12th
February
2009: Sligobirding.com is five years old today!
It is hard to believe it is five years since the first sighting (a Black
Brant and an Iceland Gull at Cartron Marsh) was posted
here by Stephen McAvoy, who established the BirdWatch
Sligo website on the
12th February 2004.
Sincere thanks to all contributors over the past five years, and
looking forward to more of the same for the next five......
28th
February
2009: These pictures were taken about a minute apart at the Lower
Rosses today and show the same Great Northern Diver while resting
(left) and alert, after a dive (right), and emphasise the dramatic
effect that posture and wet plumage have on the bird's entire
silhouette and appearance.
23rd
February
2009: Dipper, Hyde Bridge, Sligo town centre. With Otters,
Kingfishers, and breeding Dippers, the Garvoge river in Sligo town
centre appears to be in good health as all three species tend to be
found exclusively in unpolluted waterways.
20th
February
2009: Dipper
carrying nesting material at Hyde Bridge in Sligo town centre - note
the white nictitating membrane ("third eyelid") in the right hand photo.
17th
February
2009: This extremely dark (melanistic?) Redshank was found yesterday by
Séamus Feeney
and Don Cotton, present again today (feeding on the mud flats behind
the bus stop at Cartron Marsh on the rising tide).
11th
February
2009: The sharp-eyed Séamus Feeney has contacted the website
to point out
that the Mediterranean Gull seen at Riverside on the 9th is a
diiferent bird to the one seen a few hundred metres upstream at Doorly
Park that day. Seamus spotted that the one at Doorly Park
(left image) has been around for a while, the Riverside bird
(right image) is a new bird, with more black in its
'mask' and some differences in bill pattern
6th - 10th
February
2009: Some common birds photographed around Sligo town in the past few
days
Top Left: Great Crested Grebe, Doorly Park
Top Right: Redshank on Weir Wall beside Barton Smith's/Hyde Bridge,
Sligo town centre
Lower Image: Long-tailed Tit, Doorly Park Click on image to see larger version
5th February
2009 The gulls continued to make the most of the fishmeal
debris after a cargo was loaded onto a bulk carrier this week
All February Gull
photos are here
Long-tailed Tits on a peanut feeder in a private garden in Sligo town.
Although this species has been increasingly reported coming
to feeders in
recent years, it is still an uncommon sight. Click on image to see larger version
