Eurasian Beaver. Lampedis lake Kaunas

 Toward the evening I took the kids down to the lake for a paddle after a long hot afternoon.

 I was sitting around listening to Reed Warblers when I called "Look lads an Otter"....big ,I thought to myself...." OMG its a Beaver" and it was carrying a kit.. 

It swam past me 3 times to my amazment

Birding Lithuania , Kaunas , Lampedis lake day1

 We arrive in Kaunas airport at 1.45 pm. An easy bus ride and short Taxi took us to our apartment alongside Lampedis lake.

 I was straight out for a short  river walk.

Tree Sparrows are common , a few Lesser Whitethoat were to be had as were a few noisy  Great Reed Warblers that were within the small patches of Reed along the lake shore.

A surprise Little Bittern made a quick fly by between reed beds

Tree Sparrow

reed warbler

Little Bittern

Lesser Whitethroat

Blue winged Teal Ballycar

 I got up early to catch up with Murf who had found s pair of Blue winged Teal in a swampy field across from his home.

There they were,

Beautiful day, really nice views of a pair of North American Duck , a catch up and chat , a few ID shots .....great.

I moved the car for better views and photos, the ducks vanished and didn't re appear as they had been up all morning feeding. 

I checked my camera to find all my settings off and photos dark

I managed yo lighten a few photos on the computer 

You live you learn.

White Stork along the Clare Coast

 I was down a Spanish point doing a bit of Surfing, The Easterly wind had blown up and the ocean became un-surfable. 

I was making my way back to Lahinch along the coast road near Reneen  when birds in the air along the coast caught my eye and one was massive, I knew instantly it was a White Stork. It was being mobbed by Hooded Crows and Starlings as it struggled to stay overland .

I pulled the car in as I followed and got a few photos as the bird battled the wind, again we moved along a few hundred metres to the next pull in as the Stork lifted banked back over my self and over Moyhill.

An incidental sighting and a County Clare 1st record 

The Barn Owl

  For a few nights they were calling across the field. Ive had them close on my land but never seen .

My young daughter exited to stay up for a midnight walk and listen to the calls of the wild.

With contact with the local farmer we put up a Trail cam to see what box could be possibly be being used. 

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

The wintering Semi-palmated Sandpiper at Seafield

 

The sun came out at last.

I gathered some time to get down to Seafield to catch up with the wintering Semi P that I had failed to get good photos of.

The waders were not on the shoreline due to disturbance at high tide so they had moved around the back of the pier where I was very fortunate to to get superb views.

The waves continued..

 Good fun to be involved in a great edit

Black throated Divers - Flaggyshore

 There was four Black throated Divers along the Flaggyshore in North Clare . 

Two moved out , but two travelled  close in all the way along the Flaggy before crossing around Auganish Island

Januarys Incredible run of swell

|A swell that came day after day blessed with offshore winds .

Incidents, Big Waves, Hoots,  Snapped boards , Injuries , collisions, repairs, texts, car park chit chat and cold wet wetsuits

The extra hour of light could be used giving a chance of two surfs in the day for the hardened , whatever hours you had spare during the day there was waves to surf.

You can forget how cold your body becomes after weeks of |January surfing. Surfers tire, crowds thin out , some of us are forced to take a day off, or maybe think about it.

 

American Wigeon - Ballyvaughan

Finishing the year with a scramble over the Burren before work to Ballyvaughan to see the American Wigeon was found a couple of days ago.

I had a feeling that good views were available at this spot and I was granted just that

 

Catching up with Semi P at Seafield

 I was unable to be at Seafield when the Semi Palmated Sandpiper was found and Identified  last weekish`,.... days passed ,, commitments flights away but on my way back from London Town , news that the bird was still possibly available had me straight to Seafield to find my Camera batteries dead.

I returned today for an hour till rain stopped play

A late bird but another to the list on a great season of birds at Seafield.