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County Louth (formerly Dundalk Bay) local patch. (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter breffni
- Start date
Is that a sardinian warbler? I guess the stork is missing. Is there a bee-eater record for louth?
Orchid
That looks like a pyrimidal orchid - there is a very rare variety of pyramidal that might be around the dunes - lip is unlobed - its called "emarginata"...marsh orchids are also possible...
That looks like a pyrimidal orchid - there is a very rare variety of pyramidal that might be around the dunes - lip is unlobed - its called "emarginata"...marsh orchids are also possible...
Peter Phillips
Well-known member
Hoopoe from Hermitage a few years ago and White Stork from Baltray I think about1974/5.
Derek Watters
Well-known member
Yes Breffni, sardinian warbler. Here's a few more - serin, marsh harrier and Alpine Swift
Attachments
Derek Watters
Well-known member
Pallid Swifts
And for anyone interested in a study of identifying Common Swift V Pallid Swift, here's some swift photos I took over there - very difficult birds to photograph. Both swifts breed in the area but most are pallid swifts.
Take a look at the last photo. It is normal for swifts to store food in their crops (under their bills) but this guy really had the full five courses! Looks like he's about to burst.
And for anyone interested in a study of identifying Common Swift V Pallid Swift, here's some swift photos I took over there - very difficult birds to photograph. Both swifts breed in the area but most are pallid swifts.
Take a look at the last photo. It is normal for swifts to store food in their crops (under their bills) but this guy really had the full five courses! Looks like he's about to burst.
Attachments
Wow, was the white stork accepted?
gareth2005
Well-known member
Unfortunatly we dont have any Woodpeckers here in Ireland, although I did read somewhere that there were plans to reinstoduce them in Wicklow a few years back but I dont think anything came of it.
Oh dear I hope I am not the only person in Ireland looking out for them................. Its the Daily Mails fault as I collected tokens and got their lovely Bird Dvd and binoculars sent to me last year and the guy called Liam Dale narrating it mentioned rare glimpses of a Green Woodpecker in a country garden. I thought they might be away down South but it would be lovely if someone tried to introduce them here.
Peter Phillips
Well-known member
Thanks for that Pluvius. Fantastic photos by the way.
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Beautiful pictures and a lot of people including myself will lose themselves very happily in your birding blog on rainy days. Thank goodness my new dishwasher arrived today and that means I will have more time to read about The Little Terns who are starting to feel like family. In the meantime I have an invasion of young Blue Tits to look after and fill the feeders again for........... the hungry little boys in grey still with hints of blue appearing now. I have other kinds of young Tits too but definitely a small army of blue.
Wonderful photos Pluvius and all kind comments greatly appreciated Pluvius and Dolce. It is the great band of Volunteers that make this project work. All going well so far but with only 1 nest hatched, we have a lot of work ahead ot us. Both hatched chicks seem to be doing well and all nests are intact. Lets hope the weather improves again!!
Peter Phillips
Well-known member
All well at Baltray today. About 20 Dunlin on the beach and a Carrion Crow at the mouth of the Boyne the best.
Gerry o Neill
Well-known member
Peter Phillips
Well-known member
Kingfisher on the Dee this afternoon on Link Road
Well done on the Storm Petrels at Clogher Head Gerry. Nice shots.
County Year List
158 Storm Petrel
Well done on the Storm Petrels at Clogher Head Gerry. Nice shots.
County Year List
158 Storm Petrel
The Little Tern project in Baltray suffered a blow Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, with 44 eggs being predated.
Our main suspects are gulls. The electric fence was fully functional and there were no signs that it had been breached, plus the way we have the fencing sectioned and the areas where the eggs were taken from would eliminate ground predators as suspects.
The attack must have taken place very early morning, as when the early warden arrived at the beach the damage had already been done. Our volunteer effort cannot stretch to wardening overnight, which would seem to be the only way to elimate these threats, particularly these days when there are so few hours of darkness.
Wardening extended to midnight last night and commenced at 3.30am this morning as a one off to try and see if the predator returned. A fox was seen, but while this is a worry, we're confident that it wasn't the culprit. On the other hand, gull activity began at 4am, with gulls in groups of 4 or 5 making aggressive swoops into the enclosure from time to time. The wardens chased them off and there were no further casualties, but it will be a continuing worry for us if this activity begins at 4am every morning.
We still have 20 eggs and 6 chicks, which, if we can hold on to these, is still an excellent number for Baltray. All the signs yesterday were that the birds are preparing to re-lay, with plenty of courtship going on. Fingers crossed!
Our main suspects are gulls. The electric fence was fully functional and there were no signs that it had been breached, plus the way we have the fencing sectioned and the areas where the eggs were taken from would eliminate ground predators as suspects.
The attack must have taken place very early morning, as when the early warden arrived at the beach the damage had already been done. Our volunteer effort cannot stretch to wardening overnight, which would seem to be the only way to elimate these threats, particularly these days when there are so few hours of darkness.
Wardening extended to midnight last night and commenced at 3.30am this morning as a one off to try and see if the predator returned. A fox was seen, but while this is a worry, we're confident that it wasn't the culprit. On the other hand, gull activity began at 4am, with gulls in groups of 4 or 5 making aggressive swoops into the enclosure from time to time. The wardens chased them off and there were no further casualties, but it will be a continuing worry for us if this activity begins at 4am every morning.
We still have 20 eggs and 6 chicks, which, if we can hold on to these, is still an excellent number for Baltray. All the signs yesterday were that the birds are preparing to re-lay, with plenty of courtship going on. Fingers crossed!
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Gerry o Neill
Well-known member
Common sand 147 river fane...
