Monthly Archives: September 2011

First-winter Common Rosefinch at Kilbaha © Richard Bonser

A first-winter Common Rosefinch has turned up this morning at Walshe’s haggard, Loop Head (Niall T Keogh, Richard Bonser et al).
Two Lapland Buntings were at Loop Head Lighthouse along with nine Buff-breasted Sandpipers.
At the Bridges of Ross there were two Wilson’s Storm Petrels @ 09:05 (Eanna O’Flynn, Mark Stewart & Conor Foley) & @ 11:20 (Tom Tarpey). Also at the bridges were 16 Long-tailed Skuas, 170 Sabine’s Gulls, five Sooty Shearwaters one Leach’s Petrel, eight Storm Petrels, 19 Grey Phalaropes, 54 Great Skuas (Bonxie), two Pomarine Skuas, 37 Arctic, two juvenile Little Gulls, 12 Sandwich Terns, 500 Arctic Terns, 11 Puffins, two Common Scoters, seven Red-throated Divers and one Great Northern Diver. There were also six Bottlenose Dolphins and
one Sunfish.
A juvenile Blue-winged Teal was at the Shannon Airport Lagoon (Owen Foley & Richard Bonser).
At Kilcredaun Bay, there were 5 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers.
At Liscannot, there was a 1st-winter Mediterranean Gull and 4 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers.
Six Crossbills were at Gortcoirce, Dysert.
Two Ruff, 164 Curlew, ten Wigeon and ten Black-tailed Godwits were at Lough Atedaun.

Sabine’s Gull, Bridges of Ross © John N Murphy

An Osprey was seen flying down Loop Head this morning in a South Westerly direction being mobbed by Hooded Crows (Niall T Keogh).
Also at Loop Head were eight Buff-breasted Sandpipers still at the Fodry along with one Ruff and eight Lapland Buntings.
Off the Bridges of Ross today there was a large movement of Sabine’s Gulls with 392 plus birds passing throughout the afternoon along with 35 Long-tailed Skuas, 12,500 Manx Shearwaters, eight Leach’s Petrel, 21 Storm Petrel, 60 Great Skua (Bonxie), 184 Arctic Skuas, four first-winter juvenile Little Gulls, eight juvenile Black Terns, four Little Terns, 13 Sandwich Terns, 5,000 Arctic Terns, one Common Tern, one Grey Phalarope, three Puffins, eight Common Scoter, 18 Light-bellied Brent Geese,13 Red-throated Divers and 12 Bar-tailed Godwits. There were also one Minke Whale, five Common Dolphins and one Sunfish.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Fodry, Loop Head © Jeff Copner

An amazing flock of 15 Buff-breasted Sandpipers were at the Fodry, Loop Head this morning, along with 12 Lapland Buntingsand 13 Black-tailed Godwits flew past the headland. There was also a first-winter Yellow Wagtail near the Lighthouse.
At the Bridges of Ross today there was one adult Long-tailed Skua, 48 Sabine’s Gulls, one Balearic Shearwater, 16 Sooty Shearwaters, six Storm Petrels, five Bonxies, one Pomarine Skua, ten Arctic Skuas, a juvenile Little Gull, 14 Sandwich Terns, 140 Arctic Terns, 16 Common Scoter, ten Brent Geese, four Red-throated Divers, one Black Guillemot and five Whimbrel.