Alex Ash found this juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs in the small turlough at Kilmurvey on 5th October. Still a finds tick for me and I drove past the site twice just beforehand. The water levels were extremely low and the favoured pool couldn't even be seen from the road. The pool was no more than ten metres in diameter. This turlough very rarely has any birds in it even when fully flooded. Despite this it was the site of the 2015 Hudsonian Godwit and previously has had a brief Blue-winged Teal in 2008, both found by the Punkbirders (Rich Moores & Dan Brown). The yellowlegs was the only island tick for me during the week and another great American wader for the island list making it the tenth Yank Wader for Inishmore. The Nearctic wader list for the island now includes - American Golden Plover (just one surprisingly), Semipalmated Sandpiper (2 both on Kilmurvey beach), White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper (2), Pectoral Sandpiper (2), Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Hudsonian Godwit and Spotted Sandpiper. Can't be too many offshore islands with a comparable list, Inishbofin has only two for example. Anyone know what the Cape Clear Island Yank wader list stands at?
The Lesser Yellowlegs went missing the following day and wasn't relocated again until 8th October at Loch Dearg. It was later seen flying into another small turlough between the Seven Churches and Creig an Cheirín. It was a particularly difficult spot to access due to the maze of small fields with high stone walls and large patches of brambles. Cathal Forkan managed to find a way in and was treated to point blank views.
222Z Common Gull, ringed as a chick on Lough Mask, Co. Mayo, 3rd June 2006. First seen by myself on Inishmore on 7th October 2007. Has been seen on Inishmore several times since and also back on the breeding colony on Lough Mask.
Harbour Seal, looked nice and fat, no need for "rescue".
Blackpoll Ridge, Seven Churches with Niall Keogh and Joao de Brito.
Loch Dearg, Seven Churches where the Lesser Yellowlegs spent its time later in its stay.
Bun Gabhla Willow patch where my Red-eyed Vireo resided. The water levels rose from nothing to two or three foot in depth overnight on the last day.
Another random collection of pictures from the summer. Only managed to locate one pair of breeding Merlin out on the bogs this summer. We ringed the four chicks on the same day that we ringed a late brood of two Peregrine chicks and two broods of Kestrels. One of the Kestrel chicks was actually too small to be ringed making it one of the latest Kestrel broods we've ringed in Connemara. This was the first time that we managed to ring all three Irish breeding falcons on the one day.
Juvenile Merlin
Juvenile Merlin
Juvenile Merlin
Juvenile Merlin
Third-calendar Common Gull
Adult Common Gull in attack mode.
Adult Common Gull
Juvenile Kestrel on Mason Island beach.
Rock Island Lighthouse off to the west of Inishmore.
I took a trip out to Furbo on Saturday with Cathal Forkan to have a look for the adult summer Sabine's Gull seen there on Friday. Cathal had looked for it on Friday but didn't see it. We had similar luck on Saturday. An adult summer Sabs had been seen by Cathal and others nearby in late December so this was presumably the same bird. To have a wintering Sabine's Gull is rather unusual and to have a summer plumaged one on top of that is even more unusual. We did have a nice approachable second-winter Little Gull associating with the mixed flock of Common and Black-headed Gulls though. It was being chased by some of the Black-headed Gulls for a short time and was heard giving its almost tern like call in response. There were good numbers of small and large gulls along the whole stretch of coastline from Furbo out to Loughaunbeg but most of the large gulls were moving up and down along the shoreline in the very windy weather. It would have been nice if we could have found where they feeding.
Also present at Furbo was one Eoin McGreal's colour ringed Common Gulls from Lough Mask. Ringed as a chick in 2007 but not seen since 2009.
It's been a while since I've done a blog post. This is mainly down to a) the lack of birds and b) the very rough and continuing bad weather which doesn't exactly help when looking for birds. The gulls have gotten off to a rather disappointing start with very few white-winged gulls around at the moment. Nimmo's Pier is having another quiet winter and most of the other gull spots seem to be holding very low numbers of gulls. Considering the huge numbers that were in Galway Bay in November, you have to wonder where those huge numbers came from and then promptly disappeared into the ether?
I was out by Renvyle yesterday and several common species gave good views along the shoreline beside Renvyle Castle.
I should have plenty of photos for the blog come late February as I'm off to Arizona and California for three weeks in a fortnights time, really looking forward to it. The weather will certainly be an improvement anyway!
Male Stonechat
Male Stonechat
Male Stonechat
Male Stonechat
Male and female Stonechat.
Female Stonechat
Female Stonechat
Female Stonechat
Meadow Pipit
Rock Pipit
Rock Pipit
Second-winter Common Gull
First-winter Herring Gull with the remains of a crab.
