Roadside Golden Plover- Clahane

 

A Golden Plover had come over the wall from the reef at Clahane, maybe to shelter from the wind , maybe not.

It was picking away looking for food and didnt seem to well as it didnt fly off as I slowly drove past .

I took a few photos from the car window and moved on

Buff bellied Pipit Clahane 2nd Morning

 I was back down to Clahane during the morning to check if the Buff bellied Pipit was still about as it was not seen yesterday after I left.

Brian was up earlier than me and had managed to have seen the bird ,we just needed to re-find it.

Its a very difficult bird to pin down and mobile at times but we stayed on the same seaweed dump and Croc  going through Pipits and eventually patience paid off. Myself , Brian and Ray got views that we knew couldnt get any better.

The Cameras were firing, Snap away boy`z snap away ..

American Buff bellied Pipit at Clahane

Delighted to find an American Buff bellied Pipit at Clahane today.

 I was asked a question today. How did you find That ?

Well its in putting factors together

 Previous birds seen in the county have been seen during the first weeks of October

,A  bird was seen last week in Iceland

A great seaweed dump that was already noted , 

A westerly storm that just passed over the Atlantic

And making the effort to be there when these factors play out.

Birds from the wind. Clahane

 The strong westerlies persist bring birds in off the ocean to find shelter and food along the shoreline.

The juvenile Sabines Gull has been feeding up here for over a week with the Black headed Gulls .

A Grey Phalarope came in doing laps of the bay before heading to the reef for shelter from the heavy rain.

Sabines Gulls on the coast

 Storm Erin wipped up some windy weather and high seas.

Sabines Gulls were reported in their hundreds off the headlands of  Loop Head.

Then a few started to show up from Clahane , Liscannor,.Quilty, and Carrigaholt 

A immature bird was approachable on the Clahane road where it spent the whole day picking for food..

I got to see a few myself within the mixed Gull flock at Quilty ,Saturday produced 3 Juveniles while Sunday saw a stunning adult Sabines dip feeding along the shore and close to the slipway.

Clahane flurry of birds

 Its was  a spring day with a flurry of birds that were passing through.

Plenty Whimbrels coming up the Clahane coast followed by White Wagtail, a few extra Rock Pipits, Wheatear, a couple of Common Sandpipers, they all seemed to arrive and leave together.

The colour of Golden Plover and Purple Sandpiper

 A nice flock of Golden Plover were shining in the sunlight as they roost on the reef at Clahane .

A count of 9 Purple Sandpiper were to the side of the reef out of the wind where they can go unseen if you dont know where they hang out.

The sun was in the right place and the birds were all showing some nice colours

Kestrel facing the weather at Clahane

 A Kestrel was facing off into the weather conditions in the corner at Clahane .

Very determined, he had something pinned down, the weather was against him

Again a swoop, a dive as I tried watching through a rain dashed car window.

After a bit he swept along the cliff and under THE overhang.

American Golden Plover at Clahane

 Not a bit of wind this morning , seas were glassy and the tides were high. 

I wanted to see if any birds were on the reef roosts at Clahane.

 A few Curlews, Ringed Plover, Oystercatchers and an American Golden Plover that stood out in the small group of juvenile Golden Plover that were tucked in together on the reef top

As the tide was moving back quickly and  day moving in these birds made their way into the reef  for the day.

Common Sandpiper -Clahane

 The tide was very high covering the reefs of Clahane with water .

Over in the corner a Common Sandpiper was on the seaweed dump close enough to photo from the car.