September2009


Date	Species	Photo	Number	Site	Observer(s)	Remarks

29 September 2009	Red-throated Diver		1	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Leach's Petrel		1	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Pomarine Skua		28	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Long-tailed Skua		2	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney	Adult and juvenile
29 September 2009	Arctic Skua		7	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Great Skua		21	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Tufted Duck		108	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney	Several groups of c. 20 passed well offshore
29 September 2009	Arctic Tern		129	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Sooty Shearwater		53	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
29 September 2009	Balearic Shearwater		1	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
28 September 2009	White-tailed Eagle		1	Streedagh Beach	via Allan Mee	The satellite tagged WTE, 'Male Star ' has been seen feeding on a seal carcass over the past four days.
28 September 2009	Peregrine Falcon		1	Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	A particularly large and well-marked female was harrassing ducks in the tidal channels below the quarry
27 September 2009	Pied Wagtail		60+	Carrowcor, Dromore West	Séamus Feeney	Looked like a pre-roost gathering - on roadside wires
26 September 2009	Golden Plover		6	Ballyconnell	Declan Feeney	In fields behind the beach
25 September 2009	Arctic Skua		2	Raghly	Declan Feeney	Harrassing Terns.
25 September 2009	Arctic Skua		1	Raghly	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy
25 September 2009	Kestrel		1	Ballure, Calry	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Hunting
25 September 2009	Sparrowhawk		1	Cloghermore, Calry	Michael D. Casey	Perched on lawn clippings
25 September 2009	Light-bellied Brent		32	Gibraltar, Cummeen Strand	Gerard Scott
24 September 2009	Light-bellied Brent		48	Streamstown, Ballysadare Bay	Mícheál Casey
24 September 2009	Curlew Sandpiper		1	from Lower Rosses, Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney	With mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover
24 September 2009	Dipper		2	Garravogue River (Barton Smith corner)	Ryan Wilson-Parr	Foraging at the base of the old weir
23 September 2009	Red-throated Diver		11	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
23 September 2009	Leach's Petrel		8	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
23 September 2009	Pomarine Skua		62	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
23 September 2009	Arctic Skua		13	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
23 September 2009	Great Skua		44	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
23 September 2009	Sabine's Gull		108	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney	Several groups of c. 20 passed well offshore
23 September 2009	Arctic Tern		176	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
23 September 2009	Sooty Shearwater		9	Lenadoon Point	Séamus Feeney
22 September 2009	Possible Common Buzzard		1	Sligo-Ballina Road	www.biker.ie via Declan Ryan	A colourful account of a biker's near miss with a large bird of prey feeding on roadkill is on a motorcyclist forum here. It was spotted on www.biker.ie by the "eagle-eyed" Declan Ryan, whose daughter Siobhán kindly passed on the link. Allan Mee of the White-tailed Eagle project has suggested it may be a Buzzard and young Buzzards have been seen in the general area in the recent past.
22 September 2009	Sabine's Gull		1	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Little Gull		1	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Leach's Petrel		1	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Pomarine Skua		5	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Great Skua		7	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Sooty Shearwater		7	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Great Northern Diver		3	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Arctic Tern		5	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
22 September 2009	Manx Shearwater		73	Cooanmore Point, Easkey	Séamus Feeney	During 1 1/4 hour seawatch
20 September 2009	White Wagtail		1	Raghly	Declan Feeney
20 September 2009	Light-bellied Brent		4	Raghly	Declan Feeney
20 September 2009	Kestrel		2	Raghly	Declan Feeney	Two sightings some considerable distance apart, so possibly two birds
20 September 2009	Bar-tailed Godwit		48	Raghly	Declan Feeney	Also good numbers of Curlew
20 September 2009	Curlew Sandpiper		3	Scurmore Bay, Inishcrone	Séamus Feeney
19 September 2009	Greenshank		19	Scurmore Bay, Inishcrone	Séamus Feeney
19 September 2009	Whimbrel		1	Scurmore Bay, Inishcrone	Séamus Feeney	Flew over, calling
19 September 2009	Curlew Sandpiper		1	Scurmore Bay, Inishcrone	Séamus Feeney
19 September 2009	Little Stint		1	Scurmore Bay, Inishcrone	Séamus Feeney
19 September 2009	Kingfisher		1	Inishcrone	Séamus Feeney	In small tidal creek
19 September 2009	Common Sandpiper		1	Portavaud	Séamus Feeney	In small tidal lagoon
19 September 2009	Chough		1	Portavaud	Jim Feehan	Flew over, calling, from direction of Knocknarea
17 September 2009	Wigeon		24	Gibraltar	Ryan Wilson-Parr
17 September 2009	Redshank		112	Gibraltar	Ryan Wilson-Parr
17 September 2009	Dunlin		2	Gibraltar	Ryan Wilson-Parr
17 September 2009	Black-tailed Godwit		2	Gibraltar	Ryan Wilson-Parr
16 September 2009	Kingfisher		1	Lissadell	Brian Dunleavy	Perched on rock near wooden footbridge on path to hide
16 September 2009	Greenshank		9	Scurmore, Enniscrone	Séamus Feeney
16 September 2009	Bar-tailed Godwit		220	Scurmore, Enniscrone	Séamus Feeney
15 September 2009	Goldfinch		45	Ballinfull, Maugherow	Declan Feeney	Visiting a rural 'wild garden' - almost certainly passage migrants with/without some local birds. The observer also reports seeing flocks of 40-60 Goldfinches seen recently in Cloonagh, Lislary and Carrigeens (all on the Maugherow peninsula) in the past 5 weeks.
14 September 2009	Light-bellied Brent		16	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney	Also good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Bar-tailed Godwit
14 September 2009	Litle Egret		1	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Redshank		110	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Dunlin		85	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Dunlin		85	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Curlew		421	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Oystercatcher		520	Drumcliff Bay	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Linnet		500+	Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney
14 September 2009	Peregrine Falcon		1	Achonry	Mícheál Casey
13 September 2009	Light-bellied Brent		1	Off Yellow Strand, Brown's Bay, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	35 Bar-tailed Godwit also present
13 September 2009	Common Eider		418	Off Yellow Strand, Brown's Bay, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Highest count on record for this Eider flock (previous highest count was 410 recorded by Jean Dunleavy on 26/10/08)
12 September 2009	Light-bellied Brent			Doonowney, Lissadell, Carney	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Very well-marked individual
12 September 2009	Loggerhead Turtle		1	Trawgar, Streedagh	via Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta): A small (570mm long) specimen, washed ashore, dead for weeks. Sligo's second record for Loggerhead - previously recorded at Bunduff Strand in 1890.
12 September 2009	Buzzard		1	Doonowney, Lissadell, Carney	Don Cotton & Jean Dunleavy	Very well-marked individual
12 September 2009	Common Eider		371	Off Yellow Strand, Brown's Bay, Ballyconnell	Don Cotton
12 September 2009	Golden Plover		2	Ballyconnell	Don Cotton	In field behind beach
12 September 2009	White Wagtail		4	Ballyconnell	Don Cotton	In fields behind beach
11 September 2009	White-tailed Eagle		1	Rosskeeragh Point, Mullaghmore	Pádraig Carney, Don Cotton, Séamus Feeney, Mícheál Casey	Quite wary but seen well.
11 September 2009	White Wagtail		2	Derkmore, Dromard	Mícheál Casey	These are migratory birds, from Iceland, en route to southern Europe and North Africal for the winter. Our own subspecies of the White Wagtail, the Pied Wagtail, is more sedentary, but has a tendency to migrate to the coast and to the south in hard winters.
10 September 2009	Arctic (Parasitic) Skua		1	Raghly	Jean Dunleavy & Don Cotton	One pale phase bird chasing Sandwich Terns
10 September 2009	Greenshank		18	Portavaud	Séamus Feeney	One of the Greenshank undertook a prolonged swim to avoid a juvenile Peregrine Falcon which made repeated attempts to catch it as it swam the length of the strand at Portavaud, before finally giving up.
10 September 2009	Whooper Swan		1	West Pond, Tanrego intake, Streamstown, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	Long-staying, possibly non-flying individual seen with Mute Swans
10 September 2009	Pintail		1	Streamstown, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	A single male in eclipse plumage
10 September 2009	Oystercatcher		270	Streamstown, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney
10 September 2009	Curlew		225	Streamstown, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney
9 September 2009	White Wagtail		1	Derkmore, Dromard	Séamus Feeney	These are migratory birds, from Iceland, en route to southern Europe and North Africal for the winter. Our own subspecies of the White Wagtail, the Pied Wagtail, is more sedentary, but has a tendency to migrate to the coast and to the south in hard winters.
8 September 2009	White-tailed Eagle		1	Rosskeeragh Point, Mullaghmore	Pádraig Carney	Seen very well, wing tags and satellite transmitter clearly obserced
8 September 2009	Little Egret		1	Drumcliff River	Séamus Feeney	One was at the river mouth, very flighty individual
8 September 2009	Pied Wagtail		23	Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	In the field behind the storm beach. No White Wagtails seen, but views were not ideal as the birds were partly obscured by vegetation - birds feeding in longish grass.
8 September 2009	Pale-bellied Brent		1	Streedagh	Declan Skehan	On the marsh
8 September 2009	Arctic Skua		2	Streedagh	Declan Skehan	2 Arctic Skua (1 pale & 1 dark phase) harassing Sandwich terns. Flock of 20 'black geese' seen flying a good way offshore - too far to distinguish Brent from Barnacles.
7 September 2009	Dunlin		150	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	Also a few Manx Shearwater seen offshore towards Strandhill beach.
7 September 2009	Curlew Sandpiper		1	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	With the Dunlin in the large inlet (where the small pier is).
7 September 2009	Black-tailed Godwit		95	Streamstown, Ballysadare Bay	Séamus Feeney	High count
7 September 2009	Sandwich Tern		18	Ardtermon Strand, Raghly	Mícheál Casey
7 September 2009	Bar-tailed Godwit		145	Ardtermon Strand, Raghly	Mícheál Casey
8 September 2009	Pale-bellied Brent		1	Ballyconnell	Declan Skehan	First returning Brent Goose of 2009
5 September 2009	Arctic Skua		2	Dunmoran Strand	Don Cotton	One pale phase and one dark phase bird noted.
5 September 2009	Sabine's Gull		1	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Don Cotton
5 September 2009	Black Tern		1	Portavaud, Ballysadare Bay	Don Cotton	Juvenile seen at mouth of Ballysadare Bay
4 September 2009	Great Skua		1	Easkey	Malcolm Wright	Seen off the beach at 4pm
3 September 2009	Tufted Duck		40	Parkes' Castle, Lough Gill	Paul Keogh	Unusual to see this size of a flock on Lough Gill, which usually supports very few diving duck outside the breeding season.
2 September 2009	Sparrowhawk		1	Rathscanlon, Tubbercurry	Mícheál Casey	A female was trapped and ringed as it raided a Swallow roost at dusk.
1-2 September 2009	Herring Gull		33	Mullaghmore Harbour	Mícheál Casey	This small flock included two ringed Herring Gulls with consecutive ring numbers, which were ringed in Inishmurray island as chicks in 2006
1 September 2009	Redshank		250+	Cartron Marsh, Sligo Harbour	Declan Skehan	Also good numbers of common waders on Cummeen Strand
1 September 2009	Common Scoter		3	Serpent Rocks, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Three flew north, and a short time later two flew south,followed a while later by a single - assuming same three birds involved
1 September 2009	Sooty Shearwater		2	Serpent Rocks, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Seawatching record
1 September 2009	Puffin		1	Serpent Rocks, Ballyconnell	Séamus Feeney	Seawatching record

September 2009 Sightings