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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)

Left sunny Drogheda to go on my first real Birdwatching day. Only to be greeted by Fog and lots of it. Managed to catch a glimpse of lapwings and that was it. Although the birdsong sounded promising it wasnt to be, the fog did not lift. I can only imagine what around Blackrock and shore road would be like. Ah well maybe next time.
 
lurgangreen

Left sunny Drogheda to go on my first real Birdwatching day. Only to be greeted by Fog and lots of it. Managed to catch a glimpse of lapwings and that was it. Although the birdsong sounded promising it wasnt to be, the fog did not lift. I can only imagine what around Blackrock and shore road would be like. Ah well maybe next time.

Today lurgangreen 1 med gull and 2 argentatus herring gulls..
 
Two Blackcaps returned today finally feeding on the apple on garden chair and one feeding away on the peanut feeder close to door. Of course now I want to see a red browny headed one. I could hear beautiful singing all morning. I got a red fruited small Crab apple tree for them in B&Q. Best of all I had my first Brambling bird a couple of days ago and again a totally unmistakeable bird. It stayed most of the day feeding away on seed tray close to the glass doors, a real treat. I didnt torture him with a camera yet as want him to return.
I had three lovely Greenfinches today and four odd rounded dumpy Sparrows with no white at all on them and large area of plain silvery grey particularly on side edges and back as well. In the trees they do not look like Sparrows at all as so much plain silvery grey on them. I saw one up quite close and beaks like Reed Buntings also stripey heads and odd big eyes think with a pale or else dark ring all around them. I have named them my mountain Sparrows and think a Yellowhammer bird hiding at back of garage usually with them as well but it wont come forward at all. They are much nicer than usual male Sparrows except with no figures |=)| and also bit like Reed Bunting males heads except with all this silvery plain grey. One seemed to have an odd tail when opened out. Perhaps they are coming up here from a really wild natural damp bird habitat with copse between Derrybeg and the Meadow where the Long Tailed Tits and more male Bullfinches are. Thats what I wonder as full of birds.
 
Birds were busily feeding in my garden this morning when they all flew off in different directions and what I presume was a sparrowhawk swooped down and back over my wall. Birds that were feeding were starlings,goldfinches,house sparrows,chaffinch, blue tit ang great tit. Its the unexpected that makes it wonderfull.
 
The Siskins have finally come into my garden with about five Greenfinches this morning. The female Reed Buntings are not amused at all as they are already taking over their Niger seed glass feeder that is almost hidden up in the arch. A few of them always hide in the pinky browny clematis stalks just above glass feeder as it camoflages them perfectly (identical colour of them almost and if not hiding there they are hiding in the same coloured twisted Willow pinky browny branches). They must be sort of secretive birds really. My one or two Twites hide there also but the deepness of the rosey pink of them gives them away.
I have a second Niger seed feeder for the fighting over it birds. The female Buntings seem to wait their turn calmly. You could fall asleep on the chair by the time a male Reed Bunting will finally decide to move or feed. In fact one clever little Sisking is feeding on the other side of the glass feeder and you can harldy see her through it. No colourful males seen just yet. I have three gorgeous chocolate brown greenfinches with nice faces maybe juveniles.
 
Nice to see the male Snow Bunting still at Annagassan.This was one of the highlights of an otherwise fairly quiet visit to the bay today.
An impressive mixed flock of Greylag, Pink Footed and White Fronted Geese were to be seen at the goose field at Lurgangreen this afternoon.A nice way to round off the trip.
Can anyone throw any light on a Greylag Goose in this flock,which had what looked like a plastic orange tag around its neck?
 
Todays photos.

Today lurgangreen 1 med gull and 2 argentatus herring gulls..

An argentatus herring gull at Salterstown and a hooded crow showing alot of white on ots wing at Annagassan today.
 

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Snow bunting was still there today, and a male long tailed duck with the scoter flock off annagassan.

Gerry can say better but argentatus herring gulls are a tad darker than argenteus and have more white on their wing tips in a specific pattern - they are from more northerly latitudes...
 
I have lovely birds with no tails practically just a really tiny tail with white on upside end even. At first I thought the birds were all born wrong but after watching for ages realised they had a lovely half shape of a diamond edged with a goldy yellow colour where the tail seemed missing. So I started searching bird books and realise I seem to have Woodlarks or some kind of Larks. It might explain me wondering why some of my female Sparrows had such long awkward clumsy legs and feet. I know I have heard Lark singing here as knew the sound always down at Omeath shore. I think also they might be the birds with the odd tails that open out.
 
2 red headed male Redpolls and one female all day at Niger feeders and one poor picture as usual..... I seem to have half the seed blowing on ground (to delight of other birds) so bought a specialised feeder today and hope proves to be more successful. I hope tomorrow to get time to see 2 birds with no tails again. One Redwing in my tree and 6 up on grassy verge at top of road. I have a lovely browny bird with pure orange wingbar instead of white and others with straight long thick white line where Chaffinch white markings should be so definitely some odd Chaffinches about or else something else. My father has one of those huge blackbirds with the brown extra large looking odd wings following him and the dog around like a pet. I have one too trying to chase every bird out of the garden, they are hilarious.
 
Surprised to see 5 Redpolls at one time on new Niger seed feeder seems to be 3 males and 2 females. Then I looked out and saw a different type of Redpoll with them that had a totally unstreaked rounded fat white belly. All others are identical type. I have never had a different sort of one before.
 
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