Hi all,
Thought that some of you may be interested in a synopsis of my day's birding yesterday(30th April).
The first site visited was the reedbed at Ballyvergan,where the main objectives were Reed Warbler(yes,we do have these over here,despite what some of the older books say!Not very common,though,and still quite localised;colonised in the early 80's),Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbler.
While waiting in the nearby hide we noticed a large raptor being chased:regrettably,the hide here is MUCH too low to the ground to see over the reedbed!Very little detail seen,but I felt that it was a Marsh Harrier,and on going around to the roadside(which affords a good view over the area)it was quickly confirmed as a 1st-summer female Marsh Harrier!As so often happens with species that are scarce migrants but not actual rarities,this followed close on the heels of my sighting of a 1st-s male on Cape Clear only last Friday!
I have now seen seven of these here,with three of them being at Ballyvergan(Feb 98 and same bird in Jan 99,June 01 and now Apr 03):all of my sightings at this site have been self-found.The species is probably annual in the area,but to date there has been no indication of even possible breeding.
With regard to the three target year-ticks,I recorded two of them,but oddly enough failed to SEE any!1 Cuckoo and 2 Reed Warblers were heardne of the latter was quite close to the minor road which bisects the reedbed,but we still couldn't see it.The species is amazingly difficult to see well at this site,despite there being a healthy population:gather that they are more obliging in the UK?
"Gropper" still eludes me for the year,but they'll be singing for a while yet(and after the recent sightings in SW Britain,could we even get a Savi's Warbler...?;-)Hasn't been a record in Ireland since 1996)
At nearby Knockadoon Head at least 3 Whitethroats were present,including a breeding pair.This is one of those species that I still get a kick out of seeing,despite having first had them over 10 years ago!(who said that twitchers were just tick-hungry automatons?).Warblers in general are a great favourite of mine,and I've always had a soft spot for Sylvias.
A little earlier than usual,another year tick presented itself near the caravan site on the head:a Spotted Flycatcher was seen very well indulging in the usual flycatching.This species has declined quite drastically as a breeding bird,but is still widespread and as a result is a regular sight on the headlands during migration.
Nothing of note was at the small pool at Pilmore Strand(have seen Garganey there this spring),but in a nearby field there were 60+ Whimbrel(a common sight in late spring here as in the UK)
The weather then took a turn for the worse(it had been raining heavily elsewhere and we were lucky to escape so long),so I indulged in a bit of lateral thinking:knowing that a)there had been quite a few Red-rumped Swallows in the UK and 2 untwitchable birds here and b)hirundines tend to congregate over standing water in poor weather,we went to Lough Aderra.
I was right about the gatherings of hirundines,but regrettably there weren't even any Swallows,just Sand Martins.My time will come with this sought-after species,watch this space...
So ended a good day;nothing too special or unexpected(but the Marsh Harrier was quite notable in an Irish context,and was far and away the best sighting),but enjoyable birding.
ATB,Harry
Thought that some of you may be interested in a synopsis of my day's birding yesterday(30th April).
The first site visited was the reedbed at Ballyvergan,where the main objectives were Reed Warbler(yes,we do have these over here,despite what some of the older books say!Not very common,though,and still quite localised;colonised in the early 80's),Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbler.
While waiting in the nearby hide we noticed a large raptor being chased:regrettably,the hide here is MUCH too low to the ground to see over the reedbed!Very little detail seen,but I felt that it was a Marsh Harrier,and on going around to the roadside(which affords a good view over the area)it was quickly confirmed as a 1st-summer female Marsh Harrier!As so often happens with species that are scarce migrants but not actual rarities,this followed close on the heels of my sighting of a 1st-s male on Cape Clear only last Friday!
I have now seen seven of these here,with three of them being at Ballyvergan(Feb 98 and same bird in Jan 99,June 01 and now Apr 03):all of my sightings at this site have been self-found.The species is probably annual in the area,but to date there has been no indication of even possible breeding.
With regard to the three target year-ticks,I recorded two of them,but oddly enough failed to SEE any!1 Cuckoo and 2 Reed Warblers were heardne of the latter was quite close to the minor road which bisects the reedbed,but we still couldn't see it.The species is amazingly difficult to see well at this site,despite there being a healthy population:gather that they are more obliging in the UK?
"Gropper" still eludes me for the year,but they'll be singing for a while yet(and after the recent sightings in SW Britain,could we even get a Savi's Warbler...?;-)Hasn't been a record in Ireland since 1996)
At nearby Knockadoon Head at least 3 Whitethroats were present,including a breeding pair.This is one of those species that I still get a kick out of seeing,despite having first had them over 10 years ago!(who said that twitchers were just tick-hungry automatons?).Warblers in general are a great favourite of mine,and I've always had a soft spot for Sylvias.
A little earlier than usual,another year tick presented itself near the caravan site on the head:a Spotted Flycatcher was seen very well indulging in the usual flycatching.This species has declined quite drastically as a breeding bird,but is still widespread and as a result is a regular sight on the headlands during migration.
Nothing of note was at the small pool at Pilmore Strand(have seen Garganey there this spring),but in a nearby field there were 60+ Whimbrel(a common sight in late spring here as in the UK)
The weather then took a turn for the worse(it had been raining heavily elsewhere and we were lucky to escape so long),so I indulged in a bit of lateral thinking:knowing that a)there had been quite a few Red-rumped Swallows in the UK and 2 untwitchable birds here and b)hirundines tend to congregate over standing water in poor weather,we went to Lough Aderra.
I was right about the gatherings of hirundines,but regrettably there weren't even any Swallows,just Sand Martins.My time will come with this sought-after species,watch this space...
So ended a good day;nothing too special or unexpected(but the Marsh Harrier was quite notable in an Irish context,and was far and away the best sighting),but enjoyable birding.
ATB,Harry