Monday 31 October 2016

Inishmore last week

A selection of shots taken over the three days that I spent out on Inishmore recently. Plenty of Yellow-browed Warbler shots, can't get enough to them, they really are little gems.

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Garden Warbler

Blackcap

Stonechat

Greenfinch, very rare on the island, first one I've seen out there anyway.

Hooded Crow

Hooded Crow

Song Thrush
Rather friendly Robin.

Birds on the mind.

Western Bonelli's Warbler garden.

No escaping the US election, not even on an offshore island off the west of Ireland.

Port Chorrúch, this seaweed strewn cobble beach has had two Baird's and one White-rumped Sandpiper to date.

Friday 28 October 2016

Inishmore Lesser-throats

While out on Inishmore last week I had three different Lesser Whitethroats on the 20th October. Bird 2 and especially Bird 3 look like possibly being Siberian Lesser Whitethroats. However without getting the open tail pattern, wing formula along with the fact that none were hear to give the rattle call of blythi, for now they'll have to go down as simply Lesser Whitethroats.

Bird 1

Bird 1 with Yellow-browed Warbler.

Bird 1 with Dunnocks and Goldfinches.

Bird 1

Bird 1

Bird 2

Bird 2

Bird 2

Bird 2

Bird 3

Bird 3

Bird 3

Bird 3

Bird 3

Bird 3

Tuesday 25 October 2016

"North-western" Redpoll

I had this redpoll out on Inishmore on Thursday 20th October in behind the cafe at Kilmurvy. It was initially being aggressively mobbed by a Pied Wagtail for some reason. It later joined up with a Linnet flock and began to feed in a large Sycamore tree. Redpolls have to one of my least favourite identification groups, they really do melt my head most of the time - lump the lot of them I say! However I think there may a case for assigning this individual to the Greenland rostrata or North-western group. Most of the shot were taken in strongly back-lighted conditions which has messed up the exposure a bit. It was a large bird in the field (not as massive as a lot of classic rostrata though), large headed, it appeared rather dark swarthy brown overall, it had well streaked flanks (four or five lines), big bill, no obvious pale tramlines on the mantle, heavily streaked undertail coverts and had a dark rump even though a lot of rostrata can have pale rumps. One thing that I was particularly struck by were the rather long thigh feathering which almost looked like furry/wooly chaps. Can't say I've ever noticed (or looked for to be honest) this on our own cabaret Redpolls before. Could if even be a dark Icelandic bird I wonder or am I really just seeing things?

Looking very rostrata-like in this record shot.

Dark rumped.




Long and "wooly" thigh chaps. 
No pale tramlines on the mantle.


Well streaked undertail coverts.

Heavily streaked flanks and large headed.

Sunday 23 October 2016

WESTERN BONELLI'S WARBLER

I was out on Inishmore during the week after deciding not to do the usual full week all by myself so three days was a comprise. On the second day I made my way west as I usually do. At around midday I was in the Creig and Chéirín area between The Seven Churches and Bun Gabhla, This area contains the most western clump of Sycamores on the island. There are only a few small plots of Willows further west of here. These Sycamores had held a Yellow-browed Warbler, 3 Chiffchaffs, Garden Warbler and Blackcap at the time. As I had finished up here I returned to where I had left the bike by a derelict building surrounded by a fuchsia hedge. It's a spot I always have a quick look into as I'm passing but I'm not even sure if I've ever seen a phyllosc warbler in here before. As I was just about to move on I spotted movement in the form of a phyllosc. I was immediately struck by the bright green wings, rump and tail which contrasted with a very pale washed out mantle, tertials, head and underparts. The lime green rump and tail were particularly noticeable in flight. The only possible confusion species would be Siberian Chiffchaff. It soon became clear that it was a bonelli's type - the only question now was Western or Eastern. The sure fire way of separating the two is on their vocalisations. Thanks to modern technology in the form of the Xeno Canto Bird sounds app I was able to download the contact calls of both species there and then. The calls are very different e.g.
Western Bonelli's Warbler http://www.xeno-canto.org/270106
Eastern Bonelli's Warbler http://www.xeno-canto.org/24719

The bird wasn't particularly skulky but when I played the Western Bonelli's call it showed great interest and approached my position at such close quarters that I couldn't focus my camera on it! Unfortunately it never called once during this encounter and it later retreated back in a thick bank of fuchsia. It could be seen at very close quarters here but proved impossible to photograph thanks to the thick foliage but thankfully it was heard calling on one occasion confirming it as Western. The following day it moved out of this garden to a hedge of willow, hawthorn and elder to the north of the main road and was heard calling on several occasions. It sounded quite like a calling Greenfinch to my ears. It was again present the next day. This is the fourth reported Western Bonelli's Warbler this year with the other three being reported from Cork unsurprisingly.

There are fourteen previously accepted records of Western Bonelli's Warblers up to the end of 2014 for Ireland (eight in Cork, four in Wexford and two in Waterford). This will be the first time that the species has been recorded away from the south coast (that is if this record is accepted by the IRBC). There have been a few recorded that were't determined to species level and we are still awaiting our first confirmed Eastern Bonelli's Warbler here.