April 2010 Sightings

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Image © Joe Kelly 2010

3rd April 2010: Sparrowhawk photographed in a Ballintogher garden

Watch out for Great Spotted Woodpecker in Sligo's woodlands

In view of several unconfirmed reports of Great Spotted Woodpeckers in Sligo last spring, and another possible sighting near Ballintrillick in mid-January reported to usin February (courtesy of Lar Thermes), please remember that any reports of this newest Irish breeding species are welcomed at this website. All reported sightings will be followed up.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers are now breeding in several Irish counties on the east coast, and will probably spread here eventually. Please try to obtain photos to confirm the identity, but only if you can do so without disturbing the bird, especially if there is any suspicion that the bird is breeding.

Please send any reports to sightings @sligobirding.com

The photos show a female (left) and male (right) Great Spotted Woodpecker at their nest hole in Co. Wicklow. These photos were taken by Dick Coombes of BirdWatch Ireland under special licence.

Image © Dick Coombes 2009

BirdWatch Ireland raptor diet research project:

A BirdWatch Ireland research project to compare the diet of Irish breeding raptors & owls in different parts of the country is under way this spring. As part of this study, miniature cameras will be placed near nests to record the prey items fed by birds of prey to their chicks. During the 2010 breeding season, details of nests or suspected breeding locations can be e-mailed to this website - mail@sligobirding.com and will be passed on confidentially to the research group. Alternatively, if you wish, you can just pass on your contact details and the name of the species and these will be passed to the project team who will contact you directly.

This work is being conducted under the relevant NPWS permits, and all project staff will have appropriate insurance cover. It is an offence to approach or interefere with the nest of a breeding species except with appropriate training and permits. Please do not approach or do anything that might disturb a suspected nest site, or reveal its location publicly. Any information given will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Barnacle Geese on RTÉ:

Lots of Sligo interest on the latest episode of RTE's newest wildlife documentary series: 'Wild Journeys'.

If you have broadband, check out 'Wild Journeys', which covers the satellite tagging of Barnacle Geese on the Inishkea Islands off Co. Mayo, with some fantastically evocative film footage. The programme features well known Irish ornithologists, and friends of Sligo branch, Alyn Walsh and David Cabot, and is well worth a look. The same episode also covers the journey of the Eel from the Sargasso Sea and the mysterious Sunfish, earth's largest bony fish, which is increasingly turning up in Irish waters. Also, some coverage of Gannet colonies. Well worth a look here.

Colour-ringed White Wagtails....... the New Zealand connection:

Séamus and Declan's colour-ringed White Wagtail prompted an e-mail to the site from Sligo ornithologist and former contributor to our website, Niall Mugan. Niall is now based in New Zealand, but he previously worked with Dennis Elphick on the White Wagtail colour-ringing project at Slapton Leys, in Devon, which ringed 'our' bird. Niall now runs the excellent Birds of Christchurch and Canterbury website.



Date	Species	Photo	Number	Site	Observer	Remarks

30 April 2010	Wheatear		2	Streedagh	Don Cotton & Elaine Cotton
30 April 2010	Grasshopper Warbler		1	Kilmacowen/Ballydrehid	Martin Enright	in reedbeds.
30 April 2010	Sand Martin		c. 20+	Easky	Robin Burnhams	Nesting along Easky coastline
26- 30 April 2010	Tree Sparrow		2+	Easky	Robin Burnhams	At least two Tree Sparrows in my garden in Easky daily. On 28 April four appeared.
30 April 2010	White Wagtail		2	Lissadell	Don Cotton & Elaine Cotton
30 April 2010	Whimbrel		35+	Easky	Robin Burnhams	Along coast on rocks and in fields.
30 April 2010	Iceland Gull		1	Back Strand, Streedagh	Don Cotton & Elaine Cotton	Observers comment: Very white plumage; mantle showing some pale grey; bill with dark tip. Looks like it may be a third summer bird.
30 April 2010	Whimbrel		7	Lissadell & Ballygilgan, Drumcliff Bay	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
30 April 2010	Light-bellied Brent Goose		45	Lissadell & Ballygilgan, Drumcliff Bay	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
30 April 2010	White Wagtail		2	Lissadell	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
30 April 2010	Common Swift		2	Rathscanlan, Tobercurry	Mícheál Casey	Swooping and shrieking at last year's nest site in farm building, presumed returning pair.
29 April 2010	Corncrake		1	Lissadell	Jean Dunleavy	First Sligo report of 2010. Heard call just once at about 17:00 hrs
29 April 2010	Grasshopper Warbler		1	Lislary, Ballinfull	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Fields on top of low coastal cliff in bramble patch
29 April 2010	Whimbrel		52	Doonshaskin, Ballinfull	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	28 on field, further 24 on shore
28 April 2010	Tree Sparrow		4	Easky	Robin Burnhams
28 April 2010	Wheatear		4	Bunduff Strand, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton, Aisling Cotton & Roisín Cotton
28 April 2010	Sandwich Tern		28	Bunduff Strand, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton, Aisling Cotton & Roisín Cotton	Observers comment: Sitting on strand. Were not in the area 10 minutes earlier when we walked the strand. Must have come in as a group from the sea?
27 April 2010	Grasshopper Warbler		1	The Curragh, Carrowgobbadagh, Ballysadare	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
27 April 2010	Grey Wagtail		2	Bonet River, Co. Leitrim	Declan Feeney
27 April 2010	Kingfisher		1	Bonet River, Co. Leitrim	Declan Feeney	Flying downstream
27 April 2010	Dipper		1	Bonet River, Co. Leitrim	Declan Feeney
27 April 2010	Common Cuckoo		1	Isle of Inishfree, Lough Gill	Declan Feeney	Seen & heard
27 April 2010	Grey Heron		1	Hyde Bridge, Sligo	Gerard Scott	Juvenile bird. Caught at least two fish ina ten minute period.
27 April 2010	Common Crossbill		7	Gortaganny, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell	In forestry
26 April 2010	Whimbrel		7	Yellow Strand, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton, Séamus Feeney
26 April 2010	Common Eider		40+	Inishmurray	David McNicholas
25 April 2010	White Wagtail		37	Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	In field behind Storm Beach. May overlap with Yellow Strand birds below
25 April 2010	White Wagtail		29	Ballineden, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	With 6 Pied Wagtails
25 April 2010	White Wagtail		10	Yellow Strand, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
25 April 2010	Common Snipe		Several	Boathole Lough, Drumfin	Séamus Feeney	These birds were 'drumming'. This is the sound made by displaying male Snipe as they climb high into the sky, and plunge earthwards with outer tail feathers spreadf, to make a unique sound so characteristic of spring in the west of Ireland. Recent research has shown that this sound is produced by the web of the feather flapping very quickly, like a flag snapping in the wind - see here.
25 April 2010	Grasshopper Warbler		1	Boathole Lough, Drumfin	Séamus Feeney	Singing
25 April 2010	White Wagtail		37	Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	On 'improved grassland' behind storm-beach
25 April 2010	White Wagtail		11	Armada Monument, Streedagh	Séamus Feeney
23 April 2010	Common Buzzard		2	Near Ben Bulben	via Lorcan O'Toole
23 April 2010	Grasshopper Warbler		1	Collinsford, Glencar	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
23 April 2010	Common Swift		5	Over Sligo Town	Declan Skehan	First Sligo report of 2010
23 April 2010	Common Sandpiper		1	Garvoge River, Sligo	Ryan Wilson-Parr	First Sligo report of 2010
13 March - 23 April 2010	White-tailed Eagle		1	Lough Gara	Golden Eagle Trust Satellite Data	'Male Star' continues to thrive at Lough Gara, and has continued his stay in Sligo. No recent sightings reported, but satllite tracking data shows him making occasional trips into the area around Lough Gara - keep your eyes on the skies!
22 April 2010	White Wagtail		12	Streedagh Point	Séamus Feeney
22 April 2010	'Greenland' type Wheatear		2	Streedagh Point	Séamus Feeney
21 April 2010	Tree Pipit		1	Streedagh Point	Séamus Feeney	With Meadow Pipits on the machair, showed well.
21 April 2010	Common Cuckoo		1	Aughriman, Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim	Frances Farrell
21 April 2010	White Wagtail		6	Storm Beach, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney
21 April 2010	Golden Plover		652	Ballyconnell	Don Cotton	On the move north. Over 30 minutes I counted 652 in about 15 groups with about 12 to 89 birds per group. they flew in from the south over the Yeloow Strand and were called down by earlier birds, landing in fields, presumably to roost.
21 April 2010	White Wagtail		20	Cloonagh Beach, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	A number of females present.
21 April 2010	'Greenland' type Wheatear		2	Streedagh Point	Séamus Feeney	15 Wheater, 11 of these males, 3 females, one insexed (silhouetted against light)
21 April 2010	White Wagtail		9	Streedagh Point	Séamus Feeney
21 April 2010	Whimbrel		26	Raghly	Don Cotton, Séamus Feeney	South shore
21 April 2010	Sanderling		580	Ardtermon Strand, Raghly	Séamus Feeney	Very high count for site
21 April 2010	White Wagtail		2	Ardtermon Strand, Raghly	Séamus Feeney
21 April 2010	Chough		1	Carricknacarta, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney	also 4 Wheatears, all male.
21 April 2010	Whimbrel		30	Raghly	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
21 April 2010	Hen Harrier		1	Near Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Male in breeding territory
21 April 2010	Golden Plover		652	Ballyconnell	Don Cotton	On the move north. Over 30 minutes I counted 652 in about 15 groups with about 12 to 89 birds per group. they flew in from the south over the Yeloow Strand and were called down by earlier birds, landing in fields, presumably to roost.
20 April 2010	Lesser Black-backed Gull		1	Sligo Harbour	Declan Skehan	A third calendar-year bird (hatched 2008). Unusual to see birds of this age class in Sligo. We usually only see adults, juveniles and first winters, with the second and third calendar-year birds presumably spending their summers further south near the wintering grounds.
20 April 2010	White Wagtail		1	Inishcrone	Jackie Donnelly
20 April 2010	Manx Shearwater		3	Inishcrone	Jackie Donnelly
20 April 2010	Purple Sandpiper		12	Inishcrone	Jackie Donnelly
20 April 2010	Common Cuckoo		3	Lavally, Geevagh	Declan Skehan	Males
20 April 2010	Wheatear		6	Kellystown, Ballysadare Bay	Declan Skehan	No Whimbrels seen despite search
20 April 2010	Dipper		1	Ox Mountains	Mícheál Casey	Nest built on top of a bat roost unit (a special box installed under a bridge for roosting bats).
20 April 2010	Common Cuckoo		1	Curlew Mountains, Co. Sligo	Robin Burnhamsl
20 April 2010	Bar-tailed Godwit		c. 50	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Robin Burnhams
19 April 2010	Common Sandpiper		2	Fahy, Lough Allen	Frances Farrell	East side of Lough Allen, Kestrel also seen
19 April 2010	Blackcap		2	Millenium Park, Coolaney	Conor McElhinney
19 April 2010	Dipper		2	Millenium Park, Coolaney	Conor McElhinney	In the river
19 April 2010	Chiffchaff		1	Ranaghan, Ballynacarrow	Conor McElhinney	Singing
18 April 2010	Little Gull		1	Silver Falls car park, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	2 cy/1st summer, still present
18 April 2010	Manx Shearwater		5	Cooanmore Point, Easky	Séamus Feeney
18 April 2010	Whimbrel		45	Cooanmore Point, Easky	Séamus Feeney
18 April 2010	Purple Sandpiper		18	Cooanmore Point, Easky	Séamus Feeney
17-18 April 2010	Tree Sparrow		2	Easky	Robin Burnhams
17 April 2010	Long-eared Owl		1	Dooneen, Inishcrone	Mervyn Gawley
17 April 2010	Whimbrel		5	Kellystown, Ballysadare Bay	Declan Skehan
16 April 2010	Kestrel		1	Easky	Robin Burnhams
16 April 2010	Great Northern Diver		1	Easky	Robin Burnhams	In summer plumage
16 April 2010	Gannet		4-5	Easky	Robin Burnhams	Flying east
16 April 2010	Whimbrel		10	Easky	Robin Burnhams
16 April 2010	Tree Sparrow		2	Easky	Robin Burnhams
15 April 2010	White Wagtail		20	Raghly	Declan Skehan
15 April 2010	House Martin		1	Rathcormack	Don Cotton	First Sligo report of 2010.
15 April 2010	White Wagtail		30+	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Mícheál Casey	At 7pm - most of the flock had probably gone to roost
14 April 2010	White Wagtail		5	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney,Don Cotton, Noel Raftery
14 April 2010	Light-bellied Brent		75	Coney Island	Gerard Scott	On shore opposite Rosses Point
13 April 2010	Wheatear		1	Gleniff	Joe Kavanagh	Same place as last year - but ten days earlier.
13 April 2010	Sandwich Tern		1	Mullaghmore	Joe Kavanagh	Same place as last year - but ten days earlier.
13 April 2010	Eagle sp.		1	Glendarragh/Gortnaleck area, Benbulbin	Declan Harte	Seen soaring, distant photo obtained.
13 April 2010	Whimbrel		1	Long Rock, Easkey	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan
13 April 2010	White Wagtail		3	Long Rock, Easkey	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan
13 April 2010	White Wagtail		3	Derk Road, Dromard	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan
13 April 2010	White Wagtail		81	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan	79 males, 2 females, a truly exceptional count for Sligo. One Pied Wagtail with flock, which was feeding on the grassy spit between the small inlets.
13 April 2010	Little Gull		1	from Silver Falls car park, Ballysadare Estuary	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan
12 April 2010	Common Buzzard		1	Drumcliff	Sean Fahey	Seen flying south of Drumcliff Church at 12.10. It then flew back towards Benbulbin.
12 April 2010	Hen Harrier		1	Strandhill beach	Séamus Feeney	Female. Flew in at height from Portavaud direction, soared to gain height and flew off towards Benbulbin.
12 April 2010	White Wagtail		1	Strandhill beach	Séamus Feeney
12 April 2010	White Wagtail		15-20	Ballyconnell Strand, Ballyconnell	Mícheál Casey	Approximate count assisted by every wagtail on the beach flying up to mob a passing Sparrowhawk.
11 April 2010	Cuckoo		1	Annaghmadoo, Effernagh	BirdWatch Leitrim Outing	Same place as last year - but ten days earlier.
11 April 2010	White Wagtail		12	Ballyconnell Strand, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan	Included a cohesive sub-flock of 8 that flew in and a colour-ringed individual. This colour-ringed bird is an exciting find, as it may shed some light on where Sligo's White Wagtails are coming from. The pattern of colour rings appears to be similar to the combination used in a colour-ringing project at Slapton Leys in Devon, in south western England, but the relevance of this has not been confirmed. Update 12/4/2010: Confirmation has been received that this bird (V923551)was ringed at Slapton Leys National Nature Reserve, Devon, UK by Dennis Elphick on 12th September 2008. It was identified in the hand as a male White Wagtail (M.a.alba). It was aged as EURING age code 4 (ie hatched before the then current calendar year - exact year unknown - in other words, an adult).
11 April 2010	White Wagtail		3	Cloonagh Beach, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney & Declan Skehan	These are Motacilla alba alba,which breeds in Continental Europe and Iceland. Our own Pied Wagtail (M. a. yarrellii) is a subspecies. Small numbers have been recorded on passage through Sligo for over 100 years, presumablyon their way to Iceland from their winter quarters. First Sligo reports of 2010.
11 April 2010	Grasshopper Warbler		1	Kinlough, Co. Leitrim	Joe Kavanagh	Observer comments: Grasshopper Warbler heard in garden in Kinlough @ 20:00, 11 April 2010 , 12 days earlier than other years!
10 April 2010	Cuckoo		1	Sessuegarry, Cloonacool	Mícheál Casey	Heard. First Sligo report of 2010.
10 April 2010	Light-bellied Brent Goose		60	The Point, Strandhill Beach	Tom Murray
10 April 2010	Whooper Swan		17	The Point, Strandhill Beach	Tom Murray	Observer comments: I observed a group of 12 Whooper swans flying in formation heading west from The Point at Strandhill Beach today out over the bay - they were joined by a group of 5 whooper swans about two hundred yards out to sea - this second group came in from a southerly direction and after a momentary scattering both groups reformed into one unified formation and headed out to sea - they then landed out at sea probably a mile or so out west into Sligo Bay.
10 April 2010	Buzzard		2	Over Ladis' Brae, Skreen	Robin Burnhams
09 - 10 April 2010	Tree Sparrow		2	Easky	Robin Burnhams
09 April 2010	Two-spot Ladybird		1	Hughes Bridge, Sligo	Don Cotton	Not actually a bird...... but it is the first county record!
09 April 2010	Whooper Swan		18	Rahaberna, Sligo	Don Cotton	Flying north-west
09 April 2010	Redwing		Several	Rahaberna, Sligo	Don Cotton	Flying north a 22.00
09 April 2010	Crossbill		15	near Coolaney	Jean Dunleavy & Don Cotton	14 flew over, plus one on the apex of a tree
09 April 2010	Peregrine Falcon		1	near Coolaney	Jean Dunleavy	Flying north-west
08 April 2010	Willow Warbler		2	Ballyconnell	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery
08 April 2010	Blackcap		1	Lissadell	David McNicholas, Mícheál Casey & Martin Enright.	Heard & seen briefly, male.
08 April 2010	Sand Martin		2	Lissadell	David McNicholas, Mícheál Casey & Martin Enright.
08 April 2010	Cackling Goose		2	Ballintemple	Don Cotton & Martin Enright	The three wintering Canadas still present - as mixed pair and lone bird
08 April 2010	Canada Goose		1	Ballintemple	Don Cotton & Martin Enright
08 April 2010	Whooper Swan		c. 40	Oxfield, Carney	Joanne O'Reilly	Flying overhead
08 April 2010	Whooper Swan		c. 79	Drumcliff Bay, at Lissadell	Jean Dunleavy & Don Cotton	Sitting on sea a few hundred meters offshore.
08 April 2010	Eurasian Jay		2	Annaghmore, Collooney	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery
08 April 2010	Chiffchaff		c. 4	Annaghmore, Collooney	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	First Sligo report of 2010.
08 April 2010	Willow Warbler		c. 5	Annaghmore, Collooney	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery
07 April 2010	Blackcap		1	Rahaberna, Sligo	Don Cotton	Singing. First Sligo report of 2010.
07 April 2010	Barn Swallow		1	Rathaberna, Sligo	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Swallows have arrived in numbers in Sligo
07 April 2010	Dipper		2	Grange River	Mícheál Casey	One bird carrying food to incubating mate
07 April 2010	Barn Swallow		1	Grange	Mícheál Casey
07 April 2010	Barn Swallow		1	Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery
07 April 2010	Willow Warbler		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Seen singing. First Sligo report of 2010.
07 April 2010	Whooper Swan		23	Bunduff Strand, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Flying north towards Donegal, alighted on sea about 3 km off shore
07 April 2010	Gannet		6	Bunduff Strand, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Diving, just off the strand
07 April 2010	Sandwich Tern		7	Bunduff Strand, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery
06 April 2010	Barn Swallow		1	New Street, Sligo	Declan Skehan
06 April 2010	Barn Swallow		1	Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery
05 April 2010	Falcon sp.		1	Lissadell area	Declan Skehan	Brief views of large falcon with slender wings seen briefly from moving car.
04 April 2010	Hen Harrier		1	Morerah, near Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim	Paul Keogh	Female
03 April 2010	Tree Sparrow		1	Easky village	Robin Burnhams	Appeared briefly in an Easky Garden on 3 April along with Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, House Sparrows, a Lesser Redpoll and up to 9 Siskins.
03 April 2010	Sparrowhawk		1	Ballintogher village	Joe Kelly	In a domestic garden
02 April 2010	Falcon sp.		1	Lissadell	Don Cotton	Observer comments: Large falcon seen briefly this morning at Lissadell, turning and twisting at treetop height. Slender sickle-shaped wings, touch of rufous on the back. Not a Peregrine Falcon. Second sighting in a week of an unidentified large falcon in the Sligo area - vagrant or escape?
01 April 2010	Whooper Swan		23	Kilmacowen, Ballysadare	Martin Enright	Flying north
01 April 2010	Whooper Swan		25	Drumcliff Bay	Jean Dunleavy & Don Cotton	Flying north
01 April 2010	Purple Sandpiper		8	Inishcrone	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Below the seaweed baths
01 April 2010	Auk sp		410	Aughris Head	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Mixture of Guillemots & Razorbills
01 April 2010	Crossbill		1	Carricknasheeoge, near Coolaney	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery	Female
01 April 2010	Chiffchaff		3	Carricknasheeoge, near Coolaney	Don Cotton & Noel Raftery

March 2010 Sightings