Thanks!

A big thank you to everyone who came to our talks and outings during 2011. I forgot to post details fo Eric Dempseys talk about birds in the big freeze on December 5th 2011, and The
Future of Bird Conservation in Ireland by Alan Lauder, Chief Executive, BirdWatch Ireland which was on Monday 7 November 8:00pm.

Our next talk is by Peter Philips of the Lough Nature Trust and is entitled Little Tern Protection Scheme at Baltray: Five Years On. Its on at 8pm on Monday 2nd of January at the Spirit Store Dundalk Docks.

All are welcome!

Where to Watch Birds and Other Wildlife in County Louth

Today at 8pm, September 12th Monday - Breffni Martin will give an illustrated talk entitled Where to Watch Birds and Other Wildlife in County Louth at the Drogheda Museum and Martello Tower at Millmount (the old Governors House) - see http://www.millmount.net/

Entry is free and all are welcome.

South Down Wildlife

Our inaugurial ilustrated talk will take place this evening, 5th September 2011 at 8pm upstairs in the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk, Co Louth (for directions see The Spirit Store). The talk is entitled "South Down Wildlife" and will be delivered by well-known Armagh birder, Joe Devlin. The talk will focus on the wildlife of south Down and will cover mainly birds but will also other animals, as well as sites in County Down which may be visited to see them.

As always entry is free and all are welcome!

Sunday 7th August, 3pm
Seawatching from Clogherhead - meet at top of quay (not upper car park) - please let me know by email if attending.

We will be starting our autumn series of talks on Monday 5th of September with a talk on Birding in Northern Ireland covering sites, species and conservation. Subsequent talks are as follows:

September 12th Monday - Where to watch birds and other wildlife in County Louth - Breffni Martin (Drogheda - venue tbc - if anyone can suggest a suitable venue please let me know!)
September 18th Sunday, 3pm - Outing to Navvy Bank, Dundalk - please email me if attending
October 3rd Monday - Hen Harriers in Ireland - Barry O'Donohue
November 7th Monday - The future of bird conservation in Ireland - Alan Louder - CEO Birdwatch Ireland
December 5th Monday - title tbc - Eric Dempsey

All talks, unless otherwise stated, in the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk at 8pm.

Night Classes
I will also be running night classes in birdwatching and ornithology at the O'Fiaich Institute in Dundalk and the Institure of Further Education at St Olivers in Drogheda from end September. Course will cover basic bird identification, garden birds, wildfowl, waders, seabirds and birds of prey taking in bird conservation, bird behavior and ecology, bird habitats and sites, rehabilitation of injured birds, and much more. One outing will be included as part of the course.

Dawn Chorus 2011

Thanks to everyone who showed up at 5am for the Dawn Chorus at the Ballymascanlon Hotel. As luck would have it we slipped in and out between two rain showers. On arrival a mistle thrush was singing from the top of one of the eucalyptus trees on the avenue. Walking first through the old walled garden and parkland, then along the river we picked up song thrush, blackbird, wren, dunnock, blackcap and many woodpigeons. Moving into the conifer plantation we listened to the terrifying vocalisations of the grey herons and little egrets feeding their young. We then moved up to the more open country and picked up a few distant finches (goldfinch, linnet) until we got to the dolmen where we finally found a robin, along with two more blackcaps, a song thrush and a blackbird all singing from the same copse. We finished up in the carpark were someone had brought along some donuts, which we munched as the drizzle started in.

Seventh Carlingford Birding Weekend

Seventh Carlingford Birding Weekend
27th - 29th May 2011

Carlingford is not only a spectacular medieval village with great cuisine, scenery and history, it is also a great location for birdwatching. Carlingford Lough, Dundalk Bay, the Cooley mountains, and hinterland all contain superb birding habitats. Following the successful birding weekend in May 2010 we have organised another birding weekend for the weekend of 27th May to 29th May 2011.

Schedule
Friday 27th May
19:30 - 20:30 Talk and slide show with Eric Dempsey Four Seasons Hotel

Saturday 28th May
7am- Bus to Mullaghattin woodland from 7:30 am to 10 am
Seabirds along Giles quay and Balaggan point 11 - 12:30 pm
1pm Lunch
3pmCarlingford area walk (optional)
7pm Group Dinner
8:30 pmBack to Mullaghattin woodland at until dusk (about 10:30) to be back to Carlingford before closing time!!

Sunday May 29th
10am - 12:30pm - Either back to woodland area, mountain area or shore depending on what we have missed or what rarity may have turned up in the general area.
The weekend will be guided by Eric Dempsey (professional guide, author, photographer, broadcaster) who some may know from Mooney Goes Wild. While nothing is guaranteed we would hope to see buzzard, woodcock, cuckoo, grasshopper warbler, raven, peregrine as well as a range of typical countryside birds and seabirds such as auks, shearwaters, fulmars and terns.

In terms of accommodation and cost:
Guide, transport, talk etc - 50 Euros per person assuming 20 participants
Group dinner at Four Seasons Hotel - 25 Euros per person
Accommodation – several hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs available, details on http://www.carlingford.ie/index.php/accommodation

To book please email bmartin@regintel.com

Moths, Dawn Chorus, Woodcock and Seabirds.

Louth entomologist Don Hodgers will give an illustrated talk on Louth and Irish Moths on Monday 4th April 2011 at 8pm at the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk. The talk will focus on several moth discoveries in 2010, as well as moth ecology and conservation. This is our last talk of the season given the lengthening of the evenings. Our next talk will be in September. However we will run several outdoor events during the Summer starting with our Dawn Chorus outing on 15th May in the grounds of the Ballymascanlon Hotel just north of Dundalk (directions here). Towards the end of May we will run the Seventh Carlingford Birding Weekend (exact weekend to be confirmed) - please email bmartin@regintel.com if interested. Our last birding weekend produced woodcock, grasshopper warbler, cuckoo and others. During June and July we will run at least one pelagic boat trip onto Dundalk Bay. Previous outings have produced bonxie, pomerine skua, great shearwater as well as the usual range of seabirds that occupy the bay.

Irish Red Grouse

Kieran Buckley from the National Parks and Wildlife Service will give an illustrated talk on our native Irish Red Grouse on the 7th of March 2011 at 8pm at the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk.

The talk will present recent evidence pointing to the uniqueness of our red grouse as described at the Irish Red Grouse Conference, and will also discuss the reintroduction of red grouse to the Cooley mountains. Kieran, who spearheaded the successful reintroduction of grey partridge in Ireland, is also the Louth County Ranger and has great familiarity with Louth wildlife issues.

Entry is free; all are welcome

Irish Garden Birds

Jamie Durrant from Birdwatch Ireland will give an illustrated talk entitled Irish Garden Birds at the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk on the 7th of February 2011 at 8pm. This replaces a talk previously scheduled about hen harriers.

Entry is free and all are welcome!

Next Events

On Wednesday, 26th Jan Padraig Whooley of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group will give an illustrated talk on whales and dolphins in Irish waters starting at 8pm at the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk.

The Sixth Carlingford Birding weekend will also run this weekend (4, 5, and 6th February) - email me if interested bmartin@regintel.com details here: http://www.carlingford.ie/index.php/events

Brent Geese

Our first talk of the year for 2011 will be on Monday next, 3rd January 2011 at 8pm at the Spirit Store. This month Dr Kendrew Colhoun of RSPB Northern Ireland and the Irish Brent Goose Study Group will give a talk on the fascinating life history and consevation of tha population of Brent Geese that breeds in the high Canadian Arctic and overwinters in Ireland.

Entry is free and all are welcome!