September 2004 Sightings
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| August 2004 <<< | Back to Archive | >>> October 2004 |
30.09.04 Ballyconnell
1 Red-necked Grebe
300 Eider
The Red-necked Grebe, seen with around 300 Eider at Yellow Strand, is only the second record for County Sligo.
27.09.04 Drumcliffe Estuary
4 Little Terns
A species that has now unfortunately become only an irregular visitor to County Sligo.
26.09.04 Mullaghmore
2 Ruff
Whooper Swans
1 Snow Bunting
As with the Brent Geese, the first few winter visitors are starting to arrive in County Sligo.
24.09.04 Cummeen Strand
56 Brent Geese
The first arrivals this autumn.
22.09.04 Cartron Inner Bay
1 dark phase Arctic Skua
Following the surprise find of 3 Great Skuas, another Skua species is seen in the area. The Arctic Skua was seen chasing Gulls before settling on the water.
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| Image © Mícheál Casey 2004 | |
| 21st September 2004: Gadwall, Cartron Marsh |
21.09.04 Cartron Marsh
1 Gadwall
A scarce visitor to County Sligo
8 Blacktailed Godwits
3 Great Skuas
A surprising find in this area. The two adults and one juvenile were seen flying from Standalone Point towards Gibraltar. They were most likely blown inshore by the strong westerly winds in the last week.
21.09.04 Cartron Inner Bay
3 Black-tailed Godwits
1 Mediterranean Gull
1 Kingfisher
20.09.04 The Inishes, Ballysadare Estuary
1 Little Egret
Little Egret, while still a rare visitor to County Sligo, is occuring in increasing numbers, reflecting the spread of the species nationwide.
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| Image © Mícheál Casey 2004 |
| 19th September 2004: Mediterranean Gulls are scarce but regular visitors to Sligo (one or two seen each year, generally in winter). This ringed juvenile gave a unique opportunity to shed some light the origin and destination of the Mediterranean Gulls that pass through Sligo. It hatched in a relatively new colony near Antwerp in belium, and was resighted in Spring 2005 in the Vendee region of France |
19.09.04 Sligo town
1 Mediterranean Gull
This bird, a juvenile, was ringed in Belgium.
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| Images © Mícheál Casey 2004 | ||
| 15th September 2004: Manx Shearwaters (left) and Gannets (right) pass the Sligo coast in huge numbers in the autumn as they move south for the winter. These photos were taken at Mullaghmore in a westerly wind which has the effect of pushing the birds close to the shore as they fly around the headland | ||
15.09.04 Mullaghmore
1 Black-throated Diver
An early record for this Diver species only rarely seen in County Sligo.
4 Gannets
Good passage of Manx Shearwaters offshore
1 Whooper Swan at Bunduff
20 Eider
4 Sandwich Terns
3 Chough
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| Images © Mícheál Casey 2004 | |
| 8th September 2004: Black-tailed Godwits are never common in Sligo, so this flock of 28 is somewhat exceptional |
08.09.04 Ballisodare Estuary
28 Black-tailed Godwits