Had 10 days on the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal, which (as I found out) is a key birding area in Ireland, encompassing moors, bogs and sea cliffs, plus a massive sea Lough (Swilly)
Sadly, this was a family holiday, so I couldn't go birding every day. Anyway, with the caveats in place...this was some of the best birding I've ever had, and most of it was done by osmosis- the birds came to me. Over the ten days, got in excess of 70 species, including a dozen or so year ticks, and a few unexpected ones.
Being a modest chap I set my target for this trip to get a hooded crow. Not much of a target, but aim low, less chance of failure.
We were staying in a cottage on a farm, with a half mile or so walk downhill through a field to get to a secluded beach on loch swilly. Lots of birding done in the garden, therefore, taking advantage of what was apparently unseasnably warm weather.
Got the hoody as soon as we arrived, so job done. Anything else was a bonus. lots of other corvids, as you'd expect, including 2 pairs of ravens which flew overhead at 6 pm every night. Nesting blackbirds, and it became clear that chaffinches were the small bird of choice in this area- they were everywhere. On a walk to the beach (Stragill Strand) on April 4th, I got a late redwing, and a pair of fearless ringed plover that were a) unbothered by me walking 10 feet away from them, b) unbothered by a dug running even closer. Song thrush and curlew in the field below the cottage called regularly in the morning and evening.
Many evenings spent sipping a Guinness (when in Rome, etc...) got me brent geese on the lough- I quickly noticed they liked floating in with the tide before heading back out to 'sea.' Later in the week, a mixed flock of BH gulls, common gulls, and kittiwakes (this took a lot of photo I.D time, incidentally) sat sunning themselves as dog walkers, and cars scooted by on the sand. Pied wag playing tig with my car, and 2 pheasants fighting in the garden (caught on video, incidentally) were pleasant distractions for the kids.
A day trip to Malin Head (most northerly point of the mainland) got gannet, barnacle goose, wheatear, eider, herring gull, and a very white winged gull- later confirmed as a 2nd winter Iceland Gull.
A day trip to Moville on Lough Foyle got razorbill and black guillemot together. By now, my gull i.d skills had deserted me- if it didn't have a black head, or a really black wings, then I was clueless. Strangely disconcerting.
A trip to Lisfannon Beach near Buncrana got me kestrel, mipit, and grasshopper warbler- plus a tern of some description heading south.
A trip to Fort Dunree military museum, got fulmar on the sea cliffs, plus cormorant and gulls.
By Thursday 7th, got one audible willow warbler near the cottage. By the next day, the rest of them had arrived. Complete cacophany.
Friday got me a swallow on the telephone wire next to the cottage, plus pinkies and whoopers flying north. Monday morning, just before leaving for home, a sparrowhawk wreaked havoc, which proved that time spent gazing off into space is never wasted.
A rough count of 10 year ticks through 'passive' birding, a few of them unexpected (Brent Geese, Gropper...) and all of them welcome. A dedicated birding holiday in this area could do some serious damage to your tick list. And all this without even starting on Inch Levels Reserve.
Sadly, this was a family holiday, so I couldn't go birding every day. Anyway, with the caveats in place...this was some of the best birding I've ever had, and most of it was done by osmosis- the birds came to me. Over the ten days, got in excess of 70 species, including a dozen or so year ticks, and a few unexpected ones.
Being a modest chap I set my target for this trip to get a hooded crow. Not much of a target, but aim low, less chance of failure.
We were staying in a cottage on a farm, with a half mile or so walk downhill through a field to get to a secluded beach on loch swilly. Lots of birding done in the garden, therefore, taking advantage of what was apparently unseasnably warm weather.
Got the hoody as soon as we arrived, so job done. Anything else was a bonus. lots of other corvids, as you'd expect, including 2 pairs of ravens which flew overhead at 6 pm every night. Nesting blackbirds, and it became clear that chaffinches were the small bird of choice in this area- they were everywhere. On a walk to the beach (Stragill Strand) on April 4th, I got a late redwing, and a pair of fearless ringed plover that were a) unbothered by me walking 10 feet away from them, b) unbothered by a dug running even closer. Song thrush and curlew in the field below the cottage called regularly in the morning and evening.
Many evenings spent sipping a Guinness (when in Rome, etc...) got me brent geese on the lough- I quickly noticed they liked floating in with the tide before heading back out to 'sea.' Later in the week, a mixed flock of BH gulls, common gulls, and kittiwakes (this took a lot of photo I.D time, incidentally) sat sunning themselves as dog walkers, and cars scooted by on the sand. Pied wag playing tig with my car, and 2 pheasants fighting in the garden (caught on video, incidentally) were pleasant distractions for the kids.
A day trip to Malin Head (most northerly point of the mainland) got gannet, barnacle goose, wheatear, eider, herring gull, and a very white winged gull- later confirmed as a 2nd winter Iceland Gull.
A day trip to Moville on Lough Foyle got razorbill and black guillemot together. By now, my gull i.d skills had deserted me- if it didn't have a black head, or a really black wings, then I was clueless. Strangely disconcerting.
A trip to Lisfannon Beach near Buncrana got me kestrel, mipit, and grasshopper warbler- plus a tern of some description heading south.
A trip to Fort Dunree military museum, got fulmar on the sea cliffs, plus cormorant and gulls.
By Thursday 7th, got one audible willow warbler near the cottage. By the next day, the rest of them had arrived. Complete cacophany.
Friday got me a swallow on the telephone wire next to the cottage, plus pinkies and whoopers flying north. Monday morning, just before leaving for home, a sparrowhawk wreaked havoc, which proved that time spent gazing off into space is never wasted.
A rough count of 10 year ticks through 'passive' birding, a few of them unexpected (Brent Geese, Gropper...) and all of them welcome. A dedicated birding holiday in this area could do some serious damage to your tick list. And all this without even starting on Inch Levels Reserve.
