4 Comments to Saturday 4th April 2015

1. Michael Quish

   April 6, 2015 at 10:07 pm

   I spotted three swallows at Adare Manor Hotel Golf Course on Good Friday! Is this the first sighting of them?
   Reply
   • Tom Lynch

     May 12, 2015 at 11:50 pm

     BIRDING – GENERAL

     • Surfbirds.com – An excellent site for active birders on both sides of the Atlantic. Features, photos & more.
     • Bird Links to the World – A vast collection of bird links for Europe and beyond.
     • The Fatbirder – One of the best birding web sites in the world – very comprehensive links.
     • UK Birdwatching Links – Plenty of very useful info’ plus up to date bird news in the UK.
     • UK – Birding.uk.com – A directory of birding links for the UK
     • http://www.deanbirders.co.uk – Birders eager to assist/encourage less able-bodied birdwatchers

     IRISH SITES
     

     • BIRDTRACK– Superb online recording system for birders in Ireland and the UK
     • BirdWatch Ireland – Ireland’s leading NGO dealing with the conservation of birds & habitats in Ireland.
     • BirdWeb – Web site of the South Dublin branch of BirdWatch Ireland.
     • BWI Fingal – North Dublin branch events, information and more.
     • BWI Galway – Web site of the Galway branch of BWI.
     • BWI Tipperary – Website of the Tipperary branch of BWI. Local sites, events and information.
     • BWI Tolka – Website from Dublin’s Tolka Valley branch
     • BWI West Cork – Local events, news and information.
     • BWI Sligo – News, events, site guide and more.
     • BWI Mayo – Mayo branch of BWI with news, site guide etc.
     • Irish Golden Eagle Project – News on the Golden Eagle re-introduction programme.
     • IrishBirdNet (IBN) – Archives from the IBN mail group.
     • Birdsireland.com – Web site of Birds of Ireland News Service, Ireland’s rare bird news providers
     • http://www.irishbirding.com – the new look data base web site run by Joe Doolan.
     • Birdwatching in N. Ireland – Very useful information on birding in Northern Ireland.
     • Irish Rare Birds Committee – Details of the the IRBC, rarity recording in Ireland, rarity forms etc.
     • Waterford Wildlife – Useful source of information on wildlife in Co. Waterford with plenty to interest birders.
     • County Nature Trust – New NGO dealing with wildlife conservation.
     • WaterfordBirds – Recent reports, archives, county list, photos, site guide, survey results etc for Co. Waterford
     • http://www.biology.ie   – Interactive website on Irelands fauna and flora.
     • http://www.irishwildlife.net   -Jim Wilsons web site
     • http://www.wildlifesnaps.com – Photographic Web Site of Tom Shevlin
     • http://www.irishbirdimages.com – Paul & Andrea Kellys photographic web site
     • http://www.waxwingfilms.ie – Film web site of John Murphy and Stan Nugent
     • http://www.iol.ie/~birdsgalway – Tom Cuffes Nature photographic Web Site
     • Murf’s Wildlife – The Blog Spot of John N Murphy
     • http://www.aughty.org  residents committee in Crusheen promoting this region of Clare
     • http://www.wcwc.ie the home page of the West Clare Wildlife Club
     • http://www.duchasnasionna.eu
     • http://www.cliffs-of-moher-cruises.com
     • http://www.atlanticdivingschool.ie/

     OTHER EUROPEAN / WORLDWIDE SITES (WITH ENGLISH CONTENT)

     • BTO– Web site of the British Trust for Ornithology – surveys & research into common birds and much more.
     • AERC – Website of the Association of European Rarity Committee’s.
     • BOU – British Ornithologists Union website
     • SOC – Web site of the Scotish Ornithologists Club with lots of useful information, news, features, etc.
     • UK400 Club – Feature packed, subscription only web site with news, photos, twitching league tables etc.
     • Bavarian Birds – A German site with news, links and a good interactive bird photo quiz.
     • Irania – Danish website with lots of features.
     • Eurobirding – An excellent resource for European birders. Index of ID articles, trip reports and more.
     • Birding Israel – A nice site from the Kibbutz Lotan Bird Station with plenty of info’ for visitors
     • Iceland Birding – An introduction to birding in Iceland, photos, Icelandic bird news etc.
     • Birding in Jordan – As the name suggests, a guide to birding in Jordan.
     • African Bird Club – Provides a worldwide focus for African ornithology.
     • BCU Georgia – Web site of the Bird Conservation Union of Georgia.
     • OSME – Excellent site packed with information from The Ornithological Society of the Middle East.
     • WP Birds – Information on bird records throughout the Western Palearctic.
     • Hungarian Birdwatching – Information on 43 Hungarian IBA’a and important local species
     • http://www.ecotours.hu Birding Hungary&Eastern Europe by Ecotours our url is:
     • Kusbank – An excellent online bird recording resource for Turkey
     • BirdLife International – A golbal conservation body that works in conjunction with national organisations.
     • BirdWatch Ireland – BirdLife International partner in Ireland. Conservation of birds and habitats
     • RSPB – Covering bird conservation in Northern Ireland and the UK
     • Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust – Web site of the WWT, list of reserves, projects, wildfowl information etc.
     • Proact – An independent, non-political & voluntary organisation. Campaigns for bird & habitat conservation.
     • http://www.naturalbornbirder.com    – European and Norwegian birding and seawatching.
     • http://www.ekologia.ilawa.pl   – Polish website about birds and birding in general.
     • http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk    –  Everything you may want to know about Barn Owls.

     BIRD OBSERVATORIES

     • Bird Observatories Council – Administrative body for the bird observatories in Britain and Ireland.
     • Cape Clear Island – Web site run by the island’s Co-op, useful for visiting birders with ferry times, etc.
     • Copeland Bird Observatory – Web site with details on Northern Ireland’s main bird observatory.
     • Bardsey Bird & Field Observatory – Info’ on this Welsh bird observatory
     • Portland Bill Bird Observatory – Excellent, regularly updated web site from this UK south coast observatory.
     • Dungeness Bird Observatory – Kent-based observatory. News, photos, booking info’ etc.
     • Sandwich Bay Field Station – Another SE England observatory and field station.
     • Fair Isle Bird Observatory – Full details on birds, booking, etc from the premier bird obs’ in the UK.
     • North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory – This Scotish observatory has a great record for attracting rare birds.
     • Filey Brigg Bird Observatory – A busy English east coast observatory with an informative web site.
     • Falsterbo Bird Observatory – Good info’ from this famous bird obs’ on Sweden’s south coast.
     • Helgoland Bird Observatory – Very good site from this German North Sea bird obs.

     BIRD NEWS

     • UK – Birdguides – UK bird news via the web, e-mail or SMS plus much more.
     • EU – Eurotwitch – Links for European bird news providers.
     • FR – Ornithos – French bird news plus occasional news from adjacent countries.
     • FR – BirdNews – Latest French bird news, photos, links, etc.
     • GE – Club300 – Germany’s Club300 website with news, information etc.
     • AU – Club300 – Bird news from Austria’s Club300 team.
     • DK – Netfugl – An excellent site with news and photos from Denmark.
     • DK – Fugelognatur – Where to watch birds and wildlife in Denmark, comprehensive.
     • SW – Svalan – Click on “Today’s Birds” for latest news from Sweden.
     • SW – SKOF – More Swedish news from SKOF
     • FI -Tarsiger – Latest Finnish news in English plus photos.
     • SZ – Birding Switzerland – Swiss Club 300 web page with recent bird news.
     • IC – Birding Iceland – Latest news from Iceland plus photos.
     • SP – Rare Birds in Spain – An excellent Spanish site with news, photos and useful links.

     SEABIRDS

     • Ocean Wanderers – You must visit this site if you’re interested in seabirds!
     • Tony Palliser – Stunning photography and lots of pelagic birding info’.
     • Brian Patteson Pelagic Birding – Pelagic trips, photos, seabird links & much more.
     • Cape Town Pelagics – An excellent site with details on SA pelagic trips, recent news, contacts, etc.
     • Marine Ornithology – Introduction to various seabird research projects and reports.

     WATERFOWL
     

     • Waterfowl ID – Good collection of photos and identification details from the US site.
     • WBK – Wetland Birds of South Korea : ID, birdnews, wetlands, conservation and more.

     BIRDS OF PREY

     • Barn Owls – Web site of the Barn Owl Centre with info’ on their conservation.
     • The Owl Pages – Good selection of information on owls in Europe.
     • Welsh Kite Trust – Conservation of Red Kites.
     • Osprey Project – Satellite tracking of Ospreys from the UK.
     • Raptors – Conservation and protection of raptors.
     • Raptors : Lost & Found – Database of lost and found birds of prey in the UK
     • Raptor Research – Introduction to various raptor research projects and reports.

     GULLS

     • MartinReid.com – Much to offer gull enthusiasts on both side of the Atlantic.
     • Norwegian Gulls – Probably the best single source of gull photos in Europe.
     • Yukon Gullery – Photographs and more of gulls from Canada and North America
     • Gull Index – Good photos and links from Rudy Offereins

     WADERS / SHOREBIRDS

     • Shorebird Index – A huge archive of wader photos arranged by index.
     • StintFan – Japanese based web site with excellent photos of calidrid sandpipers from Asia.
     • Gallinago – Web site for those interested in the various snipe species. Good photos etc.
     • Corncrake Conservation – Website of the BirdLife International Corncrake Conservation Team.
     • Wader Study Group – Full of information of wader populations, reports and more.

     PASSERINES/NEAR PASSERINES

     • Swifts – Plenty of information here on Common Swifts
     • Blackbirds – Comprehensive site dealing with all aspects of European Blackbird ecology.
     • CJ Wildbird Foods – An excellent resource for anyone interested in garden birds.
     • The Sand Martin Trust – Information on Sand Martins and how habitat creation for breeding.
     • Feathers – 650+ scans of various feathers from over 180 species.

     BIRDING PUBLICATIONS

     • British Birds – Profiles the highly respected magazine of the same name.
     • Birding World – Web site for ‘Birding World’ magazine, the ‘Bird Information Service’ and ‘Books for Birders’.
     • Dutch Birding – Web site based around the excellent Dutch Birding magazine.
     • Alula – Web site of the highly regarded Finnish magazine “Alula”.
     • Birders Journal – Canadian magazine with interesting articles for birders in Europe.

     Bird Care/First Aid

     • ISPCA – Main web site with a full list of local contacts for sick and injured birds and animals in Ireland.
     • Irish Animals on the Web – Useful list of contacts.
     • TACT – Talnotry Avian Care Trust is based in N. Ireland and cares for & rehabilitates sick & injured birds

     TRAVEL/TRIP REPORTS

     • Eurobirding.com – Superb portal site with access to a huge collection of trip reports.
     • Bird Tours – Another useful web based collection of trip reports. Added to frequently.
     • Urs Geiser’s Trip Reports – A collection of very useful trip reports from around the world.
     • Birding Pal – Web site for travelling birders to get in touch with others and to organise trips worldwide.
     • Splatzone – Dutch site with various trip reports.

     FOREIGN BIRDING / TOUR GUIDES

     • AS – Birding Australia – An essential first stop for anyone planning a trip down under.
     • NO – Birding Norway – Plenty of information on sites, species, recent news, guided trips and more.
     • EU – Probirder – Gerard Gorman’s site for birders visiting Eastern Europe incl. Romania, Czech Rep., Hungary.
     • JO – Birding in Jordan – As the name suggests, a guide to birding in Jordan.
     • PO – Birding in Poland – Useful for visitors with site details, contacts etc.
     • PO – Birding Polska – Polish site with birding locations & species info’, trips etc.
     • PO – Birds Poland – An UK/Polish company offering guided birdwatching tours to Poland & Romania.
     • AF – Birding Africa – Sites, species, contacts and lots more for visiting birders. Plenty of useful resources here.
     • MD – Birding Madeira – Good selection of information for visitors with emphasis on seawatching.
     • BU – Halietor – Information on sites and species in Bulgaria plus tour guide services.
     • BU – Birdwatchingbulgaria – Country information, species lists, guided trips etc.
     • AF – Natures Wonderland Safaris – Guided birding trips based in Kenya
     • SP – Donanabirdtours – Professionally guided bird tours in Europe’s largest wetland reserve area

     COLOUR-RINGED BIRDS

     • Colour-Ringed Birds – On-line database of colour-ringing schemes around the world to help report sightings.

     BIRD SOUNDS

     • WP Bird Songs – Online recordings of most European species – very useful.
     • World Bird Sounds – A collection of bird song and calls
     • The Virtual Bird – Songs and calls of European birds.
     • Wildsounds – Online retailer of a huge selection of bird sound CDs tapes etc.

     BIRD IMAGES/ART

     • Eagle Eye OpticZooms – Manufacturers of everything you need for digiscoping, including eyepiece adaptors.
     • Birdillustrators.com – Excellent new site with artwork from the worlds top bird illustrators
     • Don Des Jardin – Excellent photos of a whole range of species from North America and beyond.
     • Michael O’ Clery – Irish wildlife artist Michael O’ Clery’s web site, well worth a look !
     • Digiscoping – How to take bird photographs with a digital camera and a telescope. Useful tips, links etc.
     • Cursorius – Leo Boon’s photo & video library – very high quality .
     • Mike Brown – Stunning bird & wildlife photography from Co. Cork based Mike Brown.
     • Nigel Blake – Nigel adds superb photos to his site almost weekly; common & rare birds, foreign trips, etc.
     • Paul Hackett – Web site of one the UK’s leading digiscoping experts.
     • Bird-Pix – Web based discussion group for anyone interested in bird photography.
     • Daniscoping – Packed full of quality photos of Iberian birds with new additions regularly.
     • Birds-on-Film – Website of Steve Young, one of the UK’s top bird photographers.
     • Ashley Beolens – Digiscoped images of British birds
     • Naturescapeimages – Useful photo and ID resource from Julian Hough
     • Wildlifesnaps.com – Web site featuring Tom Shevlin’s photographs of birds and other Irish wildlife
     • Digiscoped.com – Andy Bright’s excellent website, full of digiscoping tips.

     WEATHER

     • Met Eireann – A quick and very useful site from Ireland’s Met’ Service
     • BBC Weather – The BBC weather site with some very useful info, graphics, charts etc.
     • Irish Data Buoys – Access to the latest data from offshore weather recording devices in Irish waters.
     • Sea State – Sea conditions in European waters.
     • NOAA – An immense amount of weather info’ from this US Government web site
     • Tide Timetables – Daily tide timetables for the whole of Ireland.
     • UK Met Office – Access to a huge amount of weather data from the UK Met office.
     • Atlantic Stormwatch – Keep track of Atlantic weather movements here.
     • http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EasyTide/EasyTide/SelectPort.aspx  – EasyTide 7 day tide charts
     Reply
   • Tom Lynch

     May 12, 2015 at 11:52 pm

     Michael

     They were early Swallows but not the first. Sorry only saw your post now.

     Tom Lynch
     Reply
   • Tom Tarpey

     May 17, 2015 at 8:37 pm

     Michael,
     That was the first spring record of Swallows in Limerick. I have updated the Limerick Sightings sections to reflect it. Thanks for the report.

     Tom Tarpey
     Reply