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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. (4 Viewers)

Yep - there's also a bunch of kittiwakes (adults and juvs) hanging around, and crossbills have been seen in mulahattan and the forest on north sleive foyle between omeath and carlingford (top carpark)...




(does anybody know anything about the reported dartford warbler seen in april at cooley point?)
 
In the latest addition to this dizzying parade of spectacular vagrants through dundalk bay, a white-rumped sandpiper was seen at seabank and near annagassen 21/22 august. On a more mundane level, ruff can now be seen from the quay wall at dundalk harbour - otherwise wader arrivals continue with large numbers of knot and dunlin starting to arrive, hopefully with a few curlew sandpiper amongst them...there are also still a few roseates hanging around dispersing from rockabill presumably (note that many have two rings, one a BTO and the other a special roseate ring, supposedly readable from distance). In the sleive foyle woods there were also crossbills showing well from top carpark...(may well be still there).
 

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Hi Breffni, I have been using somefo the info you posted the last while so thanks for making the effort, but two small things:

1 Would itbe possible to post info in "real time"? I have managed to see some of the birds you mentioned but usually itwas too late
2 Could you give a bit more information on where these places you mention are - i can't even find some of them on the OS map!

Anyway keep up the good work!
 
Hi Endemichere,

Dundalk bay is regularly watched by about 8 birders, yet it represents one of the biggest concentrations of wetland birds in the country peaking at 50,000 birds in Jan/Feb. So the point of this thread is not to provide real-time information but to give a flavour of what is around from time to time, particularly for people who are beginning to watch birds (the old hands will know most of this stuff) so in reply to yours:
1. If you want realtime information i would suggest the following:
* BINS hotline - 1550111700 for daily, sometimes hourly updates
* www.birdsireland.com (rarity photos and info nationwide)
* www.irishbirding.com (there is a sort of weekly roundup and photos nationwide)

2. The best source on where places are and how to get to them is in a book called Where To Watch Birds In Ireland by Hutchinson, fairly widely available. Where I mention places not covered Ill try to provide better directions (my dyslexia doesn't help either!)
 
Recent sightings around Dundalk Bay include a ring billed gull at lurgangreen, curlew sandpipers and ruff at Dundalk Harbour, an argentatus herring gull at balaggan point (which is about three miles south of Greenore on the tip of the Cooley peninsula). Otherwise wader arrivels continue with large numbers of dunlin, knot and godwit, a few golden plovers, sanderling, a few wigeon, teal - vast numbers of mallard...this morning was a huge flock of gulls, gannets, cormorant, some shag and a mixed flock of guillemot and razorbill, many juv. numbering at least 200 off Cooley point (that is 300 yards to the east of temletown beach, again near the tip of the cooley peninsula)...
 
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Just took a quick walk down by Templetoen beach to the left of the carpark. Plenty of Wheateat there, must be gathering for their return migration. Also some remaining common terns just off the point. A great site I'll make a return visit some weekend and have a better look.
Has anyone else noticed the strange brown scum thats on the water about 100 metres to the left of the car park ? Is this raw sewage going into the sea ?
 
gareth2005 said:
Has anyone else noticed the strange brown scum thats on the water about 100 metres to the left of the car park ? Is this raw sewage going into the sea ?

The beach is blue flag - the scum is rotting seaweed combined with agricultural runoff from the sandbanks making a delightful mess. There were/are a few white wagtails around if you look closely - they seem mainly dispersing juvenile birds (look for clean flanks and ash grey unifrom mantle continuing down to rump). There was also at least one greenland wheatear among the nominate birds (noticably larger and more colourful with rufous extending all the way down breast). Out to sea there were many juv razorbills and guillemots + a staggering number of cormorants (i counted over 500 at the point yesterday) not to mentin seabass fishermen (at least six!)
 
I noticed a very pale wagtail there an took notes but havn't looked up any guides yet, that must have been what it was. It's a lovely spot, I was there just before high tide yeaterday. I'd say it's a lovely spot on a crisp dry Winters day.
I did notice a lot of cormorants alright, didnt see any Razorbill though.
 
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a little stint at dundalk harbour today with two curlew sandpipers (they have been on view most days the last week or so), ruff (7 birds) also peregrine showed twice, also arrival of pb brent in the bay since the weekend at least...(look out for coloured bands!)
 
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this evening on the way out for a pint, swung by whitestown and balagggan, first came caross a buzzard stalking a hare, somewhat improbably...after landing a few feet away it sprung at the hare, wings out, the hare just hopped a few feet away and watched again...eventually aother buzzard arrived and seemed to chase off the first one. Later on the shore saw a small flock of meadow pipit, one of which very striking (not the one shown), maybe something, maybe nothing, flew off before i could see properly...anyway further on a snow bunting picking along the roadside near balaggan point before the light went...
 

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More and more wintering birds arriving all the time: greylag geese, a few pintail, big numbers of wigeon and teal, also snipe,ruff, eider, rb mergansers, great northern, red neck divers, scoter, plenty of confusing gulls...and a flock of several hundred redwing passed through the other day. Also seen a merlin and short eared owl in the hermitage/salterstown area, as well as a beached porpose...very little in the way of passerine vagants so far.
 

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further to...the recent bad weather is bringing in huge numbers of gulls and auks - attached a 2W common gull and black headed bull. The black guillemots are as far in as dundalk harbour, the pictured birds are on giles quay in full winter plum...(note one sports a bto ring, couldn't read it though)
 

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gareth2005 said:
Whats the best time to go down to Balaggan Point for bird watching. High tide ?

Rising tide for waders - same as carlingford bay (park on the hard shoulder and wait). For passerines its best following an easterly blast (look along the edge of the road and in the shrubs, trees and hedgerows inland). For gulls its best in a rough sea with big breakers pounding the seaweed. For auks, divers and sawbills its best on an incoming tide when its stormy out at sea - they seem to follow the tide in.
 
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