Lough Donell

Very rareley is Lough Donnel low in water.When this happens it opens up a new wetlands area .

This afternoon I got to see 2 Spotted Redshank,1 Little Stint,3 Ruff ,12 Knot and plenty of more common wading birds.

Ruff

               

Painted Lady

A Painted Lady ,Mewslade valley

Red Kite down light

 Taking a slow drive along Llanridian marsh hoping to catch up with the Marsh Harrier that my father got to see earlier . A raptor approached along the marsh , it was hard to see directly down light even as it flew past close the car , no good photo opportunity arose
The fork tail will always give away a Kite though,
When in Wales , Red  Kites are always a target species

Llanelli WWT

Id traveled from west Ireland by car and ferry to my homeland in Wales, the sun was out and I was approaching  Swansea west when we recieved a text from my father
 : Meet me in Llanelli wetland centre :
A delightful place built for wildlife and people to share. Plenty of gadwall , Grey herons and Dragonflies were on view from the hides
A large flock of Greylag Geese were out on the marsh ,viewable from the look out tower

The hides and viewing areas (indoor and out) were quite an experience.

This place is loaded with information and education and a very attractive place for the children to indulge in  their introduction to wildlife

Grey Heron

Gadwall

A Curlew walk off

Over the years I have never had much luck in getting any decent Curlew photos.
Such a wary species of bird , they dont seem to take to any human activity whatsoever.
This fella was close to the road at Doonbeg , still by the time you stop,window down ,camera up it was already walking off

Common Sandipers

Four Common Sandpipers were  moving around the shores of Clahane , small and flighty , they have a massive natural instinct for danger awareness , they seem to know where you are .... before you do.

Clahane Shorebirds

 Its was nice to spend a bit of time at my local patch ,
Shorebirds like Greenshank ,Common Sandpipers ,Redshank ,Turnstone and Golden Plover are arriving along the coast .
A Mediteranean Gull was roosting up on the hightide with Common ,Black-headed and Herring Gulls
A pair of Ravens passed through along the cliff range and a Sparrowhawk passed low over the seasweed up the cliff and off over the fields hunting.
It wouldnt be Clahane without a few Rock Pipits

 

Surfers in need of waves

After a long summer of very little in the way of surf in Lahinch, a swell was tracked for a few days prior.
Its time to blow of the cobwebs
During the day most of the local surfers would have gotten into the water in need of waves.

Ruffs at Seafield

 A dull overcast morning at Seafield
A few Ruff  and a single Curlew Sandpiper wade through the shoreline with the smaller peeps ,the busy feeding allowed me quite close in on the wet sand.

Ruff,
Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin and Sanderling