May 29, 2006
Meh
Its was a lazy weekend...2nd summer Iceland gull at Gormanstown was the best on offer to me.
Sin é
Pariah
Worth while links
Irish County yearlists page 2006
Carmo Police
My (outdated) website
May 22, 2006
Through the Force...things you will see.
After arguing with the beast on friday night over which one of us would actually find anything over the weekend, i felt the force urging me out to east cork.....actually it was more a case of me being too broke to shell out petrol for west cork..but i digress.
I went straight down to Ballyvergan on saturday morning and did yet another 2 hour stake out of the reedbed...no sign of the marsh harrier...again!
Pilmore strand was the next stop, and after dodging the strewn condoms and the big convoy of pigeon racing trucks (they released a few thousand of the winged vermin) i walked down to the pool.
Here i had a cuckoo and a grasshopper warbler singing.
A tree pipit called over head, but i never got on to it!
They are real bastards tree pipits!
As i was driving towards knockadoon the force stepped in to save the day.
An adult summer gull billed tern flew across the road in front of my car, at the womanagh flood plain near ballymacoda.
I screeched the car to a halt, pulled her in and set my scope up at lightning speed.
I just got a view of the bird at a distance before it disappeared behind a hill.
I was 99.99% sure it was a Gull Billed Tern at this point, so i rang Dennis, Paul and Harry to give them advanced notice.
As i sent my last text, the bird popped out again and gave crippling views.
120% sure now.;)
The lads showed up and the bird gave great views both on the deck and in flight.
They are amazing things to watch on the deck.
The legs are far longer than they are portrayed in the Collins, and they walk like a mix between a gull and a pipit.
A truly stunning bird.
The bird showed for the whole day, and was seen briefly the next morning after which it fecked off!
Cest la vie!
Pariah
Worth while links
Irish County yearlists page 2006
Carmo Police
My (outdated) website
May 16, 2006
A dip...and Sicily (finally)
Well yesterday i dipped on a Red rumped swallow at the old head of kinsale! (grrr arrgh). But thats not what this post is about..oh no.
This is about honey buzzards!...Are'nt honey buzzards just great alltogether!;)
Especially when ya get a few thousand going through above you!
On the 24th of april DB, DF and myself set off for 10 days in sicily, counting raptors at the Straits of messina Anti Poaching Raptor Camp.
Over the past 25 years this camp has managed to change the face of migration in sicily, all but erradicating raptor shooting. This is no small feat, considering the mentality of the area. Anna Giordano, the founder of the camp, had her car bombed out and her life threatened on many occasions.
It was once the case that 60% of all birds pasing through were shot.
Now the birds pass through unscathed...Essentially, Anna, and her efforts with the various consrvation organisations, have changed the mindset of an entire culture.
We arrived in the middle of a Scirocco...a south easterly wind originating from the sahara, and not very good for raptor passage. So we went first to the headland of Capo Peloro.
Here, despite bad passage, we connected with the first Booted Eagle of the trip and a stunning adult Egyptian Vulture, my first lifer on the trip.
These were quickly followed by Yelkouan and Scopolis Shearwaters.
Other good birds here were a single adult Gull Billed Tern, Tree pipits, Auduoins gulls, Marsh harrier, Montagus harrier, Bee-eater and...amazingly...purple glossy starling.
Apparently, according to a local member of the Italian rarities body, there has been an unprecedented influx of glossy starlings into north africa, involving several species, and this could represent a genuine record for the country.
If so it would be a great western palearctic tick!;)
Honey Buzzard
The next day saw our first true passage of birds, with numbers of Marsh harriers moving through, Our first Eleonoras Falcon, Our first Pallid harrier and of course...Honey Buzzards!
At last i had seen a Honey Buzzard!And i was dutifully impressed!Stunning looking creatures!
At this site, Santa Rosalea, we also had the endemic race of Rock Partridge. A very hard bird to catch up with!
Over the entire trip we got to grips with a great number of raptor species, Including Red Footed falcons(Tick), yet more Eleonoras Falcons(Tick), Pallid Harriers(Tick), Montagus Harriers, Common Buzzard, Steppe Buzzard(Tick), Long Legged Buzzard(Tick), Golden Eagle (Tick), Short Toed Eagles, Booted Eagles, Lesser Kestrels (Tick), Griffon Vulture, Egyptian Vulture (Tick), Common Kestrels, Peregrines of the races Calidus and Brookei, Hobby, Black kite (including one i believe to be of the race aegyptius), And of course Honey Buzzards (Tick).
Other good birds included Black Stork (Tick), Corn Bunting (Tick), Black eared Wheatear, Dartford Warbler, Red Throated pipit, Black Headed Wagtail (Tick), Great Reed Warbler, Sub alpine warbler, Icterine warbler, Tawny pipits, Cirl Bunting. And all the usual mediteranean stuff!
A very enjoyable trip, with good food, good company, good craic and great birds!
Many Thanks to Guido Bonnet for his superb shots!
Pariah
Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
Griffon Vulture
Griffon Vulture
Black Kite
Worth while links
Irish County yearlists page 2006
Carmo Police
My (outdated) website
May 15, 2006
Bumping up the mileage!
Two trips to wexford this weekend!...for the same bird!
On saturday heard about a Broad billed sandpiper down at Tacumshin and chicked HH and BL into the car. We lashed down but failed to see the bird...or indeed any bird!
On sunday went down again with HH and SR to have another crack at it.
This time we managed to nail it along with a gorgeous adult Little ringed plover, 4 drake garganey and a number of roseate terns at ladys island.
Not a bad weekend despite how seriously drained and reliant on stimulants i am now!
Pariah
Worth while links
Irish County yearlists page 2006
Carmo Police
My (outdated) website
May 10, 2006
Feeling Cirly
Bah,dipped again!
Irelands first Cirl bunting on mizen head lead us a merry dance!
Probably never stood a chance!
grrrr
pariah
Worth while links
Irish County yearlists page 2006
Carmo Police
My (outdated) website