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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

County Louth (formerly Dundalk Bay) local patch. (2 Viewers)

Today at cooley point:
9 knot (several in summer plumage)
2 sanderling
40 dunlin (juvs among them)
42 ringed plover
20 whimbrel
13 curlew
5 cormorant
30 rb merg offshore
good numbers of auks offshore
+ large assortment of gulls especially several lesser black backed gulls (not common here) one of which had a blue ring with white writing, too distant to read unfortunately.
Only 7 sandwich terns left to confuse me!
Starting to feel wintery!
 
Called in at the harbour this morning, 9 Little Egret and a Kingfisher were best birds present but a 3 masted tall ship was attracting a good crowd.
Frank.
 
I had a short-eared owl at baltray yesterday evening, also a small falcon, presumably the merlin that has been hanging around the last few days. The owl seems to be feeding on skylarks (large pellet with completely white feathers beside skylark remains). Still a good number of terns, 100, sambo, 60+ roseates, 200+ common and about 60 little terns split between juvs and adults - several of the juvs attempting to fish on the river.

Also released a couple of shelduck ducklings at queensboro - i'd be interested if anyone sees them - they should stay together until they can find the nursery flock of shelduck juvs. This is the fourth shelduck rescue this year - the underpasses on all the new roads do not suit shelduck ducklings.
 

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Unidentified duck

I had this unidentified duck / (goose??) at Seabank at lunchtime today. Could not tie it in with anything I know, even if it is a hybrid.
About mallard size, very long thick legs dangling beyond tail in flight and giving it a rather comical Russian army type march, Underwings black, destinctive black and white banded uppertail, line down back of neck, very long fingered primaries in flight, silent.
I was lucky to get close for the photos as I waited till it walked towards me - this does not indicate that it was "tame" in any way and took flight once it spotted me.
Larger versions of attached images are available.
Any guesses????????
 

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Osprey..

Check out this osprey nest with chicks inside located in Jasper Canada. They are used to people passing by, where as in Calgary there is a nest used to traffic and not people.
 

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Check out this osprey nest with chicks inside located in Jasper Canada. They are used to people passing by, where as in Calgary there is a nest used to traffic and not people.

We whould put one of those things up at lurgangreen and maybe get them to stay and breed!
 
We had to fill in the pond in my daughters garden as far too dangerous with a toddler but I was surprised this summer to see a frog still in the garden. I thought they would just go off to a garden with a pond ......
 

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We whould put one of those things up at lurgangreen and maybe get them to stay and breed!

That's what I was thinking. They seem to work anywhere. This place is teeming with osprey and golden eagles. most of them nesting in man made nests like this 1.

This is the nest by the road side. These eagles are used to traffic but not people as they tried to attack me when I got out of the car to take pictures. The pole on the right is the one with the nest.

Apparently osprey choose highest location around there feeding site and nest there for life.
 

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Two ruff at dundalk docks yesterday, with a ringed blacktailed godwit. Wheatears coming through tepletown/balaggan. Seawatching totally dead - a few gannets and fulmars the best. The duck was still at seabank, approachable to about 10 yards.
 
Mini Fall

3 Willow Warblers and a male Backcap constituted a mini fall in the garden yesterday. Peregrine over the garden today...perhaps just juvenile despersal. 2-3 Painted Lady in the garden as well today
 
About 20 painted ladies in the lane this morning for some reason. Otherwise terns nearly gone, sea very quiet apart from gannets and auks - only a few manxies far out despite the strong southerlies...
 
No Ospreys in County Louth this year.
I note that the one that has been in Oxford Island, Lough Neagh this past few days, headed South this morning at 11am (per Joe Devlin).
Keep a look out.
 
Quiet on Clogherhead yesterday - a few distant manxies along with the usual auks, terns, gulls etc - checked the nest sites for the black guillemots, of which six were occupied. This morning two arctic skuas at balaggan point (one dark and one light) both heading west, and a single storm petrel att he mouth of the lough...white wagtail types apparently gone.
 
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