Merlin

I spent a large part of the last four years criss crossing south east Meath recording and reporting anything seen or heard which is predominately covered in feathers for the Bird Atlas.  Alas the atlas fieldwork is complete and now someone else must take all those sightings and try make sense of them, my part was fun, this next part I'm not so sure!  Anyway it'll all have been worth it when the atlas results proper are published and we see the fruits of our own labours sit beside the work of all the other volunteers and a true picture of the health or otherwise of Ireland's avian population is there for all to see.

I've been surprised at times, it's only when you make a concerted effort to record everything you see and hear that you begin to realise just how rich the species list for any area can be.  Birds can be secretive when they want, hiding in the undergrowth, perched high up in the canopy, they don't always sit out in the open, but if they did would we get as much enjoyment from birding as we do?  Lets face it, it can be the cruelest of pastimes (like dipping on the osprey at Broad Lough this weekend).  If the bird you want was always there, in the place you'd expect (or not) to find it, there would be no thrill in the chase, no tight feeling in the gut as you drive to Broad Lough in time to set the gear up in the exact location an osprey had spent the previous week, hoping, just hoping that this bird which really should be somewhere else (another continent) will hang around for one more day.  But it doesn't always work out for the good, does it, and that is what makes birding so rewarding, because when it does work out the journey home is so much more enjoyable.

I'll stop rambling on now and get to the point.  In all the hours I spent working on the atlas there were some species I'd record on every visit to every tetrad, there were other species I'd record only in certain tetrads, and others which could turn up in any tetrad but generally didn't.  Of the later category one example would be merlin.  Now I've gone back over my records for the four years and I have to say I takes a little digging around to find any records for merlin, a handful over four years, spread over a dozen or so tetrads.  Not exactly the density of population of say the blackbird then, but we wouldn't expect it would we?  So whats different this year?



merlin - Baltrasna, Ashbourne


In the last eight weeks I've had more sightings of merlin in and around Ashbourne than I know I've had in the last five years combined.  And not all sightings in the same area, the sightings have been pretty much all over, male and female, early morning, late afternoon etc etc.  In other words I know I'm not seeing the same couple of birds over and over.  The range and diversity of location and habitat suggests the merlin population of Meath is thriving, but where has it been for the last few years.  I haven't been going out looking for merlin, but they are showing well and cant be missed, the same unfortunately cant be said for the local kestrel population.  Whilst I'm enjoying numbers of merlin the like of which I've never experienced in the area, I can now go days without a single kestrel sighting.

I'm no scientist, I'm just a birder, but I cant help notice the changes in populations around the country.  I remember when buzzards and little egrets just didn't have a permanent population in this country, look at them now!  I have a question which has been bothering me a bit lately, and this is it..... "can someone please explain the increase in merlin numbers on my patch?"  Am I witnessing the start of something which will continue, is it anything to do with the very mild weather of late, where has the population of merlin decreased?

I'll probably be posting again at some point over the winter to say numbers on the patch have reverted to norm, but in the meantime I'll continue to record and enjoy these terrific little raptors.

Short-eared owl

I headed over to Swords last Saturday with the intention of spending an hour or two max on the estuary before heading home.  Well that was the intention, but as the saying goes "the best laid plans of men and......"  When I arrived Sean C was there, we hadn't met in quite a while so we had a bit of catching up to do.  It was obvious from the off that Sean had every intention of making a day of it and before you knew it an hour had passed on Swords and we were headed out to Loughshinny in search of the Red-kites.  They've been on show up here for the past couple of weeks. 

Loughshinny didn't give up any kites, it did however give us a kestrel chasing an LBJ into a bush not ten feet from us, LBJ escaped into said bush, kestrel perched up.  It sat there for so long that in the end we moved on and left the kestrel to ponder its next move. 
 
From Loughshinny we moved over to the outflow at Rush, I've had grey phalarope here twice in previous years, and more besides, however on this occasion nothing of note.  We hung around Rush for about an hour, more than it deserved, it really was very quite.

We decided we'd head to the north hide at Rogerstown as this was on the way home for both and after the day we were having that was about all we wanted to do.  Park up, wellies on, scope out and over the gate (don't know why I didn't use the turnstile) and down the lane.  Exit the lane out into the first open field and bingo.  "Hey Sean, over there, look......."  The next hour made the previous four worth while.  All the disappointment of a quite day washed away by the discovery of a short-eared owl, which like the kestrel earlier in the day, knew we were around but chose to ignore us and continue on its own business regardless.



short-eared owl, north hide Rogerstown

 What followed was an hour of close encounters of the short-eared kind.  The field was quartered continuously, the owl never out of sight for more than a few seconds.  Quarter, perch, quarter, perch and on and on.  We never moved for cover, we didn't have to, we stood out in the open field, the owl happy enough to pass really close, obviously safe in the knowledge that we didn't pose a threat.  We really could have stayed all evening, but it was a Saturday, late afternoon, light fading and the stomach beginning to rumble which brought us back up the lane and over the gates (why didn't I use the turnstile) and into the cars for home.

Now that was Saturday.  Fast forward to Sunday, 11.00am out on the bull, I'm on the track that runs along the golf course heading towards the point when from out on the marsh a short-eared owl comes flying almost directly at me, over the hedge and into the course.  This a much more fleeting view than the previous days.  Any weekend that gives up short-eared owl two days running is a good one, it doesn't happen that often.

Rough-legged Buzzard - Dip

Took myself a couple of kilometers up the N2 this morning to see if the RL buzzard spotted in the flooded field this morning was still around.  I got there at about 11 and Dermot O'M was already there.  As I parked Dermot was in the process of removing a dead buzzard from the middle of the road.  First thoughts were "I don't believe this, its been hit and killed before I've had a chance to see it"..........    Well luck was in for the RL buzzard, Dermot was removing one of his cousins, a common buzzard.

It had a hole in its side chest cavity.  It was otherwise still intact, this and the "freshness" of its appearance meant it was killed possibly on a couple of minutes before we arrived.  Believe me, the traffic on this stretch of road is so busy that anything lying around for more than a few minutes will end up frisbee shaped in no time.

I've attached a photo of the unfortunate buzzard below.



road kill buzzard N2 - not the RL variety!


Anyway, back to the business of the RL buzzard.  We stayed for about 30 minutes, no show.  We stayed a bit longer.... no show.  Dermot decided to head on up to Annagassan to see if the grey phalarope was still present, I'd had it yesterday, it was sheltering within the walls of the harbour from very rough seas.

I hung around for another hour and guess what..... no RL buzzard.   The field had plenty of ducks (mallard), mute swans (pair), lapwing, blackwits, and lots of gulls, mostly BH.  Scoping the far tree line for the RL gave up a male merlin.

Another dip, time for home.  Its only a few minutes drive home so I'll keep an eye on the field over the next couple of days, so fingers crossed.

Mind your step

Breath in, smell the sea.... two hours spent in Kilcoole, nothing much on show but hey the airways got a workout.  I love that smell, the almost arced, seaweed smell that tells you your on the coast.  That's the smell  that was in the air that filled my lungs on Sunday, and boy does it make you glad your alive!

Back to the car, open the boot, prepare to change out of the boots, take one last deep intake of sea air and enjoy........ sniff...... SNIFF...... that doesn't smell right, something smells like what I imagine pedigree chum would smell like if it was opened and left to fester in a heated room for about a week (or substitute a heated room for a canine intestine) ...... DOG SHIT, and its on my boots! 

I want to get the K9 mutt who left its load for me to step into and insert said boot into rectum.  Actually I don't, I want to get the owner of the K9 and insert said boot into rectum, I want to deliver retribution the old fashioned way with a good old KICK IN THE ARSE!!

You see that's the problem with taking a coastal walk anywhere in Ireland, you run the risk of stepping on the K9 version of an IED.   Insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan leave explosives on footpaths, mans best friend just leaves his load.  And ain't that a real spoiler, I really thought I'd avoided the literally hundreds of deposits at Kilcoole on Sunday, but as they say, it only takes one.  My guard slipped for a second, maybe I was distracted by the distant call of the curlew (poetic), or was it when I looked up to say hello to a passer by, the point is it doesn't really matter how, the point is at some point in the afternoon I trod in a steaming turd.

Ironically when I met Brian H last Tuesday at Kilcoole we were speaking about how much K9 crap there was in the area, this was the very conversation we were having as we admired the BB sandpiper.  Brian H was saying how disgraceful it was that dogs were allowed run free by their owners and disturb so many birds, never mind the fact their owners couldn't give a shit (leave that for the dogs) what they get up to and where.

On Sunday I met Steven L at Kilcoole and again the conversation at some point turned to dogs running free and the mess they leave.  In fact just before I met Steven L I had an experience right out of "meet the Fockers" you know the part where Robert De Nero gets up close and personnel with Dustin Hoffmans dog.  There I was, near the buckthorn, eyes down on a beautiful RT diver when I felt something going on around the ankles.  I looked down and I was practically being dry humped by some little mutt who had taken a fancy to my right leg.  Its owner caught up and said something along the lines of  "it wont bite".  To be honest it wasn't its biting that concerned me at that minute, it was ..... well lets leave that one right there I'm sure you get the picture.

Fast forward an hour and there I am in the car park wondering how in the hell I'm going to remove two pounds of dog shit from the grooves in the soles of the boots,  smelling of pedigree chum and not very happy at all!  Breath in smell the sea air, nah all I can get is.........................

Buff-breasted sandpiper

I headed down to Kilcoole this morning hoping that the "buff-breasted yankee" was still knocking around.  It was, and it was very tame.  It was sat up on the shingle ridge right at the waters edge a couple hundred meters short of webbs field. 

It eventually moved up the shingle towards us and began feeding in the short grass just off the footpath, at this stage it was only about 25ft away. Its mustard legs were really striking at this range, as was the piercing very black eyes.  It preened, streched, looked around and generally didn't really care that there was numerous lenses and scopes pointed at it from practically point blank range...... why did I not bring a camera??

I eventually headed further south towards the buckthorn bushes in search of the lapland bunting thats been seen there recently.  Unfortunately time was against me and I didn't get to hang around long enough to get a sighting, those are the breaks..... but the trip really was all about the sandpiper and I had that for 30 minutes or more so I was going home happy regardless.

Out to sea there was plenty of gannett activity, numerous auks and a pair of red-throated divers passed heading south into the wind.

Landside there was the usual large flocks of goldfinches, plenty of swallows and house martins, quite a few wheatear, and a pair of stonechats.  Some dunlin were mixing with the turnstones at the waters edge and a single rock pipit was flushed on the way up to the buckthorn.

Webbs field held the usual numbers of ducks (mixed), cormorants, gulls and corvids.  A single pink-footed goose was there as were some mutes.  There were practically no "smalls" in the field, but I have it on good authority that there has been plenty of sparrowhawk and kestrel activity within the field lately and this seems to have scarred off most of the waders for now.

Port Oriel

A bright mild day seen me head for Clogher Head/Port Oriel this morning.  What a difference a day makes, same time yesterday I was out on a wet, windswept Bull Island.  The Bull threw up some curlew sandpipers and the blue winged teal which has returned for the 4th or 5th autumn/winter was as usual associating with the shovelers.  However the highlight was a fox out on the marsh slowly sneaking upon some roosting gulls at high tide.  The rain came, the car beckoned and I never got to see whether the fox had dinner!

Back to today, the port was busy enough with trawlers going in and out and that of course means Gulls.  Common, BH, GBB and herring gulls all on show.  The herring gulls lazily sunning themselves on the rocks below the upper car park.  The inner harbour had twenty guillemots, two razorbills and a lone cormorant on show. 

Above the harbour a noisy mixed group of about thirty common and arctic terns must surely be set for the off any day now, not to mention the three swallows that shared the air space with them.

Outside the walls of the harbour on the seaward side there were plenty more auks on show, including a flyby by five black guillemots.  A gannet was circling and diving a few hundred meters off shore and there was plenty of movement back and forth by cormorants, gulls and an occasional shag.  A grey seal was showing well near the rocks just below the harbour wall, keeping him company was seven GC grebes.

Moving up to the headland there was plenty of smalls on show, wren, robin, dunnock chaffinch, linnett, a single redpoll and a yellowhammer heard but not seen.  A sparrowhawk flushed some sparrows but it disappeared from view as quick as it appeared and I didn't see if its efforts were rewarded.

A grey wagtail was sat on a wall on the drive back down the hill to the village.

Broadmeadow

Took a trip out to Swords yesterday evening just as the tide was on the turn and on its way back in.  I spent a quite 90 minutes on my own, no other birders around and unusually for Swords hardly any walkers!

There were plenty of lapwing, sanderling and godwits (both) about, twenty odd oystercatchers and at least 12 grey herons tucked up as usual in the grass near the overpass. 

Plenty of redshank moving busily over the mudflats, and closer to shore a handful of turnstones moving up and down the shoreline.

The obligutory mix of gulls and of course the mute swans over the Donanbate side were also present.



mute swan, Swords



The highlight was a solitary greenshank, tucked up, head on shoulder trying its best to stay warm, it was suprisingly cold, the breeze had a real bite to it.  There was also a pair of grey plovers in amongst the dunlin.



Further out, a group of 15 GC grebes were keeping company with 3 goldeneye. 

Gormanstown

County Meath has a very short coast line, only about 11km in total, so this afternoon I decided to take a trip over to Gormanstown, one of the very few decent spots to catch shore birds, gulls and terns in the county.

The usual mix of gulls, common, BH'd, GBB'd, LBB'd, and herring gulls formed large flocks which were spread out on the rocks to the right and front of the car park under the rail bridge and in the sea just in front of the car park.  The tide was in so the flocks on the water were really close, I set the scope up and started to scan.  Sure enough mixed in amongst all those gulls were a small group of eight kittiwakes and two little gulls.

There were quite a few common terns doing their usual acrobatics, at least three sandwich terns and two arctic terns mixed in with the flock.

Further out to sea I spotted six razorbills, four guillemots an occasional gannet and a dozen or so cormorants passing across the horizon.  Resting up on the surface of the sea much further out (scope up to 60x mag)  was small groups of RB mergansers and great crested grebes.

Along the shore little groups of sanderling, dunlin, ringed plover and couple of black tailed godwits kept a solitary redshank company.  When I turned my attention to the rockier section of the beach near the bluff over to the right my eye caught the busy movements of a small flock (six to eight) turnstones.

After a brief visit to the front seat of the car to avoid a soaking from a shower which went from zero to torrent in about five seconds flat I finished up the visit by turning my attention to the trees and bushes which line the river along the road back out to the Balbriggan road.  A lone yellowhammer and a pair of collared doves were about all there was along the lane.

An hour well spent, Gormanstown is a really good spot for getting a good variety of species in, especially if time is of the essence.  From the car park you can set up the scope and have great views of the beach, the rocks out to sea, the bluff and the outlet without having to move.  I'd especially recommend a visit in the height of summer when on any given day it's possible to tick off five species of tern, all our summer gulls and usually something you weren't expecting.

Long-eared owls

A couple of weeks ago I spent a night down near Prosperous hoping to get a sighting of a family of long-eared owls that my mate Steve had discovered some time previous.  I met him down there and he took me to the site which is a few miles from the town.

It was about 9.30 when we got into position, and according to Steve we'd have to wait 'till about 10.30 for the family to appear, this he said was usually the time when the young would start calling and the mother would respond by periodically bringing food to them.

Dusk fell, the hands on the watch rolled around to 10.30 and just as Steve predicted the young began to call.  Brilliant, they were still present and with any luck we may get a show! 

Well, we got a show and a half.  Three young appeared out of the trees and perched on the walls of a ruin not 25 meters away from us.  In the fading light we got great views of the three young shuffling about the wall and calling loudly, presumably for the parents to bring them food.  This went on for perhaps 30 minutes at which point we heard a more distant call from behind the trees the young had come from and the mother (we presume) made her first appearance of the night.

What followed was a sequence of hectic activity, the young flying around and through the ruins, playfully and in full view for much of the time.  The little tufts on top of their heads sometimes just about visible against the backdrop of the darkening sky when they stopped for a breather and perched back up on the walls.  Eventually as the light was becoming just a little too dark to see very much unless they were in flight they moved further across the field to another ruin which gave us great views of them in flight.  They proceeded to replicate their behaviour of earlier and began flying in and about the second ruin in much the same way as before.

We hung around a little longer as we could still make them out against the night sky when they took flight, but alas the time came when it didn't look like they were going to head back in our direction and so content with what we had seen and heard we called it a night, packed up and headed home.

It was without doubt one of my top birding experience this year, I mean it doesn't always work out that you plan a trip and the intended decides to turn up and show for you, so to have three young and at least one parent decide to put on a show for a couple of hours was way above my expectations for the night.

Birding bliss...

Bird Atlas

The Bird Atlas finished up a few weeks ago and to be honest I'll miss going out for hours on end recording everything I see and hear.  I've really come to appreciate what a great county Meath is for not just birding but nature in general.

Okay I haven't recorded any mega's for the Atlas but I have pretty much recorded every species you would expect to see (and a few you wouldn't) whilst covering the county.  I had hoped to cover more at the beginning way back in '07 but after four years I can be happy with the contribution I've made.

I of course covered Ashbourne and the immediate environs of Donaghmore, Kilbride and across to the outskirts of Ratoath.  I also covered from Kilbride across to Bracetown and moving North in the county I covered some more tetrads up Skreene direction and again the surrounding areas up to Kentstown.

All the usual suspects cropped up as and when you'd expect but each field trip usually threw up one or two sightings which made the effort all the more worthwhile; short-eared owls, a cuckoo, an occasional peregrine or an even more occasional brambling and surely the record which most pleased  me.... a barn owl.

So what has four years of covering (and trespassing) as many lanes, fields and tracks around the county taught me?  We'll for sure some species are absolutely thriving in the county, namely all the corvids, the buzzard population, the pigeon and dove populations all appear not to have suffered too badly over the last two harsh winters.  But there's a pattern here isn't there?  They're all what you'd call large in size, not too many LBJ's in that list, so what about their smaller cousins?

Well I'd have to say the last two winters have been very tough on the county's population of small birds.  Some species have been notable for their lack of appearance over the last couple of years, notably the yellowhammer a species I could usually walk to any one of dozens of sites and be guaranteed a sighting and song but alas no more, sightings have become much rarer than once were.  Add to that list the greenfinch, blue and great tit, dunnock, wren, bullfinch, goldfinch..... you get the picture.  All of these birds were to coin a phrase I've used somewhere before "cheap as chips", not over the last couple of winter and breeding seasons they weren't.



House sparrow, Ashbourne



However one little brown bird, the house sparrow appears to have fared better than most!  I can't say I've noticed any great decrease in their numbers, perhaps there were just so many of them to start with that they have become a little more obvious over the absence of so many others, I'd like to think not, I'd like to think that somehow this most unassuming of the LBJ's managed somehow to beat the conditions.



Cuckoo and short-eared owls

It's been a while seen my last post but I've had all sorts goin on, hols (Spain, more on that in a later post), work, a laptop that died etc.

 Anyway pretty quite time of the year around Ashbourne so in recent weeks I haven't been out and about on the patch much but there was a couple of welcome visitors, namely a cuckoo near Kilbride and a couple of short-eared owls which I only had for about 10 minutes just off the N3 at Bracetown.

Hurray for Springwatch

Well the Sky+ kicked in at 8.00pm yesterday and will keep going for the next few weeks so Chris, Kate and Co will be available for my daughter (and I) to delight in! 

She loves all things badgers and foxes (and obviously birds) and who do you think made an apperance on the very first episode?  badgers an foxes of course.

We'll sit down later and when the title music rolls there will be one very excited 4 year old in Ashbourne!

Big kestrel

It's been a while since my last post, work is managing to keep me occuppied (thankfully).  Anyway, been to most of the usual haunts over the last couple of weeks but nothing noteworthy to report.  Swifts, swallows... blah blah blah

Driving up the M2 Sunday evening and from a distance (a long one) I seen the biggest kestrel ever, hovering over the roadside!  Bloody 'ell, it was massive.  Anyway as I got nearer it turned out to be an adult buzzard using the very strong headwind to hover...... I felt a little bit stupid....... you would too....... no, you would!

Cork-dudeing

Come on Owen, bring the blog back!

It was nothing if not extremley funny on occassions and downright jaw dropping at others.  But hey I'll admit it gave me some laughs (a bollix of northies!!) and when the subject matter wasn't IRBC related it could be belly achingly brilliant.

Dipping on the Black Kite

Headed off to Knock lake this afternoon in the hope that the black kite reported earlier this morning was still hanging around..... unfortunately not!!

A small group was there when I arrived and we spent a couple of hours chatting and being entertained by four buzzards above us being mobbed by a single sparrowhawk.  The most interesting thing on the lake was a family of little grebes (mother and four fledglings) and the usual coots and moorehens.  Disappointing - Yes, but as usual on these occasions the other birders made the (short) trip worthwhile.

Cheap as Chips!!

For the second week in a row I found myself in Wicklow.  Last Saturday I went to Roundwood to year tick the Goosanders that were on the reservoir.  I've always liked Roundwood but is it really Ireland's highest town as the signs say... just doesn't seem that high. Whilst there I had some little grebe, teal etc and a male crossbill. 

From roundwood I headed for Sally's Gap.  I didn't venture too far from the car as when I parked the Guards pulled up and advised me there had been some break in's and not to leave anything on show.  Well that was enough wasn't it!  I didn't move any further than a few hundred meters from the car which kind of reduced my chances of flushing red grouse.  After a while I gave up as I was just too preoccupied with making sure I was within sight of the car at all times and that's not really what going for a walk in Wicklow is about.

On a positive note I got good views of two merlin (separately).  One just exploded over a hill in the general direction of some calling meadow pipits, I imagine the pipits were just a bit put out.

On Sunday I headed down to the ECNR at Blackditch.  I didn't stay too long and didn't really see any of the more desirable natives (missed out on hen harrier) the real reason for the visit.  Seen the usual suspects and headed back home.

In Meath this week I had my first swallows in Ashbourne last Monday and house martin's on Wednesday, plenty of chiff chaffs calling all week, and lots of BoP activity.... sparrowhawk (twice), buzzard (every day, almost cheap as chips now), kestrel and peregrine (twice). 

I'm going to head out later tonight and over the next week to see can I catch sight or sound of  any Owl's.  I'll hopefully encounter the barn owl(s) in the area and who knows if I can see or hear a short or long eared owl... wish me luck!

BoP's

Plenty of BoP activity over the last couple of days.  Six kestrels hovering or perched at different locations along the M3 between Clonee and Navan yesterday. 

In Skryne between the crossroads and the GAA pitches a sparrowhawk burst from the cover of a hedgerow and flew straight into a mixed flock of finches and sparrows.  What a commotion!!  The chase went over the opposite hedgerow and across the pitches, by the time I got a look over the chase had moved on and the sparrowhawk was nowhere to be seen.  It's always a sight to savour the speed the sparrowhawk achieves at such low altitude and the mayhem they cause when they crash into an unsuspecting gathering.

The usual three buzzards were out and about in Bracetown today.  One flew off in the direction of the N3 towards Dunboyne and missed out on a bit of a feed.  The two that remained within sight were quartering some fields just outside my field of view when they returned to one of their favourite trees and proceeded to take turns tearing and ripping at something they'd caught.  I couldn't make out what exactly had fallen prey to them as a rather large branch was obscuring the view, however there was no hiding the fact that they were ripping flesh and entrails and having a right good feed, not simultaneously, one had a good go for about five minutes then moved aside and the other had a feed.

They eventually flew out of the tree and the larger one (of the three, the female) was clutching the remains of the feed in her talons.  I got great views with the bins and the long tail and body colouring suggested they'd just had rat for lunch.

Later on on the N2 a kestrel was perched on the clock a mile south of Ashbourne, and another one was hovering just above the Ashbourne roundabout up the road.

A local weekend

I spent a quite weekend and never really ventured too far from home(the month of March can do that to you; some birds leaving to summer elsewhere, whilst we await the arrival of our own summer visitors) so not too much to report.

I saw a single raven on three separate occasions over the last few days, haven't seen the pair together since last week.  I'm hoping they continue to hang around as who knows what may happen, they can nest early so here's hoping.  I have to say at this point that I havent seen any signs of nest building.  I'm of course presuming that the pair I've seen are a male and female.  I'm not sure whether the single sightings I've seen are not individuals from the pair, I presume they are otherwise the raven count for the area has really gone through the roof!!

Plenty of the usual suspects for this time of year, today however I had a chiffchaff (first this year) calling loudly from the top of a tree.

The local buzzards (three as usual) were circling and as usual the hoodies only tolerated their presence for a time before they mobbed them and eventually drove them away, I'm always struck by just how much the buzzards will allow the hoodies dominate them without ever really giving as good as they're getting.  This ritual of territorial protection is palyed out in front of me on a daily basis and I can't ever remember the buzzards coming out on top, they always just move on!

Raving Ravens

Late November 2010 I heard a very distinct call when out walking part of my patch.  I was crossing some fields off the Bracetown to Kilbride road when I heard the "cronk" of a raven.  Now theres a very healthy population of corvids in the area and I just couldn't locate the individual responsible.  I'd never had a sighting of raven in this area so I was disappointed not to have gotten a view.

However, I heard more calls throughout December and just before Christmas I seen not one but two ravens in the area.  Since then I've had numerous sightings of an individual and a couple of sightings of a pair!  Now this is never going to make it onto most birders best of the year, but for me its a bit of a happening, is it possible ravens could breed on my patch!!  My farmland patch, not my coastal cliffs patch or rugged mountain patch.... my flat as pancake, oh; there's wood pigeon number 500 of the day farmland patch!

I had the pair again today, being mobbed by hoodies.  They settled on an electricity pole and gave great views for a while.  I'm lucky to have plenty of Buzzards in the area and they too get mobbed by the hoodies so I was able to get a real comparison of the size of the ravens versus the buzzards.  Getting this close this regular has really impressed upon me just how huge these very powerful birds are.

Wicklow Way

Sunday morning and I had a decision to make.... north to Louth, south to Wicklow or east(ish) to the Bull.  I decided to head down Wicklow way the deciding factor was to see could I locate some crossbill's.

It takes approx 50 mins from Ashbourne to the town land of Kilnamanagh (hills above the Beehive on the N11) to a spot I've had crossbills previously.  Like almost all outings, nothings ever certain, I've been her before and drawn a blank, other times you turn off the main road park the car and the first bird you see can be a crossbill.

It took about 30 mins walking and listening before I got a year tick, 2 male crossbills high up in the canopy giving good views before they were spooked and left.

Now what might have spooked them?  Was it the hovering kestrel which came into view, the buzzard that circled just after the kestrel left, or the red-kite that flew over about a minute after the buzzard exited.  Three great raptors in 5 minutes and I hadn't moved an inch!!

The usual woodland species filled the rest of a very enjoyable couple of hours in sunny Wicklow.

Baltrasna Barn Owl

I had another flyby from a Barn Owl last night.  I was exiting the M2 at Ashbourne and the Owl crossed the slip road from the Baltrasna direction heading out of Ashbourne towards the copse on the hill opposite.  I've had this happen a few times over the years at this particular spot. 

The Barn Owls can sometimes be heard at night on Hickeys Lane (Ashbourne) and this is where I've seen them most.  I spoke to one of the locals last summer and he says that he has seen them over many years in and around the area.
This was my first sighting this year, hopefully it wont be too long till I get another, as with most scarce birds it can sometimes be quite a while before they decide to show for you!

Plovers

Two ringed plovers have taken up residence on some scrub land in Bracetown just off the old N3 recently.  I noticed them when I saw a pair of the resident hoodies chasing one of them last Wednesday.  I stopped for a closer look, at first not sure what the hoodies were chasing, but on a closer look it turned out to be a ringed plover.

The plover managed to evade the hoodies for long enough for them to give up the chase.  I was passing again on Friday and decided to have a look and see was it still there and I discovered there were actually two of them! 

I was just about to head off when one of the local buzzards, a large female decided she was going to have a go.  She gave chase for a minute or so, but then she herself got mobbed by some of the corvids who call the area home, hence the plovers escaped thanks in all possibility to the very hoodies who were harassing them only two days previous.

The plovers were still present today, I cant think why, the area is a regular haunt for the above mentioned hoodies and buzzards, never mind the sparrowhawks and kestrels which are also commonly seen in the area.

About the blog

Hi there,

I've set up this blog to primarily talk about and share sightings on "my patch" which is Ashbourne, Co Meath.  Although I regularly visit all the usual spots like Swords, the Bull, Rogerstown, Kilcoole etc etc I wont be talking about or reporting on any of these sites as there's an abundance of great reporting and information already available on the web.  The exception being if I find a "mega" (not really likely)!!

Instead I'll concentrate on County Meath, Ashbourne and it's immediate environs particularly, though by no means exclusively.

County Meath doesn't have a very long coast line and to be honest about both Dublin and Louth which neighbour Meath offer longer coastlines with better birding opportunities.  Instead I'll be offering up a view from inside the county, the farmland, the hedgerows and fields.

So what can you expect, well plenty of BoP's, lots of them, and anything else a little less abundant..... I wont be posting about sparrows and finches (well maybe White-throated sparrow's or Rosefinch's that stray onto the patch).

Anyway, that's the what and the where so hopefully I'll keep thing interesting enough to entice you back.

Mick.