migratory birds

gentian · 19-08-2014 7:52am #1

I am in the throes of moving to south kerry in mid september and would love a chance to go and see some birds en route to their winter homes....can anyone recommend good places to go to see them ?and when is the best time ? thanks in advance.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 19-08-2014 8:00am

I would suggest contacting the local branch of Birdwatch Ireland as they have the local knowledge and may even be running events.

gentian · 19-08-2014 7:57pm

i have but some of their meetings are a good distance from me...also it would be nice to head out on a "good " day!

Desmo · 19-08-2014 8:09pm

It is kind of hard to see birds in the process of migrating as such unless you really get hooked up with some experienced birdwatchers. There are 2 kinds of things to see. 1) is seabird migration; just now, there are lots of skuas and shearwaters heading south in the Atlantic. When the wind is blowing in off the sea, they sometimes get blown in very close and you get good views (but you still need a telescope) from headlands. It takes some practice to identify them and they are often half a kilometer or more away. 2) you do get resident migrating land birds like chiffchaffs migrating south and can sometimes see small bunches of them around headlands where they accumulate in hedges and gardens. This takes a bit of watching though as mainly you do not see much and it is not very spe ctacular unless you are lucky. Mizen Head is one place where it happens as are Cape Clear Island and Galley Head.

jmkennedyie · 20-08-2014 10:01pm

This might be of interest - bird course on Cape Clear. Always the bonus possibility of someone on the island spotting a rarity...
http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Birdwatching/CapeClearBirdObservatory/CapeClearCourses/tabid/1405/Default.aspx

Desmo · 20-08-2014 10:34pm

Great idea JMK...

feargale · 20-08-2014 11:36pm

I haven't seen a swallow or heard a cuckoo this summer.

gentian · 22-08-2014 1:07pm

thanks for the imput....i was hoping for somewhere around Kenmare, but I see I will have to go farther !

V_Moth · 22-08-2014 6:47pm

gentian wrote: »

thanks for the imput....i was hoping for somewhere around Kenmare, but I see I will have to go farther !

One option would be to look at the waders in the local estuary - most adults will already have arrived back from the breeding grounds, with the juveniles starting to arrive as well. A great site would be Ballinskelligs Bay, plus you have wintering wildfowl here as well.

In September/October/November, it would be well worth checking the gardens near the headlands for migrants moving through. Good conditions would be easterly surface winds with rain moving in off the Atlantic. You never know, you could find a first or second Irish record (or more likely loads of Chiffchaffs :pac: ).

Doing some visible migration watches at Molls Gap may also be quite interesting. Basically, just sit at the car park and watch what moves through the area (could be flocks of pipits, thrushes, Swallows). The theory would be that these birds use the lower altitude of the pass to fly through the Kerry mountains.

gentian · 25-08-2014 4:19pm

thanks vmoth!

migratory birds

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