Med Gulls and Oystercatchers

I took an hour before work to check along the Liscannor coast for birds.
Clahane was quiet with Turnstones and Rock Pipits rummaging the seaweed.
Back at Liscannor Harbour,
A couple of Med Gulls were among a small flock of Common and Black headed Gulls on the reef below the harbour
The Colour Ringed Icelandic Oystercatcher is also still present here.

I 1st recorded this bird here back in November 2015

Sandwich Terns and shorebirds

An afternoon wander in the sun took me to Aughinish.

A Stoat was hunting the sea wall on the causeway, but even with a few sightings i never got the camera on it.

50 Sandwich Terns gathered on the exposed rocks and dry sandbanks of the pool that is low in water

Shorebirds around the pool and seashore included Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Redshank, Turnstone, Little Egret and Shelduck

,

Oystercatchers

General migration along with winter weather has pushed many flocks of Oystercatchers to our windy coastline and into fields .

These birds were in the field along the south side of Clahane, Clare

Harbour birding in Storm Abigail

Its been blowing a gale all night and morning.
I dropped into Liscannor Harbour to see what birds had come in off the ocean.
Plenty of Gulls were feeding in the wash at the harbour mouth , just out in the open water a few Great Northern Divers were catching crabs. Just out from them was a small Grey Phalarope spinning around in the choppy waters , keeping out the way of the Gull activity.
A colour ringed Oystercatcher was in the harbour

Great Northern Divers in the rain

The very small Grey Phalarope being surveyed by the Gulls

Colour ringed Oystercatcher

Cliff Walk

Its been a short while since I last took a walk along the Cliffs of Moher. This evening was a warm evening so my father,my two eldest daughters and I decided to try the new path from the Doolin end.

At the start of the walk we saw Black Guillemots, Kestrel, Wheatears and the usual Gulls, a good view of Doonagore castle,Slieve Elva and the Burren gateway to the North East.

We sat at the start of the Cliffs and did some birdwatching , The Fulmars were gliding around the cliff faces and  we got to see some Puffins on the sea.

A Cracking evening, and the new walking path has got my thumbs up.

Clahane evening -Hightide and flies

The Flies

Redshank covered in flies

 Billions of flies were pushed up onto the sea walls at Clahane ,producing food for a variety of birds on land and in the sea, there must have been an abundance of feeding  fish as well to attract a Bottlenose Dolphin.

Bottlenose Dolphin

A large flock of Herring Gull and Kittiwake had come into the cove for the feeding and  50 Pied Wagtail were along side the road.

Kittiwake

50 Pied Wagtails

 The wading bird and the birds that roost on the shoreline here had lost there place due to the hightide, pushing them up close the road , they searched for roosting areas late into the evening,

Oystercatchers

View to Hags head from Clahane

Theres nothing like an evening at your local patch.

Clahane Hightide roost

Glaucous Gull with Herring ,Black-headed & Common Gulls

Greenshank 

An evening with very high tides,the high tide roost at Clahane can be a busy patch of reef, the incoming tide pushes the birds close to the road.
A nice flock of Golden Plover and 50 Brent Geese are joined by good numbers of Purple Sandpipers,Dunlin, Oystercatcher,Greenshank ,Redshank and Ringed Plover, and the 1st winter Glaucous Gull was with the usual Gulls.

Sunrise at Seafield

First light at Seafield had a wet autumn feel..a few waders were along the shoreline, but again not the one im looking for.
A Merlin was around and a fine pair of Choughs.
Just before the rain storm a surprising Gyr falcon buzzed the Turnstones next to the harbour, the bird had what seemed to be a tassle trailing from talons ..fast and gone ..Probable escaped bird ,

Works out the bird has been seen a few times over the last  4 years.

Chough

Dunlin

Merlin

Shorebirds