Birding near Dingle, Ireland (1 Viewer)

I'm off for a family holiday on the west coast of Ireland at the start of April. We're staying in a village north-west of Dingle and I was just wondering whether anyone could give me some tips on where to go and what to look out for at this time of year. I don't know how much time I'll be able to get off for birding but I should at least be able to visit some of the local sites so any pointers would be much appreciated.

I visited the Dingle Peninsula in 2005, albeit in the autumn though.

Slea Head, right at the very end of the Dingle Peninsula, was good for Choughs at the time. At Dunquin, a little further to the north from Slea Head, there was a steep slope covered in bushes. You can view it from the road. I would imagine this would attract spring migrants. When I was there, during October, I found Yellow-Browed Warbler and Firecrest.

I also remember Smerwick Harbour being a good spot. Other places that I didn't visit, and wish I now did, are Inch Point (which if I remember is exactly a Mile long!), and Blennerville towards Tralee.

Failing birds, as long as Fungie the Dolphin is still alive, then there are Dolphin boat trips from Dingle harbour.

Happy memories, I'll have to go back there sometime.

A copy of Finding Birds in Ireland by Eric Dempsey and Michael O'Clery would be a good investment for your trip. The maps in the book are decent but an OSi map is a good idea too. The relevant Ordnance Survey Ireland map is number 71 in the Discovery series. It should be available in most tourist offices and bookshops in the area

A Black Duck is more or less guaranteed in winter in the Ventry Harbour area and may still be there when you arrive. A good place to view and submit sightings is www.irishbirding.com

Not really bird related but a walk up Mt. Brandon on the peninsula is well worth it. Go from the Cloghane side for a tricky scramble over a very narrow arete.

Have a good trip

There are a number of great spots around dingle. Dingle itself can be good for gulls. Trabeg, the small estuary just east of dingle can be good for waders, gulls and duck. Inch strand is good for gulls,with castlemaine nearby great for waders and regularly wintering spoonbill.

Blennerville is a good estuary near tralee. But better again are carahane strand and blackrock strand north of tralee. Check for gulls at high tide at blackrock.

Lough gill is good for duck. Regularly getting ring necked duck. With geese and whooper swan also. Castlegregory and sandy bay are great for grebes especially red necked grebe.
The beaches at fahamore are good for gulls.

Most of these sites are best in autumn and winter. Spring on the west coast can be a tad quiet.

Look for seabirds at clogerhead, and brandon pt. Especially if winds allow for a seawatch.

Best source for in the field bird news is BINS at 1550111700.

Owen

Thanks to everyone for the help so far. In case anyone else is interested I found this site which gives a good idea of some of the birds that are around.

http://www.dingle-peninsula.ie/active.html#birds

I thought that I would follow up on this with some news about how I got on. As was said above, it was rather quiet from a birding point of view but a good chance to catch up with some sea birds. All three types of diver were still about in the bays and there were iceland and glaucous gulls still about to be seen. Chough along the sea cliffs and there were also plenty of black guillemots about which were good to see.

In case anyone's interested there's a write-up including photos on my blog:
http://oxfordbirder.blogspot.com/2009/04/dallying-in-dingle-irish-holiday.html