County Galway Birding (local patch) (13 Viewers)

[mak3154]

Some pics of the AGP. Amazing to think there are only three county records previous to 2000. There have been about eleven since. Only one has been in August previously.

Dermot

nice shots

 

[birdsgalway]

American Golden Plover at Inveran this evening

 

[AOD]

174 Stone Curlew, 18/08/2011. On the beach at Inveran where the AGP was/is. Present on the shingle before flying off along the beach to the east. Not seen up to 19:00. Had a look at dusk but no sign. Weather dire down that way this morning.

 

[Dermot Breen]

175 Ruff, eight, Rahasane Turough, 13th August, Michael Davis.
176 Black Tern, five juveniles, Mannin Bay, Ballyconneely, 19th August, DB.

 

[Dermot Breen]

177 Great Shearwater

Shark fishing trip 13km WSW off Aughrus Point today produced 4 Great Shearwaters, 100+ Sooty Shearwaters, c.20 Storm Petrels, 5 Great Skuas, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Common Dolphins and 6 tagged & released Blue Sharks.

Dermot

 

[AOD]

178 Pomarine Skua
179 Lesser Whitethroat

Both Oileain Imill, Slyne Head, on Saturday last 27/08/2011. Totals for Friday afternoon/evening were as follows;
481 Sooty Shearwater
1 Long-tailed Skua - sub-adult bird flying over the middle of the island 10m above my head!
5 Arctic Skua
2 Great Skua

Totals for Saturday, 27/08/2011
1 Great Shearwater
8000 Sooty Shearwater
2 Storm Petrel
1 Common Scoter (only bird seen flying South or East)
1 Long-tailed Skua
7 Arctic Skua
1 Pomarine Skua
5 Great Skua
2 Puffin

The passage of Sooty Shearwaters is an Irish record day count.The previous record was of 6000 at Brandon in Co. Kerry on 13/09/2001 and the same number at the Bridges of Ross in 1980.Unfortunately the wind never really veered west over the weekend so a proper passage of seabirds never materialised. All the birds were heading NNW into a northerly breeze. In the right conditions Oileain Imill would, without doubt, afford spectacular seawatching opportunities.

 

[Dermot Breen]

180 Pectoral Sandpiper, Truska, Ballyconneely, 30th August (DB).

The year ticks are coming thick and fast lets hope it continues. We have a little way to go yet to catch up with the tallies that Wexford have gotten recently Pecs are now annual vagrants at Truska since it was first covered intensively from 2008 on.

Dermot

 

[Dermot Breen]

181 Curlew Sandpiper, juvenile, Crompaun Bay, Ballyconneely, 2nd September.

Still nothing doing at Omey Strand or Rossadillask.

Dermot

 

[Paul Troake]

Highlights from Rahasane yesterday - juv Spotted Redshank, 2 Whooper Swans, 17 Little Egrets, 1 Greenshank and a Wheatear. The only other waders seen were a few Snipe and Curlew and a small Lapwing flock. Small numbers of Wigeon and other ducks also. There were only small areas of flooding, but it should be improving soon.

Troakie

 

[AOD]

182 Grey Phalarope - 2 off Slyne Head, 06/09/2011

Large numbers of Sooty Shearwaters in the bay over the last few days. Two hours (15:00 - 17:00) at Baile na hAbhainn on Tuesday produced the following;
Sooty Shearwater 315
Arctic Skua 9
Storm Petrel 5
Sooties were outnumbering Manxies. The majority of Sooties were very close in and heading west. Hard to believe that the previous record day count for the county for Sooty Shearwater was only 200 birds.

I stopped in at Loughaunbeg, Inveran, to go through the waders and in approx. 10 minutes there I had over 30 Sooties and 5 Arctic Skua pass west.

Earlier the same morning I had 16 Sooties, an adult Sabines Gull and a Black Tern off Slyne Head.

08:30 - 10:00 at Spiddal yesterday had the following;
Sooty Shearwater - raft of minimum 200 birds sitting about 1km offshore. Plenty of Sooties passing east and west so impossible to count.
Arctic Skua - 13
Bonxie - 2
Black Tern - 2
Storm Petrel - 8
Little Gull - 2 juvs.
Common Scoter - 25

Another 8 Sooties, a Black Tern and 4 Arctic Skua off Baile na hAbhainn yesterday.

 

[Dermot Breen]

183 Whinchat, Truska, 9th September (DB). Sitting up on rocks behind the beach with one or two Wheatears.

Also
Seven Brent Geese, 120 Ringed Plovers and 91 Sanderling at Inner Mannin Bay.
1 pale adult Arctic Skua chasing 20 Arctic Terns and a flyover Lapland Bunting at Mannin Beg.

Nothing in the marshes at Truska and still no Golden Plovers yet on the machair there or at Aillebrack. Did see a flock of 20 Chough feeding on the Truska machair. By far the biggest flock I've seen on the mainland.
Nothing really at Inishdawros Strand (45 Dunlin), Ballyconneely Bay, Crompaun Bay (no waders really), Murloch or Aillebrack strand.

Dermot

 

[Dermot Breen]

Photo of the Whinchat

Dermot

 

[Paul Troake]

Had a look through the county year list and couldn't see Skylark or Black-tailed Godwit anywhere?? :eek!:

Out on Mweenish today (SE of Tawin) 5 juv Curlew Sands, a juv Peregrine, a few White Wagtails and three Pintail over.

Troakie

 

[birdsgalway]

Eagle eyed as ever Mr Troakie total now at 185 or 186 if we count the Mandarin

184 Skylark
185 Black-tailed Godwit

 

[Paul Troake]

I think the Mandarin is already counted isn't it, so 185? Personally I think it should come off the list though, along with the eagle, since neither are likely to be from self-sustaining populations.

Checked the western half of Rahasane this afternoon during the break in the rain. It's well in flood now. One Black Tern and a juv Sabine's Gull were the highlights, the latter on a small flood just south of the turlough.

Troakie

 

[Dermot Breen]

Now that you mention Sabine's Gull Paul, this poor unfortunate was picked up today by Martin O'Malley near Ballyconneely. Had a badly broken wing.

I did a two hour seawatch off Rinvyle Point this morning and had 12 Great Skua, 6 Arctic Skua, 1 juv Sabine's Gull and a grand total of one Manx Shearwater!

5 juv Ruff and 2 juv Black-tailed Godwits feeding out on the machair out on Omey Island, spending alot of time with a big flock Starling. With 10 Buff-breated Sandpipers in Wexford and six in Clare, I was amazed not to find one out there today. I had one just across the Killary Ford at Corragaun Lough, Co. Mayo on Saturday, photo attached also.

Dermot

 

[Dermot Breen]

186 Semipalmated Sandpiper (A.McGeehan).

 

[birdsgalway]

A few shots taken yesterday at Gratten beach

 

[Paul Troake]

Highlights from Rahasane yesterday - 12 Ruff, including a flock of 11 accompanied initially by a Curlew Sandpiper, and 3 adult Arctic Terns. Few other waders besides the usual Lapwings & Curlew - 1 Dunlin and 2 Black-tailed Godwits. Two Whooper Swans still, at the eastern end.

1st-winter Little Gull at Barna on Tuesday (13th), plus a few Storm Petrels and a couple of Arctic Skuas.

Troakie

 

[Paul Troake]

A visit to Mweenish (SE of Tawin) today proved to be well worth the trek. A juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpiper was busily feeding along the cobble strewn storm ridge, accompanied by 5 Wheatears. The short vegetation of the adjacent saltmarsh held a few Ringed Plovers and Dunlin, and among them an adult White-rumped Sandpiper put in an appearance for 15 minutes or so (187 & 188 for the county year list).
Also 2 adult summer R-t Divers offshore and the young Peregrine present again.

Troakie