Its a small little nook that I stop at every so often.
The small copse next to the river holds singing Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps , A Treecreeper busy rounding trees along riverside that was splashing with trout and a Grey Wagtail bobbing on a river rock. A Mute Swan flies by in peace.
Its 15 minutes of happy place
I was hoping that one day I come across these little Burren specialists.
This Pearl-bordered Fritillary flutterbied passed me and came down just off the road near the Mullagmore cross, where 3 bus loads of people happened to walk by, not one person noticed I was photographing Irelands rarest butterfly.
I hope they enjoyed there visit as much as I did.
The shores along Lahinch bay and Clahane still had good numbers of Gulls over the last few days.
A lot of Herring Gulls, Black headed Gulls, Common Gulls and Kittiwake and Whimbrel were picked flies from the seaweed and I was surprised to find an Iceland Gull in the month of May among them.
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| Herring Gull |
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| Iceland Gull with Herring Gulls |
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| Kittiwake |
I was in the kitchen doing what you do with the door open , but I was listening to the Cuckoo that was calling in the area as I worked away
See ,there is tricks to seeing the Cuckoo or it happens in a surprise chance moment..
After a short while of listening to the distance of the Cuckoo, the call came from the backyard but the Cuckoo saw me first and they dont stick around, it didnt go far, just down the lane calling from the trees again before the local Hooded Crows shoooed him off back towards mine .
Kilmacreedy is the northside of Lahinch bay approaching Liscannor.
A small low pressure was close to the coast producing a one day swell of waves and wind from the southwest and it brought a lot of Gulls to within Lahinch bay.
I sat up on the rocks near the graveyard and just let the birds pass me as they come across the bay.
Many Herring Gulls , Great Black backed Gulls, Kittiwake and Whimbrel were the commonest but a few Dunlin and a Bar tailed Godwit were travelling with the Whimbrel
The Barnacle Goose which I found the previous day flew in and landed in the field behind me.
Its a belated post from the 5th April. I was the only person on the Cliffs of Moher due to the Pandemic. Very strange indeed. The Cliffs are close to home but I cant remember ever being here alone.
Good numbers of Puffins were on show along the banks on the cliffs , obviously photos here are taken at long distance but every so often a Puffin would fly high and it was possible to chase a flight shot
Within the last few years these small resident Seabirds have taken up home in Lahinch bay, not a rare bird and can be found in many places along the coast, but certainly an overlooked bird.
Black Guillemots are quiet bird that stay in there small groups and dont stray far, they seem content diving for fish in there own fishing area in not to deep of water.
Last year a few pairs had a successful year breeding in inaccessable rock clifftop overhangs around the bay and a few birds stayed over wintered in Lahinch and could be seen in between surf breaks and on hightide in front of town.
Come spring they become a stunning looking bird . For me they are the little jewels that this bay holds
It must be May, Whimbrel are all over the coast by the 1000s , picking in the seaweed and fields close to the shore, most reefs points and offshore islands will hold numbers of roosting birds as they gather ready to cross there final path across the Ocean to Iceland and beyond.
