HALLOWEEN
HORROR
In
a Malahide garden...
Malahide: on a daily
basis for the past 2 weeks a Sparrowhawk has visited the
garden. He is of course picking my Goldfinches from the
feeder for his pleasure. As I write this he is circling my little
garden again and causing chaos. He did visit earlier this year as
I saw the evidence on 2 occasions but missed him. I got this image
as he squeezed the life out of another goldfinch (Look close
beneath his left claw.) IM
Sparrowhawk in Malahide
Garden (Photo by Ita
Martin)
31 October 2012
Red-throated Diver at
the wooden bridge Bull Island this evening (Photo by Dave MacPherson)
Brambling at breakfast time on Ranelagh balcony (Photo by Mark
Carmody)
30 October 2012
Bull Island: 1 Red-throated Diver and 1 Great-crested
Grebe off Bull Wall today. Also 1 Little Grebe and 1 Red-breasted
Merganser male feeding off Wooden Bridge.CD
27 October 2012
Colour-ringed Sanderling at
Bull Island (Photo by Shay Connolly)
Rogerstown & Turvey Hides: An aerobatic display was
laid on by no more then seven BOPs Buzzards galore, Red
Kites (2), Merlin, Sparrowhawk, Kestrels,
Peregrines, and the Hen harrier spotted by Liam
Feeney on the 21st/Oct and then caught on camera by John fields
from the Rogerstown North Hide at 10-30am 27th/Oct and by myself
from the Turvey South hide around 2pm 27th/Oct, with Liam Feeney
and others in attendance.BC
Male Hen Harrier at
Rogerstown (Photos by Brian Carruthers)
20 October 2012
Bull Island; North side of Causeway. One juvenile Shelduck.CN
Grey Plover at Rogerstown
Estuary & Turvey South Hide (Photos by Brian Carruthers)
18 October 2012
Skylark at Bull Island
(Photo by Harry Bailey)
Grey Heron at Bull
Island (Photo by Harry Bailey)
17 October 2012
Bull Island: 6 Swallows, a Wheatear and 35 Sanderling
at the South end of the beach. 2 Mute Swans at the Wooden
Bridge.GF
Sanderling at Bull Island
beach (Photo by Ger Franck)
16 October 2012
Bull Island: Some visible migration on the Bull Island today
with a group of 8 Snipe coming in off the sea, meanwhile 5 Swallows
and a flock of 40 Skylarks were seen heading in the
direction of Dublin Port. 2 Ravens at the Bull Wall.GF
White Mallard in Poppintree
Park Ballymun (Photo by Mick Kelly)
14 October 2012
Black Guillemots in
winter plumage at Howth Harbour (Photo by Edd Kealy)
Guillemot at Howth
Harbour (Photo by Edd Kealy)
What happens when a Redshank
and Lesser Yellowlegs meet at North Bull Island? (Photo by Grzegorz Burkowski)
Lesser Yellowlegs in combat with a Redshank (Photo by Grzegorz Burkowski)
12 October 2012
North Bull Island: Interesting behaviour observed today from
the Lesser
Yellowlegs that has been present on the Bull
just North of the Causeway for several days now. A hunting Peregrine
flew over head putting everything else up but the Lesser
Yellowlegs sat tight. It squatted down in shallow water where it
had been feeding until the Peregrine had passed over. See photos
below.JF
Peregrine on the hunt - Lesser Yellowlegs cowering (Photos by John
Fox) Click on each photo to see full size image
What happened next...
After John Fox took the photo of the Peregrine, it made
a kill, then landed on the salt bank to feast on it's catch (See
photo below). My shot originally focused on that bird, on
left. Only when I cropped the shot did I notice the other
Peregrine on the post, which was barely in the shot.BC (Photo
by Brian Carruthers)
Shoveller at Causeway, Bull Island (Photo
by Dave MacPherson)
Merganser (male in eclipse plumage) at the wooden bridge,
Bull Island (Photo by Dave MacPherson)
11 October 2012
Cock Pheasant hiding
behind the Redshank (Persicaria maculosa) at the allotments in
Meakstown Finglas (Photo by Michael Keating)
10 October 2012
St. Margaret's:
5 Whopper Swans seen today in the flooded field
beside the Keelings plant in St.
Margaret's at the back of the airport at 4.00pm. They where still
there at 6.30pm and where joined by 3 more swans.MK
8 October 2012
North
Bull Island: the 1st-winter Lesser
Yellowlegs was showing exceptionally well at
ranges down to 15m on The North Bull Island at 13:45 today.
Present North of the causeway, just past the small bit of salt
marsh at the River Santry outflow. Best viewed from the coastal
path alongside the road. A hybrid Carrion X Hooded Crow was
present there also & a Peregrine was on the North salt
marsh (NTK & NK).
Lesser Yellowlegs at Bull
Island (Photo by Edd Kealy)
Lesser Yellowlegs at Bull Island (Photo by Niall Keogh)
Hybrid Carrion X Hooded Crow
at Bull Island (Photo by Niall Keogh)
7 October 2012
North Bull Island: Lesser
Yellowlegs about 150m north of the causeway on
the Anne's Park side at 3.30 today. Feeding very close to the
footpath in mud with tufts of grass (views to about 10m) . Went
home for camera but tide was in when I got back and could not
re-locate. Long yellow legs, slimmer, longer bodied and smaller
than redshank when side by side. Faint brown tinged streaking to
upper breast, white breast/belly otherwise, pale super in front of
eye, white eye ring, thin blackish bill.PR
Raheny: A hearing rather than sighting..Redwings
heard calling on Sunday night.BO'B
6 October 2012
Baldoyle Estuary: 3 Grey Plover, Turnstone, 2 Curlew.
Mixed flock of Black-tailed Godwit & Redshank.
Herring Gull and large numbers of Black-headed Gull. 17 Red-breasted
Merganser, 5 Shag, Hooded Crow and Jackdaw.
30 Brent Geese, one of which was ringed Code 33YY.
Left Yellow 3, Right Yellow 3.EMcC
Howth: This solitary and fairly tame Red-throated
Diver (Loon) was in Howth Harbour this afternoon.
It was located between the branch pier which is part of the east
pier and the marina. It seemed to be used to both people
walking on the pier and boats going in and out.BQ
Red-throated Diver at Howth Harbour
(Photo by Bill Quinn)
Red-throated Diver at Howth Harbour
(Photo by Dave MacPherson)
Rogerstown North Hide: A good day's birding had by all from the
Rogerstown north hide on a glorious bright calm October day Lots
of BOP's about . . . 6 Buzzards at one stage having no
problem soaring high with the thermals away from the chasing
Corvids, a lone Sparrowhawk hunting the Meadow Pipits,
Skylark & Goldfinches, with some success I add.
We had a good view of the Merlins resting on the 'postbox'
and the 'rock', two together, that's good. I received a phone call
from James Hayes in the Turvey south hide, wondering if anyone had
seen a Little Stint in the area, his scope was broken, so could
not confirm his sighting, hopefully in range for his camera lens,
here's hoping !!. Two Ruffs paid us a visit just below the
sandbank in front of the hide, with a Green Sandpiper still
in the area. Compared to last month's high count of up to twenty
birds, not many Little Egrets about today, eight in total.
Lots of Redshanks, Greenshanks, Sanderling, Dunlin,
Goldfinches, Wigeon, Teal, Mallards, Black-tailed
Godwits, Curlew, Great Black-backed Gulls, Lesser
Black-backed Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Herring
Gulls, Oystercatchers with a couple of Grey Herons,
Cormorants, Knots, Grey Plover, Lapwing,
Whimbrel & Shelduck. A Pheasant & a Grey
Partridge popped up for a few moments. The best was left to
last, as the high tide was on ebb just a the light started to
fade, it brought us not one, two, but three Kingfishers
catching their prey right below our east & west windows, for a
good 20 minutes until the water level was just to low for them to
fish. As I said, a good day all in. Sightings by John Fields,
Karol Waszkiewicz and children with myself, Brian Carruthers.BC
5 October 2012
Howth Harbour- 5 Black Guillemots,
1 Red-throated Diver; and
Balscadden - 200+ Swallows moving South, 20 House
Martins, 2 Redpoll, 2 Peregrine. Lots of Goldfinches,
Linnets, Robins, Wrens, Blackbirds and
6 Stonechats.EK
3 October 2012
Rogerstown: 2 Green Sandpiper upriver at 18.00. Still
some Swallows around despite the cold! DO'M
2 October 2012
Bull Island Causeway at high tide: 28 Pintail, 19 Shoveller
and 20 Lapwing.CD
1 October 2012
Blessington Street Basin: at 8 a.m. 1 female Smew, 1 Hooded
Merganser, 2 Mute Swan, 28 Tufted Duck, 1 Grey
Heron, several Coot, Moorhen and Mallard.CD
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