Raptor heaven in the south-east.

Cardynal

Hi , some super Raptors showing in Tacumshin Co Wexford this week.
1st two are a male Red-footed Falcon and 3 + 4 are of a Hobby showing very well today at Lingstown end , an absolute joy to watch these beauties.
Regards Tom.

Judgement Day

Yeah, noticed all these birds reported on Irishbirding.com - somebody must be releasing them from the back of a van.

Nice pics!

Mothman

Did you see the Hobby take any dragonflies?

Birdnuts

Red-Footed falcon also seen in Timahoe(Bog of Allen), Co. Kildare this week:)

Cardynal

Watched them for about 2 hours , saw both the Hobby and the Red-foot take insects on the wing , too far away for any decent shots though.

Birdnuts

I saw a Hobby in late June last year flying over a bog near Narramore Co. Kildare - a real stunner he was too:)

Feargal as Luimneach

Mothman wrote: »

Did you see the Hobby take any dragonflies?

There was a 1st summer male and a 1st summer female at the white hole (tacumshin) this morning. Mega views you could see them taking dragonflies. It was unreal the light was perfect.

Judgement Day

Now someone is really taking the mick...Marsh Harriers and an Osprey have appeared in the South East see www.irishbirding.com

Alun

Mothman wrote: »

Did you see the Hobby take any dragonflies?

Coincidentally, there was a piece on Springwatch on BBC2 last night where Simon King used a super hi-speed camera on a Hobby catching dragonflies on a pond with some amazing results. What he also managed to film was a dragonfly actually diving into the water to escape the bird's clutches which he claimed was the first time this had been caught on camera.

It's all on iPlayer, but unfortunately it's not available here :mad:

Feargal as Luimneach

Alun wrote: »

Coincidentally, there was a piece on Springwatch on BBC2 last night where Simon King used a super hi-speed camera on a Hobby catching dragonflies on a pond with some amazing results. What he also managed to film was a dragonfly actually diving into the water to escape the bird's clutches which he claimed was the first time this had been caught on camera.

It's all on iPlayer, but unfortunately it's not available here :mad:

http://www.irishbirding.com/categories/sighting23075/4464_large.jpg
(not taken by me)

Feargal as Luimneach

Judgement Day wrote: »

Now someone is really taking the mick...Marsh Harriers and an Osprey have appeared in the South East see www.irishbirding.com

Marsh Harriers have being spending the summer in and around tacumshin for as long as I've being birdwatching (properly). Mostly female-type birds. It's rare enough that you see adult males.

tomahawk101

Isn't it absolutely brilliant that we are talking about Hobbies, Red-Footed Falcons, Ospreys, Marsh Harriers, Red Kites and suchlike.
I remember as a kid When I spotted a Kestrel or a Sparrowhawk it was the highlight of the week.
Happier days indeed!
Tom

snowstreams

How come its only female Marsh harriers that come here? Is there much chance that they will breed in ireland anytime soon?

Birdnuts

snowstreams wrote: »

How come its only female Marsh harriers that come here? Is there much chance that they will breed in ireland anytime soon?

One pair bred near Lough Neagh last year - first proof of breeding in NI for over 100 years:)

Feargal as Luimneach

snowstreams wrote: »

How come its only female Marsh harriers that come here? Is there much chance that they will breed in ireland anytime soon?

Don't really know But with Hen Harriers also it's nearly always the female type birds you see. You don't see adult males too often.
Female-type birds however would include juvenile male birds who look like females females.

snowstreams

That's good to hear that they could be back as a breeding species here soon. I suppose it would be mostly juveniles that would be most likely to travel to Ireland alright.

Cardynal

Judgement Day wrote: »

Now someone is really taking the mick...Marsh Harriers and an Osprey have appeared in the South East see www.irishbirding.com

Marsh Harriers (female) are quite a regular sight around Tacumshin from May onwards especially at the Lingstown end , saw two just last week quartering the Reedbeds , the East end is a good spot for Hen Harriers at winter. As has been said before nearly all the Harriers seen are female (which in the world of Harriers always outnumber males) , nearly all the males are young birds but i would guess in some remote undisturbed areas , marsh Harriers occasionally breed here.
Also attracts an occasional Osprey aswell.

E39MSport

Interesting. I've been spotting a couple exactly like pics 1&2 around Timahoe. I've seem them a good few times though soaring quite high. I also saw them last year more than once.
Will try to get some pics.

Cardynal

E39MSport wrote: »

Interesting. I've been spotting a couple exactly like pics 1&2 around Timahoe. I've seem them a good few times though soaring quite high. I also saw them last year more than once.
Will try to get some pics.

There's been a few sightings of a female Red-footed falcon at Timahoe the past few weeks aswell as the Wexford ones , there very rare here but there's been an influx of these and Hobbies in the past fortnight.