Burrin Pond near Newquay

Grey Herons

Whooper Swans

Male Shoveler

Female Shoveler

I took a midday break from the goose chase and checked the pond near Newquay, Grey Herons were courting in their nests around the ponds, Shoveler, Wigeon and Whooper Swans were being harassed by the feisty Coots that were claiming their nesting territory.

Black Brant and Brent Geese

Martello tower , Aughinish

Pale-bellied Brent Geese heading to  the fields in Munnia 

 Black Brant in  flock of 275+ Pale-bellied Geese

Thursday I spent the day looking for the Black Brant that had been seen with Brent Geese near Newquay on the north coast of Clare
I checked the fields around  the shorelines , the reefs and the Loughs from Finvarra to Aughinish , plenty of Brent geese and other local birds but no Brant.
In the afternoon  small flocks of geese started to head to a field in Munnia where I was waiting. I had  been patient and sure enough the Black Brant joined the flock of 275+

Tufted Duck x Pochard at Lough Murree

I headed out to Newquay and the Flaggy shore to see if any wildfowl was in the area. On Lough Murree
were a pair of Greater Scaup, a handful of Pochard, Tuftys and plenty of Wigeon  and a Hybrid duck  which had me confused, luckily  here I met Dermot Breen, who has a good knowledge of ducks and we observed the bird showing signs of  Lesser Scaup x Pochard. but very likely to be Tufted Duck x Pochard.

Dermot writes an educated  description here :
http://dermotbreen.blogspot.ie/2013/02/9th10th-february-2013.html

Hybrid duck with Pochard

Ring-necked Duck

A Ring-necked Duck was with the small flock of Tufted Duck at  Lough Roo ,in the north of the Burren.
This was my 3rd visit here to look for this bird ,last time a 60 mph wind with hail storms halted my progress and before that heavy rain. Today was drizzly mist and frisky horses , but i was intent , and claimed my first photos of this North American visitor

Ravens on the move

A pair of Ravens were making their way north along the coast near Quilty.
The Herring Gulls gave them a hard time.

GoldPoll - Mealy Redpoll at Clahane

While at Clahane I noticed this whitish Redpoll that had a Gold crown, I found this unusual and Ive never seen this in Redpolls before.
After a bit of reasearch on the net , I found an article from.worcestershireredpolls.blogspot.ie

Variations in the cap colour

First-winters and female Lesser, Mealy and Arctic Redpolls generally show a crimson cap, with varying degrees of brightness, though it is not uncommon for some to show orange, copper, yellow, even brownish caps, or any combination of the aforementioned. These colour variations are exceptionally present on adult male Lesser and Mealy, though is reported as common in captive bred birds.

http://redpolls-/2011/09/worcestershire-redpolls-and-guide-to.html

Clahane visit

Redpoll

Stonechat

Glaucous Gull

A nice morning with a stiff north wind. The 2nd winter Glaucous Gull was still here 5 Stonechat were alog the high water mark and 2 Redpoll were feeding close to the road at the point.

A Bold Glaucous Gull

A bold  2nd winter Glaucous Gull has claimed a Seal carcass for itself on the high water mark at Clahane.
Other Gulls left the carcass to the bigger bird without challenge . Its big ,bold and that Seal is its. Not even my car and me made any difference to its claim, allowing close observation.

Amorous Rook

Its a time of year when Rooks re-inforce their bonding just before breeding season. Rooks are one of the first birds to breed in spring. This bird was preening its partner with care and attention  and she looked pleased.

American Coot

We arrived at Murlach Lough ,Ballyconeely early morning to find a rare American Coot. I started searching through the flooded fields to the west ,where after an hour I spotted the bird on the north end but it was elusive,after another hour I found it in a corner on the south near a few walls ,where we got some photos.
We also got to see the Green winged  Teal on the lough

Ring billed Gull on the slipway

A Ring billed Gull was among the Gulls at Nimmos pier in Galway , but no white winged gulls were here today, maybe we need a cold snap or a NW storm for them to come into harbour for winter.

Light bellied Brent Geese

A flock of Light bellied Brent Geese were in Ballyvaughan harbour on the high tide, the birds were so busy feeding they allowed us some close up views in a nice afternoon light.

Brown waves on the reefs

The sun comes out and  a nice swell breaks across the Lahinch reefs, enjoyed by a handful of local surfers.
The rusty brown waves are a result of river water that runs into both ends of Lahinch bay, there has been a lot of rain!