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Bird Watching

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  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    LATIN BEAT wrote:

    "The site you've requested (Birdwatch) has been retired from pbs.org. " :(


  • Hosted Moderators Posts: 5,945 ✭✭✭BEAT


    sorry about that , thanks for letting me know.
    I will try and find some new ones when I have time ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 273 ✭✭axtradub12


    Bird Watching in Ireland
    www.birdwatchireland.ie/
    :)
    & Mooney Goes Wild C/o www.rte.ie


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 24 erceefce




  • Registered Users Posts: 3,376 ✭✭✭Funsterdelux


    Anyone seen a buzzard lately?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭boneless


    Anyone seen a buzzard lately?



    Was in Scotland just after the New Year... man, I was nearly fed up seeing them!!!

    Saw a couple out near The Naul on a few occasions in late Jan.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12 Windfalcon


    A bird-watching thread...I love this forum.

    As I'm unfamiliar with Ireland, are there any places where peregrines frequent? I know the Cliffs of Moher boasts having falcons near the cliffs, but that's about it. Anyone have any suggestions?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,376 ✭✭✭Funsterdelux


    Windfalcon wrote:
    A bird-watching thread...I love this forum.

    As I'm unfamiliar with Ireland, are there any places where peregrines frequent? I know the Cliffs of Moher boasts having falcons near the cliffs, but that's about it. Anyone have any suggestions?

    Try quarries, usually disused, rock/stone ones, around cavan and westmeath.
    Especially when they are nesting


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭boneless


    Windfalcon wrote:
    A bird-watching thread...I love this forum.

    As I'm unfamiliar with Ireland, are there any places where peregrines frequent? I know the Cliffs of Moher boasts having falcons near the cliffs, but that's about it. Anyone have any suggestions?


    I know lots of sites but I won't post them in a public forum. Unfortunatly nest robbers trawl the forums. There are though, a few pairs frequenting the centre of Dublin!!

    If you want, PM me for info!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12 Windfalcon


    boneless wrote:
    I know lots of sites but I won't post them in a public forum. Unfortunatly nest robbers trawl the forums. There are though, a few pairs frequenting the centre of Dublin!!

    If you want, PM me for info!!

    Thanks! I'll definitely PM you. That's awful about the nest robbers.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 678 ✭✭✭jmkennedyie


    Secondary to Birdwatch Ireland and Mooney, I'd have to nominate the RSPB website, particularly the A-Z directory of UK birds. Many UK species don't occur in Ireland, but I think all the Irish ones do appear in the list.

    Peregrine Falcon...you can see one (albeit stuffed) in a nice exhibit in the tiny nature house near the Upper Lake in Glendalough. The wildlife around there is fantastic...and protected by rangers (it's a Natural Park). Well worth a couple of visits - keep your eyes and ears open.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    boneless wrote:
    I know lots of sites but I won't post them in a public forum. Unfortunatly nest robbers trawl the forums. There are though, a few pairs frequenting the centre of Dublin!!

    If you want, PM me for info!!

    How, irresponsible! :mad: "I won't post the sites here, but I'll PM the details to someone I don't know from Adam." Have a bit of cop on mate! There are 3 sites in my immediate area (and 2 for Buzzards) but those sites will not be disclosed to anybody not personally know to us and well trusted.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 13,381 Mod ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    I've only had one encounter with a falcon and here's an image

    http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Ireland/photo482670.htm

    I've yet to manage to photograph one in the wild.

    I'm just back from a holiday in Canada, and the place was very active with bald eagles. I hope to post some picts online soon.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 41 kyle 327


    Paulw wrote:
    I've only had one encounter with a falcon and here's an image

    http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Ireland/photo482670.htm

    I've yet to manage to photograph one in the wild.

    I'm just back from a holiday in Canada, and the place was very active with bald eagles. I hope to post some picts online soon.

    i've had a lot of encounter with falcons and hawks.
    nice picture:D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14 photobirdirelan


    Hi,
    If anyone has/gets good photos of
    Barn Owl,
    Berwick Swan,
    Carrion Crow,
    Common Scoter,
    Corncrake,
    Eider,
    Fieldfare,
    Garden Warbler,
    Glaucous Gull,
    Golden Eagle,
    Grasshopper Warbler,
    Great Shearwater,
    Great Skua,
    Hoopoe,
    Iceland Gull,
    Lapland Bunting,
    Light-bellied Brent Goose,
    Little Grebe,
    Little Gull,
    Little Stint,
    Long-tailed Duck,
    Manx Shearwater,
    Mediterranean Gull,
    Pied Flycatcher,
    Red Grouse,
    Red-breasted Merganser,
    Redstart,
    Ring Ouzel,
    Rock Dove,
    Short-eared Owl,
    Snow Bunting,
    Sooty Shearwater,
    Spotted Redshank,
    Stock Dove,
    Storm Petrel,
    Twite,
    Whinchat,
    Wood Warbler,
    Woodcock

    please consider uploading them to http://www.photobirdireland.com . If it's easier to email them to info@photobirdireland.com then that would be great either. All photographs are credited.
    I'm working off the list in the book "Irish Birds" by David Cabot and am missing these.


  • Registered Users Posts: 674 ✭✭✭gollyitsolly


    Anybody out there know when my bluetits will fledge. The parents are feeding them for about 2 weeks now?


  • Registered Users Posts: 163 ✭✭amerden


    Between 15 to 23 days depending on the food supply, as the weather has not been good lately it could go as far as the latter. Hope you spot them leaving the nest.


  • Registered Users Posts: 674 ✭✭✭gollyitsolly


    amerden wrote: »
    Between 15 to 23 days depending on the food supply, as the weather has not been good lately it could go as far as the latter. Hope you spot them leaving the nest.
    Thanks, will let you know:)


  • Registered Users Posts: 674 ✭✭✭gollyitsolly


    amerden wrote: »
    Between 15 to 23 days depending on the food supply, as the weather has not been good lately it could go as far as the latter. Hope you spot them leaving the nest.
    They flew off this morning!:) Saw 4 of them fly out of the box at 7.30. There could have been more, I,d just got up. They stayed around the garden for about an hour. AW, Im getting empty nest syndrom now:(


  • Registered Users Posts: 163 ✭✭amerden


    Must say that you were very fortunate to see them leave, have had Blue & Great tits in my boxes for some years but never lucky enough to see them fledge. I know what you mean about "Empty Nest" syndrome, you still keep looking at the boxes to see if you can see any activity, my Blue Tit box had a lot of activity over the (long) weekend, but their still feeding this morning (Tuesday), was expecting them to fledge late last week, but no, I suppose when I get back home tonight they will have left as always seem to happen.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 674 ✭✭✭gollyitsolly


    Well I was up before 7 nearly every morning watching them and also to bring my cat in. Had to chase away a very persistent Magpie that was always in the garden. He was watching the parent birds going back and forward to the nest. Hope you get to see your "babies" fly away. Would it be ok to take the nestbox down now to have a look inside? I dont think they come back to it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 163 ✭✭amerden


    Magpie's always seem to know when the young are due to fledge, last year I had one perched on the nest box on more than one occasion, had to chase it away, they also hunt the young in the nearby trees so keep an eye out.
    Looking forward to going home tonight to see if I still have tenants.
    I wouldn't take the box down just yet, just in case they decide to have a second brood, very unlikely but not unknown, can you open the box where it is and have a peek in to see if there is anything that needs to be removed??, otherwise leave it until October then take it down and give it good clean out, I usually replace the old nest with some moss, also it will probably be used in the winter for roosting in, wrens often use nest boxes during the winter to roost in.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,068 ✭✭✭gollem_1975


    hi guys,

    while leaving my house yesterday evening ( it was raining quite heavily so I had my hood up and head down ) I saw something out of the corner of my eye I got a bit of a suprise.

    It was a brown bird , slightly smaller than a magpie , perched on the wall which divides my driveway from the next door neighbours ( I live close to griffith avenue in Dublin 9 )

    It had a hooked beak and as soon as it copped that I had seen it it flew off in between the 2 houses. it definitely had something in its "claws" , looked like a small bird .

    anyway I didn't think any more of it until I got home this evening and noticed a lot of small feathers in the area around were i spotted the bird.

    any ideas what this bird could be. I had a look on rspb.org.uk but didn't see anything that matched the bird I saw.

    thanks,

    Gollem


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 68 ✭✭Hackman


    hi guys,

    while leaving my house yesterday evening ( it was raining quite heavily so I had my hood up and head down ) I saw something out of the corner of my eye I got a bit of a suprise.

    It was a brown bird , slightly smaller than a magpie , perched on the wall which divides my driveway from the next door neighbours ( I live close to griffith avenue in Dublin 9 )

    It had a hooked beak and as soon as it copped that I had seen it it flew off in between the 2 houses. it definitely had something in its "claws" , looked like a small bird .

    anyway I didn't think any more of it until I got home this evening and noticed a lot of small feathers in the area around were i spotted the bird.

    any ideas what this bird could be. I had a look on rspb.org.uk but didn't see anything that matched the bird I saw.

    thanks,

    Gollem

    It sounds like a Sparrow hawk to me.


  • Registered Users Posts: 421 ✭✭stevensi


    Thought it might be a good idea if people would like to post some sightings of birds that they have seen on this site.

    Was out today around sandymount in Dublin and here is a list of what i saw

    Shelduck
    Mute Swan
    knot
    purple sandpiper
    sanderling
    turnstone
    dunlin
    curlew
    black tailed godwit
    oystercatcher
    cormorant
    great crested grebe
    redshank
    black headed gull
    lesser black backed gull
    great black backed gull
    kittiwake
    herring gull
    common gull
    black guillemot
    guillemot
    rock pippit
    meadow pippit
    brent goose
    mistle thrush
    redwing
    blackbird
    robin
    chaffinch
    siskin
    goldfinch
    goldcrest
    blackcap
    starling
    rook
    hooded crow
    jackdaw
    magpie
    house sparrow
    waxwing
    wood pigeon

    A really good day out despite the weather and the fact that i was pretty much in the city centre just shows you how lucky we are. The highlights for me today was the Great Crested Grebes there were about 6 of them close to the north wall and i got great views of them. Also the flock of waxwings was great to see. There were large numbers of geese feeding on the playing fields in ringsend so get down if you get a chance for some great sightings.


  • Registered Users Posts: 938 ✭✭✭Rainbowsend


    One flew over my house the other day, can be seen fairly regularly over Kilpedder/Newtown area especially when the skies are blue.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 637 ✭✭✭Hammiepeters


    One flew over my house the other day, can be seen fairly regularly over Kilpedder/Newtown area especially when the skies are blue.
    Buzzards are now a common sight in this part of wicklow also. Saw a Goshawk over the Glen Of The Downs one day also. Haven't seen a red Kite yet but I'm sure they come in this way from the release area.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 212 ✭✭Jackeenboy


    I was walking down the road eating a lovely sandwich today I bought in the shop, and I heard a plop as i went to bite it, it was bird $hit from overhead..Il be keeping an eye out for the little baxtards now when Im eating my lovely sandwich:mad::(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,487 ✭✭✭boneless


    I spent the weekend in north Wales around Angelsea and Snowdonia. Buzzard paradise :). Also saw kestrel, perigrine and possibly a hen harrier. I heard an owl but could not locate where in was. Had a lovely encounter with a fox too. Back to the birds- spotted a redstart. Lovely wee birds... pity we don't get that many of them here. Lots of fly catchers and swallows too. All the other usual bird were in evidence too and as I mentioned elsewhere, saw a great crested grebe too. Was also delighted to see a chough up close for the first time in ages.

    I can recommend the area to any birdwatcher.

    I was on an archaeology field trip so I didn't get much time to go to look for more but as I spotted so many species without really looking I am sure to go back again soon.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 421 ✭✭stevensi


    Sounds like a good trip and a good variety of birds even if you were not birdwatching for the entire trip.

    It always fasinates me to think that Wales is so close to us here but the variety over there seems to be better then here. Especially concerning birds of prey. I was in Wales recently enough and lost count with the number of Buzzards i saw. Also got great views of Red Kites.

    Am i right in making this assumption regards variety of species across the channel or is Ireland just as good?


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