MEGA! Ivory Gull!!

First serious twitch of the year saw an Ivory Gull reported from Tacumshin. Phone calls were made and lifts organised and within half an hour of the report myself and M.P. headed off in earnest. We really seem to be riding our luck recently as after only a few minutes searching we found what we came for. This fantastic gull was very confiding, showing down to twenty meters at times, moving from just east of the high car-park to the east end pool and back across the car park to the waters edge on the near shore. Buzzard and Hen-Harrier were the best of the rest on the day. Long live these high winds, cant wait to see whats next!

2014 starts off in style!

Wow, what a way to start a years birding! Shrugging off the bad weather myself and M.P. headed for the south slob. Always one of my favourite places to visit, as it's off the beaten track, we weren't disappointed as as soon as we arrived we picked up a very calm and approachable Glossy Ibis in the flooded field opposite the pump-house. A peregrine was seen hunting the fields near the slurry tanks and our luck didn't stop there. We crossed the causeway to the shore and while walking flushed a magnificent pair of Short-eared Owl. I have been lucky enough to have seen both Short-eared and Ibis for three years running now and am by no means tired of it! They weren't as welcoming as the Ibis but still managed a couple of shots. Six or seven Great-crested Grebe kept a curious eye on us and a Red-breasted Merganser was found in the channel opposite the ruined barn. Here's hoping the rest of the year is as fruitful.

Best of the rest

Just a few pics I liked from my outings during 2013.

Angle Shades

Poplar Hawkmoth

Hairy Dragonfly

Bat (species unknown - sorry)

Irish Hare

Basking Shark

Sloe Bug

Speckled Wood

July Highflier

Brown Hawker

Emperor Dragonfly

Grey Seal pup

Red Squirrel

2013 Birding Round-Up

What a year that was! I had decided at the start of the year do try my first 'year list'. I tried to travel around as much as possible but with no car that wasn't always possible but for the majority of my findings, thankfully, it looks like Wexford was the place to be. Three separate Shrike species, one of which (the Red-backed) I found myself and am very proud of, a long waited for Long-eared Owl, a very elusive Corncrake, a very distant but scoped and tickable Golden Eagle, and a rather curious looking bird, the Wryneck, are perhaps my highlights but it was a great year birding so its very hard to choose. My tally finished, on Dec 30th, with a Kumliens Gull at Kilmore Quay. That put me up to 177 species for the year (a staggering 39 of which were 'lifers' for me - that list now stands at 201!). Here's a few of my favourite photos from during the year. I hope, kind reader, you like my blog. I appreciate the page views and who knows what 2014 has in store.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Citrine Wagtail

Great Skua

Glossy Ibis

Kumlien's Gull

Kingfisher

Little Stint

Blue-headed Wagtail

Waxwing

Red Kite (untagged)

Long-eared Owl

Osprey

Corncrake

Great Skua

Bearded Reedling

Red-backed Shrike

Cuckoo

Red-backed Shrike (phonescoped)

Gull-billed Tern (phonescoped)

Pectoral Sandpiper

Wryneck

Spoonbill
 

Woodchat Shrike

 

Mediterranean Gull