Today I saw...

littlebug

..a redwing. Just poking around in my back garden. I'm sure it's not a rare sight or anything but it was to me. I'm relatively new to the joys of birdwatching and identification so it's nice to see something new.

BTW "Irelands Garden Birds" by Oran O Sullivan and Jim Wilson is the biz for novices like me

Has anyone else seen anything new lately that gave you a bit of a buzz?

jmkennedyie

Great! my first Redwing was also a buzz. Personally, 'buzzed' by good views of Redpoll and Buzzard since new year... Buzzard was on a haystack. After a while a kestrel & rook came along. Rook mobbed the kestrel while the kestrel mobbed the buzzard!

Slightly off topic...personally have seen less kestrel around as buzzard sightings increase...seems to be some tension between the two populations...

boneless

jmkennedyie wrote: »

Great! my first Redwing was also a buzz. Personally, 'buzzed' by good views of Redpoll and Buzzard since new year... Buzzard was on a haystack. After a while a kestrel & rook came along. Rook mobbed the kestrel while the kestrel mobbed the buzzard!

Slightly off topic...personally have seen less kestrel around as buzzard sightings increase...seems to be some tension between the two populations...

Slightly off topic here too... I agree about the lack of kestrels.

OP, I know the feeling when you actually start to to id birds on spec !! It gave me a buzz when I saw my first peregrine.

Manuel

Complete novice here, so I was particularly delighted when a blackcap visited my garden feeder - especially seeing as he's easy to identify! The fact that my bird book described him as a rare enough sight in winter made it even better, though a bit of googling revealed that he's becoming a regular.

Re kestrels, the new M6 motorway between Kilbeggan and Athlone is literally lined with kestrels. I'm new to this forum so apologies if this is all common knowledge, but if you want to see kestrels, cruise as slowly (and safely) as you can around dual-carriageway and motorway junctions. They're big fans of junction signs as they save a lot of energy otherwise expended by prolonged hovering over the ripe feeding areas around motorway embankments.

Hammiepeters

Yep, I'd go with that. No disrespect or anything but I dont see any decline in Kestrel numbers. More about than ever. Buzzards are primarily rabbit hunters and ground attackers taking large birds also(pharalopes,etc)Joke:)
Kestrels will eat beetles, mice, rats, eggs and small mammals. Not really a competitor and indeed across the water there are large ammounts of both and indeed red kites in the same territories.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I'm afraid that filed studies have shown a decrease of Kestrels in recent years in areas where Buzzards have increased. Possibly a tempory issue until things balance.
Hammiepeters Buzzards feed very regularly on small mammals and frog so do overlap/compete with Kestrels. There's no need for any panic it's a slight adjustment - nothing more.
Motorways are frequented by Kestrels as the verges and central reserves are very valuable areas for small mammals and a great hunting area.

littlebug

2 grey herons (nearly sure) flying over the Curragh Line in Galway. I think it was 2- maybe a mile apart so I doubt it was the same one criss-crossing yet keeping up with traffic. How fast do they fly?

Beef

A bullfinch! And I had the camera with me too - for once...

Don't see these guys half often enough.

Judgement Day

Lovely pic. Handsome buggers aren't they but I hate the sight of them near the apple trees in the Spring.

Tabnabs

Good thread OP

We have a male and female pair of Black Caps coming to the garden since Christmas, not a bird I had seen before

littlebug

lovely pic Beef. A fine proud looking little chappy he is.
Blackcaps don't seem to have made it to my neck of the woods. I saw another grey heron yesterday in Ballyvaughan. I did get some pics but didn't get close so they're not great (nor is my camera).

I also "something" on the long lonely drive home which, by the time I'd arrived home had probably doubled in size in my mind and I'd christened "the Burren Beast":eek: but it was probably just a big dog

skydancer

And I have had a pair of bullfinches in the garden (in Dublin) and on the peanut feeder this morning - first time I've seen them in my garden. Lovely.

Strasser

Great year in the garden this year, I have regular gold finches, some bull finches and, never seen before, 2 artic red polls at the peanuts last week. On the other hand where have all the green finches gone, used to be loads of them but have only seen one this year.

Funkyzeit

Whilst I have a plethora of Blue/Great and Coal Tits I had my first visit by the Long Tailed Tits today of the year (that I'm aware of).

Tea drinker

Saw a Dipper up in Marlay Park the other day.

Managed to get a pic of him, but not so great. I'll see if it's worth posting up...

Funkyzeit

Tea drinker wrote: »

Saw a Dipper up in Marlay Park the other day.

Managed to get a pic of him, but not so great. I'll see if it's worth posting up...

It's always worth posting up here - we arn't here to C&C the pictures !!

stevensi

I agree about this winter bringing in new visitors to the Garden. I've also had Redpolls for the first time as well as Siskins, Redwing and a solitary Fieldfare. Must be the cold snap that is attracting them.

As for the Dipper I would love to see the photo...it's a bird I've never seen.

On another note despite the wintery conditions I've seen some birds getting their nests ready.I saw a wren with a lump of moss in my workplace yesterday..maybe spring is on the way.

littlebug

I was assuming that it was the extra planting I did last year that has brought more little feathered visitors to my garden but maybe it is the cold snap. Yesterday I had a meadow pippet poking around in the gravel where the remains of seeds etc from the feeders would have blown. Today I either had a song thrush and a mistle thrush or it was the same bird and I got it wrong the first time This morning has also brought one great tit and a robin (don't know if it's the same ones that have been missing in action for a couple of weeks.. if so where's the other Great tit:() All this as well as the usual finches and sparrows.

Can you tell I'm working?:o

skydancer

stevensi wrote: »

As for the Dipper I would love to see the photo...it's a bird I've never seen.

I recently saw a dipper on the Dodder in Dublin (between the Dropping Well pub and the bridge before Milltown).
Great bird to see, and very well named!