Ireland 080206
Well, been in Ireland now for a week. Spent most of our time in and around Dublin. My Mum’s garden is bird friendly and we have had Blue and Great Tits, Greenfinches and Chaffinches as well as the common Starlings, Blackbirds, Robins, Dunnocks, House Sparrows, Magpies and a Wren. To my surprise there were 3 Siskins at one of the peanut filled feeders! In the past I have had to go looking for Siskins in or near pine plantations. According to a birding friend, Richard, they are more common in gardens now, during the colder months and, speaking of colder months…. there was frost in the fields and on the car the morning we arrived. Since then it’s been cold, but not freezing. Only a little rain yesterday afternoon and night.
Last weekend we went to stay at a bungalow (one story brick house!) near Inch south of Arklow, 100 kms south of Dublin. It was located in the country - farms, narrow roads, hedgerows, ect ect. I did a couple of local walks there and got Yellowhammer, Bullfinch, Long-tailed Tits, Dipper, Song and Mistle Thrush, Pied and Grey Wagtails, Hooded Crow and a small flock of Redwings. Everywhere, of course, there are Wood Pigeons, Rooks and Jackdaws. On the Sunday morning I drove to a wetlands, described by Richard, south of Courtown. Thousands of Wigeon, Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwits, hundreds of Pintail, Teal, Curlew and Knot. All backed by the gigantic towers and slowly revolving blades of a windfarm. 35 Whooper Swans in a distant pond and off the coast - Red-throated Divers, Shags, Cormorants and a lone Guillemot. Black-headed, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls all along the coast.
On one of the ‘Dublin’ days I took the girls (my teenage daughters) down to Dalkey on the southern end of Dublin Bay, to show them some of my former birding haunts. (They are very patient when it comes to this!) We had a look at Dalkey Island and Vico Rd and Killiney then I drove to Bullock Harbour where we ‘discovered’ 2 seals feeding on fish carcases dumped by the local fishermen. The seals are used to people and came very close, much to our excitement. I got some shots of Turnstones and Oystercatchers and a Cormorant along with the seals.
Went to a Birdwatch Ireland meeting last night and heard about a Firecrest being seen yesterday near Newcastle. Tomorrow morning Richard is picking me up at 7.15 - late? Sun doesn’t come up until 8.00… and we’re off for a day’s birding, starting with Goosander …..I hope!
Anyway until next time - ‘Slan leat’
