Black-winged Stilt

Not to be outdone by the incident in the ditch (you have to read the previous post or you may get the wrong impression here) I headed back down to Tacumshin a couple of days later.  I met John M at forgotten corner and we set about locating the Black-winged stilt.

There was no sign of the stilt at the forgotten corner but we were kept occupied by two hen harriers, a male was quartering the fields below the wind turbines whilst a female flew low and slow across the entire opposite bank of the lake lifting everything she passed as she went.  The small teal flock was in the middle of the lake and a quick inspection gave up the green-winged teal.

Green-winged teal, Tacumshin

After a while we headed up to the East end.  It didn't take long to spot the black-winged stilt, it was moving slowly along the shoreline in front of us.  However as is often the case "something....." caused the entire shoreline to lift and the stilt moved further out into the middle of the lake.  We hung around for about 20 minutes but the stilt was moving further away all the time.  This was my first ever black-winged stilt and it was worth heading back down to Tacumshin to get it, incidentally, as I write this it has only been reported once more (the following day) so this weekend will tell whether I got it just in time.

Ah come on, I know its a crap shot but it was in the middle of the lake and moving away!

We headed up to Lingstown, parked up near the rocks and set about finding our next target.  It took about 20 minutes of standing around being entertained by the calls of the various finches busying themselves up and down the lane before we got our first glimpse of the day of a very special bird, the bearded reedling.  These have to be one of the most spectacular species we get on these shores, right up there with the waxwing (in my opinion, and I mean in aesthetics, not rarity).  Two of them went back and forth in front of us for about 20 minutes, rising from the reeds to our left and going down about 50 meters to our right, rising from here and back to where they'd risen on the left...... and back and forth.

I got a text from the lads at Irish Birding reporting the two cattle egrets at Bannow Bay, however time at this stage was running out and I had to hit the N11 and head for home.  Obviously if I hadn't already had cattle egret this year I'd have been straight in to the car and heading away from home...... funny creatures these biders!

Tacumshin

I took a spin down to Tacumshin yesterday, I had a hit list of three to get, BW stilt, LB dowitcher and the GW teal, all would be welcome additions to the year list, one, the stilt would have been a lifer!  Notice the use of the term ".... would have been"

I arrived at 7.45am, there was no sign of anyone else so I headed straight for the forgotten corner hoping to get the stilt and get the day off to a good start.  No show!  I spent about 30 mins in and around the corner with no sign of the stilt.  I headed back to the car for some breakfast, just as Dermot, Noel and John from arrived.  After some chat we headed back over to the forgotten corner for a final check before heading for the ferry and a trip to the Saltees.

We came to the flooded ditch at the end of the track and tested out the solidity of the ground before crossing.  Dermot was the first to cross, no problem.  I was second.  I planted my left welly exactly where Dermots had been only moments before, solid enough....  I passed the scope across.  Now obviously in order to walk you put one foot in front of the other, so my right leg was going to have to follow the left and plant somewhere on the ditch in order to cross it.  What could possibly go wrong?  Dermot had only just crossed and was now safely on the other side.

Around came the right leg, yeah that felt solid enough, water up to the ankle but hey the wellies go right up almost to the knee so no worries.  Then I got my very own Titanic feeling, I was going down and there was nothing I could do to stop it.  My right leg sank and in moments I was left with my left leg on solid enough ground whilst my right leg was knackers deep in thick black stagnant ditch water.  I don't know how the other three didn't just fall around laughing, I would have.  Instead after a few minutes I was pulled from my watery berth and back on solid ground.  Still no one was laughing, I definitely would have been.  Thankfully no one thought of taking a picture, imagine browsing Irish Birding and seeing yourself  ..... a sighting from Tacumshin.... the lesser legged Ashbourne ditch stilt!!

No children or animals where harmed during this dramatic reconstruction!

So there I was, one leg dry, the other covered in black slime all the way to the the afore mentioned crown jewels.  Usually this wouldn't have presented a major problem (not that this usually happens to me) I'd just go back to the car and change into the spare clothes that always sit in the rucksack in the boot.   But I'd taken the clothes out of the car last week and hadn't put them back in!  Disaster.

I got cleaned up as best I could, put a pair of footy shorts on and said my goodbyes.  I wasn't in any condition to continue on, no Saltees Islands for me today, and not one of the three target birds spotted.  It was a lonely drive back up the N11, just me and the smell rising from my left leg of stagnant Tacumshin ditch water.