Barnacle & Pink footed Geese fly onto Loop

Standing in a wet field full of cowshit searching the thickets along the west bank with my daughter Grace for Warblers when  two noisy Pink footed Geese and a Barnacle Goose  passed over us coming down in the Bull field below on the south side of Loop

Raddes Warbler - Loop Head

I was delighted to have my 9yr old daughter with me today as we headed to The loop for a Raddes Warbler that John Murphy found during the morning.

It took a while for the bird to show, but when it did it showed well to the admiring local birdwatchers, moving along the road side thickets near the west bank and out into the grass aswell 

Redshanks

Numbers of Redshank are up along the coast with flocks of bird arriving from northern climates.
These birds were along the seaweed washed up on the Clahane shoreline this bright yet cold morning.

Lesser Yellowlegs

 Out in an area of the county that I am not familiar with, down the lanes , over a bridge, along the banks, round the corner, look for a small flooded field with 3 Cattle . The bird is there.
It was , silently standing along the waters edge alone, then suddenly ✴Bang✴ , a Sparrowhawk ploughs into a Blackbird in a nearby hedge, every bird goes up and the legs flys off.
(it since has returned back to the pool )

 

Yellow browed Warblers on the move through Kilbaha

Wet, cloudy weather from the south was set to break for a short period and back strong  NW ..
News of a few birds found in the village Kilbaha was enough to get me down for the few hours and hope for a dry spell. A few Yellow browed Warblers, Goldcrests, Chiffchaff and a Firecrest were feeding low in the vegetation below and behind the Willows in and nearby Keatings garden . ☁☁☂

Firecrest - Kilbaha

A spur of the moment decision to head out into the rain to see a Firecrest that Murf  had found an hour or so ago in Keatings garden Kilbaha.

It took a while and patience for this elusive, skulky little Gem to show .... but it did.

Firecrest is a rare bird out here in the west, with this being only the 6th record for Clare

Red throated Diver Family at Liscannor Harbour

Three scruffy Red throated Divers had moved in from Lahinch bay on a late dark cloudy evening at Liscannor as hurricane ophelia approaches our shores .
The two furthest birds out from the harbour were a parent and sibling , the juvenile visually smaller, following,approaching and calling every time the parent surfaced from a dive, not a sight I had witnessed before. 👀 (Q: possible Irish birds?)
The other bird that I believe to be the other parent still showing signs of summer plumage calmly came close in fishing allowing me some sort of light for a decent photo.

Juvenile Red throated Diver

Birdwatching in the Kilbaha Gardens

I finished work around 1pm and with news of a few scarce birds in Kilbaha I headed down.

2 Yellow browed Warblers were around the trees to the rear of Rural resettlement with Goldcrest.

2 Chiffchaffs were further up the village a tired looking Turtle Dove made a show 

Lough Gur

Last week I was in the Croom area of  Limerick on family duty, I had a couple of hours of free time so I headed over to Bruff to visit Lough Gur, I had only been here once before in past (Pied billed Grebe twitch),but that was a decade ago and the place had changed a touch. Not much in the way of birdlife only a Buzzard being mobbed by Hooded Crows and a single Widgeon.

Little Egret -Doonbeg

A Little Egret was giving good views from the road at Doonbeg bay