Fermanagh in late July?

Desmo

I have a holiday booked in Crom Castle Estate in Fermanagh (no not the castle itself unfortunately :-) for the last week of July. It sounds like a great area for birds but sadly maybe not at the end of July. Would I be delusional in hoping to see a Garden Warbler then or will they be all quiet and furtive? Anyone know anything else worth looking for nearby at that time?

Des

LostCovey

Desmo wrote: »

I have a holiday booked in Crom Castle Estate in Fermanagh (no not the castle itself unfortunately :-) for the last week of July. It sounds like a great area for birds but sadly maybe not at the end of July. Would I be delusional in hoping to see a Garden Warbler then or will they be all quiet and furtive? Anyone know anything else worth looking for nearby at that time?

Des

Hard to know how much of what's around at the moment will stick around.

There are rumours of glossy ibis, great spotted woodpecker, garden warbler and mediterranean gull in Fermanagh recently.

Check www.irishbirding.com closer to the time, and do a search on Fermanagh

swifts need our help!

Bring a bat detecter. I surveyed the site and found all 8 species present.

Crom also has Pine martins, Frit butterflies, swifts ..

Weather permitting I'm down there also but not staying in the estate. Cant afford it

Desmo

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Bring a bat detecter. I surveyed the site and found all 8 species present.

Crom also has Pine martins, Frit butterflies, swifts ..

Weather permitting I'm down there also but not staying in the estate. Cant afford it

Thanks Mark and Lostcovey!
I have never seen a Martin and Frits are always nice. I will PM you when I am going, closer to teh date; I am staying with the family in a cottage on the estate. This is my foreign travel for the year :-)


Des

swifts need our help!

oops I spelt marten wrong.

Which cottage are you staying in?

LostCovey

Desmo wrote: »

Thanks Mark and Lostcovey!

This is my foreign travel for the year :-)


Des

You from Cavan?

Desmo

Mark: Orchard View, 21st July
Lost Covey: very good! It took me a few minutes to get that :-)

Desmo

No garden warblers sadly;
I did see tons of blackcaps which was kind of distracting as I kept thinking I had found a GW but all turned out to be BCs (mainly family groups, going "chack" in the bushes, especially Elders).
I have to go back next May or June, now I know where to look (I was talking to the warden and a grounds man who both knew their birds well).
I did see lots of jays which are common but always hard to see and always nice when you do see them.
I also saw 4 pine martens; 3 crossing a road while driving and one amazingly close up in bright sunlight, on the road to the new castle.

Overall, it is a beautiful place and the cottages have lots and lots of swallows and martins nesting.

swifts need our help!

I'm sure you spotted the swallows nesting like house martins in the courtyard?

Did you see the orchid meadow behind the boat house?

Desmo

swifts need our help! wrote: »

I'm sure you spotted the swallows nesting like house martins in the courtyard?

Did you see the orchid meadow behind the boat house?

Most of the Swallows seemed to be flying in and out of the two open windows into the barns; there were also a couple of nests in the recycling area; I did not pick out the swallows in the courtyard in the open. We had one martin nest just outside our bedroom window which woke us up at 5.55 every morning.

I did see lots of Orchids in the lanes but did not see the orchid meadow. IT was not signposted/or I was too busy staring at juvenile black caps while wishing they were garden warblers.

Where do the swifts nest? We saw them late every evening, before the bats came out but did not see where they nest.

Des

Desmo

Desmo wrote: »

Most of the Swallows seemed to be flying in and out of the two open windows into the barns; there were also a couple of nests in the recycling area; I did not pick out the swallows in the courtyard in the open. We had one martin nest just outside our bedroom window which woke us up at 5.55 every morning.

I did see lots of Orchids in the lanes but did not see the orchid meadow. IT was not signposted/or I was too busy staring at juvenile black caps while wishing they were garden warblers.

Where do the swifts nest? We saw them late every evening, before the bats came out but did not see where they nest.

Des

p.s. there were such big signs warning about photographers at the boat house and I was carrying a big spotters scope so I did not hang around.

swifts need our help!

I just ignore the signs.

The orchids were just beyond the boat house. There are 7 species of orchid in the estate with most in the meadow and behind the walled garden

The swallows nest on the corners of the yard where you stayed and also nest on the barn louvres. In the barn where the swallows nest - did you looking inside? - there are Long-eared bats and Natterer's bats.

Swifts nest above the arch you drive through and in the wall beside the house that is on the outside of the yard. They also nest in the other courtyard, the outside of the the courtyard, the riding school ..

The other courtyard has Soprano pips, Nathusius' pips, Daubenton's bat and Leisler's bat.

Common pipistrelles roost in the wee house across the white bridge

The walled garden has Nathusius' pipistrelles, Natterer's bats and newts.

The potting sheds have various pips and Natterer's bats and Long-eared bats

Just beyong the recycling area there is a Leisler's bat tree roost.

You should have met me. I would have showed you lots and caught bats for you. Next time. I'm in Fermanagh most weekends doing bat work.

Desmo

I still have a hankering to see a garden warbler so would love to go back next May or so. Will give you a shout if I get it together.

Des

V_Moth

Desmo wrote: »

I still have a hankering to see a garden warbler so would love to go back next May or so. Will give you a shout if I get it together.

Des

It is an uncommon passage migrant. Checking a headland such as Hook Head, Brownstown Head or Cape Clear after strong south-easterly winds in September/October should give you a good chance of seeing this species.

Another good place, even on a day trip from Dublin is Conwy RSPB near Llandudno in north Wales. There are a couple of pairs breeding on the reserve and easily saw two singing birds in late April this year.

Also, its scientific name, Sylvia borin(g) is quite apt :P

magicbastarder

you might, if you're lucky, get to see a fugitive would-be jailbird in fermanagh; they can sometimes be seen around GAA grounds.

swifts need our help!

I was at Crom again yesterday and saw this beside the cattle grid of the White Bridge. A Pine marten has been feasting on Damsons

whyulittle

Was that you on BBC at Crom just now Mark? Talking bats with a blonde.

swifts need our help!

English girl long blond hair and me very brown with going grey hair - yes. Cant remember the name of the programme. I did two different programmes that day

swifts need our help!

Nature's Calendar?

whyulittle

I think it was called Hands on Nature, it was half way through when I turned it on. Looking at different wildlife sites in *cough cough* the UK.

swifts need our help!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/​episode/b0078zb0/​Hands_on_Nature_Parks/
12 minutes in