County Galway Birding (local patch) (2 Viewers)

[birdsgalway]

County List 2009
105 Goosander (Dermot Breen at Rahasane Turlough)

Goosander at Rahasane is the 9th recorded for the county and the most recent was 20 years ago. Nice tick for me. Poor video grabs attached. With a few regulars at Nimmo's.

 

[Helsinki Birder]

Nice find by the hitman breen.

As county listing seems to be popular on this thread, check out

http://www.bubo.org/listing/

A very hand little website for collating lists, including county lists and patch lists.

Owen

 

[Dermot Breen]

Stock Doves

106 Stock Dove, 2 out on Tawin Island yesterday.
Only the second or third time I've seen the species in Galway. Where have others seen them btw.? Fantastic little birds.

Dermot

 

[AOD]

County list 2009;
107 - Little Grebe
108 - Kestrel
109 - Peregrine
110 - Greylag Goose

Have come across Stock Dove around Balindooley and near the Quarry at Two-mile Ditch on the Tuam road but no doubting their scarcity in the county.

Aonghus.

 

[Brosnabirder]

The Surf Scoter is still at Silver Strand and Paul Troake had a Grey phal there this morning. Must be a new addition to the County List.

Also this morning there were at least 15 GN Divers and 1 Red-throated off Salthill. 4 Sandwich terns near the causeway.

Highlights of 2008 for me were the Snowy Owl at Poll Gleann Donaill, the Pelagic (roll on August), the Little Blue Heron and the Grey Phal at Nimmo's.

 

[Paul Troake]

111 - Grey Phalarope - very brief views of one past Barna yesterday, heading west over the rocks along the shore. Another 0930-0945 today in Rusheen Bay on the incoming tide, though flighty, and not seen later at high tide. Surf scoter still present off the car park. The gale a couple of days back has also brought in a small numbers of kittiwakes, some of which were close inshore heading back west.

Re stock doves, I agree they are very scarce in Galway and also further afield. I had about 15 in November 2007 at Loughaunrone on the coast between Oranmore and Rinville and a couple roosting at Rinville one evening earlier this winter but that's about it.

Troakie

 

[John Carey]

Hello all,

Crap weekend for all involved. Loch atalia had good numbers of scaup on it (48 by my count and the trained eye might even have picked out a yank). Good numbers of shelduck and lapwing also at the loch.

Not a bad shot of the gossander dermot-would have been a tick for me...should have joined you there.

Stock doves aplenty around Tipp if I remember a trip to the brosna last year...never seen them in Galway...they might move in with the drop in property prices.

Damn this weather! Should have stayed in africa : (

 

[Dermot Breen]

112 Little Auk

Had one very briefly flying through someones back garden about 2-3kms east of Clifden this afternoon. To say its been a little unsettled out here over the weekend is an understatement!

Btw. I picked up the Goosander sitting up on along the earth bank along the Dunkellin River which runs through the turlough. It later disappearred from view but was later found fishing in the river itself however she was often hard to see as it would often disappearred behind the earth banks.

Dermot

 

[birdsgalway]

County List 2009

112 Kittiwake (Galway Docks 16.01.09)

(Little Grebe came in at 3)

updated word doc of 2009 County List

 

[birdsgalway]

Kittiwake feeding with the Swans at the Slipway this lunch time.

 

[Canarybirder]

Hi All,
Sightings from my long weekend trip to Galway. Not the best choice of weekend for weather! I could hardly stand up at the docks on Saturday early afternoon and there were waves breaking over my car!

Galway Docks/Nimmo's Sat 17/1
American Herring Gull 1
Iceland Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 1
Kittiwake c10

Aughrus Point Sun 18/1
Purple Sandpiper 3
Redwing 1 (prob Icelandic bird)
Kittiwake 1

Clifden Quay Sun 18/1
Kumlien's Gull 1 (3rd winter)
'Greenland' Redpoll c12
Jack Snipe 1 (by the Sky Road viewpoint)

Dogs Bay, Roundstone Mon 19/1
Great Northern Diver 6
Chough 2
Twite 20+

Nimmo's Pier Tues 20/1
Iceland Gull 2 (+ another Salthill seafront)

Silver Strand Tues 20/1
Surf Scoter 1 (fem)
Great Northern Diver 3

Cheers
Chris

 

[Helsinki Birder]

we found a survivor!! Amazed you managed any birding that weekend! Fair play!

Owen

 

[John Carey]

Nice one with the chough and twite at Dogs bay....class beach, the best in Ireland.

 

[birdsgalway]

County List 2009
Two birds listed twice so minor correction in the numbers
(hopefully will not happen again as I entered the numbers into the Irish List)

111. Skylark
112. Collared Dove
113. Purple Sandpiper (Chris Lansdell)
114. Chough (Chris Lansdell)
115. Twite (Chris Lansdell)
116. Jack Snipe (Chris Lansdell)

 

[Neil Sharkey]

106 Stock Dove, 2 out on Tawin Island yesterday.
Only the second or third time I've seen the species in Galway. Where have others seen them btw.? Fantastic little birds.

Dermot

They seem to be regularly present on the ploughed fields on Tawin. The only other place I have seen them was at Muckrush (Lough Corrib)
Neil

 

[Dermot Breen]

Some shots from out West taken during last week.

Dermot

 

[Dermot Breen]

Clifden Gulls

Shots of the first-winter and third-winter Kumlien's and adult Iceland that have been around Clifden these last few days. The first-winter is a very dark bird and some could nearly describe it as a Thayers/Kumlien's intergrade. Certainly the darkest Kumlien's I've ever seen.

Dermot

 

[Dermot Breen]

Rossaveel Gulls & Bay Count

Shots of the new third-winter Kumlien's (primaries looked quite dark in different light, angles and distance) and one or two of the four first-winter Icelands present at Rossaveel on Saturday. Second-winter Glaucous also there. Very few gulls present. A few Kittiwakes about also. One sickly first-winter that some Great Black-backs tried to drown/mangle.
Neil Sharkey, Tom Chadwick and myself counted the Rine to Flaggy shore section (Co. Clare) of the Galway Bay count yesterday. Absolutely prefect day, flat calm which resulted in a great count of 280 or so Great-northern Divers and 25 Black-throated Divers. Green-winged Teal in Bell Harbour and first-winter Glaucous flew over Shanmuckinish Castle. 2nd cal Peregrine at The Rine also. We missed Daves Little Auk unfortunately.

Dermot

 

[GDK]

Shots of the first-winter and third-winter Kumlien's and adult Iceland that have been around Clifden these last few days. The first-winter is a very dark bird and some could nearly describe it as a Thayers/Kumlien's intergrade. Certainly the darkest Kumlien's I've ever seen.

Dermot

It is a very dark bird, but with a pale bill, made me reach for my Gulls book.

 

[DEREK CHARLES]

New one for the year list perhaps? I can't see it listed. A Jay just on the outskirts of Clifden Town.

Derek