30
May 2010
On a slow news day why not check out the following news story
from NASA.LBReady for Lift-off
A family of Osprey are seen outside the NASA Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
on Thursday, May 13, 2010. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge overlaps Kennedy and provides a habitat for
330 species of birds, including the osprey. A variety of other wildlife--117 kinds of fish, 65 types of amphibians and
reptiles, 31 different mammals, and 1,045 species of plants--also inhabit the refuge.
Click here for photo
29
May 2010
14 juvenile Starlings in a Sutton garden at the moment and the noise is deafening!
CM
Six of
the 14 juvenile Starlings waiting to be fed (Photo by Cian
Merne)
28
May 2010
Great views had today at 2.30pm of 2 Buzzards soaring over the
Ballymun M50 roundabout.MK
27
May 2010
The Red-footed Falcon still at Timahoe West, County
Kildare.VC
(See five more photos in Gallery),
26
May 2010
Two Long-eared Owls at Grand Canal, Gollierstown,
County Dublin.SF
!! 1
female Red-footed Falcon seen today at Timahoe West in County Kildare.JF!!
Red-footed
Falcon (Photo by John Fox)
25
May 2010
This morning at the Strawberry Beds, between Angler's Rest and
the motorway: 9 singing Blackcaps, 2 singing Chiffchaffs
(usually 4-6), 1 female Sparrowhawk soaring and being
mobbed by alarming Mistle Thrushes, and Hooded
Crow.CE
24
May 2010
1st summer Little Gull, 1 adult Brent Goose at the
Broadmeadows Estuary this evening.DO'M
23
May 2010
At Bray Harbour this morning a tame Glaucous Gull
strutting along with the juvenile Herring Gulls.CM
Glaucous
Gull at Bray - see how it measures up to a Herring Gull. (Photos by
Cian Merne)
22
May 2010
Photos from Glendalough...
Mistle
Thrush at Glendalough. (Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Red
Squirrel at Glendalough. (Photo by Nicola Dunphy)
Some photos from Ireland's Eye...
Cormorant at Ireland's Eye.
(Photo by Jose Angel Campos Sandoval)
Fulmar at Ireland's Eye. (Photo by Jose Angel Campos Sandoval)
21
May 2010
One Peregrine Falcon seen circling over Washington
Street, Dublin 8 this evening.MS
20
May 2010
This morning, along the Liffey at the War Memorial Garden there was one
Kingfisher, a pair of Jays, a Willow Warbler and a male
Blackcap.IS
Large quarry near Blessington on the Dublin/Kildare Border: 1 pair
Lapwing, 1 pair Ringed Plover, 7 Tufted Duck, 4
Coot, 1 Raven, 1 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel and 1 pair of
Peregrine Falcons calling loudly.SO'B
18
May 2010
Cuckoo calling in Temple Bar at 05.50. Bizarre! 2 Black
Guillemots under the Ha'penny Bridge.LB
16
May 2010 - National Dawn Chorus Day
Dawn Chorus at Rathesker Lake, County Louth at 4 a.m. this morning comprised of
songs and calls from Chiffchaff, Jays, Long-eared
Owls, Grasshopper Warbler, Mistle Thrushes and
much more. At Clogherhead over 15 Black Guillemots
displaying and a Great Skua passing overhead. Also seen at
Clogherhead were a Whitethroat and a Spotted Flycatcher.
At Drogheda Town, 20 Swifts, a Chiffchaff, and a Willow
Warbler. At Termonfeckin: 8 Yellowhammer. At
Baltray, summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwits, Shelduck
and lots of Skylarks.BS
On Great Saltee, County Wexford the Black-Eared Wheatear was showing well for most of the day. All the usual birds were present with 7 Choughs,
Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins, Gannets, Kittiwakes and Fulmars. Also lots of Sedge Warblers,
1 Grasshopper Warbler and 2 Spotted Flycatchers. At Tacumshane there were 3 male Garganey, 1 Marsh Harrier,
1 Forsters Tern and a few Snipe drumming.PC
Meanwhile back
in Dublin, in the scrub area heading from Clontarf to Eastpoint Business Park by canoe club,
1 Whitethroat singing and performing a territorial display but no partner sighted; 1
Sedge Warbler singing; a pair of Reed Buntings in courtship display & a pair of breeding
Linnets - (no Stonechats - normally very common here!).TFD
Black-eared Wheatear on Great Saltee, County Wexford.
(Photo by Philip Clancy)
14 May 2010
Male Sparrowhawk
in Raheny garden.
(Photo by Deirdre NíMhórdha)
12
May 2010
A Whitethroat, Reed Bunting and a Stonechat all seen on Howth Head
today. Also a Whimbrel with some Dunlin seen on the Bull between the Wooden Bridge and The Causeway.
JF
Whimbrel
and Dunlin.
(Photo by John Fox)
11
May 2010
One male Gadwall at Broadmeadows this evening.DO'M
Arklow town ponds: 2 Swans with 7 signets, 1 Reed
Warbler, 1 Little Gull (2nd year) , 2 Whitethroats
(See photo in Gallery), 3
Willow Warblers, 6 Sedge Warblers, 2 Bullfinches, and lots of
Swallows, Swifts, Sand Martins and House
Martins.PC
10
May 2010
20+ Swifts flying over Tolka Valley,
Finglas.GP Sedge Warbler seen today near Johnstown Bridge, County Kildare.JF
(See photo in Gallery)
Northern
Wheatear in Howth garden.
(Photo by Bill Quinn)
9
May 2010
2 Turtle Doves in ploughed field at Churchtown, County Wexford.PC
1 Sedge Warbler, Newcastle, County Wicklow.ND (See
photo in Gallery)
8
May 2010
At the Glen of Imal: 1 male Cuckoo, 1 Wheatear & a mountain
Hare.AR
At Tacumshane - Upper end car park, County Wexford: 1 Garganey,
1 Little Gull, 1 Whitethroat. JF (See photos in Gallery)
!!Phoenix Park: 1 Tree Pipit at the Oak Wood end.SF,
DF, TL & SC!!
Tree
Pipit.
(Photo
by Shay Connolly)
7
May 2010
Short-toed Lark
at Ballycotton, County Cork.JF (See photo in Gallery)
Fledgeling
Long-tailed Tits at Pollardstown Fen.
(Photo by Michael Nolan)
6
May 2010
4 Swifts screaming over the rooftops of Ranelagh this morning and a female
Sparrowhawk spooking the smaller passerines as she flew through Dartmouth Square (Ranelagh).MC
3 May 2010
Approx. 40 Brent Geese including a juvenille
Dark-bellied Brent at Rogerstown in the evening.PK
Spot the Dark-bellied Brent Goose.
(Photo by Paul Kelly)
Relatively quiet this evening at Kilcoole. Three Shoveler & two broods of
Mallards were the best of the duck present in Webb's field, with only a few
Teal left & no Wigeon present whilst a single adult Light-bellied Brent Goose also remains. Large numbers of feeding
Sand Martins, 5 Swifts, 12 Dunlin & a Little Egret were the only other birds of note here. Inside The Breaches, 17
Dunlin, 12 Ringed Plover, a Redshank, a Curlew & a
Whimbrel were feeding on the exposed mud along with plenty of 2nd cal-year
Black-headed Gulls. A subtle hybrid Carrion X Hooded Crow (with c.90% Hooded Crow plumage) was present on the beach as were a handful of
Little Terns. Small numbers of Fulmars, Gannets,
Kittiwakes, Sandwich Terns, Lesser Black-backed Gulls & a single
Manx Shearwater were offshore. NK & NTK
Three Swifts in Drumcondra 2.00pm today. There were still approx. 40
Brent Geese up at Annagassen this morning.JH
Female Marsh Harrier flying north from Killoughter to 5 Mile Point at 1pm today.
A male Kestrel also & good numbers of Reed Bunting.AR
At Swords this morning: 1 Ruff, 2 Dunlin, 4 Sandwich
Terns, 58 Black-tailed Godwits most in rich summer plumage.LB
This morning in the Strawberry Beds, between the Angler's Rest and motorway bridge
were, 1 female Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a Mistle
Thrush, 2 Swifts passing over, 6 Blackcaps
singing and 4 Chiffchaffs singing. In the Phoenix
Park: 1 Blackcap singing and a very brief phrase from a
Willow Warbler.CE
2 May 2010
Bullfinch
in Sandyford garden. (Photo
by Cóilín MacLochlainn)
At Ballinafagh Lake in Kildare
in the afternoon: 1 male Kestrel, 1 Reed Bunting & approx.
5 Bullfinches. Between Prosperous & Rathcoffey: 2 Buzzards soaring.AR
Today in Porchavodda Co Carlow: 4 Yellowhammers, 6 Reed Bunting and 12 Tree Sparrows some of using local nest boxes.
At Ballykillmurry Bog Co Wicklow: A pair of Cuckoos showing well, with the female doing her bubbling call. Male was being mobed by Meadow Pipits.
Also lots of Grasshopper Warblers reeling with one showing for a short time. Lots of Willow Warblers also.
At Arklow ponds: 12 Sedge Warblers, 2 Swifts, 5 Willow Warblers, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Wheatear and 5 Sandwich Terns heading north.
At Avoca: 4 Red Kites, 6 Buzzards and 2 Peregrine Falcon. All seemed to be paired up and displaying with two of the Buzzards locking tallons and tumbling.PC
Yellowhammer.
(Photo
by Philip Clancy)
1 May 2010
At Dollymount today 1 Reed Bunting and 1 Wheatear. DG
10 Wheater at Belgard Road, Tallaght.MN
Wheatear.
(Photo
by Michael Nolan)