Creggoduff Beach, Ballyconneely, February 2018.

Another post mostly following up from the previous one. Two more Common Dolphins washed up on the shoreline at Creggoduff beach in front of the Connemara Golf Course in late February. Thankfully given the more easterly winds the numbers of stranded Common Dolphins haven't been hitting the Irish coastline in the last fortnight or so. That isn't to say however that they aren't still being killed in large numbers offshore. It's probably just the case that they aren't being pushed ashore. Up to the end of February of this year 87 Common Dolphins have been recorded stranded. Only ten years ago a total of 25 Common Dolphins would have been the norm!

The amount of marine litter washed up on the shoreline was depressing. The huge majority of it seems to come from the fishing industry mostly in the form of discarded ropes and netting. For an industry that relies on a healthy marine ecosystem to support sustainable stocks of commercial fisheries it seems utterly illogical for the same sector to wreck the environment so much. The large foreign trawlers can't take all the blame for this however as the the small inshore Irish boats are equally if not more responsible. Washed up along the same shoreline I recorded 1 Iceland Gull, 1 Gluacous Gull, 1 Kittiwake, 8 Fulmars and 2 seal species, all dead.

Common Dolphin, Creggoduff Strand, Ballyconneely, 26th February 2018.

Common Dolphin, Creggoduff Strand, Ballyconneely, 26th February 2018.

Bottlenose Dolphin, Creggoduff Strand, Ballyconneely, 26th February 2018.

Fishing industry marine litter, Creggoduff Strand, Ballyconneely, 26th February 2018.

Fishing Industry marine litter, Creggoduff Strand, Ballyconneely, 26th February 2018.

Plastic litter, Creggoduff Strand, Ballyconneely, 26th February 2018.

Dead adult Iceland Gull, Creggoduff Strand, 26th February 2018.

Close up on the open primaries of the dead adult Iceland. Note the grey on the outer web of p10 and to a much lesser extent on p9. Probably not well marked enough to call it a Kumlien's-type.

Adult Glaucous Gull with an adult Herring Gull, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Adult Glaucous Gull, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Adult Glaucous Gull feeding on a dead seal, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Adult Glaucous Gull feeding on a dead seal, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Chough, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Chough, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Chough, Aillebrack, 23rd February 2018.

Inishmore October 2015 Part One

I just spent a week out on Inishmore, 11th to 17th October. The Arctic Warbler was by far the best bird I had during the week. Otherwise it was pretty quiet with about eight to nine Yellow-browed Warblers, 1 Lapland Bunting and long staying and unseen Reed Warbler being about the best of the lot.
While Inishmore has probably become best known for it's American passerines in recent years that possiblity just wasn't going to happen during my week. Ireland has been stuck in a high pressure system for the last while so if it was going to happen it was going to come from the east. I can't exactly complain about a self found Arctic Warbler I suppose! The high pressure resulted in unseasonably good weather. For the first time ever I didn't have a single drop of rain all week. While the wind never reached gale force it did get a little strong towards the end of the week and first time you could really feel the winter chill in the wind.

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Chiffchaff

Dunnock

Dunnock

Robin

Robin

Blackbird

Fieldfares

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Chough

Adult and young Woodpigeon.

Rock Doves

Goldfinch, one of the 4.4 million of them on the island along with Linnets which were even more numerous!

 

Redpoll



Linnet

Lapland Bunting

 

Random Winter Birds

Hooded Crow chasing Raven, just shows the size difference between the two!



Lesser Redpoll, Loughrea



Norwegian ringed Black-headed Gull, Loughrea. 



Chough, Aughrusbeg



Mallard, Renvyle

Male Pintail with Mallard pair, Murlach.



Male Pintail with male Mallard at Murlach, only the second Pintail I've seen on mainland Connemara,



Whooper Swan family, Murlach.

Young Whooper Swan, Murlach.

 

Redshank, Renvyle

 

American Golden Plover

Found this adult American Golden Plover down at Truska yesterday. It was with around 80 Eurasian Golden Plover and a single juvenile Grey Plover which initially caused a bit of confusion. A rather odd location for Grey Plover. Previous to yesterday there were only five Eurasian Golden Plovers hanging around the area this Autumn. The whole flock was very flighty and never allowed close approach, hence the poor cropped record shots. American Golden Plover is nearly expected at this location now from mid September to early November. Between here and Aillebrack (only a 2km away) there have been six previous records for the area.

·         Juvenile, Aillebrack, Ballyconneely, 11^th November 2002 (A.O’Dónaill).

·         Juvenile, Ballyconneely, 29^th September to 1^st October 2006 (A.O’Dónaill et al).

·         Juvenile, Truska and Aillebrack, Slyne Head, 6^th to 10^th October 2010 (D.Breen).

·         Juvenile, Truska, 10^th to 18^th November, (D.Breen).

·         Juvenile, Truska, 23^rd September to 30^th October 2011 (D.Breen).

·         Adult, Truska, 4^th October 2011 (D.Breen), seen earlier in Clare.

Adult American Golden Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Adult American Golden Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Adult American Golden Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Adult American Golden Plover with Golden and Grey Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Adult American Golden Plover with Golden and Grey Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Adult American Golden Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Adult American Golden Plover, Truska, Slyne Head, 18th September 2012.

Juvenile Grey Plover, Truska.

Juvenile Grey Plover, Truska.