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Bsal · 28-04-2012 5:08pm

I have two baby Collared Doves in the garden today, the first fledglings I've seen so far.

littlebug · 06-05-2012 12:23am

I go past the local turlough on an almost daily basis and in passing there's not usually much of note going on and whatever birds are there are usually too far out for me to see. With the water receding rapidly these days I wasn't expecting anything there today but there was an awful hoohaa with a bunch of lapwing mobbing a hooded crow. I wonder are they nesting there? He didn't seem to bothered about it though. Then 2 grey heron swooped up out of nowhere. I hadn't spotted them at all. I think my presence was bothering them more than the lapwing were so they just moved a bit further out. I've never seen heron there before. A bit further out I could see some small ducks but couldn't make out what they were . Of course I didn't have my camera or even my phone :rolleyes: and couldn't hang around long because my dog wanted to eat them all but it was just a few unexpected minutes of "ooooohhh" that took me by surprise so I thought I'd share

whyulittle · 14-05-2012 4:11pm

Great day wildlife watching, all from the comfort of my car!

Sitting in a retail park in north Co. Dublin, a Buzzard glides over nice and low. A little later, a Kestrel came in.

Down the motorway, there was a Buzzard circling around a field near Kinnegad.

There was a Kestrel or Sparrowhawk in the centre of Moate.

Later saw my first Swift of the year, and a fox crossing a wide road in broad daylight!

ppink · 14-05-2012 4:17pm

there must be something in the air I saw a stoat bounding along the road the other day and then later an otter passed us coming out the gate of a park across a road, over a wall and into a garden!

why would he do that?? he was still soaking from the water.

whyulittle · 15-05-2012 11:41pm

I saw a weird thing today, a dead rabbit caught in a hedge basically.

It looked like it might have been dropped by a Buzzard, and then it wasn't able to see it, or wasn't able to rip it out of the thorns again.

tricky D · 16-05-2012 3:07pm

A pair of gulls were nesting on a flat roof next door to us for the last few days which is a poor location choice by them. We didn't want them to settle in as the racket they make later is pretty annoying going by previous experiences. Just as I'm about to head next door to let them know, a magpie robs their newly laid egg and the gulls now appear to have abandoned the site. Problem solved by nature - no we were never going to try anything once eggs were in play. Hopefully the gulls will find a more suitable location for them, nevermind us, and have more success with their next clutch.

E39MSport · 17-05-2012 5:38pm

I just ordered a kilo of live mealworms from this crowd: -
www.wigglywigglers.co.uk

I'll let you know how it goes.

I couldn't find the shop on the Monkfield site.

Bsal · 26-05-2012 5:37pm

I was watching the airplanes at Dublin airport this afternoon and the fire and rescue people are shooting the Starlings that are in the grass, I seen him collecting a good few dead ones that they had shot. Breaks my heart seeing them do this but the safety of the aircraft is number one.

stupidusername · 26-05-2012 6:02pm

:eek: didn't realise they did that. Hopefully they'll learn to stay away.

Bsal · 01-06-2012 10:18pm

I saw my first ever live Fox today

:D. I was driving past the back of Dublin airport around 15:30 and it ran across the road about 10 metres in front of me. The road was busy too, so I hope it doesn't get hit by a car.

E39MSport · 07-06-2012 4:51pm

6 Yellowhammers on the ground at the feeders just now. That beats my record of 4 last year.

Bsal · 07-06-2012 11:18pm

6 Yellowhammers on the ground at the feeders just now. That beats my record of 4 last year.

I have two pairs visiting my garden, I usually only get them from November to February but this year their still coming to the garden. One of the pairs I noticed has started to bring food off, maybe to feed young I hope.

whyulittle · 14-06-2012 10:05pm

It only dawned on me this evening, during the last episode of Springwatch, that they never once mentioned how the tagged Cuckoos got on.

Bsal · 14-06-2012 11:14pm

Yeah I thought they would have had something on the Cuckoos, but did you see the young Peregrine swimming across the the river in Bath he was a right little messer

. Those Peregrines had an amazing story, with the son from last year helping with the incubation of the eggs and bringing food in to the chicks.

whyulittle · 17-06-2012 3:13pm

Added my first Pine Marten, Badger and possibly Reed Warbler to my list this morning.

Plus could have had a second Pine Marten, or maybe it a Mink - didn't get as good a look at that one.

Kess73 · 20-06-2012 1:21pm

My Lothario wren has not one but two active nests in my garden. I knew he had one, but today I spotted him nipping back to a second nest with food (in one of my nest boxes), and have seen two females at work at the same time.

The first female is from the open fronted nest on one side of the garden, and she (along with Lothario:)) are feeding a little gang of freshly fledged young wrens from that box, and across the garden in the second box the second femal and the same lusty male are popping in and out of the box with food.

The lusty male is certainly doing his bit to ensure that the future wren population in my garden and surrounding area all come from him.:D

Mr Wren is very close to being called Walder, after the character of Wlader Frey from the A Song of Ice and Fire series (from which the excellent tv series Game Of Thrones was spawned)

Has been a fantastic year so far in my area in terms of young birds, here is to plenty more new recruits of differing species over the coming weeks.

ppink · 20-06-2012 3:28pm

Love this.....I hope I am allowed to link to youtube on here:)

swifts need our help! · 24-06-2012 10:54am

Bsal wrote: »

I was watching the airplanes at Dublin airport this afternoon and the fire and rescue people are shooting the Starlings that are in the grass, I seen him collecting a good few dead ones that they had shot. Breaks my heart seeing them do this but the safety of the aircraft is number one.

Aren't starlings red listed?

MeteoritesEire · 29-06-2012 8:06pm

not local birds but thought I'd share this which I just saw on reddit.

dwarf oriental kingfisher.this link leads to a large file so maybe not ideal to open if you're on a phone http://idzr.org/i91v

The photographers website with some awesome bird and other wildlife shots
http://rahulalvares.com/photography/

Traonach · 05-07-2012 5:19pm

Huge decrease in Corncrake numbers across the country this year:(

Half-cocked · 05-07-2012 9:33pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Aren't starlings red listed?

Can be shot under license where they are a nuisance. A pity though.

littlebug · 16-07-2012 10:32am

My new favourite place to walk. Mount Gable, Clonbur. I've never seen so many butterflies in one place! Plenty of small moths too and lots of signs

of pine marten. Pic below from the lower part of the walk. Bottom pic of Heath Spotted Orchid I think. Pic not great... taken on phone in strong sunlight so I couldn't see what I was focused on.
I'll go back someday without the youngest child so I can walk further and I'll remember to bring the proper camera!

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Sierra Oscar · 16-07-2012 7:26pm

My workmate was telling me that due to the dire weather we should be doing some little bit to feed birds at the moment - is this true, should I get my bird stand which is usually reserved for winter setup again?

WildIreland · 17-07-2012 9:16am

whyulittle wrote: »

Added my first Pine Marten, Badger and possibly Reed Warbler to my list this morning.

Lucky you... pine marten up there on my "most wanted Irish mammal" list. Had a sighting from Beara posted to the Ireland's Wildlife facebook page recently... so they are around in West Cork... perhaps I won't have to travel too far. :-)

Knowing they're there and seeing them though... two different things!

WildIreland · 17-07-2012 9:20am

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

My workmate was telling me that due to the dire weather we should be doing some little bit to feed birds at the moment - is this true, should I get my bird stand which is usually reserved for winter setup again?

The "official" advice has shifted a fair bit over the years, but the general consensus now is that you should continue to feed right through the year. It reduces the effort adult birds have to expend finding food for themselves, which means they're better able to find more protein rich insects for their young.

So feeding throughout the year, the theory now goes, improves breeding success and is a good idea generally -- perhaps more so given the rubbish weather we've been enjoying this summer.

WildIreland · 17-07-2012 9:23am

Traonach wrote: »

Huge decrease in Corncrake numbers across the country this year:(

They're having a desperate time -- flooding the main problem for ground nesting birds with all this wet weather. Here's the latest Birdwatch Ireland blog update on the state of play in the Shannon Callows.

Not good!

WildIreland · 17-07-2012 9:42am

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Aren't starlings red listed?

Irish starling population is considered stable in Ireland, but across its European range it is Amber Listed as being of moderate conservation concern due to declining populations in some countries.

It is consistently one of the top 20 birds recorded in Irish gardens during Birdwatch Ireland's annual winter garden bird survey, and is one of the most widespread and common species in Ireland.

That said, all wild birds are protected under Irish law (with certain exemptions for game species during the open season), there are also exemptions where species are causing damage or where they constitute a threat to public health or to air safety....

This from the National Parks and Wildlife Service site:

EU Birds Directive - Article 9 Derogations
Ministerial Declarations for the Period May 2012 to April 2013
Under the terms of the EU Birds Directive, all EU member States, including Ireland, are bound to take measures to protect all wild birds and their habitats. The Directive allows member States to make derogations from its protective measures where certain wild bird species are causing damage to crops, livestock and fauna or represent a threat to public health or to air safety.

Not sure shooting is going to prove that effective though. Would have thought having trained hawks / falcons patrolling on a regular basis would be a far more effective way of keeping small birds away from the runways / approaches.

whyulittle · 17-07-2012 9:42pm

WildIreland wrote: »

Lucky you... pine marten up there on my "most wanted Irish mammal" list. Had a sighting from Beara posted to the Ireland's Wildlife facebook page recently... so they are around in West Cork... perhaps I won't have to travel too far. :-)

Knowing they're there and seeing them though... two different things!

Saw a Stoat this morning, bounding into the grassy central median of the M4!

whyulittle · 17-07-2012 9:52pm

You'd think they would have asked themselves 'why are they called short-eared owls if they have such long ears' when putting in that photo.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0717/breaking36.html#.UAWdJZqXrWQ.twitter

WildIreland · 17-07-2012 10:59pm

whyulittle wrote: »

You'd think they would have asked themselves 'why are they called short-eared owls if they have such long ears' when putting in that photo.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0717/breaking36.html#.UAWdJZqXrWQ.twitter

Lovely photo of a long-eared owl. In fairness Getty images have that shot labelled as an SEO on their site -- so looks like the photographer's mistake originally -- shame the paper didn't check though.

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