Dermot Breen's Blog: May 2012

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

Slyne Head 30th May 12

Collection of pics mostly from Slyne Head today. Great weather, temperature not as intense as the last few days. Got a county butterfly tick in the form of Small Blue behind the golf course also.

Best bird of the day was undoubtedly a Pectoral Sandpiper in Truska in the very same spot that I had five individuals back in September. Wonder if it's one of the five returning back North? As far as I can make out this is the first record of an American wader seen during the Spring county Galway.

Wall Brown

Small Blue

Mother Shipton

Silver Hook

Forester

Large Carder Bee

Red-shanked Carder Bee

Sedge Warbler

Wheatear

Juvenile Wheatear

Black Guillemot

Guillemot with Razorbills

Skylark

Cuckoo

Pectoral Sandpiper

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Mountshannon White-tailed Eagles

I'm sure most people will have heard of the first attempted breeding of White-tailed Eagles down by Mountshannon, Lough Derg, the first to have occurred in Ireland in 110 years. I spent a half day on Friday and Sunday down there helping out the nest watch. It really was fantastic to see so much local enthusiasm and excitement around the birds. The nest site is only a kilometre out from the main pier and was drawing a steady stream of curious passersby’s. I saw a few changeovers during my watches and the off-duty bird was more often than not to be found sitting out on one of the dead trees on the island. The parent birds never left the eggs unguarded for length of time. However as the female was just three years old the chances of the eagles successfully rearing a chick was an outside possibility. Just as the eggs were due to hatch a few days ago, the parents deserted the nest so something obviously wasn’t quite right. They did very well to get that far and fingers crossed will try again next year which is more can be said for the unfortunate two eagles picked up poisoned in Donegal and another bird picked up poisoned AND shot in Mayo (Lochlann) in recent weeks L
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/minister-condemns-poisoning-of-eagles-551727.html