County Louth (formerly Dundalk Bay) local patch. (56 Viewers)

[Helsinki Birder]

Little stint (juv) on baltray beach yesterday evening.

 

[breffni]

That little stint would put Enda at 170!

Today I had a lone swallow. Otherwise trying to photograph coal tits in the garden while i put a 500 page regulatory filing together and wish i was in Cork...or Galway or somewhere!

 

[Derek Watters]

Anyone else see the adult med gull at Cruisetown with a large bright green ring on the right leg? Any ideas where it might be from??

I did some research on the web re green ringed med gulls and came across this site
http://home.scarlet.be/~pin02658/cr-MediterraGull.htm
It appears the Cruisetown bird is from France, Germany or Belgium.
Might be interesting to see if we can get further details - have a look for it at the weekend!

 

[redshank]

very nice shots Derek............

 

[MargaretM]

The Forster's Tern was still at Cruistown this morning.
A flock of about 70 birds at Hermitage included lots of Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Meadow Pipit.

 

[MargaretM]

At Cruistown today, hundreds of Scoter, also a lot of Auks, RT Divers, GC Grebes and 2 Scaup. Approx 200 Brent Geese there also.

 

[breffni]

Oscar had a black-throated diver and a slavonian grebe off Dunaney point on Saturday during the Brent/GP national survey. There was a curlew sandpiper at the docks on Sunday...

 

[MargaretM]

Maurice Conaghy had a Barnacle Goose at the beach at Baltray today. It was with approx 200 Brent Geese. It flew off in the general direction of Drogheda.

 

[james mullen]

Thirty to Forty Swallows seen feeding on insects just East of Dromin Church at 1600 hrs
yesterday afternoon.

 

[Gerry o Neill]

merlin pic

Oscar had a black-throated diver and a slavonian grebe off Dunaney point on Saturday during the Brent/GP national survey. There was a curlew sandpiper at the docks on Sunday...

Here is a pic of Merlin at Hermitage just after making a kill on the beach.Gerry.

 

[stevensi]

That's a great photo of the merlin. What is the prey? A meadow pipit?

 

[MargaretM]

Great photo of the Merlin Gerry!
At Cruistown today 2 Whooper Swans out in the sea and about 200 Golden Plover in 2 seperate groups.
A lot of work going on at Hermitage, they seem to be putting large rocks between the beach and the adjoining garden.

 

[Gerry o Neill]

merlin prey

That's a great photo of the merlin. What is the prey? A meadow pipit?

Starling.....

 

[breffni]

Had a long-eared owl calling last night and the night before. Yesterday watched a "gathering of magpies" - 56 birds in all in a few hawthorn bushes - I understand that this behavior is an attempt to displace a territory holder who is perceived to be weak. Presumed merlin out at sea this morning hunting along the shore towards Dundalk. Word of a barn owl seen in the vicinity of Tippings wood.

See Peter's pics of the scarlet tanager and the white-throated sparrow which he found on Cape - 3rd Irish record: http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery9

 

[breffni]

A few weeks ago I got a call concerning an injured kestrel. Anyway to cut a long story short, the bird did not have any major problems apart from a wing that was hsnging a bit loose at the shoulder (no broken bones and bird could more or less fold its wings but could not fly) so I kept it quiet in a box for a few days feeding it on defrosted juv rats from a reliable source and then transferred it to a bigger outhouse with several perches. Anyway after a total of 18 days confinement it finally flew onto the sill of the outhouse when i was feeding it, and then a bit shambolically, across the field, before crashing into a bale of hay. Anyway I decided to leave it and threw the rat into the shed anyway. A few days later I noticed that the bird was apparently roosting in the shed, so I threw in some more food and it is now regularly returning to the shed looking to be fed...see pic.

(NB: This was a one-off - I do not rehab injured raptors!)

 

[gareth2005]

Fair play to you Breffni

 

[Derek Watters]

Had a long-eared owl calling last night and the night before.

Perhaps it's calling for some of your defrosted rats! :eat:

Well done Breffni on the kestrel rehab.

 

[Derek Watters]

At Blackrock tonight - 11.30pm a small bird flew in off the sea - it appeared confused by the street lights and flew round eratically (I initially thought it was a bat!) before heading over the roofs of the shops on the sea front. I could not make out any details but approx size of a goldcrest - do goldcrests undertake night migration?

By the way - congrats to Peter on his brilliant find! WELL DONE. Hope he takes a few nice rare ones back from Cape with him.

 

[breffni]

Perhaps it's calling for some of your defrosted rats!

i can only deliver strips of lean meat for now - you can imagine my wife's reaction to the discovery of a bag of frozen juvenile rats in the freezer compartment of the fridge!

 

[Derek Watters]

Snow Bunting

Some pics of Snow Bunting found by Don Hodgers at Salterstown (Annagassan end) this afternoon.