10 Little Grebes, 360 Lapwing, 20
Golden Plover, 175 Curlew, 1 Greenshank, 165 Redshank,
40 Black-tailed Godwits, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits, 510+ Black-headed
Gulls, 16 Common Gulls, 720+ Herring Gulls, 2 Lesser
Black-backed Gulls & 75 Great Black-backed Gulls. A
ringtail Hen Harrier, 5 Buzzards & a Kestrel
were also seen. NTK
Goldcrest at Oldtown Wood,
Phoenix Park (Photo by
Harry Bailey)
2 February 2012
A 1st-winter Glaucous Gull was day roosting with other
large gulls at Bullock Harbour on the low tide exposed rocks. 46 Mediterranean
Gulls were also day roosting at Sandycove, comprised of 37
adults, 3 2nd-winters & 6 1st-winters, including birds ringed
in France (Green) & Ireland (Yellow). A 2nd-winter Iceland
Gull was showing well, circling around Trader's Wharf &
West Pier, Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Another 1st-winter Mediterranean
Gull was seen at Blackrock strand, this time ringed in Hungary
(Red). Over 650 Bar-tailed Godwits were also noted there.
NTK
Leucistic Oystercatcher
and two regulars at Baldoyle (Photo by Jim Duffy)
1 February 2012
Dublin 2: Iceland Gull at the Grand Canal Dock.IS
Killester: We had a Sparrowhawk on the roof of the
house in Killester today. Also saw a Buzzard perched on a
pole at the Finglas exit M50.MH
Yellowhammer at Swords
Estuary (Photo by Dave McPherson)
Greenshank at Swords Estuary (Photo by Dave McPherson)
Redshank at Swords Estuary
(Photo by Dave McPherson)
Hen Harrier seen at
Rogerstown (Photo by
Harry Bailey)
Redpoll in Dublin garden (Photo by Brian
Carruthers)
Starling in Dublin garden (Photo by Brian Carruthers)
Song Thrush in Dublin Garden (Photo by Brian
Carruthers)
Blackbird, female in Dublin garden (Photo by Brian Carruthers)
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