Kerry Birding: March 2014

Monday, 31 March 2014

Med. Gull, Black Rock

Adult Mediterranean Gull, Black Rock, 31st March 2014 (David O'Connor).

Saturday, 29 March 2014

Ring-billed Gulls, TBWC

Adult Ring-billed Gulls, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 29th March 2014 (Ed Carty).

More AHG photos

Second winter American Herring Gull, Portmagee, 25th March 2014 (Davey Farrar).

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

With all the Kumlien's Gulls in Kerry of late, and birders paying even more attention than usual to gulls in general, it is perhaps not surprising that other rare gulls of note have been picked out from the crowd. An American Herring Gull was seen at Portmagee in recent days (see post below) but this bird, seen at Reenard by Pat McDaid stands out from the more 'typical' Kumlien's Gulls which have featured in so many other recent posts (just scan the posts below to see). This is a darker version of Kumlien's, with darker primaries, tail band and secondary bar, prompting thoughts that it might be an even rarer Thayer's Gull. The jury is out so far, and final identification will probably need good photos of the bird in flight, which so far haven't been possible. Let's hope it hangs around for even better photos, and who knows, we might have a new 'first for Kerry'.

Dark Kumlien's or pale Thayer's Gull? Portmagee, 26th March 2014 (Pat McDaid).

American Herring Gull

Second winter American Herring Gull, Portmagee, 25th March 2014 (D.Farrar).

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Wildlife Photography - A Rough Guide

A talk by Mark Carmody, hosted by the Irish Wildlife Trust, will be held at the Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre

Thursday 27th March 2014, at 7:30pm

Everybody welcome!

Mark Carmody will show his photography work and share his experiences and insights gained while working as a wildlife photographer both in Ireland and around the world. For details on Mark see his website, www.markcarmodyphotography.com.

Friday, 21 March 2014

Littoralis Rock Pipits, Black Rock

Two Littoralis Rock Pipits, still at Black Rock, 21st March 2014 (David O'Connor).

More littoralis Rock Pipits

Littoralis Rock Pipit, Carrig Island, 18th March 2014 (Kerry Birding).

Littoralis Rock Pipit, Cashen, 21st March 2014 (Kerry Birding).

Monday, 17 March 2014

Kumlien's Gull, DIngle

First-winter Kumlien's Gull, Dingle Marina, 17th March 2014 (Kilian Kelly). The long-staying individual at Dingle Harbour, with a long-staying second winter Glaucous Gull also nearby.

Tree Sparrow, Cashen

Tree Sparrow, Cashen, 16th March 2014 (Mike Sheehy).

littoralis Rock Pipit, Black Rock

Littoralis Rock Pipit, Black Rock, 13th March 2014. This is a different bird to the one at this site in February (Kerry Birding).

Saturday, 15 March 2014

Glossy Ibis & Ring-necked Duck

Glossy Ibis, Callinafercy, 14th March 2014 (Kilian Kelly).

Adult male Ring-necked Duck, Ross Castle, Killarney, 14th March 2014 (Kilian Kelly).

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Glossy Ibis, Callinafercy

Glossy Ibis, Callinafercy (near Milltown), 13th March 2014 (Seamus Enright).

Ring-necked and Long-tailed Ducks at Ross Castle

Male Ring-necked Duck, Ross Castle, 13th March 2014 (Ed Carty).

Male Ring-necked Duck, Ross Castle, 13th March 2014 (David O'Connor).

Female Long-tailed Duck, Ross Castle, 13th March 2014 (Ed Carty).

How are the White-tailed Sea Eagles faring?

White-tailed Sea Eagle, South Kerry, July 2013 (M.O'Clery).

Allan Mee of the White-tailed Sea Eagle Reintroduction Project will be looking for volunteers this coming spring and summer to monitor some of the nesting eagles. Details of a Workshop in Killarney will be announced shortly and volunteers are welcome to attend. Watch this space.

In the meantime, here's how things stand with the Reintroduction Project so far.

• One of the two chicks fledged in 2013 has recently died (shot). A third chick from a nest near Killarney didn't fledge but died at 9 weeks when the nest collapsed.

• There are at present 24 eagles that have paired.

• There are 20 eagles in Kerry including seven pairs.

• One of the birds released in Killarney has paired with a bird in Scotland.

• Of the100 birds brought from Norway, only about 50 are accounted for.

• 29 are confirmed dead, poisoning being the main culprit. Three were killed by wind turbines.

On a positive note, there has been no confirmed poisoning in Kerry for over two years although three birds found dead in Kerry in that time (one in 2012 and two in 2013) were not tested for poisons as they were too decomposed for sampling.

More soon.

With thanks to Allan Mee and Kevin Tarrant.