What a day! I took a trip down to the strand which leads out to Inishdawros 4km south east of Ballyconnely (on the R341 on the way to Roundstone) to see if there were any small waders in yet. I've been checking this site now for seven years now and only had my first notable wader here last year in the form of a Curlew Sandpiper. Anyway there were around 30 Ringed Plover, 12 Dunlin, 2 summer plumaged Knot and an adult and two recently fledged Little Terns out on the mudflat today. I drove out across the mudflat in the van but decided try and get some shots of the Little Terns. I parked it up back at the end of the road leading down to the shore as I didn't want to get stranded with it out in the middle of the flats with the incoming tide. As I moved back down to the shoreline a large wader flew right by me. As it bank it showed jet black underwings and reddish underparts and displayed a striking clean white square rump. It could only be a bloody Hudsonian Godwit!! My heartbeat immediately increased significantly. It looked like it landed just behind a large seaweed covered rock along the waterline. As I crept up behind the rock and peaked over the rock, there it was sat by the waters edge. It spent all of its time by itself and didn't associate with any of the few Redshank, Greenshank or Oystercatchers that were present. It flew off towards the mainland shoreline where I lost it to view. It reappeared back in the original spot a while later and repeated the same behaviour. I last saw it at 1725hrs.
For those thinking of travelling for it, your best chance is probably to aim for two hours either side of low tide which is at about 0400 and 1600hrs tomorrow. The mudflat can be reached from the cul de sac with the orange cone on a fence post and blue signpost for Calla Beach House or from the layby by the main coastal road a few hundred metres to the west (please don't block the rough trackway down to the small pier here).
Link to the site on google maps below with latitude and longitude,
https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3998022,-10.0350249,4600m/data=!3m1!1e3
For those thinking of travelling for it, your best chance is probably to aim for two hours either side of low tide which is at about 0400 and 1600hrs tomorrow. The mudflat can be reached from the cul de sac with the orange cone on a fence post and blue signpost for Calla Beach House or from the layby by the main coastal road a few hundred metres to the west (please don't block the rough trackway down to the small pier here).
Link to the site on google maps below with latitude and longitude,
https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.3998022,-10.0350249,4600m/data=!3m1!1e3
53°24'09.9"N 10°02'18.0"W
53.402757, -10.038321
WOW What an outstanding and simply priceless find Dermot. You've found a beautiful wader which others, like me, could only ever dream of seeing yet alone finding it!!! If it's ok with you Dermot, could I put a link to your Blog onto my Site - www.birdboy.co.uk - ?
ReplyDeleteYou really can't beat finding you're own birds alright - quite the adrenaline rush! Link away, no problem.
DeleteGripping stuff Dermot!! Even fit those of us lucky enough to have seen the bird in Somerset this year it's a great find!!
ReplyDeleteGripping stuff Dermot!! Even fit those of us lucky enough to have seen the bird in Somerset this year it's a great find!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a superb bird to find, Dermot. Huge congrats for checking this area out repeatedly with little reward until this bird!! And it is a stunner as well.
ReplyDeleteStunning photos mate and a great find!!
ReplyDeleteIts not bad like..... ya fecker!
ReplyDeleteIts not bad like..... ya fecker!
ReplyDeleteDeadly stuff Dermot, cracking bird to find. nice one kid.
ReplyDeleteCracker! Brilliant shots as well. One of those perfect place at the perfect time moments
ReplyDeleteHi Dermot - huge congratulations, a fantastic find ! I wonder if it's the same one we saw in Somerset in the Spring ? ( surely there can't be too many around ! ).
ReplyDeleteI think its a different bird alright Steve. May well have come in last Sunday with that small arrival of White-rumped and Pec Sands.
DeleteSaw him this early eve through binoculars which was quite a thrill but didn't see him in flight. Your photos are absolutely brilliant. Thanks for sharing your great find.
ReplyDeleteWhat marvellous pics Dermot. How brilliant that you kept your nerve & the Godwit stayed on when the others took off. Your piece brought back vivid memories of 50 years ago when I stayed in Ballyconneely, a wild place with the Atlantic storms crashing. I'm not a birder as you can tell... I how high above the waves do they travel across the Atlantic? Is it a perilous journey as I imagine?
ReplyDeleteI remember the fields around the 'Pins' seemed to be full of golden plover long ago! Thank you very much for the most evocative and beautiful photos. Yours, Robin Dulake, Dorset
Thanks Robin. I'm sure Ballyconneely has changed a little since you were last here but maybe not as much as other parts of Ireland. A bird like this would likely be several hundred metres above sea level when migrating. Most of the birds that fly out into the Atlantic never make it due to sheer exhaustion and bad weather. It's only a handful that are lucky to survive the ordeal. Most apart from gulls would never be able to make it back on their own steam and would have to spend the rest of their days in the "Old World".
DeleteGolden Plover are now virtually extinct as a breeding species in the Twelve Pins/Bens and Maumturk mountains and are now only really found in the lowland blanket bogs. The uplands of Connemara have suffered hugely from overgrazing by sheep in recent decades but this has been addressed to varying degrees of success in recent years. Have a look here http://dermotbreen.blogspot.ie/2014/07/golden-plover-survey-2014.html