Merlin and the German Med

A few post Inishmore shots. I only discovered that I've lost my better shots of the Buff-bellied Pipit somehow, bugger!

Anyway I had a great encounter with a tame young female Merlin down at Aillebrack on Monday while looking for the Golden Plover (very slow to arrive in this Autumn). While out on Inishmore I had Merlin almost daily so there seem to be a good few arriving in at the moment. No chance of mistaking this particular bird for an American Taiga Merlin Falco columbarius columbarius as it had a up to 6 pale bars on the tail. Most local F. c. aesalon birds only show 4 -5 bars. Chris Benson who is a very active ringer in Galway has caught several Icelandic Merlin F. c. subaesalon in the county over the last few years so there's no doubt that we get that subspecies here on the West coast during the winter months. This bird didn't strike me as a possible Icelandic bird as it wasn't particularly big or dark looking.

This bird had six pale bars on the tail up to the uppertail coverts.

Juvenile Merlin, 2012 with typical four pale bands on tail.

I was out on Omey Strand/Island today doing an I-Webs count, nothing mega but did have the German ringed Mediterranean Gull that I recorded in Mannin Bay on 22nd October 2012 and 26th February 2013. Good to see it back. It was originally ringed as a pullus on 17th June 2006 on the outskirts of Hamburg. It has been previously seen at Preesall Sands, Lancashire, UK by Chris Batty and also at Pas-de-Calais, France in its first year but has returned to its birthplace and later to a colony based on large flat roofed factories nearby. Med Gulls don't seem to have a great reputation for site fidelity here in the West of Ireland and this is the first returning bird I think I've ever had in Galway.

There were three Whoopers and an Otter on Fahy Lough also. I also had a very impressive flock of 33 Chough on the machair commonage, probably the biggest flock I've seen in Connemara. Good to see that the survival rate of young birds ain't half bad so far this Autumn.

Otter with Eel, Fahy Lough, Omey Island.

Otter with Eel, Fahy Lough, Omey Island.

Whooper Swans, Fahy Lough, Omey Island.

Whooper Swan, Fahy Lough, Omey Island.

Inishmore 4th to 11th October 2013

Time for the usual October jaunt out to Inishmore. While the Buff-bellied Pipit was nice along with five Yellow-browed Warblers we got the distinct impression that we may have been about a fortnight too late for the party. We had no really rapidly moving Atlantic systems on the move during the week. It may well be worth doing a September stay next year however if the conditions look decent...
We had a good crew out on the island this year with Hugh Delaney, Paul & Andrea Kelly, John Murphy, Stan Nugent and Neal Warnock all clocking in from a three days to a week out there.

The best of the rest included;

• Buff-bellied Pipit, An Gleannachán, Eoghanacht, DB.
• Spotted Sandpiper, Loch Phort Chorrúch, 7th, PK.
• Yellow-browed Warbler
• 1 at Eoghanacht, 9th, DB. 
• 1 at Kilmurvey, 6th - 11th, DB.
• 1, Kilmurvey, 8th, PK & AAK.
• 1 Eochaill, 11th, SN & JNM.
• 1 in Kilronan Wood, 9th Oct, PK & AAK.
• Reed Warbler, Kilronan Wood, 9th - 10th, PK & AAK.
• Garden Warbler, Eoghanacht, 8th - 10th Oct (at least), DB.
• Common Whitethroat, Gort na gCapaill, 8th, DB.
• Turtle Dove
• 1, Kilmurvey, 8th, SN & JNM.
• 1 in Mainistir area, 9th - 11th, SN & JNM.
• Black Redstart, Eochaill, 11th, SN & JNM.

Neal, Hugh and the Kelly's had a Wood Warbler and at least two new Yellow-browed Warblers after Friday. The former was seen in the same garden that the Dusky Warbler took up residence last year. I ticked Wood Warbler in the very same garden back on 6th May 2000. That's Chiffchaff, Willow, Yellow-browed, Wood and Dusky Warbler that this small garden has recorded so far, not bad for the West coast of Ireland. Radde's, Greenish or Arctic in there would be nice additions to the county list.

The Yellow Wagtail was seen at Rinvyle Point by the way on 2nd October,

Yellow Wagtail, Rinvyle Point, 2nd October 2013.

Yellow Wagtail, Rinvyle Point, 2nd October 2013.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Inishmore.

Yellow-browed Warbler, Inishmore.

Chiffchaff, Inishmore.

Chiffchaff, Inishmore.

Willow Warbler, Inishmore.

Willow Warbler, Inishmore.

Goldcrest, Inishmore.

Wren, Inishmore.

Northern Wheatear & Robin, Inishmore.

Wheatear, Inishmore.

Inishmore Buff-bellied Pipit 5th October

Just back from "The Rock" after a week of hard graft of migrant searching.
The first day of the trip (the anniversary of last years Eastern Kingbird) got off to a worryingly poor start with a grand total of zero warblers or migrants of note seen in most of the usual spots.
I had Buff-bellied Pipit on the mind that day for some reason and had already checked the shoreline in front of Loch Phort Chorrúch specifically for one with Hugh Delaney.
Later in the day after splitting up I decided to check An Gleannachán, the shoreline just below the Seven Churches area. Within five minutes I came across this guy along the weed-line. He was on the end of a lot of harassment from the local Rock Pipits and at one stage left the shoreline entirely and briefly retired into a wet field.
It stayed in the area for the next four days. It is the fifth Nearctic passerine that we have recorded on the island to date. It's about the twentieth Irish record and the second county record. I found the first one at Truska on 2nd to 3rd October 2010.
I got better shots of the pipit a few days later which I'll upload here in a few days time and more on the Inishmore trip in general.

Inishbofin & Inishmore

A few shots from the last week or so. I didn't make it out to Inishbofin for the Eastern Kingbird on Wednesday. There was a great sense of relief knowing that I had seen the first European record last year on Inishmore. Unfortunately like last years bird it too disappeared overnight.
Visiting birders had found a Blackpoll Warbler, Common Rosefinch and two Wrynecks while dipping on the kingbird. Wryneck is an extremely rare species in county Galway with only two previous records, both relate to specimens picked up on Eeragh Island lighthouse (off the West end of Inishmore) on 6th October 1886 and 19th September 1912. I was on Inishbofin the following day and while one of the Wrynecks had been seen first thing that morning we failed to see it. However towards the end of the day Anthony McGeehan found a juvenile Woodchat Shrike up at the East end. While it was on show for long periods it was a little distant hence the record shots. It quickly disappeared and wasn't seen later that evening. Galway only recorded it's first Woodchat Shrike last Autumn shortly after the Eastern Kingbird which was also in the same area.

I was back out on Inishmore for the weekend to see if there was much around and the answer was relatively disappointing. Saturday was particularly bad with just two Curlew Sandpipers and a Jack Snipe. A single Blackcap and a handful of Goldcrests were really the only passerine migrants seen. Sunday was a little better with a Reed Warbler, Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaffs, 10 Goldcrests, Spotted and Pied Flycatcher. I'll be back out with a few others from this Friday for a week at least and fingers crossed for some decent birds.

Juvenile Woodchat Shrike, Inishbofin, 26th September 2013.

Juvenile Woodchat Shrike, Inishbofin, 26th September 2013.

Chaffinch, Slyne Head.

Willow Warbler, Inishbofin.

Pied Flycatcher, Inishmore.

Pied Flycatcher, Inishmore.

Pied Flycatcher, Inishmore.

Curlew Sandpiper, Inishmore.

Curlew Sandpipers, Inishmore.

Curlew Sandpiper &Dunlin, Inishmore.

Curlew Sandpiper, Inishmore.

Dunlin, Inishmore.

Curlew Sandpiper & Ruff, Omey Strand.

Common Seals, Inishmore. The poor guy had fishing line entangled around its neck which has badly injured it.

Common Seal, Inishmore.

Common Seals, Inishmore.