Juv. Med. Gull

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull, Black Rock, 28th July 2014 (David O'Connor).

A night in the life of

This nest box in Co. Kerry, which featured in one of the posts below, has four chicks. The eldest is close to making its first flight, with lots of wing exercising. The youngest is still mostly covered in down and has perhaps two weeks to go.

This video is edited highlights of one night in their lives. Not all the food deliveries to the nest are shown, rather a representative selection. One thing obvious from all the footage is that junior is getting more than his fair share.

 

Four Barn Owl chicks, at a nest box in Co. Kerry, 19th/20th July 2014 (Filmed under licence: M.O'Clery).

More Barn Owl nest footage

More nest box edited highlights, from a nest box somewhere in Kerry.

(You can hit the arrow icon in the corner of the video for a full screen view)

 
Barn Owl nest camera, Co. Kerry (Video: M.O'Clery, filmed under licence from NPWS).

Whitethroats - an update

Whitethroat, Brosna, 12th July 2014 (Davey Farrar).

We're still looking for any Whitethroat records from this summer. Do let us know if you've heard or seen any in Kerry. A few are still singing, even though most birdsong has diminished.

Here's the map of records we've recorded so far this year... not as many as last year, but still a good year.

Barn Owl tree nest

A female Barn Owl chick, from the only known tree nest in Co. Kerry, about 10 days from fledging. Near Tralee (M.O'Clery).

Barn owls can nest in hollow cavities in trees although this type of nest site accounts for only about 5% of all known nest sites nationally. The percentage is likely to be somewhat higher in reality as tree nest sites are extremely difficult to detect, and most survey effort necessarily concentrates on ruined or derelict buildings. Co. Kerry had no known active tree nests last year, but another has just been found, near Tralee. There were at least two chicks present, though one or two more might be further inside the cavity. A nest camera will help solve that question in the coming days.

The only Barn Owl tree nest currently known in Co. Kerry. The nest entrance is the large cavity at the top of the nearest ladder. The cavity drops down inside the hollow trunk for about 2 metres. At least two chicks were present (M.O'Clery).

If you see a Barn Owl, please let us know michaeloclery@gmail.com

Hen Harrier

Juvenile Hen Harrier, undisclosed site, Co. Kerry (Kerrybirding).

Barn Owls near Dingle

Male Barn Owl, near Dingle, 7th July 2014 (Michael O'Clery).

Ringing of Barn Owls in Kerry over the past three days has yielded mixed results. Many traditional nests are empty, no doubt victims of last springs' record low temperatures and the resulting worst breeding season in many years. However, wherever the owls survived, they have done remarkably well this season, with several broods of four chicks. 

The spread of the egg-laying dates of Barn Owls has been unusual this year. While one brood near Barraduff has already fledged (70+ days), we discovered a nest near Dingle on 9th July where the female was still sitting on seven eggs. Five chicks in one brood has yet to be recorded in Kerry, but perhaps this nest site will be the first. 

Full results will be posted later. See also the Irish Raptor Blog HERE

Female Barn Owl, near Dingle, 7th July 2014 (Michael O'Clery).

Two new species for the Dingle Peninsula

Ok, ok... They don't have feathers, but they do have wings, they do lay eggs, they fly, they have a beak* and they do look nice. Butterflies and dragonflies provide a colourful flying distraction for many birders during the summer doldrums.

* Just made that up. They don't have a beak.

Recently, two new species of butterfly have been added to the Dingle Peninsula list. A small colony of Marsh Fritillary was discovered near Baile an Reannaigh last year, while Dark-green Fritillary was seen and photographed at Glanfahan just last week.

For all things butterfly, if you are interested, see www.butterflyireland.com. Check out their excellent distribution maps and see if you can add any others to the Kerry list.

Marsh Fritillary, Baile an Reannaigh, summer 2013 (Courtesy of Jill Crosher).

Larval web for the caterpillars of the Marsh Fritillary, Baile an Reannaigh, summer 2014 (Courtesy of Jill Crosher).

Dark-green Fritillary, Glanfahan, June18th 2014 (Davey Farrar).

Barn Owl nest camera, Dingle Peninsula

Some footage from a Barn Ow nest box site on the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, over the past few nights. There are four chicks within, the oldest about 25 days, the youngest about 15 days old. The male and female are busy feeding them each night, and the hunting is good...

(You can hit the 'four-arrows' icon in the bottom right corner for a full screen view)

Barn Owl nest camera, Co. Kerry (Video: M.O'Clery, filmed under licence from NPWS).

Some things to look out for... 

The male delivers prey in the early part of the video, but note the paleness of the outer wing. He is easily distinguishable from the female who appears toward the end of the video - she has more barring on the secondaries (outer wing) and primaries (the longest wing feathers) as well as a more heavily barred tail. Not all pairs are so readily sexed, as there are some females which are only faintly barred and some slightly barred males, but this pair are particularly easy to distinguish.

Notice that both the female and male are already ringed with a small metal band on their legs. An adult male and an adult female were ringed at this site in 2012, and a different female was ringed in 2013. It would be fantastic to discover if these two are the same individuals. We hope to be able to answer that question by trapping the adults at the nest site when ringing takes place in one or two weeks time.

The last clip shows the female outside the box, but the chorus of hisses and bill snaps is from the chicks, who either heard or saw something which alarmed them, perhaps even the female arriving at the nest.

Hunting seems to be good. One Bank Vole is offered to a chick, but it turns out it already has one. In another part of the clip, you can see the chick eat one item, while another lies uneaten at its feet. This surplus is often consumed by the chicks during the following day.

Though last year saw the loss of several sites in Kerry, Barn Owls that are breeding this year seem to be doing very well, with brood sizes larger than normal. No doubt the settled weather over the past two months has helped greatly. More info on Barn Owls and other raptors on the Irish Raptor Blog HERE.