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Summer (July in Ireland) (1 Viewer)

Annerather

Active member
Germany
Hi, I will be spending (almost) three weeks in Ireland this July. We will be arriving in Rosslare, so Our Lady's Island for Roseate and Little Terns is on the itinarary. Most of the time I will be in the west (starting Killarney and moving northwards from there). I have looked at the normal literature (Finding Birds in Ireland), Birdwatchireland and Birdingplaces. Any "secret" tipps by anyone? I will be there with (non-birding) familiy, so I will need to find ways that don't take me away to extreme trips (or there could be something to visit for my wife and daughter nearby). They are not completely anti-birding, but sitting for 6 hours in a hide to wait for a Ptarmigan to appear is not their idea of a vacation ;-)

A couple of questions / targets I still have:
  • Will the terns at Our Lady's Island still be there towards the end of July (would fit better to our schedule before going back on the ferry) or do I need to prioritze for early July?
  • How likely is it to see Manx Shearwater on boat trips in the west in July? Any recommendations for the best trips?
  • Is seawatching in the summer likely going to turn up anything interesting (my guess is rather not)? Good spots?
  • I know this is a tough one: any good tips for Willow Ptarmigan or Corn Crake (if the latter can still be heard / seen in July)?
  • Last, but not least, any good spots for Choughs?
 
Can't comment on Lady's Island or Corncrakes, but you've a good chance of Manx Shearwater on most seawatches. Seawatching could potentially be great from somewhere like Brandon Head or Bridges of Ross.
Chough are widely distributed round the west coast though not numerous.


 
I don't recall ever seeing Red Grouse (= Willow Ptarmigan) in Ireland despite a lot of time in their habitat. The moors are degraded, and not managed for "game", Springs are wet and windy for the chicks, so densities are low. I think the nearest I came was seeing their droppings at the top of the road to the Bunglass car park on Slieve League, presumably they came for grit.
 
I don't recall ever seeing Red Grouse (= Willow Ptarmigan) in Ireland despite a lot of time in their habitat. The moors are degraded, and not managed for "game", Springs are wet and windy for the chicks, so densities are low. I think the nearest I came was seeing their droppings at the top of the road to the Bunglass car park on Slieve League, presumably they came for grit.
Thanks for your advice and links! If July is anything like the June reports from Bridges of Ross, then it definitely seems worth exploring! I will be close mid July and give it a try. Probably I will also try a week after on one of the Northwestern peninsulars. Also one of the seawatching tours will be added to the itinarary.

Regarding Red Grouse (sorry for using the American name) I frankly did not expect a much more positive response given how difficult it is to see or even hear Grey Partridges or Quails in Germany, although they are still relatively common and not as scarce as the Red Grouse.
 
Probably I will also try a week after on one of the Northwestern peninsulars.
I've seawatched from Anagh Head and Kilcummin Head in Mayo, in the NW. Both can be very good, of course ideally you need a stiff north-westerly.
July will be better than June for sure, late July to early Sept being the peak time. ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿฆ
 
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Dublin mountains and Slieve Bloom mountains can be good (not easy) for Red Grouse but they are out of your way according to your itinerary.
For corncrake (and others) Tory Island is best, off Donegal. In May they are easy to see, in July, not so much but doable...in August you may see chicks.
Mullet peninsula in Co Mayo is also good for Corncrake, but they are easier to see in Tory.
 
Dublin mountains and Slieve Bloom mountains can be good (not easy) for Red Grouse but they are out of your way according to your itinerary.
For corncrake (and others) Tory Island is best, off Donegal. In May they are easy to see, in July, not so much but doable...in August you may see chicks.
Mullet peninsula in Co Mayo is also good for Corncrake, but they are easier to see in Tory.
Dublin mountains (do you mean Wicklow mountains?) may not be completely off my route. I am now in County Sligo till Monday, going to Dublin from here and then back to Rosslare. Tory Island will probably be too tough to ask of my family, so I probably will have to give it a pass. (Mullet Peninsula I am already past).

Thanks for the tips!
 
the bridges of ross is meant to be epic for seawatching. definitely worth a look.
Thanks. Did not make it to Bridges of Ross, but had some very nice Seawatching at Brandon Point in the north of Dingle Peninsula. Lot's of Manx and at least one Sooty Shearwater. Now getting nice views of waders in the mudflats between Conor's and Dernish Islands in County Sligo, where I will stay till Monday.
 
Thanks. Did not make it to Bridges of Ross, but had some very nice Seawatching at Brandon Point in the north of Dingle Peninsula. Lot's of Manx and at least one Sooty Shearwater. Now getting nice views of waders in the mudflats between Conor's and Dernish Islands in County Sligo, where I will stay till Monday.
Glad you got some good seawatching.

There are actually Red Grouse in the mountains not far from where you are now, see this distribution map.
But!.. in my limited experience of the mountains in Sligo, they seem fairly unvisited and trackless, unlike, say, Britain. (For that reason, I've always fancied walking them). So, there may be no paths up into the areas of heather that you need to search. And even then, it's a needle in a haystack thing. I'm not sure how much of an issue ticks and Lymes Disease is round there, it's getting bad in Wales.

It depends how much you want to see them. If it was me, and I wanted to try, and I had some spare time, I'd get to Bunglass car park early morning, and walk up the path up Slieve League. Even if u don't see Red Grouse, it's amazing scenery. ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿคท๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฆ
 

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Dublin mountains (do you mean Wicklow mountains?) may not be completely off my route. I am now in County Sligo till Monday, going to Dublin from here and then back to Rosslare. Tory Island will probably be too tough to ask of my family, so I probably will have to give it a pass. (Mullet Peninsula I am already past).

Thanks for the tips!

North of Wicklow mountains borders with the south of Dublin mountains. The Dublin side is good for them around Fairy castle and Ticknock. On the Wicklow side, not far from there, the (extensive) area around Sally Gap can be good for them too. They can be difficult to find and the area to cover is very extense so I'd check Irishbirding and ebird for recent sightings, in case there has been any reported.
 
Glad you got some good seawatching.

There are actually Red Grouse in the mountains not far from where you are now, see this distribution map.
But!.. in my limited experience of the mountains in Sligo, they seem fairly unvisited and trackless, unlike, say, Britain. (For that reason, I've always fancied walking them). So, there may be no paths up into the areas of heather that you need to search. And even then, it's a needle in a haystack thing. I'm not sure how much of an issue ticks and Lymes Disease is round there, it's getting bad in Wales.

It depends how much you want to see them. If it was me, and I wanted to try, and I had some spare time, I'd get to Bunglass car park early morning, and walk up the path up Slieve League. Even if u don't see Red Grouse, it's amazing scenery. ๐Ÿค”๐Ÿคท๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฆ
Thanks. We are planning to drive around there on Sunday. Let's see, if I can negotiate enough time to search for them (definitely not going to happen early morning with my girls...). If not there, I may get a "day off" in Dublin (as per the other suggestion), I am sure they can handle the city on their own for a day...

Regardless, I continue to have nice sightings at the coast here. Today had Red-throated Diver, Arctic Skua (dark one) and more Manx (+ several dolphins, but not the now famous North Atlantic Right Whale that is currently being seen on this bay). Also I have Greenshanks, Redhanks, Curlews galore and a regular flyby by a pergregrine right by our holiday apartment in Milk Harbor (near Grange).
 
North of Wicklow mountains borders with the south of Dublin mountains. The Dublin side is good for them around Fairy castle and Ticknock. On the Wicklow side, not far from there, the (extensive) area around Sally Gap can be good for them too. They can be difficult to find and the area to cover is very extense so I'd check Irishbirding and ebird for recent sightings, in case there has been any reported.
Thank you. Will checkout the report and take a call, if I will give it a try.
 
To close off this thread: thanks all for your advice. I finally decided to skip the Red Grouse expedition and went to see the Least Tern (and lots of Little Terns and other beach birds) at Portrane Beach. I was successful (although I saw and heard the Least only briefly and with help of the guys from the local conservation group, who have also been helpful with providing me a chair and guidance on the tide, which can make things a bit tricky on that beach). I am now back on the ferry to Dunkirk with some nice early morning videos of Manx Shearwaters and a still of a jumping Common Dolphin next to our ferry west of Land's End in Cornwall. (BTW, the Dutch couple, who first photographed the Right Whale off Donegal is here, too....). Again, thanks for all the helpful advice!
 

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