Dermot Breen's Blog

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

American Coot

I was finishing up some I-WeBS counts down around Ballyconneely at around 1030hrs this morning. The last time I attempted to undertake a count at this site I got nicely bitten on my left wrist by a sheepdog. The wrist is only now back to normal. Anyway the first site to cover was Murlach, a small brackish lough located between Ballyconneely village and bay. It a great looking spot and has a real rarity hotspot look about the place especially for waders but it's never produced anything really in the five years that I've been in the area, a single Ruff this Autumn was probably the best I've had in there to date. So while counting from a second viewpoint on the south side I had distant views of what I initially thought was the back end of a Moorhen. Thankfully it turned around and produced an all white bill. White undertail coverts on a Coot - couldn't be anything else but American Coot!

The bird moved happily around the lough. Some of the back pools and channels were frozen over. It feed easily by upending and occasionally diving.

There's no way of knowing how long the bird has been present here as the place hasn't been checked in around three weeks. However the UK only got its seventh record just two days previously up on South Uist on the Outer Hebrides so maybe this bird isn't too long.

I had seen an American Coot found by Dave Suddaby two years ago up on Termoncarragh Lough on the Mullet penninsula. This bird showed up on 15th November 2010 and stayed until 9th April 2011. This was only the second Irish record, the first was at Ballycotton, Co. Cork back in7th February to 4th April 1981. Will my bird hang around until next April? Time will tell.

I've never even seen Eurasian Coot in the Ballyconneely/Slyne Head area and have only seen them less than three times in Connemara before. The No.1 and 3 best Irish sites for Eurasian Coots both lie within county Galway. Lough Corrib is the most important site for the species in Ireland. A peak of 20,444 birds were counted during the 2003/2004 count season though numbers have decreased dramatically mirroring the huge declines here also of diving duck. The last count I have to hand is the 2008/2009 count when only 4,840 were counted. 1,500 to 2,000 Coots are found at the third best site - Loughrea. I've often looked through these vast flocks wondering what the chances of picking up an American were and as to how noticeable the white undertail coverts would be in comparsion to their Eurasian relations. I must say the undertail coverts were eyecatching at all times today on Murlach bird.

Proof that these shots ain't from Florida!

The Mayo bird, photographed 16th November 2010

American Coots, Orlando Wetlands Park, Florida, 7th November 2012.

Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Florida 8th November 2012

Spend the whole day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. This 140,000 acres refuge is located just off Titusville on the East/Atlantic coastline and lies right beside the NASA John F. Kennedy Space Centre.
I tried the Oak and Hammock Trail first thing in the morning but it proved to be very quiet with just a Hermit Thrush and a family party of wild Hogs being the only things of note. Dropped into the visitor centre where I had Pileated Woodpecker, a pair of Painted Buntings at the feeders and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker behind the centre. Next was the Peacocks Pocket Road and impoundments around the Gator Road, great selection of wildfowl all viewable at close quarters right beside the road - American Bittern, Roseate Spoonbills, Reddish Egrets, "Great White" Heron, American White Pelicans, Redheads, American Avocets, etc..
After this I tried the Black Point Drive which I had heard alot about in researching the trip. It's $5 to go on this self-guided drive and it's apparently the best area of the refuge for wildlife. I'd save your $5 if I were you, it was a major disappointment. I saw a max of 200 duck and maybe 100 waders on the whole 7 mile long drive, pretty useless in fairness. The free Gator ponds and Peacocks Pocket road were better by several magnitudes.
Easily picked up at least two Florida Scrub Jays on the Scrub Trail later with one particular bird sitting up on the top of scrub on the lookout while the rest of the family feed unseen in the undergrowth.
Biolab Road was deadly quiet while the lagoons out to Playalinda Beach proved to be also very quiet. Not a huge amount of the beach itself. Did have a huge flock of scoter way off in the distance but they never came in close enough. Two scoters did do a close fly-by but these turned out to be Surf Scoters.
Most of the shots below are from the Peacocks Pocket and Gator Road.

Pied-billed Grebe

White form of Great Blue Heron

Glossy Ibis

Tricolored Heron

Redhead

Shoveler

Blue-winged Teal

Mottled Duck

American Kestrel

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Bald Eagle

American Mourning Dove

Forster's Tern

Caspian Terns, Dunlin & Grey Plover

Northern Flicker

Florida Scrub Jay

Wild Hogs

Friday, 23 November 2012

Florida 7th November 2012

I took myself off to Florida for the lat two weeks. First time to the States so plenty of lifers for me along with some good Florida specialities e.g. Florida Scrub Jay, Short-tailed Hawk, Tropical Kingbird, Vermillon & Ash-throated Flycatchers, Wood Storks and Roseate Spoonbills a plenty. Took far too many pictures. I'll add them here in time.
Flew from Dublin into Orlando direct on the Tuesday 6th November. It was dark by the time I cleared baggage collection and sorting out a hire car. Stayed in Titusville for the next three nights.
First site the following morning was Orlando Wetland Park. It closed from mid November until the end of January to accommodate shooting on site so I was lucky to get in just in time. Great introduction to US birding. First new bird of the trip was a Northern Cardinal with a call nearly identical to European Robin. There were hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers knocking around the entrance of the site but the huge majority of were either flying over or dug deep into inaccessible vegetation. I managed to pick up one American Redstart however which proved to be the only one of the trip. The wetland park consisted of overgrown pools with earth berms between them. Good numbers of herons, egrets, storks and ibis in particular.
Also visited Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area later in the day. Mostly woodland with a good flock of warblers picked up which consisted mostly of Yellow-rumpeds but also Black-and-white, Yellow-throated, Pine Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Tufted Titmice, Downy Woodpeckers, etc.

Glossy and White Ibis

Great Blue Heron

Tricolored Heron

Wood Stork

Feeding flock containing Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Wood Stork, Roseate Spoonbill, Little Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron and Boat-tailed Grackle.