Quilty`s Peregrine Falcon

 Ive seen this Peregrine a few times over the past week hunting the shorebirds between Seafield and Quilty quite successfully. Today at Quilty beach it snatched a Sanderling in front of me  and flew off with it over the reef but never reappeared , so I took a short walk over to the point. As I got there 2 Raven flew in and the Peregrine flew off straight across the bay to the reef under the church carpark. I chanced the bird would sit ,a walk back along the beach keeping an eye on the bird through the bins..when I got to the carpark I got my photos

Basking Sharks Breaching off Loop Head

 I was out on the coast when I bumped into a friend that said she was going to Loop Head to see Breaching Basking Sharks, and I was showed a video of  the event yesterday where 61 breaches were counted in 4 hours...ummming a arring for 10 minutes I was heading south. I decided to go to the tip of Loop Head and  I got to see 5 breaches of the massive sharks

Not my video just a link to show the action

Yellow Wagtail at the lighthouse

Early morning at the lighthouse, a promise of a warm day with East winds. Of coarse theres a morning cloud at Loop.

A Yellow Wagtail made a brief appearance on the lighthouse building, as did 1 Goldcrest among 100z of Mipits, a Buzzard was on a post  along the road soon being harrased by Crows

Merlin , Gnats and a sunset

 I was on Loop head late afternoon with hope of catching up with the Buff breasted Sandpipers that were seen a few hours earlier but it wasnt to be....1 Golden Plover flew over

I could see a bird perched along the cliff top down below the fields and guessed on it being a Merlin and could see cover that I could use to get quite close. I underestimated the midgdy Gnat mix of flies involved in using this cover. No shit it was intense,but the views were unreal and I settle for that ...happily . On my walk back a Starling murmuration was taking place as a Merlin rose up and plucked one. 

Time to watch the sun go down at the lighthouse.

Curlew Sandpipers

Curlew Sandpipers have been frequenting Seafield beach and have been consistant for over a week with numbers as high as 7 birds. Today 4 birds were in the mix with good numbers of Sanderling, Dunlin, &Ringed Plover 

 

Pied Flycatching with my boy

 I was mouching along the coast on a Sunday afternoon and ended up at Loop Head ,which was extremely busy with the lighthouse car park full as well as the harbour and playground.I parked at the Rural where a Treecreeper came along a branch but was high up and difficult to follow, we walked the road through Kilbaha with my little boy looking for birds, We called into a regular garden where we got mini rolls and the Pied Flycatcher.Some of the lads from Limerick had caught up with Pied Flycatcher from the field at the side where we joined them for nice Pied Fly show also 6 Redpoll came to the garden

Pied Flycatcher - Kilbaha

 Turned out a nice morning and the Robins were singing

A Pied Flycatcher was a nice bird to find , it was frequenting the Rusty Barn near Costellos , next to the barn is an Elderberry Bush that is attracting the juvenile Blackbirds and Song Thrush.

9 Snipe were at the pond 

Arctic Skua off the Rhine , Ballyvaughn

 A really calm evening on the Rhine

Wheatears were in good numbers and as the tide dropped a few small flocks of Dunlin and Ringed Plover came to the shorelines, I heard a call of a few Sandwich Terns offshore and was delighted when an Arctic Skua brought on the entertainment.It made a few visits over an hour around Ballyvaughn bay.

The Bridges

 So it was the 1st weekend of westerly winds and Seawatching season takes off.

I made it down early friday morning at 7:30 ,the visabilty was poor and the wind was still SSE birds were few but a splash and Dorsal Fin of a large Blue fin Tuna was good by 9am the wind shifted to WSW and the Manx Shearwaters and Sooty Shearwaters were coming past in good numbers. Handfuls of Great Shearwaters were in with a couple of Storm Petrels and a Sabines Gull, then of to work

I missed Saturday , but made a brief apperance on Sunday but passage was generaly slow, a few Bonxie were close in as were a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins

Young Hen Harriers in the Sky

 A few weeks back I was viewing a couple of immature Hen Harriers being fed in the air. 

The weather was hot and a young bird was soaring high on a thermal

There wasnt much action that day as it was just to hot, but the few and far between sightings were amazing and the birds only thought was to eat and chase Mum..the battle for food begins for these young ones