September 2008 Sightings
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30th September 2008
Kiclummin Head,
Killala Bay,
Co. Mayo		 Seawatching at Kilcummin in good conditions produced exceptional numbers of a very diverse range of species in great conditions.   4 Red-throated Divers, 6 Great Northern Divers, 200+ Manx Shearwaters, 43 Sooty Shearwaters, 8 Storm-Petrels, 74 Leach's Petrels, 2 Pink-footed Geese, 70 Barnacle Geese, 3 Gadwall, 2 Wigeon, 3 Teal, 6 Common Scoter, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 417 Grey Phalaropes, 181 Great Skua, 148 Pomarine Skua, 34 Arctic Skua, 1 Little Gull, 7 Sabine's Gull, 77 Arctic Terns, and on land, 1 Snow Bunting (S. Feeney, J. Donaldson).
Image & Data  ©  Séamus Feeney 2008 
30th September 2008:  Breakdown of a vintage day's sea-watching at Kilcummin Head, Co. Mayo, compiled by Seamus Feeney
30th September 2008
Kilcummin Head,
Killala Bay,
Co. Mayo		 Seawatching at Kilcummin produced remarkable numbers of Skuas on passage, with relatively few shearwaters.  Totals for the day were: 142  Great Skua, 419 Pomarine Skua, 29 Arctic Skua, 6 Sooty Shearwater, 65 Manx Shearwater, 139 Arctic Tern (S. Feeney).  As well as the high numbers, some very large flocks and groups were noted - see breakdown above.
29th September 2008
Ballymote		 A Common Buzzard was seen this afternoon along the side of the Castlebaldwin Road outside Ballymote (M. Bell).
29th September 2008
Cooanmore Point,
Easkey		 Seawatch totals 1500-1730:  3 Great Skua, 4 Arctic Skua, 5 Pomarine Skua, 2 Sooty Shearwater, 5 Manx Shearwater, also a handful of juv. Kittiwakes, good numbers of Gannets. No Fulmars or Petrels seen (S. Feeney).
28th September 2008
Doonierin,
Rosses Point		 At Doonierin, Rosses Point, Grid Ref IG 66939-40835 ,there were approx 50 Brent Geese & 30 Wigeon (F. Carroll, M. Breen).
28th September 2008
Coolbeg,
Drumcliff 		At Coolbeg, Drumcliff, Grid Ref IG 66689-42275, there were approx 150 Wigeon & 100 Teal (F. Carroll, M. Breen).
28th September 2008
Ballyconnell area		 A female Merlin was seen at Lislary, and male Kestrels were seen at Agharrow, Ballinfull and just north of Ballyconnell (F. Carroll, M. Breen).
28th September 2008
Mullaghmore		 Dark phase Arctic Skua (F. Carroll, M. Breen).
28th September 2008
Sligo Institute of Technology,
Ballinode,
Sligo		 At least 60 Pied Wagtails went to roost in a traditional site on the college campus of Sligo I.T. - a Cherry tree in an inner courtyard  (M. Casey).
28th September 2008
Trawalua,
Mullaghmore		 114 Common Eider were seen just off the shore.  Taken with the preceding count at Yellow Strand, this puts the number of Eider off the Sligo coast close to 400, a record high  (D. Cotton, J. Dunleavy).
28th September 2008
Yellow Strand,
Ballyconnell		 281 Common Eider were seen just off the shore.  307 Oystercatchers and good numbers of Sanderling also present.  Unfortunately the Sanderlings could not be counted because of the activities of uncontrolled dogs  (D. Cotton, J. Dunleavy).
28th September 2008
Sligo Harbour		 An single adult Whooper Swan was seen in the Garvoge River at Quay St car park, quite an early record, and unusual to see a Whooper in an urban setting (photo on home page).  It came ashore briefly to graze on the old boat slip with some of the resident Mute Swans (M. Casey).  A female Scaup was with a group of Mallard at Cartron Point (S. Feeney).
28th September 2008
Ballysadare Estuary		 At least 4 Ruff now present, two male and two female juvenile birds seen today(S. Feeney, M, Casey).
Images  ©  Mícheál Casey 2008 
28th September 2008:  Mute Swan (left) and Whooper Swan (right) in the Garvoge River at Quay St Car Park.

Images  ©  Séamus Feeney (lower left) and Mícheál Casey 2008 
27th September 2008:  Adult Mediterranean Gull roosting in a tree (lower left photo).
28th September 2008:  Two Ruff at Ballysadare Estuary (lower right photo) and Pied Wagtails gathering on the roof of Sligo Institute of Technology before going to roost in a courtyard (top image).
27th September 2008
Back Avenue,
Doorly Park		 The adult Mediterranean Gull was still present.  There was a lot of disturbance in the area from dogs, powerboats and water-skiing (S. Feeney).
27th September 2008
Back Avenue,
Doorly Park,
Sligo Town.		 An adult Mediterranean Gull was seen with a small flock of Black-headed and Common Gulls at the slip-way of the Garvoge River (S. Feeney).
24th September 2008
Ballysadare Estuary		 3 Ruff seen in the estuary from the Silver Falls car park on the rising tide, two male and one female, all juveniles (S. Feeney).
24th September 2008
Gibraltar Point,
Cummeen Strand		 37 Brent present, of which two have yellow Darvic rings (S. Feeney).
22nd September 2008
Portavaud		 Little Egret (S. Feeney).
21st September 2008
Benbo Mountain,
Manorhamilton,
Co. Leitrim		 A female Merlin was seen near the top of Benbo mountain today (P. Keogh).
21st September 2008
Streedagh		 A Great Northern Diver was seen flying high at Streedagh (P. Keogh).
18th/19th September 2008
Easky/Dunmoran Strand		 Several Wheatears were seen at Easky and Dunmoran Strand on 18th and 19th September, one Black-tailed Godwit was with other Waders on Dunmoran Strand on 19 September (R. Burnhams).
16th September 2008
Sligo Bay/
Strangford Lough,
Co. Down		 Two of the Darvic-ringed Light-bellied Brent Geese, whose rings were read at Gibraltar Point in Sligo Bay on Saturday morning 13th September, were re-sighted this evening 16th September at Strangford Lough, where their rings were read again.  This is a very interesting movement, which supports the commonly held view that Sligo Bay functions as a "transit lounge" for freshly arrived Brent which move off and winter elsewhere in Ireland, resulting in a very rapid turnover of birds in Sligo Bay at this time of year (M. Enright, G. McElwaine).
16th September 2008
Yellow Strand,
Ballyconnell		 322 Oystercatchers and 214 Sanderlings were on the beach at Yellow Strand, while 306 Common Eider were on the sea just off the southern end of the beach at lunchtime (M. Casey).
15th September 2008
Raghly		 A Guillemot (moulting into winter plumage) was seen at Raghly causeway this evening.  It looked exhausted,  and appeared unable to fly, possibly one wing damaged (D. Feeney).
15th September 2008
Raghly		 3 brightly coloured Wheatears, 6 Sandwich Terns were at Ragly, where a Peregrine Falcon spent about five minutes attacking a group of Rooks.  Also a flock of 52 House Sparrows was seen  at Raghley Harbour - at least 28 of which were juveniles with the tell-tale juvenile gape.  No Tree Sparrows were seen among the flock.  31 Ringed Plover were roosting on the beach on the Lissadell side of Raghley causeway (D. Skehan).
15th September 2008
Cummeen Strand		 12 Brent Geese at Cumeen Strand at 19:00 hrs (D. Skehan).
15th September 2008
Bunduff Lake,
Mullaghmore		 12 Wigeon, 1 Ruff & 'good numbers'  of Teal (couldn't count these because only partial views of their heads visible) at Bunduff lake - 12:00 noon (D. Skehan).

Images  ©  Mícheál Casey 2008 
15th September 2008:  Two Peregrine Falcons share a kill on the mudflats in the middle of Streamstown Bay (left) while a migrating Greenland Wheatear rests on the sea wall (right).
15th September 2008
Streamstown,
Ballysadare bay		 In the late afternoon, two Peregrine Falcons shared a recent kill (an Oystercatcher), on a rock in the middle of the bay where they jointly plucked and ate it, before they were forced off it by the rising tide.   There were very few waders present on the rising tide - probably because of the Peregrine activity.  A Greenland Wheatear was on the end of the  sea wall nearest the road (M. Casey).
14th September 2008
Gibraltar Point,
Cummeen Strand		 50 Light-bellied Brent were off Gibraltar Point about 2 1/2 hours after high tide.  The Eel-grass (Zostera sp) and Sea Lettuce (Ulva sp.) beds on Cummeen Strand appear to be smaller than usual this year, and may not support as many Brent for as long as previous years (M. Enright).
13th September 2008
Gibraltar Point,
Cummeen Strand		 136 Light-bellied Brent were off Gibraltar Point on the falling tide at 8.30am, an increase of 84 since yesterday afternoon. Three rings read (M. Enright).
13th September 2008
Update on 'Glen' the satellite-tagged Osprey		 The possible roost site at Frenchpark, which was the last known location of the satellite-tagged Osprey "Glen" was searched today, but no sign of the bird was seen.  No signal has been detected from his satellite tag since Tuesday 9th September.  Hopefully he is still alive and on migration, and the lack of signals is simply due to a malfunctioning tag  (G. Scott, S. Feeney, M. Casey).
13th September 2008
Ballyconnell Strand		 Probable female Hen Harrier seen at the south end of Ballyconnell Strand  (D. Feeney).
13th September 2008
Lislarry,
Ballinfull		 A Kestrel  was quartering fields south of the Grange road in Lisslarry at 2.00pm today (D. Feeney).
13th September 2008
Ballysadare Bay		 The juvenile Ruff was seen again this morning around 9.30am at Ballysadare - there were very few waders in the estuary, possibly because a juvenile Peregrine Falcon was perched in the rocks at the river's edge. I also saw a Kingfisher at Streamstown (M. Bell).  
 
Images  ©  Kevin Murray 2008 
12th September 2008:  A Hooded Crow photographed chasing a Kestrel near Mount Edward, Grange, Co. Sligo today.
12th September 2008
Gibraltar Point,
Cummeen Strand		 52 Light-bellied Brent were off Gibraltar Point on the rising tide at 3.45pm (M. Enright).
12th September 2008
Bunduff Lakes,
Mullaghmore		 A juvenile Ruff, probably a female, was at the front lake, Bunduff on Friday evening (D. Cotton & J. Dunleavy).
12th September 2008
Quay St Car Park,
Sligo Town		 Good numbers of larger gulls in Sligo harbour.  A flock of 30 Pied Wagtails was seen in flight on Friday evening at Quay St Carpark, possibly a pre-roost gathering (D. Skehan). 
12th September 2008
Streedagh		 'Greenland-type' Wheatear seen (D. Skehan).
12th September 2008
Lenadoon Head,
Enniscrone,
Co. Sligo		 A 'Greenland-type' Wheatear  was on the headland (D. Skehan).
12th September 2008
Lenadoon Head,
Enniscrone,
Co. Sligo		 Today at Lenadoon was quite good, the wind was light to fresh NW. There was an nice trickle of birds moving past even though most of them were well offshore.  Best birds of the day were 3 Long-tailed Skuas, all adults, also 1 Leach's Petrel, 7 Storm Petrel,  3 Sooty and 15 Manx Shearwater, 12 Great Skua, 4 Arctic Skua, 3 Common Scoter, 2 Arctic Terns,  On land, 1 Peregrine Falcon was gave excellent views.  A Sparrowhawk flew low along the shingle beach and flushed c. 50 Pied Wagtails (S. Feeney).
12th September 2008
Update on 'Glen' the satellite-tagged Osprey		 There have been no signals from the satellite tag borne by the migrating Osprey "Glen", who was traced from the nest in the Scottish Highlands from which he fledged on the 8th August, to a roost site close to Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon on the 9th of September.  It is hoped that this is because Glen's solar-powered satellite tag has been disabled by the wet and overcast weather (and hopefully by the shade of the trees where he took shelter).  These tags have been known to perform poorly in very overcast weather. The fresh sunny weather which is evident this evening and forecast for tomorrow has raised hopes that Glen's transponder may be re-activated, and that it will confirm that he is alive and well and continuing his precarious solo migration to Africa (Highland Foundation for Wildlife).  The route Glen has chosen, flying south-west through Ireland, is a high risk route for migrating Scottish Ospreys.  The most hazardous leg begins when the birds leave Ireland for the long route to Spain.  Hopefully Glen is ready to face this challenge.
11th September 2008
Kilcummin Head,
Co. Mayo		 Seawatch update: A slow day with 74 Manx Shearwaters,14 Sooty Shearwaters, 14 Great Skuas, 2 Sandwich Terns seen on passage (and 1 Peregrine Falcon seen on the landward side) (J. Donaldson, S. Feeney).
11th September 2008
 NPWS Offices,
Ballinafad		 A Wheatear (obviously a migrant) was in a slightly unusual location this afternoon, beside the NPWS offices in Ballinafad (M. Bell).
11th September 2008
Gibraltar Point,
Cummeen Strand,
Sligo
 32 Brent were off Gibraltar Point today (G. Scott).
9th September 2008
Coney Island Causeway/ Cummeen Strand,
Sligo		 18 Light-bellied Brent Geese were present at lunchtime, on the mudflats beside the Coney Island causeway, as well as good numbers of common waders (Oystercatcher, Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Redshank).  A mixed flock of more than 200 finches on the saltmarsh contained mainly Linnets, with some Goldfinches and Greenfinches.  20-30 Meadow Pipits also present in a small area (M. Casey).  In the late afternoon a juvenile Peregrine Falcon was seen on the third pillar along the Coney Island Causeway (S. Feeney).
8th September 2008
Mullaghmore Head		 Small numbers Manx Shearwaters passing (c. 2 per minute); one Great Skua seen during a short evening sea-watch (D. Skehan).
8th September 2008
Raghly Point		 A single Twite was seen in a weedy patch behind the storm beach at Raghley this evening, 3 Grey Herons, 2 Curlew, 4 Ringed Plovers, 9 Oystercatchers also present (D. Feeney).
8th September 2008
Yellow Strand		 300+ Common Eider were seen from the Knocklane end of the strand (S. Feeney).
8th September 2008
Fin Lough,
Ballinagre,
Co. Roscommon		 Glen the satellite tagged Osprey has continued to move slowly south and west, visiting a number of small rivers and lakes and presumably feeding up for the next leg of his migration to Africa.  Satellite tracking data showed that he moved yesterday from Lough Allen to just south-east of Lough Gara, Co. Sligo, before roosting near Ballinagare, Co. Roscommon (Highland Foundation for Wildlife Website).
7th September 2008
Mullaghmore		 150 Common Eider were seen off Mullaghmore Head, while one Greenland Wheatear was on the headland itself. (M. Breen, F. Carroll)
Images  ©  Roy Dennis/Highland Foundation for Wildlife 2008 
7th September 2008:  Satelite tagging of Ospreys has thrown new light on their migration strategies and misadventures.  This map shows the route taken by Glen, a 2008-hatched male Osprey to a rest stop at Lough Allen, Co. Leitrim from the Scottish Highlands.  This image, and Glen's story, can be seen on the Highland Foundation for Wildlife website.
7th September 2008
Cartron Marsh,
Sligo Town		 The long-staying second-calendar--year Iceland Gull was back at Cartron after an absence of more than a week (Declan Skehan).
7th September 2008
Ballysadare Estuary		 A juvenile Ruff was at the river's edge (S. Feeney).
7th September 2008
Union Wood,
Collooney		 A pair of Buzzards were circling over Union Woods this afternoon (M. Bell).
7th September 2008
Lenadoon Point,
Enniscrone		 Sea watching was slow with very few Manx Shearwaters.  We did see 2 Great Skua, 1 Pomarine Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Puffin and 18 Brent fly by.  A Merlin, a Peregrine Falcon and a Kestrel were seen on land. (M. Bell)
7th September 2008
Lough Allen,
Co. Leitrim		 A satellite signal from Lough Allen indicated that the migrating Osprey "Glen" was on Holly Island at 9 am.  Will he stay for a few days to rest and feed or move on immediately?  Follow his progress here.
6th September 2008
Kilcummin Head,
Co. Mayo		 Cumulative seawatch totals from Kilcummin Head today:  2 Sabines Gulls, 1 Balearic Shearwater, 3 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Leach's Petrel, 2 Arctic Skua, 20 Great Skua, 1 Grey Phalarope, 51 Sandwich Terns, 3 Red-throated Divers, 2 Common Scoter, also steady but small numbers of Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars, Gannets, Kittiwakes. Conditions were not ideal, the wind started North-north-east and went to the North, most of therse birds seen after 9am (S. Feeney, M. Bell, D. Suddaby, P. Doherty) 
6th September 2008
A satellite-tagged Osprey is migrating through Co Leitrim today!!!
 From Roy Dennis's site (see below):

"Glen flew on SW into Ireland, and by 5.30pm had reached the southern end of Lough Allen, in County Leitrim. This is an excellent area of lakes for Ospreys and is a good place for fishing. The weather has improved and stopped raining, with a fresh north wind. Glen now needs time to catch fish and feed up.  He is in a difficult predicament because he is at such a western longtitude, and if he continues with his present heading he will end up out in the Atlantic Ocean.  Ideally, he needs to spend a good number of days feeding up and then fly SE back towards Wales or SW England and onto France. It is possible for him to fly from Ireland to Spain, but it is about 1000 kilometres of open ocean and needs good weather and luck to make a successful landfall.   We wish him well."
6th September 2008
A satellite-tagged Osprey is migrating through Northern Ireland today.....
A young Osprey which was satellite-tagged by Roy Dennis in Scotland is migrating through Ireland today. First signals this morning showed he was on the SW corner of Rathlin Island off the coast of Northern Ireland between 7am and 9am, and the latest non-GPS signal was on the mainland, north of Ballymoney. Where will he go in Ireland - will he try to fly the long ocean crossing direct from the south coast to Spain, or hopefully take the safer route back via Wales?  The bird, nicknamed "Glen" can be followed here.

At the moment it looks unlikely that we will see the bird in Sligo, but because of the tendency of these birds to take a south-westerly route (see below), it could not be ruled out.

Because the current population of Scottish Ospreys are all descended from Scandinavian birds, there has been speculation that they are "pre-programmed" or  "hard-wired" to take a much more south-westerly migration route than the southerly route that is presumed to have been followed in the past by native Scottish birds.  Therefore an overall heading that would have taken a Scandinavian bird across Europe towards Gibraltar  from, say, Sweden may direct these Scottish descendants towards a very hazardous migratory route across the open Atlantic.  Some of the satellite tagged birds that have been followed in recent years have indeed perished in the Atlantic while apparently trying to fly from the UK to Spain in a single flight across the Bay of Biscay, while others have migrated sucessfully overland through France & Spain via Gibraltar to Africa.

The progress of Glen and the other satellite-tagged Ospreys can be followed on Roy Dennis's website here.

Roy Dennis has spent his life studying birds of prey and has done a huge amount of work in developing the current radio-tracking and satellite-tagging techniques.  He has also been a very important supporter of the Golden Eagle, Red Kite and White-tailed Sea Eagle re-introduction schemes in Ireland.  Coincidentally, Roy has just issued his autobiography, "A Life of Ospreys" which is getting fantastic reviews.  
3rd September 2008
Cooanmore Point,
Easkey		 Seawatching totals from Cooanmore Point, Easkey 11.00-14.00: 1 Great Skua, 8 Arctic Skua (included a group of 4), 1 Little Gull, 1 Merlin female/juv type, 4 Wigeon, only a few Manx Shearwater (13).  A large flock of Linnet was seen nearby, which attracted the attention of the Merlin (S. Feeney).
3rd September 2008
Lenadoon Point, Enniscrone
&
Cooanmore Point,
Easkey		 Seawatching totals from Lenadoon Point, Enniscrone and Cooanmore Point, Easkey:  6 Sooty Shearwater, 15 Great Skua, 5 Pom Skua, 14 Arctic Skua (included a group of 5) 13 Common Scoter and c. 175 Manx Shearwater. Good numbers of Gannets and Fulmars but no Petrels were observed (S. Feeney).
3rd September 2008 Enjoy the spectacular aerial photo of the Lissadell Barnacle Goose flock in flight over the Goose Field, taken last March by Alyn Walsh of the National Parks and Wildlife Service during last spring's IWeBS count, on our home page.

They will soon be back!
3rd September 2008
Kennedy Parade,
Sligo town		 A Swift was seen flying low over the river beside "Toff's" nightclub (D. Skehan).
1st September 2008
Aughris Head		 An aerial conflict between a Raven and a Common Buzzard at Aughris Head resulted in the more agile Raven being seen off by the raptor (F. Hegarty).