Birdwatch in co Wicklow

CATSEYES8787

Hi, could anyone recommend good spots around co Wicklow to watch birds? I've just invested in binoculars and would be interested in observing prey birds, such as kites and falcons.

Miseryguts

The Brown Hill is a wicked spot.

Capercaille

Bridge in Avoca is excellent for Red Kite especially during winter.

Scanning above the ridges in Glenmalure often gives Peregrine Falcon. Around the Cliffs in Howth head, Dublin is also good

Up on the Heather in Glendalough during summer you can see Merlin, but they are easiest to see in Tacumshin lake in Wexford during the Winter.

CATSEYES8787

Miseryguts wrote: »

The Brown Hill is a wicked spot.

Never heard of it, which county is it in?

CATSEYES8787

Awesome info

OpenYourEyes

You might find that people are somewhat reluctant to give out locations to see birds of prey, given how they're such a target for persecution. That being said, the above locations are all good, and tbh I think most nature reserves and national parks etc are good for birds of prey and good places to start for birdwatching in general

con___manx1

redcross,wodden bridge and barnisky are places where i have seen red kites

cuddlycavies

Go down to Killcoole Little Ternery and talk to the guys who are on 24/7 watch down there. They'll tell you what's about. For Buzzards, try Widgates Greystones. Cliff walk for Peregines. Kites Avoca/Redcross.

Woodville56

CATSEYES8787 wrote: »

Hi, could anyone recommend good spots around co Wicklow to watch birds? I've just invested in binoculars and would be interested in observing prey birds, such as kites and falcons.

Hi Catseyes, BirdwatchIreland has its HQ in Newcastle, Co Wicklow, their website wil have loads of info on birding sites nationally as well as the local patch. There is also a local branch of BirdwatchIreland in Wicklow and you will find the link on the BirdwatchIreland website
Also , Eric Dempsey's book " Finding Birds in Ireland " is excellent and has info on many sites in Wicklow as well as countrywide birding spots.
The coast from Kilcoole to Newcastle has the Little Tern colony and the East Coast Nature Reserve at Newcastle has a good variety of species and is easily accessible ! Good luck with the birding ! Enjoy !!

CATSEYES8787

Woodville56 wrote: »

Hi Catseyes, BirdwatchIreland has its HQ in Newcastle, Co Wicklow, their website wil have loads of info on birding sites nationally as well as the local patch. There is also a local branch of BirdwatchIreland in Wicklow and you will find the link on the BirdwatchIreland website
Also , Eric Dempsey's book " Finding Birds in Ireland " is excellent and has info on many sites in Wicklow as well as countrywide birding spots.
The coast from Kilcoole to Newcastle has the Little Tern colony and the East Coast Nature Reserve at Newcastle has a good variety of species and is easily accessible ! Good luck with the birding ! Enjoy !!

Very helpful, thank you!!

dodderangler

Really don't like when people start to give out locations on birds of prey. I'm sure no one asking would do anything to them but anyone could be reading this and there is people that will persecute them. Maybe a mod could perhaps make a rule on giving out locations of birds of prey to be pm'd?
Just my opinion though.

OpenYourEyes

dodderangler wrote: »

Really don't like when people start to give out locations on birds of prey. I'm sure no one asking would do anything to them but anyone could be reading this and there is people that will persecute them. Maybe a mod could perhaps make a rule on giving out locations of birds of prey to be pm'd?
Just my opinion though.

Yeah I agree with Dodderangler here tbh. Maybe this thread could be deleted now that the OP has answers, and in future the policy could be to direct people to the Birdwatch Ireland website and the various field guides that can be bought?

Again, not that we have any suspicions about the OP, but I just don't like the idea of any unsavoury characters realising theres birds of prey down the road from him...

Unfortunately raptor persecution continues to be a significant problem, and what we hear about in the media is just a fraction of the problem here.

cuddlycavies

But sure the stuff is available daily on irishbirding.com Nests I agree but kites around avoca, buzzards on the M50, peregrines on every crag in Wicklow where you think might be right and many other places you wouldn't. hardly going to make a difference. If people want to kill them, they will.

OpenYourEyes

cuddlycavies wrote: »

But sure the stuff is available daily on irishbirding.com

Yeah thats true alright, but not as many people know about or use it as you probably think - its probably/possibly less likely to be stumbled upon there than on a forum like this (of course mentioning the specific site here makes that less true :-P). And a quick google of a raptor species and county didn't make it come up on the first few search results pages either. Plus I know of cases where locations have been taken down off it or made much more broad because of the location being sensitive. (although theres a recent example of how the guy running it doesn't give a fcuk about the birds put up on it)

Even so, I still think giving links to Birdwatch Ireland or names of field guides will give people enough to go on - or even the names of nature reserves near them that they're likely to see birds of prey at. I don't think a "well they do it, so we might as well" attitude is the right one.
I agree that everyone knows you can see Kites around Avoca and buzzards along the M50, but that info is freely available in the field guides etc mentioned! I don't like the idea of mentioning specific parts of Wicklow for Peregrines tbh though. And yeah I know they will, I just don't like the idea of making it that bit more easy for anyone. And the OP or OP of any future threads won't lose out because Birdwatch and field guides etc all give plenty of easy locations to see raptors.

If a Birdwatch Ireland or NPWS employee was asked for somewhere to see raptors they'd name national parks and nature reserves, or places like Avoca village or the M50 or Bull Island, Rogerstown etc etc. I don't think we should go into any more detail than that on boards - so I think we should either point people to Birdwatch Ireland and field guides, or maybe have a stickied post/thread where we can point people who ask, but which still only lists the most obvious places.

Birdnuts

cuddlycavies wrote: »

But sure the stuff is available daily on irishbirding.com Nests I agree but kites around avoca, buzzards on the M50, peregrines on every crag in Wicklow where you think might be right and many other places you wouldn't. hardly going to make a difference. If people want to kill them, they will.

At least they don't give information like "pair breeding" or "winter roost". They tend to just give out random sightings only and do not give exact GPS co-ordinates for example. Most sightings only mention townlands and when I post sighting there I take care to give just very general info on location.

Birdnuts

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Yeah I agree with Dodderangler here tbh. Maybe this thread could be deleted now that the OP has answers, and in future the policy could be to direct people to the Birdwatch Ireland website and the various field guides that can be bought?

Again, not that we have any suspicions about the OP, but I just don't like the idea of any unsavoury characters realising theres birds of prey down the road from him...

Unfortunately raptor persecution continues to be a significant problem, and what we hear about in the media is just a fraction of the problem here.

I definatly think that anyone attempting to post exact locations of breeding pairs and/or roosts should have the post immediately deleteted and given a warning. People should also be wary of new/strange posters attempting to contact them via pm about the exact locations of these birds

OpenYourEyes

Birdnuts wrote: »

At least they don't give information like "pair breeding" or "winter roost". They tend to just give out random sightings only and do not give exact GPS co-ordinates for example. Most sightings only mention townlands and when I post sighting there I take care to give just very general info on location.

Bad day to use that exact wording :P

Birdnuts

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Bad day to use that exact wording :P

Holy moly - that was an actual address!! I've deleted it mods!!:eek:

OpenYourEyes

Birdnuts wrote: »

dogging.com - go on I dare ya!!:pac:

Holy moly - that was an actual address!! I've deleted it mods!!:eek:

Jesus Birdnuts, not cool!

I was actually alluding to an entry on that birding website today that contradicted the stuff I underlined!

Birdnuts

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Jesus Birdnuts, not cool!

I was actually alluding to an entry on that birding website today that contradicted the stuff I underlined!

Oh dear!!:o - I'm off to have a cold shower as punishment!!:D;)

Capercaille

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

And a quick google of a raptor species and county didn't make it come up on the first few search results pages either. Plus I know of cases where locations have been taken down off it or made much more broad because of the location being sensitive. (although theres a recent example of how the guy running it doesn't give a fcuk about the birds put up on it)

.

I know the lad who runs the site you are taking about and that's a harsh statement to make. He puts huge time and effort into the site for no personal gain. He just wants free access for all. Previously there was a small selected group which shared rare bird news. He has brought birdwatching to the masses. I've met him several times out birdwatching and is always willing to give advice. Before he restarted the site the main source of rare bird information was the birdsireland.com phone line which used to cost a small fortune for anybody who rang it.

OpenYourEyes

Admittedly I made that comment in the 'heat of the moment' having seen something on it earlier - you've probably seen it yourself today, and you can't honestly tell me that the level of detail on that entry isn't completely irresponsible, and its the fault of both the guy who submitted it and the guy who runs the website.

Its a great site, and fairplay to him, but he really really needs to exercise more caution and common sense with regards breeding birds and particularly breeding raptors. There are plenty of people in certain parts of the country who don't submit anything to it because of his inability to do this unfortunately. I've heard a few more stories from different people also where he seems to have prioritised the interests of the website, or maybe of birders, over the welfare of the birds in question, unfortunately. Obviously this isn't the place to start telling stories about people, but I feel that the example posted on that website speaks for itself.

The website is good for a lot of reasons, but I wish those bad elements could be minimised or eliminated in the future.

Edit: And staying on topic, I feel on boards we don't want or need to make the same mistakes, but can still point curious new birdwatchers in the right direction without running the risk of doing so

Capercaille

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Admittedly I made that comment in the 'heat of the moment' having seen something on it earlier - you've probably seen it yourself today, and you can't honestly tell me that the level of detail on that entry isn't completely irresponsible, and its the fault of both the guy who submitted it and the guy who runs the website.

Its a great site, and fairplay to him, but he really really needs to exercise more caution and common sense with regards breeding birds and particularly breeding raptors. There are plenty of people in certain parts of the country who don't submit anything to it because of his inability to do this unfortunately. I've heard a few more stories from different people also where he seems to have prioritised the interests of the website, or maybe of birders, over the welfare of the birds in question, unfortunately. Obviously this isn't the place to start telling stories about people, but I feel that the example posted on that website speaks for itself.

The website is good for a lot of reasons, but I wish those bad elements could be minimised or eliminated in the future.

Edit: And staying on topic, I feel on boards we don't want or need to make the same mistakes, but can still point curious new birdwatchers in the right direction without running the risk of doing so

What was posted up? PM if more appropiate.