December 2009 Sightings

November 2009 <<<

Back to Archive

>>> January 2010

Image © Tom Shevlin 2009

6th December 2009: This Twite was photographed at Raghly, Co Sligo at the weekend by Wexford wildlife photographer Tom Shevlin, where a flock of up to 40 birds has been seen in recent days. Tom's photo captures all the charm and toughness of this tiny finch, which is invariably found in wild places.

See more of Tom's images on his website www.wildlifesnaps.com

	Ringed Dipper recovered along the Drumcliff River. A Dipper that was ringed in a nest along a mountain stream high in the Glendarragh valley at the back of Ben Bulben on the 14th May 2009 was 'found' (fatally) by a cat along the Drumcliff River at Collinsford Bridge in the Glencar Valley on 28th July 2009. Although this is a relatively short movement of c. 6 km, it appears to have crossed Ben Bulben. Dippers are relatively sedentary species, but this movement is not all that exrtraordinary as tributaries of the two river systems (the Drumcliff River and the Grange River) originate very close to each other on the Ben Bulben plateau. Thanks to the finder Honor Broderick, who found & reported the ring (no thanks are due to the cat). Reports of ringed birds are welcome at this website. Just note the ring number, the species and the date and place you find it. Most rings can be traced, and as in this case they shed light in a unique way on bird movements. An aerial image of the area shows the movement here.
	'Conall' Update 'Conall', the Golden Eagle reared in Donegal this year remains in the upper Glencar Valley, and satellite data reveals that he is providing regular viewing opportunities as he patrols the area. The photo on the left shows Conall on the nest where he was hatched. Any reports of sightings welcome!
	'Male Star' Update 'Male Star', the White-tailed Eagle from the Kerry re-introduction programme that was taken into care in mid-November has been rehabilitated and re-released at Mullaghmore and appears to have settled back into north Sligo. His satellite transmitter which reports his movements shows good activity and normal behaviour. Any sightings of him would be welcome, but observers should avoid disturbing him until he settles back into North Sligo.
	Watch out for colour-rings on Twite in Sligo this winter. A proportion of the Twite flock at Raghly has been trapped and ringed with numbered lightweight metal rings and colour-rings under licence, as part of the larger long-term research project into this threatened breeding species led by Dr Derek McLoughlin and Dr Don Cotton of Sligo Institute of Technology. The metal rings will identify the individual bird if it is re-trapped or is found dead, while the colour-rings can be seen without re-trapping the birds and identify the location at Raghly where they were ringed, and if there is a combination of rings, will identify individual birds. If you see Twite at Raghly (or anywhere else), please check the legs for colour rings. If you see ringed birds, please note what colours you see and what legs they were on (e.g. orange over blue on left in the example pictured here), then please notify this website Twite do not always make it easy to see their legs as they tend to be very 'fluffed up' in cold weather, but leg-rings may be more easily seen when the birds perch on walls or wires. Resightings of these birds will give some information on turnover within the flock at Raghly, and may shed light on subsequent movement of ringed birds. Click on the images on the left for full size images, also see the December 2009 Gallery for more images of theTwite flock at Raghly or click on the camera icon: December 2009 Gallery
Image © Tom Shevlin 2009

Image © Marius Breen 2009

Sligo's mass stranding of Starfish replicated in Norfolk

A mass stranding of Starfish in Norfolk seems very similar to the recent much larger incident in Drumcliff Bay - see news item here.

Eagle Update - 16th December 2009

Sligo's two long-staying eagles are doing well.

Allan Mee, the project manager of the White-tailed Eagle reintroduction programme visited Mullaghmore on Saturday and got good views of the satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle 'Male Star' who appeals to have settled back into his old haunts at Mullaghmore.

Conall, part of the first generation of Irish Golden eagles in a century, has been at Glencar but has been relatively elusive. However Barry Brennan reports that he saw the bird three times last weekend and even managed to capture some long range images, the first taken of Conall since he left his Donegal nest. Three of Barry's photos are on the December 2009 Gallery page.

RSPB RED Kite Project Update

The Winter 2009 issue of the Northern Ireland Red Kite programme update is here.

While the RSPB project is making great progress in restoring the Red kite to our skies, along with its Wicklow counterpart, the newsletter brings disappointing news of yet another raptor poisoning - this time a Red Kite in Northern Ireland (see photo left).


Date	Species	Photo	Number	Site	Observer	Remarks

30 December 2009	Twite		18-20	Raghly	Séamus Feeney
30 December 2009	Dark-bellied Brent		1	Raghly	Séamus Feeney
29 December 2009	Light-bellied Brent		430	Inishcrone	Martin Enright	In the field to the west of the Diamond Coast Hotel. 57 ring combinations were read, of which 52 were applied at this site in the cannon-netting operation of February 2008, showing remarkable site fidelity.
29 December 2009	Redwing		20	Hazelwood, Lough Gill	Beatrice MacDonald	Foraging flock present for a few days
29 December 2009	Long-tailed Tit		10	Hazelwood, Lough Gill	Beatrice MacDonald
28 December 2009	Redwing		158	Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	In a single field, behind Ballyconnell Beach (large re-seeded field). Just a sample of the enormous thrush numbers in the Maugherow area, presumably fleeing the hard weather.
28 December 2009	Common Eider		40	Off Serpent's Rocks, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney
28 December 2009	Dark-bellied Brent		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Séamus Feeney
28 December 2009	Peregrine Falcon		1	Lissadell	Gavin Thomas	Adult male, seen over the sand spit opposite Lissadell then flew east. Lots of birds about in general especially Redwings, Song Thrushes, Fieldfares and Blackbirds plus the odd Stonechat and Bullfinch. A few flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers feeding on fields too.
28 December 2009	Twite		24+	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Gavin Thomas
28 December 2009	Greenshank		2	Strandhill	Gavin Thomas
28 December 2009	Ring-billed Gull		1	Quay St car park, Sligo Harbour	Gavin Thomas	Seen on the water then rooftops around Quay Street car park..
27 December 2009	Tree Sparrow		1	Easky	Robin Burnhams	In a garden on the edge of Easkey village.
27 December 2009	Redwing		15	Kilmacowen, Ballysadare	Robin Burnhams
27 December 2009	Hen Harrier		1	Drinagh, Tarmonbarry, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell	Adult male, seen in the morning.
27 December 2009	Twite		52	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
27 December 2009	Blackcap		2	Doonierin, Rosses Point	David Gunne	The regular male has been joined by a female.
22-26 December 2009	Blackcap		1	Doonierin, Rosses Point	David Gunne	Male, feeding on fatballs in the garden.
26 December 2009	Curlew		1	Deepwater Quay, Sligo Harbour	Declan Skehan	Feeding on the road & roadside verge opposite Connacht Gold - a sign of desperation in the cold snap.
26 December 2009	Goldeneye		6	Riverside, Garravogue River	Declan Skehan
26 December 2009	Thrush sp		1,000s	Ardtermon, Maugherow	Séamus Feeney	Mixed flock of thousands of thrushes seen going to roost in the trees around Ardtermon House.
26 December 2009	Probable Gyrfalcon		1	Alpine Gardens, Lissadell	Jean Dunleavy	Large white bird of prey approx twice the size of a Kestrel seen hovering briefly before it was chased away by a Rook.
25-26 December 2009	Blackbird		49	Rathscanlon, Tubbercurry	Mícheál Casey	49 Blackbirds were ringed in a rural garden near Tubbercurry over two days. Several were exceptionally long-winged, indicating that they are continental/ Scandinavian birds.
25 December 2009	Common Buzzard		1	Dooneen, Inishcrone	Mervyn Gawley	Hunting pigeons in a field of kale. Hundreds of finches & linnets & buntings in the field.
25 December 2009	Redwing		15	Easkey	Robin Burnhams	In a garden on the edge of Easkey village.
25 December 2009	Blackbird		14	Rathscanlon, Tubbercurry	Mícheál Casey	In a rural garden. Thrushes (and all birds) are struggling in the current hard weather conditions. The local population of thrushes & Blackbird & other thrushes in this part of Ireland is being augmented by an influx of continental (esp Scandinavian) birds fleeing the cold snap. As well as seed and peauts, try adding fruit (apple/banana/grape), raisins, and household scraps (non-salty/spicy items) from the Christmas dinner to your bird table. Also remember to make drinking water available to wildlife for the duration of this hard weather.
25 December 2009	Redwing		15	Easkey	Robin Burnhams	In a garden on the edge of Easkey village
24 December 2009	Red-throated Diver		7	Western part of Drumcliff Bay	Martin Enright	Viewed from Raghly
24 December 2009	White-tailed Eagle		1	Ardtermon Castle, Maugherow	Martin Enright	'Male Star' flew towards the castle from the direction of Ballymuldorry in the late afternoon
24 December 2009	Twite		c. 30	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey	'Male Star flew towards the castle from the direction of Ballymuldorry in the late afternoon
23 December 2009	Chough		10	Standalone Point, Sligo Harbour	John F. Mugan	Observer comments: "I saw 10 Chough in one group leaving Sligo Estuary in the region of Standalone Point and flying towards Glencar area. I often see one pair in the field near me but this was the first time I saw such a large group."
23 December 2009	Goosander		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Male. Three Otterswere also seen well in the large (north-eastern) lake
23 December 2009	White-tailed Eagle		1	Ardtermon Castle, Maugherow	Declan & Orla Feeney, Mícheál Casey	Male Star is on the move again! This is the reintroduced (re-re-introduced?) White-tailed Eagle from the Kerry project, who has had eventful life in Sligo since August. He was first observed today on a telegraph pole between Ardtermon Castle and the Raghly causeway, from where he flew to the fence behind the beach near the castle. He rested here for a while in the winter sunshine before a bank of freezing fog rolled in and he moved on east into the fog towards Lissadell. He caused consternation among the local goose, wader, crow and gull population as he flew along, totally ignoring the constant mobbing by Hooded Crows. He spent a while on the fence "airing his wings", holding them in a semi-extended posture in the cold sunshine. Allan Mee says White-tailed Eagles do this on sunny days - purpose unknown.
23 December 2009	Twite		50+	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey
23 December 2009	Blackcap		1	Doonierin, Rosses Point	David Gunne	Male, feeding on fatballs in the garden, also present yesterday. Very few wintering Blackcaps seem to make it this far west.
22 December 2009	Shelduck		94	Dorrins Strand, Sligo Harbour	Séamus Feeney	The Ruddy Shelduck was not noted
22 December 2009	Pied Wagtail		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey	A female Pied Wagtail with aberrant plumage was ringed at Raghly. This bird has a complete white collar, which does not seem to be a feature of any wagtail species/race, so may be just an individual feature.
22 December 2009	Merlin		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey	Caught and killed a Twite in flight over the harbour
22 December 2009	Dark-bellied Brent		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey	Grazing on pasture beside the harbour with about 20 Light-bellied Brent.
23 December 2009	Blackcap		1	Doonierin, Rosses Point	David Gunne	Male, feeding on fatballs in the garden.
22 December 2009	Twite		15	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey
21 December 2009	Hen Harrier		1	Annagh, Castlebaldwin	Siobhán Ryan	Male seen flying along the River Unshin
21 December 2009	Goldeneye		1	Hazelwood, Calry	Robin Burnhams	On Lough Gill
21 December 2009	Bullfinch		2	Hazelwood, Calry	Robin Burnhams
20 December 2009	Kestrel		1	Easkey	Robin Burnhams	On beach
19 December 2009	Hybrid Ring-necked x Tuftie Duck		1	Glencar Lough	Mark Carmody	The Ring-necked x Tufted Duck hybrid bird?
19 December 2009	Canada Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Mark Carmody	The mismatched pair (Canada & dark Cackling Goose) were spotted in a flock flight photo after Mark returned to Cork!
19 December 2009	Cackling Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Mark Carmody	The dark bird.
19 December 2009	Cackling Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Mark Carmody	The new (pale) bird.
19 December 2009	Hen Harrier		1	Near Killarga, Co. Leitrim	Séamus Feeney	2nd winter male. At Drumduffy/Corderry townlands near the R280/R289 junction
19 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Kilglass Lough, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell	Flying over
19 December 2009	Twite		45	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mark Carmody	Check out Mark's Twite pics on our gallery page. Mark is co-author with Jim Wilson of "Shorebirds", a beautifully illustrated guide to the birds of our shores and estuaries - an ideal Christmas gift for the birder in your life.
19 December 2009	Ring-billed Gull		1	Quay St car park, Sligo Town	Mícheál Casey
18 December 2009	Long-tailed Duck		4	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Mícheál Casey
18 December 2009	Great Northern Diver		12	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Mícheál Casey
18 December 2009	Velvet Scoter		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Mícheál Casey	Poor quality record footage on gallery page
18 December 2009	Cackling Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Mícheál Casey	The new pale bird - with Barnacles.
18 December 2009	Common Buzzard		2	Between Strokestown and Elphin, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell
17 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Brian O'Beirne	Seen several times this week, but the species was never seen at this site until very recently.
17 December 2009	Pink-footed Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Mícheál Casey	With Barnacles.
17 December 2009	Dark-bellied Brent Goose		1	Storm beach, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Possibly the Ardtermon/Raghly bird.
17 December 2009	Goosander		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney	In the large (northernmost) lake
17 December 2009	Velvet Scoter		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney	With Common Scoter
17 December 2009	Twite		82	Ragly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey	Highest count recorded since the Twite flock first noted at the site this winter.
16 December 2009	Cackling Goose		2	"Goose Field", Ballygilgan Nature Reserve, Lissadell	Séamus Feeney	A second (i.e. new) Cackling Goose was found today. It is somewhat paler than the current long-staying bird, resembling the 2007/8 Cackling Goose that wintered here. It is not associating with the long-staying mixed Cackling & Canada Goose pair.
16 December 2009	Canada Goose		1	"Goose Field", Ballygilgan Nature Reserve, Lissadell	Séamus Feeney	With the dark Cackling Goose
14 December 2009	Hybrid Ring-necked x Tufted Duck		1	Glencar Lough	Don Cotton, Séamus Feeney	Drake, with 40 Tufted Ducks. Both observers consider that it looks identical to the images of the hybrid bird that moved between Glencar Lough, Colgagh Lough and Lough Anelteen in December 2007/January 2008.
14 December 2009	Purple Sandpiper		3	Inishcrone	Mervyn Gawley	Several Great Northern & Red-throated Divers, 2 Otters & 3 Porpoises seen from new public walkway at pier in Enniscrone.
14 December 2009	Light-bellied Brent		300	Inishcrone	Mervyn Gawley	At Diamond Coast Hotel, many with rings.
14 December 2009	Long-tailed Duck		1	Easkey	Robin Burnhams
14 December 2009	Twite		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly	Mícheál Casey	Looking very lonesome......
14 December 2009	Pink-footed Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Mícheál Casey
11-13 December 2009	Golden Eagle		1	King's Mountain, Ben Bulben	Barry Brennan	Barry saw Conall three times, and managed to capture some photos.
13 December 2009	Chough		11	King's Mountain, Ben Bulben	Barry Brennan
13 December 2009	Common Snipe		1	King's Mountain, Ben Bulben	Barry Brennan
13 December 2009	Peregrine Falcon		1	King's Mountain, Ben Bulben	Barry Brennan	Male
13 December 2009	Greater Scaup		1	Inchmore, Lough Gara	Séamus Feeney	Male, with a large flock of Tufted Ducks
13 December 2009	Greenland White-fronted Goose		95	Inchmore, Lough Gara	Séamus Feeney
13 December 2009	Ruddy Shelduck		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Purple Sandpiper		4	Raghly Harbour, Raghly	Declan Skehan
13 December 2009	Jack Snipe		1	Storm Beach, Raghly	Declan Skehan
13 December 2009	Oystercatcher		662	Scotchman's Walk, Bundoran Road	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Light-bellied Brent Goose		252	Scotchman's Walk, Bundoran Road	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Ruddy Shelduck		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Little Egret		2	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Finnod, Drumcliff Bay	Birdwatch Sligo iWEBs count
13 December 2009	Pink-footed Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Gary Armstrong, Ian Graham, Philip West
12 December 2009	possible Gyrfalcon		1	Beltra	Conor McElhinney	White raptor being mobbed by small birds flew by, not seen well, as observer had no optics with him.
12 December 2009	Barnacle Goose		c.3,000	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Estimate
12 December 2009	Pink-footed Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	With the Barnacle flock at Ballintemple.
12 December 2009	Ring-billed Gull		1	Quay St Car Park, Sligo Harbour	Declan Skehan	Probably a returning bird
12 December 2009	Ruddy Shelduck		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Declan Skehan
12 December 2009	Oystercatcher		395	Kintogher, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney	All roosting waders counted from end of road at Kintogher.
12 December 2009	Dunlin		250	Kintogher, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
12 December 2009	Sanderling		65	Kintogher, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
12 December 2009	Bar-tailed Godwit		113	Kintogher, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
12 December 2009	Knot		34	Kintogher, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
12 December 2009	Raven		1	Ardtermon Strand, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
12 December 2009	Twite		c. 8	Near Causeway, Raghly	Jean Dunleavy, Don Cotton
12 December 2009	Twite		c. 30	Raghly Harbour, Raghly	Ryan Wilson-Parr, Mícheál Casey
12 December 2009	Merlin		1	Storm Beach, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Seen at around the same time as the Raghly bird, so a different individual
12 December 2009	Merlin		1	Raghly	Ryan Wilson-Parr, Mícheál Casey	Female type
12 December 2009	Kestrel		1	Raghly	Ryan Wilson-Parr, Mícheál Casey	Along with the Merlin, the Kestrel was keeping the Twite on their toes
12 December 2009	White-tailed Eagle		1	Mullaghmore	Allan Mee	Male Star was seen well, appears to be doing fine
11 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Athleague Bridge, River Suck, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell	A couple of kilometres upstream from the sandpiper
11 December 2009	Common Sandpiper		1	Athleague Bridge, River Suck, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell
11 December 2009	Pintail		5	Corbally Turlough, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon	Michael Bell
11 December 2009	Tree Sparrow		?	Storm beach, Raghly	Stephen McAvoy	Heard, identified on call
11 December 2009	Twite		c. 40	Raghly Harbour, Raghly	Mícheál Casey
11 December 2009	Ring-billed Gull		1	Quay St Car Park, Sligo Harbour	Declan Skehan
11 December 2009	Ruddy Sheduck		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Don Cotton, Stephen McAvoy
11 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Don Cotton, Stephen McAvoy
10 December 2009	Ruddy Shelduck		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Séamus Feeney, Declan Skehan, Paul Keogh, Mícheál Casey, David Gunn	First record for Sligo. Although feral birds have been regularly sighted, this bird seems wary and appears to be unringed.
10 December 2009	Pintail		2	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Séamus Feeney	A pair - Pintail are not common in Sligo
10 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Séamus Feeney	A pair - Pintail are not common in Sligo
10 December 2009	Twite		68	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Séamus Feeney, Declan Skehan	Minimum 68 Twite present, the highest count of this flock so far. Three locally colour-ringed birds re-sighted.
10 December 2009	Purple Sandpiper		12	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Séamus Feeney, Declan Skehan
9 December 2009	Great Northern Diver		1	Cooanmore Bay, Easkey	Robin Burnhams
9 December 2009	Chough		5	Pollnadivva Harbour, Easkey	Robin Burnhams
9 December 2009	Light-bellied Brent		10	Pollnadivva Harbour, Easkey	Robin Burnhams	Coming from Enniscrone direction
9 December 2009	Great Northern Diver		2	Pollnadivva Harbour, Easkey	Robin Burnhams
9 December 2009	Fulmar		8	Pollnadivva Harbour, Easkey	Robin Burnhams	Four pairs occupying nesting ledges
9 December 2009	Golden Eagle		1	Glencar Valley	Radio-tracking data	'Conall' is still in the area! See an update on White-tailed Eagle movements here
9 December 2009	Long-tailed Duck		2	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Joe & Sean Geraty	A pair, male & female.
9 December 2009	Velvet Scoter		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Joe & Sean Geraty	Adult female
9 December 2009	Eider		130	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Joe & Sean Geraty	Included one Northern-type (borealis) drake showing prominent wing sails and a yellowish bill
9 December 2009	Black Guillemot		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Joe & Sean Geraty	Inside the small harbour at Raghly
9 December 2009	Great Northern Diver		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Joe & Sean Geraty	Inside the small harbour at Raghly
9 December 2009	Twite		40	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Joe & Sean Geraty	Minimum 40 Twite present
8 December 2009	Little Egret		1	Gibraltar Point, Cummeen Strand	Tom Murray
8 December 2009	Black Redstart		1	Storm beach, Raghly	Séamus Feeney & Paul Keogh	A Black Redstart was recorded on the same site on 1/12/05.
8 December 2009	Twite		31	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Séamus Feeney & Paul Keogh
7-8 December 2009	Goldeneye		1	Annagh Bay Lough Gill	Beatrice MacDonald
7 December 2009	Gyrfalcon		1	Yellow Strand, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Flew along the shore fromthe direction of Ardboline Island/Dooneragh Point, flew quite low along beach, entered dunes behind beach, returned to beach and disappeared from view over the dunes.
7 December 2009	Black Redstart		1	Storm beach, Raghly	Séamus Feeney	On south end of the short beach that lies on the right of the causeway
7 December 2009	Twite		31	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál, Catherine & Eileen Casey	31 was the peak count, but undoubtedly there were more
6 December 2009	Herring Gull		?	Causeway, Raghly	Dermot Breen	Several thousand seen flying out of Drumcliff Bay, over the Raghly Causeway towards Ballyconnell at dusk, presumably to roost on the small islands off Ballyconnell, or on Inishmurray
6 December 2009	Glaucous Gull		1	Mullaghmore Head, Mullaghmore	Dermot Breen	Sligo's first Glaucous Gull of this winter
6 December 2009	Greater Scaup		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Dermot Breen	Adult female on front lake
6 December 2009	Velvet Scoter		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Dermot Breen	Adult female
6 December 2009	Greater Scaup		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Dermot Breen	Adult female
6 December 2009	Cackling Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Dermot Breen, Tom Shevlin	With the Barnacle flock at Ballintemple
6 December 2009	Canada Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	Dermot Breen, Tom Shevlin	With the Barnacle flock at Ballintemple
6 December 2009	Great Northern Diver		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Marius Breen, Dermot Hagens,Mícheál Casey	Fishing for crabs within the small harbour at Raghly
6 December 2009	Dark-bellied Brent		1	Raghly	Mícheál Casey	Along the south of the peninsula on the falling tide
6 December 2009	Twite		30+	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Marius Breen, Dermot Hagens, Tom Shevlin, Dermot Breen, Mícheál Casey	Mobile and split into smaller flocks for some of the day.
5 December 2009	Merlin		1	Near Drumlish, Co. Leitrim	Michael Bell	Seen 3km northwest of Drumlish, Co. Longford, but bird was in Co. leitrim
5 December 2009	Twite		2	Knocklane, Yellow Strand, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	At a circular feeder where livestock are being fed
5 December 2009	Twite		40+	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler, Paul Keogh, Don Cotton, Jean Dunleavy, Mícheál Casey.	The number of birds in the flock fluctuated between 20-40 over the course of the day. The birds were fairly mobile over a relaitvely small area, moving between the seashore, the waste ground around the lagoon and the car park. Two Twite were also seen in a cottage garden near the causeway.
5 December 2009	Gyrfalcon		1	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Paul Keogh & Paddy Keogh	Large pale phase bird, seen twice within the space of a half-hour, shortly after noon, as it hunted along the shore near the harbour at Raghly. Not seen thereafter despite several searches of the Raghly peninsula & the nearby coast. Possibly the second record for Sligo. Note: A Gyrfalcon was reported present in Co. Sligo in 1906. It wasa juvenile female, and was present for two days in Ballysadare Bay from 29 December 1906 to 30th December 1906, when it was shot (Source: Rare Bird Alert)
5 December 2009	Goosander		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler,Séamus Feeney	Male bird on front lake
5 December 2009	Greater Scaup		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney	Adult female on front lake
5 December 2009	Whooper Swan		4	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney	On large lake
5 December 2009	Kestrel		1	Bunduff Lough, Mullaghmore	Mícheál Casey	Struggling to fly while carrying carry relatively large & wet rat/thrush-sized prey along the road between front lake and large lake
5 December 2009	Velvet Scoter		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler, Séamus Feeney	Adult female
5 December 2009	Common Scoter		20	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney
5 December 2009	Great Northern Diver		3	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Mícheál Casey
5 December 2009	Red-throated Diver		1	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Mícheál Casey
5 December 2009	Long-tailed Duck		4	Mermaid's Cove, Mullaghmore	Séamus Feeney, Mícheál Casey
5 December 2009	Kestrel		1	Raghly	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
5 December 2009	Merlin		1	Raghly	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
5 December 2009	Peregrine Falcon		1	Raghly	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
5 December 2009	Cackling Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler	With the Barnacle flock
5 December 2009	Canada Goose		1	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler	With the Barnacle flock
5 December 2009	Barnacle Goose		c.3,000	Ballintemple, Ballyconnell	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler
5 December 2009	Peregrine Falcon		1	John's Port, Lissadell Strand	Paul Keogh & Paddy Keogh	Possibly same bird as seen at Yellow Strand? There are c. 1,000 gulls still presentat this site but very dispersed and distant at low tide. The Glaucous-winged hybrid wasn't seen, nor was the possibility he was there ruled out.
5 December 2009	Kumlien's Gull		1	Lissadell Strand, Lissadell	Paul Keogh & Paddy Keogh	In front of the Alpine Gardens
5 December 2009	Whooper Swan		5	Carrowroe, Sligo Town	Séamus Feeney	5 Whoopers on a flooded part of 'Filan's Field' (family group of 2 adults, 3 immatures), also 2 Mute Swans present
5 December 2009	Shoveler		19	"Goose Field", Ballygilgan Nature Reserve, Lissadell	John-Joe Cahill, John Power, Bernie Sheridan and Bob Wheeler	A very high count for Sligo, at the most regular site for the species in the county.
4 December 2009	Twite		16+	Raghly Harbour, Raghly Point	Mícheál Casey
3 December 2009	Golden Eagle		1	Calry, Co Sligo and Gencar/Fivemilebourne, Co. Leitrim	Satellite data via Lorcan O'Toole of the Golden Eagle Trust	'Conall' the satellite-tagged Irish Golden Eagle continues to range over a relatively small area between Lough Anelteen and Glencar Lough
3 December 2009	Common Moorhen		15	Lough Adoon, Dromahair	Don Cotton	Both of these are high counts for a small lake
3 December 2009	Little Grebe		13	Lough Adoon, Dromahair	Don Cotton
3 December 2009	Dark-bellied Brent		1	Causeway, Raghly	Mícheál Casey	With Light-bellied Brent on the east of the causeway at lunchtime
2 December 2009	Light-bellied Brent Goose		125	Bundoran Road, Sligo	Don Cotton	On pasture behind Henderson's Garage