2011 DUBLIN COUNTY BIRD RACE
A sightings roundup by Niall T. Keogh
The 21st annual Dublin County Bird Race took place on Saturday 8th January 2011. A total of 6 teams met at 08:00 at Booterstown DART Station car park & then raced around the county trying to see as many species as possible before meeting at Clontarf Castle at 18:30. By the end of the day, a cumulative total of 114 species of bird were recorded by all teams with each individual team’s scores as follows:
• 1st place (105 points): ‘The Raven Loons’ – Owen Foley, Conor Foley, Donal Foley & Robert Vaughan.
• 2nd place (100 points): ‘The Southside Swifts’ – Niall T. Keogh, Noel Keogh & Jamie Durrant.
• 3rd place (99 points): ‘The Northside Nightjars’ – Eric Dempsey, John Fox, Mir Harris & Ger Franck.
• 4th place (98 ½ points): ‘The Burgermeisters’ – Niall Hatch, Natalia Borodina, Stephen McAvoy & Robert Busby.
• 5th place (97 points): ‘The Peckers’ – Dick Coombes, Christian Osthoff & Gerry Lyons.
• 6th place (83 points): ‘The Holy Trinity’ – Jim Bowman, Ian Stevenson & Patrick Veale.
Divers were once again surprisingly scarce in Dublin this year with small numbers of Red-throated Divers noted whilst the only Great Northern Divers recorded were singles at the West Pier, Dun Laoghaire Harbour & off Lowtherstown, north of Balbriggan.
Good numbers of Great-crested Grebes were present in Dublin Bay (425+ counted there recently) & the returning Red-necked Grebe was still present in its usual haunt, off the bandstands on the East Pier, Dun Laoghaire. Plenty of Little Grebes were seen, including an interesting sighting of one at sea in Dalkey Sound just off the slipway on the island. This bird was presumably displaced by the cold weather.
Winter seabird sightings included several Gannets in Killiney Bay, Dublin Bay & off Howth, small numbers of Kittiwakes offshore from several sites whilst Fulmars were much scarcer, with singles birds being recorded from Howth & off Balbriggan. All three species of regularly occurring auk (Guillemot, Razorbill & Black Guillemot) were also recorded.
Little Egrets were noticeably scarce as a result of the cold weather, with single figure counts coming from Clonkeen Park, Cabinteely Park, Booterstown Marsh & Broadmeadows Estuary (Swords).
A flock of 4 Whooper Swans & a Pink-footed Goose at Broadmeadows Estuary along with 6 Scaup was a nice find on the day. A Bar-headed Goose which was also seen at Broadmeadows Estuary is most likely an escaped bird from a nearby collection. A flock of 20+ Greylag Geese on the north side of Rogerstown was a welcome find on the day as this species can be notoriously difficult to get on the race. Flocks of diving duck such as Pochard, Tufted Duck & Goldeneye were present in Swords Estuary whilst a nice flock of Tufted Duck with a few Pochard & 3 male Gadwall were present at Knock Lake. Another Scaup was also seen off Lowtherstown. Plenty of Red-breasted Mergansers were seen at Swords Estuary, from The Bull Wall & in Dublin Bay & small flocks of Common Scoter were to be found in Dublin Bay & off Skerries. As a result of the 4.0m high tides coinciding with the time most teams would visit the North Bull, the returning female Blue-winged Teal was not recorded on the race, although it was seen by a non-participant earlier that day.
Single Merlins were recorded on both the North Bull & at Lowtherstown, Peregrines were seen at several localities & Buzzards, Sparrowhawks & Kestrels were found to be plentiful on the day.
Despite a valiant effort by one of the teams, no Red Grouse could be found in the Dublin Mountains, although strong winds hampered their efforts. Water Rail were heard calling at dusk at Knock Lake & good numbers of Coot were noted, including c.8 at Broadmeadows Estuary, an area where they normally wouldn’t be recorded, again probably displaced by the cold weather.
All of the regularly occurring wader species were seen including Purple Sandpipers at Skerries & a Spotted Redshank at Booterstown Marsh. Mediterranean Gulls were plentiful at their usual haunts in South Dublin Bay & wintering Lesser Black-backed Gulls were seen at Broadmeadows Estuary (2), North Bull, Baldoyle & Balbriggan. Some rarer gull species recorded involved an adult Ring-billed Gull & an adult Yellow-legged Gull at Sandymount Strand.
It was a good day for passerines and other woodland & farmland birds. The male Great-spotted Woodpecker was seen at Cabinteely Park along with 5 Brambling, Treecreeper, Bullfinch, Long-tailed Tit & Goldcrest. Furthermore, the Great-spotted Woodpecker at Oldtown Wood, Phoenix Park was heard but not seen. A Kingfisher was at Kilbogget Park whilst several Dippers were recorded at the traditional sites of Cabinteely & Loughlinstown. Two sightings of Waxwings involved a single juvenile female at the 40 foot, Sandycove & 35 near Clonsilla Railway Station. Plenty of Siskin, Blackcaps & Redwing were recorded, however both Fieldfare & Redpoll were very scarce. The long-staying hybrid Carrion X Hooded Crow was at the outflow, north of the causeway on The North Bull. Good numbers of Yellowhammers & Tree Sparrows were seen around north Dublin accompanied by Chaffinches & Reed Buntings. Wrens were noted to be particularly plentiful which is encouraging given the recent cold weather. Two victims of the aforementioned weather were Stonechat & Black Redstart. Only two Stonechats were seen, involving singles at Balscadden & under the flyover at Broadmeadows Estuary, whilst NO Black Redstarts were seen this year despite checking up to 6 traditional sites!
