Dawn Chorus - Thanks

Thanks to Derek Watters, Branch Treasurer, for covering our radio spot on Dundalk FM radio on the 15th May and to Peter Phillips for facilitating the event at 4am on Sunday 16th at Rathesker Woodland. Thanks also to everyone for showing up despite the weather.The predicted rain did not materialise but it was cold, which meant that when folks arrived there was complete silence, until a lone blackbird struck up starting the gradual buildup to the full chorus. A special thanks also to Brendan Sheils for help with identifying calls.

National Dawn Chorus Louth 2010

Our next event is the national dawn chorus which, for Louth, will take place at Rathesker Woodland Walk. Details of and directions to this woodland and pond area can be found here: http://www.irelandtoireland.com/Rathescar.html. Ratheskar is near Dunleer on just the other (west) side of the M1 and is accessible from all over County Louth. Meet at the carpark at 4am. All are welcome!

Louth Insects

On Monday 5th of March 2010, local entomologist Don Hodgers, will give an illustrated talk on Louth's insects. This is a follow-up to several previous popular talks covering dameslflies, dragonflies, butterflies, moths and others. On this occasion Don will focus on moths, as one birding wag put it: "the true masters of the air"!

All are welcome to this talk which will take place in the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk at 8pm.

Navvy Bank Walk March 2010

As I was unavailable to do the Navy Bank walk on Sunday 7th March, Gerry and Derek stood in. About 12 attended and the following species were observed along the shore / on the water:
mute swan, brent geese, shelduck, wigeon, teal, GC Grebe, cormorant, buzzard, oystercatcher, golden plover, grey plover, lapwing, snipe, black-tailed godwit, curlew, redshank, turnstone, bh gull, common gull, herring gull, and rock pipit (and maybe a few more). Surprisingly no herons or egrets in the area - maybe the cold weatehr did for some of the local little egrets As I understand it several went on to observe the waxwing at Greenacres, the only one seen in County Louth this year.

Thanks to Gerry and Derek and to all who attended!

Cavan Branch Outing to Carlingford and environs

Sunday 28th February turned out to be a beautiful day on Carlingford Lough with cold clear light and a very high tide. After meeting at Templetown Beach where there were dozens of cormorants and shags in breeding plumage, and a single distant red-throated diver (thin on the ground this year, perhaps because of the colder than usual water temperature), we moved to the Carlingford shore where the rocky islands created by the high tide hosted dozens of birds of several species packed together making viewing and identification easy. Grey heron, curlew, bar-tailed godwit, oystercatcher, lapwing, turnstone, dunlin and ringed plover on the rocks along with mallard, wigeon and light bellied brent geese were all on view, along with black headed, common, herring and great black-backed gulls. Later we swung around the Balaggan shore ending up back at Templetown beach where a single great northern diver obliged.

Birds (and other wildlife) of New Zealand

On Monday 1st March 2010 at 8pm at the Spirit Store, Dundalk Docks, Dundalk, Billy Clarke will give an illustrated talk on the wildlife ( mostly birds ) of New Zealand and it's subantarctic Islands. He will show photos taken on a cruise to these subantarctic islands and a subsequent tour around the mainland islands. These areas are a diversity hotspot for albatrosses ( thirteen species ), penguins ,cormorants and many other seabirds.

Many thousands of albatrosses were seen on this cruise. The mainland islands are largely devoid of native birds but the wildlife service of New Zealand has pioneered many innovative conservation techniques. Many critically endangered birds have been moved to offshore islands that have been cleared of introduced pests. It is possible to see such strange and fascinating birds as kiwi and takahe on these islands.

Billy is a laboratory technician in Biology in UCD doing research on Fallow Deer, Grey Squirrels and the extinct Giant Irish Deer. His hobby is wildlife photography and he also has painted plates for some bird and mammal guide books.

All are welcome and entry is free!

Carlingford Birding Weekend 2010

A few people arrived early on the Friday afternoon so we went on a walk along the Carlingford shore. The tide was rising so the birds were all packed together to roost on the small rocky islands along the shore. In these circumstances it is possible to study the birds are relatively close quarters and observe identification features. Species present were dunlin, turnstone, ringed plover, lapwing, redshank, greenshank, bar-tailed godwit, curlew, little egret and grey heron as well as mallard, widgeon and teal. Returning along Shilties Lough, a small sea inlet along the shore, we had four little grebes and a snipe just before the light fell. That evening we all met at the Four Seasons hotel for Eric's illustrated talk about the winter waterfowl we were to see the following day at Oxford Island.

The weather on Saturday proved to be perfect given the arctic conditions up until then. At Oxford Island all the regular ducks were seen, mallard, teal, widgeon, pochard, tufted, and goldeneye, as well as flocks of whooper and mute swans. Everyone was very impressed with the excellent facilities at Oxford Island.

That evening we had a group dinner at the hotel. It has to be said than the food was generally excellent, as was the chat with many people staying up til after 2am! Luckily the start on Sunday morning was late and given the state of the tide, we decided to head for Annagassan where a snow bunting had been found. As luck would have it the bird showed very well, this arctic species being particularly confiding. On the way back to Carlingford we stopped at Lurgangreen to view waders and geese and Giles Quay for diving birds. Finally after lunch we did a final swing around the sites near Carlingford and picked up a peregrine hunting the Carlingford shore and a buzzard quartering the Locra, near Greenore.

A big thank you to everyone for being such enthusiastic participants and to Eric for his professional and entertaining guidance. We are planning a follow-up weekend in June to look for breeding summer birds both on the shore an din the Cooley mountains.