Grey Phal evening run

A quick trip to Clahane this evening connected me finally with the last of what was originally 12 Grey Phalaropes feeding amongst the gulls at high tide last weekend. Although there was only 1 left he kept me entertained for the evening and was very approachable allowing for some amazing views. I didn't expect it to be so tiny! Speaking of tiny birds i was also delighted to be able to show my mother her first ever Kingfisher a bird she has been longing to see for ages and was a nice surprise. The light was fading by the minute making photography hard but im still content with the shots i managed.

                                                                       Grey Phalarope
 

4 ticks in 2 hours!

With the morning free we decided to go for a quick trip along the coast. My first stop was Seafield, Quilty where I was delighted to be met by my first ever Curlew Sandpiper feeding amongst the large mixed wader flock which were moving along the shore. Further down the beach I stumbled across not 1 but 4 Snow Buntings which were also a new species for me and my second tick of the day.  Not a bad start! 

My next stop was Lahinch where I met with Jeff Copner who put me on 2 Red Throated Divers far out in the bay and also showed me the large Common Scoter flock which surprisingly were also both new species for me. 4 ticks in 2 hours I can't complain!

Snow Bunting

Curlew Sandpiper (back) with Purple Sandpiper (front)

 Curlew Sandpiper

                                      

Squirrel Surprise

After a game in Parteen I said I would drive over the road to check out the great spotted woodpeckers that frequented an area over there. I had brought my camera with me and was hoping to get some nice shots. I got out of the car at the spot which was on a bridge looking over this beautiful river valley with trees on the banks either side overlooking the river. 25 minutes had passed and there was still no sign of the woodpeckers and I was starting to lose hope when at the corner of my eye I spotted some movement. Woodpecker? No but instead it was this beautiful Red Squirrel running across the road. I remained still and watched on and next thing the Squirrel hopped onto the wall of the bridge and started running towards me. It got extremely close which allowed me to get some amazing close-up photos before it eventually clocked me and proceeded to turn quickly and run back off the wall and down the valley towards the riverbed.

                   

                  Squirrel checking me out on the bridge

I messed up some of my shots but I can't complain as I still got my best Squirrel shots to date and only a few minutes later to top it off I looked to my side to see a great spotted woodpecker fly onto the top of the telephone pole beside me. The light was bad as I was looking into the sun and it proceeded to fly into the dense foliage of the canopy of trees overlooking the river so I couldn't manage any great photos but I still got great views of a new species for me which brings my Irish species list up to 136 and one step closer to the 150 I'm hoping to get by the end of the year. The squirrel activity continued for the next 15 minutes as I waited hoping the Woodpecker would show its face again which apart from one or 2 extremely brief distant sightings that I'm not even 100% sure were woodpeckers it didnt but i got great views of another Squirrel as it hopped along the trees on the left bank of the river and managed some decent shots too. Not a bad day out!

Great Spotted Woodpecker on telephone pole

Black Tern at Ballyallia

I was just coming out of school when I got a WhatsApp saying that there was a Black Tern at Ballyallia Lake just a few minutes over the road from school. I had never seen a black tern before so really wanted to head over to check it out as these birds breed in the marshes of Central and Eastern Europe so only a few occur in Ireland every year as scarce vagrants in spring and autumn and generally these occur on the east coast or out at sea so this was likely to be my best opportunity to see one. I had to sort something else out after school so couldn't go straight away but about 40 mins later I was getting out of the car and walking through the fields towards the lake shore where i met John Murphy who had eyes on the bird and kindly gave me the loan of his binoculars as i had nothing on me after coming from school. In hindsight i could have gone home quickly beforehand and got my camera and bins but i was scared the bird would be gone by the time I had gotten there as it had happened a few times before with various birds *cough* great white egret *cough*. I still havent seen a GWE after missing that one by about 20 mins. 

But anyways after getting great views of the bird with John i decided i would go home afterall and get my camera because as John said himself I may not get as good a view of this bird in Ireland ever again as this bird was quite literally hunting a couple of feet away from us. So i went home, got my camera and returned to the lake in the hope it was still there. It was!

I spent about an hour at the lake upon returning taking lots of pictures in the beautiful golden hour sunlight. It even perched on a rock literally 2 metres away from me which was awesome. I met with a few more birders over that hour, Tom and Nuala Lynch aswell as Stan Nugent as i was leaving and had a lovely chat with them also and overall i had a great time viewing this gorgeous little tern and an experience i wont be forgetting anytime soon. 

Long-Eared Owls part 2

 A few days after I got my first long eared owl pictures I finally got the better views I was looking for. After a few days of failing, where the owls came out too late meaning I couldn't get any photos or video (but still got great views with my eyes it has to be said), I finally got the photo opportunity I was after. 

I arrived early and got into my usual position waiting for the owls to come out of the strand of scrub where they roosted deep in the middle of during the day and almost straight away I heard a juvenile calling only a couple of metres away from me. I looked up and to my amazement I saw a long-eared owl perched on a branch right in front of me. It was beginning to get dark so my ISO was high meaning the pictures aren't too sharp but I'm still delighted with what I got. The juveniles continued to call for a few more nights and I returned about two more times however despite getting great views in the moonlit nights with owls flying only a few feet away from me I didn't get anymore photo opportunities as they became more dispersed as they began to explore the area more and begin to hunt for themselves and also frankly because a lot of luck is involved with this stuff but then suddenly one night the calling was no more. The owls had grown up, were no longer reliant on their parents and began making their own way in life where they may start breeding themselves as soon as next Spring ending the Long-Eared Owl saga for this summer. 

Hopefully the adults will remain in the area to breed again next year as I thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful and amazing encounters and experiences I had with them. While one saga came to a close however it also opened a new one as on my second last night with the owls I heard 2 Barn Owls shrieking in the distance. Wow! Now comes the hard part however... Trying to locate them again and so far I have most definitely failed. But I will find them lol :)

Anyways I've attached some of my long-eared owl shots above and below. They're so cool!

Elegant Tern

I was delighted to re-find this extremely rare Elegant Tern today. 

Whilst on a trip up to North Clare i found a quiet little pond in a place called Aughinish Island with lots of sandwich terns and a few waders to photograph. However, whilst i was photographing some sandwich terns flying overhead i noticed one had a long orange beak and I instantly knew what i was looking at. It was an Elegant Tern! This bird usually breeds on the Pacific coast of America and Mexico but a small breeding colony that has recently become established in Southern France due to individuals crossing the Atlantic seems the more likely source for what none the less is still a mega rare bird in Ireland. However an individual fresh in from America would have been a bit cooler! This bird was first found in Wexford a few weeks ago before being relocated a few kilometres away from where i found it, in a place called Inishroo, a few days later. It hadn't been seen for 17 days however so the majority of people believed it was gone. I guess it wasn't!

I got a few decent pics too that I'm over the moon with and overall I'm just delighted that i was able to see this extremely rare tern. Only the 8th Irish record and technically the first officially on Clare soil. 

Long Eared Owl chicks

 Im fortunate enough to have long eared owls nesting just up the road from my house. This pic was taken at 10:10pm with a shutter speed of 1/3s so taking that into account im delighted with how it turned out. Ive had some amazing experiences watching them recently they are amazing birds.