County Louth (formerly Dundalk Bay) local patch. (5 Viewers)

[breffni]

By popular demand the thread title is changed to County Louth Local Patch encompassing all of County Louth from the Boyne Valley to Carlingford Lough.

Breffni

 

[gareth2005]

Just noticed this thread.

I decided to take my new scope out to see how it performs, I went down to Annagassan along the coast at about 6 PM.

Nothing unusual about there were some Common Terns on the beach just outside the village along with groups of Oystercatchers and a few Redshank and Curlew.
There are large groups of Mallard that use the salt marshes just north of Castlebellingham to roost and I counted 2 pairs of Shellduck here also.

Hopefully I might get a chance at the weekend to get a better look about

 

[gareth2005]

Some Ringed Plover and Turnstones showing now in Salterstown, Annagassan

 

[breffni]

YLG Lurgangreen

There was a yellow leg gull hanging around lurgangreen last week - i missed it because by the time i got to it the tide was wrong - worth keeping an eye out though...

 

[breffni]

Cooley mountains, North Bundalk Bay

Carlingford Bay - 18 black tail godwits, 16 lapwing, a few redshank, curlew and many gulls and terns...
Clermont - family of ravens, jay (nice, just by turnoff up to mast), kestrel, buzzard, meadow pipits...
Bellurgan - 200 or so oystercatcher, 20 godwit, 12 curlew, heron, many gulls...
Giles quay - 6 black guillemot (somewhat disturbed by holiday activities on the quay) and hundreds of gulls/terns around castletown cooley river inlet (too distant to make out details but many juv herring, black back also common and black head)...
Cooley point - 50 sandwich, 20 common terns, 14 gannet, gulls, a few cormorant, a common sandpiper on the beach...

Generally quiet, nice weather...

 

[breffni]

Today around dundalk bay...

Bellurgan - whimbril
Ballymascanlon bay - at least one green sandpiper reported
Dundalk harbour - 4 common sandpipper + 1 whooper swan
Lugangreen - pectoral sandpiper reported (i managed to miss by 10 minutes twice) + a pale bellied brent goose...

 

[gareth2005]

Went down to the shore road in before Castlebellingham yesterday evening at high tide. Plenty of Mallard and Oystercatchers roosting up.
15 + Black tailed Godwits plenty of Dunlin and Redshanks
2 Shellducks

I heard about a Whooper swan being reported in the quay but thought it was a mistake, Is this normal for a Whooper Swan to summer in Ireland ?
How do you get to Cooley Point ?
Thanks

Gareth

 

[gareth2005]

I went down to Lurgangreen yesterday evening to see if i could spot the Sandpiper but there were a few cars there and wasnt sure if they were birdwatching or up to no good so I just left to avoid the hassle. There can be some fairly dodgy people hanging around there sometimes

 

[breffni]

I went down to Lurgangreen yesterday evening to see if i could spot the Sandpiper but there were a few cars there and wasnt sure if they were birdwatching or up to no good so I just left to avoid the hassle. There can be some fairly dodgy people hanging around there sometimes

They were birders - if you park where the cars were and walk about 300 yards down to the right (south) you will come to a fence, cross the fence and observe from the sea bank a bit further on - the bird was lurking in the vegetation across the channel opposite...might just still be there despite the high tide last night.

The whooper is a long term hanger-on that missed the migration, as is the brent (presumably) - whooper is with the flock of mute hanging around the harbour...

 

[gareth2005]

Very good I'll head down there tonight for a look. I wasn't sure who the people were I had a run in with some scum bags when down there before while birding.

 

[gareth2005]

How do you get to Cooley Point ?

 

[breffni]

cooley point = go to templetown beach, park, walk left (east) along shore, ots the rocky point - common, sambo, occasional arctic, even rosate terns, manx shearwater, gannet, cormorant, maybe some small waders...

 

[gareth2005]

Great thanks for that I was out at Templetown the other day its looking well with the new car park and toilets etc. It was years since I was there last.

 

[gareth2005]

Dundalk Quay is a great spot to watch from - yesterday a ruff with white on collar...see http://www.spiritstore.ie/birds/spirit_store_ecosystem.html

Breffni

Just saw your article on the Spirit Store website. It very good and well put together. Well done B

 

[breffni]

Just saw your article on the Spirit Store website. It very good and well put together. Well done B

Why thank you!

Very quiet out there at the minute... though lots of small waders arriving wt juvenile birds (turnstone, dunlin and ringed plover around Giles, Balaggan, Carlingford...also 20 or more greenshank last week. Arctic, sandwich and common terns in evidence also, many ferrying food between cooley point and (presumably) green island - haven't seen a roseate (much less sooty or elegant despite prolonged searching)...saw a few roseate around cooley point last year. At sea, manx shearwaters to beat the band but little else. Finally many reports of crossbill (ravensdale, carndale etc), all missed by myself...now off on another probably fruitless search for a gull-billed tern down clogher direction...

 

[breffni]

28 - 29 july

giles quay - family of rock pipit, razorbills, GCGs, red throat diver
templetown - arctic skuas, med gull
riverstown (opp fitzpats) - arctic skuas, 100s of gulls, terns

 

[Gerry o Neill]

dundalk bay

Today sunday we had 11 artic skua and 2 little stint at Seabank,Lurgangreen south that is.Also 1 little tern and 3 med gull on Cruiestown beach Clogher head today.

 

[breffni]

I-WeBS

did an early count yesterday - big wader arrivals - 1000s of knot (many in full summer plum), dunlin, redshank, oystercatcher, ringed plover, hundreds of black and bar tail godwits, curlew (over 200 at bellurgan), lapwing, scoter (230 at salterstown), rb mergansers (dozens of moulting birds off annagassan and coast), at least 8 little egret over whole bay, and over 1000 mallard (many of which gun club birds - they had a bad season last year), a scattering of other duck but neither teal nor wigeon), dozens of greenshank. Many 1000s of terns, mostly sambo and common (the latter in preponderance) and a scattering of arctic and a few roseate calling. No GPs as yet.

 

[breffni]

today

over 50 roseate terns (among at least a 500 common/sandwich), 3 eclipse shoveler, 3 razorbill, a few moulting merganser between shelling hill and balaggan point...

 

[gareth2005]

Great stuff I really must make an effort to get out some evening to have a look.