Favourite or most memorable birding / nature experience of 2013 anyone ?

Woodville56

As the year draws to a close, just been thinking of my most memorable wildlife sightings of the past year and wondering if other posters here have similar ?
For me, a trip down Wicklow way in the autumn yielded a pair of Red Kites soaring over Avoca and, later the same evening, 2 Yellowhammers observed singing from bushes on the edge of a crop field before nightfall - reminiscent of a lost species to my local area and beautiful to behold again !
On my local patch in north Longford , an early summer morning walk in Derrycassan Wood and seeing 4 Red Squirrels scampering about the tree tops.
And lastly, in recent days a trip to the coast and seeing the Snow Buntings on the North Bull Island , a first time sighting for me !
Just a few of my favourite memories of 2013 !
Anyone care to share theirs ?
A happy and wildlife filled 2014 to all posters here !

Capercaille

Corncrake calling from my farm in my Iris/umbellifer patch. First heard in mid July. He was most likely a refugee from a neighbouring farmer across the bay who cuts silage early. He continued calling till the end of August. A powerful bird who called day and night (normally they called mostly at night). Silage was delayed till mid September to give chicks (hopefully present) a chance to fledge. Planting another 0.5 acres mixed umbellifers (common hogweed, cowparsely and alexandria) in the spring. Hopefully he makes it back.

Umbellifer patch (common hogweed)


Iris patch

OpenYourEyes

I was lucky enough to be on the North Slob in Wexford first thing on a cold, crisp spring morning with a clear pink/orange sky, watching thousands of White-fronted Geese streaming in from the harbour in their family groups - I really will never forget it! Had the opportunity to learn a lot about GWFG throughout the year too.

I was also surveying birds on Great Saltee and had to stay the night - could hear the Manx Shearwaters overhead throughout the night - very eerie, but cool!

It was also the first year I did some proper birding - got >50 lifers for my troubles!

Got some great views of birds of prey too, including a Barn Owl on a bat survey night, a Hobby, and finding a Marsh Harrier too, and loads of sightings of Short-Eared Owls, Merlin, Hen Harriers (no adult males though!!) and plenty more.


I really had an incredible year and it really drove home the value of getting out and looking at your local patch/river/lake on a regular basis - you never know what you'll find, or what kind of behaviour you'll get to see by the species you might have taken for granted before!

magicbastarder

this year - a sparrowhawk taking a sparrow from about ten foot from me in our back garden (in glasnevin), at our bird feeder.
nearly standing on an adder above cheddar gorge (i came within three or four foot of it, not knowing it was there).

cuddlycavies

Barn Owls One here in Greystones then one in Louisburgh Mayo. Both random nightime sightings

OpenYourEyes

cuddlycavies wrote: »

Barn Owls One here in Greystones then one in Louisburgh Mayo. Both random nightime sightings

Worth mentioning to John Lusby from Birdwatch Ireland if you havn't already - especially if they were within or around the breeding season!

Just drop him an email and tell him where and when you saw them - we have so few Barn Owls left its good to keep an eye on as many as possible!

Capercaille

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

I was lucky enough to be on the North Slob in Wexford first thing on a cold, crisp spring morning with a clear pink/orange sky, watching thousands of White-fronted Geese streaming in from the harbour in their family groups - I really will never forget it! Had the opportunity to learn a lot about GWFG throughout the year too.



Got so!

A skein of GWFG flying overhead calling is something one never tires of.

bernard0368

I think my main highlight was sitting under a hawthorn during a real heavy downpour whilst fishing the liffey, suddenly an otter and her cub came out of the river and shared the shelter with me for nearly 5 minutes. I keep wondering if it was the same otter that would allow me hand feed her on any trout I caught the previous year.

Manuel

Saw my first stationary buzzard close-up, having watched them in the sky above me on occasion over the last couple of years here in the midlands.

He was perched on a telephone wire in a field not 20 yards away from a main road. Beautiful bird.

vistafinder

Hearing the clash of antlers in the woods while trying to get photos of the rut was something I will never forget 2 stags fighting 2 more roaring and a fifth one turning up to have a look aswell.
There was a heap of branches in my way to get a clear shot of the fight but it was some site to see.

Seeing salmon leaping into a powefull waterfall to get to there spawning grounds is well (brilliant a sight to see) and while waiting for them to jump to see a kingfisher pass your nose at speed.
Ha ha what a day that was.

Its a pitty we have to spend most of our lives working and miss all this stuff.

The best thing in life are free.

whyulittle

I really enjoyed hearing my first Corncrake, and seeing my first Kingfishers and Dippers.

Also finding a few things nearer to home like Cuckoo, Jay & Hare.

Biggest disappointment was missing the WTSE at Boora!

Capercaille

whyulittle wrote: »

I really enjoyed hearing my first Corncrake, and seeing my first Kingfishers and Dippers.

Also finding a few things nearer to home like Cuckoo, Jay & Hare.

Biggest disappointment was missing the WTSE at Boora!

Your corncrake in athlone was the only one calling on the callows. There was reports of 3 birds, but it was the one bird relocating.

periodictable

December 29th spotted what looked like a very tired and storm tossed eagle in Clare, 10k due west of Ennis. Was about 50m southwest of me so was silhouetted against the sky.
Was it one of the Kerry birds or a Scottish or US bird caught up in the gales? Wonderful feeling to see it though!

Ulmus

1. Watching swifts "attack" my flat like fighter planes as I played the CD lure. Hopefully, they'll manage to find the nest boxes and use them this year.
2. Watching 3 urban fox cubs at a derelict site over my garden wall during the summer. The site has now been sold for development so I'm not sure the resident fox pair will be able to use it for much longer.

emo72

2 jays in the garden in november. first time id ever spotted them in the garden in 23 years. kingfisher on christmas and stephens day after not seeing one since the summer!

Birdnuts

At home it has to be my trip to see the Eagles last July at Mountshannon on a scorching hot day. It was so hot the parents only became active in the evening but they put on a great show. Out foreign seeing my first Black Stork and a stunning adult Imperial Eagle on the Czech/Austrian border was awesome.

SlowBlowin

That would be a sea eagle in the back garden (high up a kerry mountain, north of sneem), about 50ft above me, awesome.

Desmo

Seeing a Crane between Newcastle and Kilcoole a week ago was a major hit. There was a Dotterel in Tacumshin in June that was so tame you could almost touch it so that that really memorable. The best birds for me were a Wryneck and 2 Ring Ouzels on Cape Clear in October. These are iconic and spectacular birds. The Ouzels were only juvenile but are still very striking and formidable looking birds. They are like tough, wiry, scaly blackbirds. The Wryneck gave good views and did a little bit of its weird twisty neck thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coYuPHS6aJk

p.s. I just remembered what was actually a better hit than any of the above; it was seeing (and hearing) a Corncrake up close on Inishboffin in May. This was the first I had heard since the 1970s and only one I have ever seen. I could see it clearly from the road above a field so could see it without hassling it.

Woodville56

SlowBlowin wrote: »

That would be a sea eagle in the back garden (high up a kerry mountain, north of sneem), about 50ft above me, awesome.

Your posting reminds me that in my original posting I forgot to mention that I had sightings of 2 white tailed eagles (simultaneously) on a lake near me here in the midlands throughout the late autumn- I see from Irishbirding.com that one of these birds ( wing tag no.19) is now on Lower Lough Erne ! Fantastic to see in the air , but somehow not as graceful as the Red Kites IMHO anyway !

aquila

One of the best moments for me was watching this otter catching eels at ECNR Newcastle. He ignored me and caught six eels over a twenty minute period. Sadly the hide has now had to be locked up because of vandals.

ZX7R

While out walking late one evening during the hot spell in the summer,i saw my first live bagger it was a beautiful to see.
Sadly before this i only ever saw road kill

dodderangler

Ulmus wrote: »

2. Watching 3 urban fox cubs at a derelict site over my garden wall during the summer. The site has now been sold for development so I'm not sure the resident fox pair will be able to use it for much longer.

Should prob contact tenants Ireland t get help because there's cubs involved. Can't leave them homeless jk
Have some good moments of last year

Seeing resident buzzard pair have successful breeding this year. 5 buzzards in same area during the summer.
Have a resident raven in my area. Pops up once a week roughly maybe more but I do be in work so could be round more not sure.
Seein a lot of spars last year which is great.

Zoo4m8

aquila wrote: »

One of the best moments for me was watching this otter catching eels at ECNR Newcastle. He ignored me and caught six eels over a twenty minute period. Sadly the hide has now had to be locked up because of vandals.

I don't believe it! I thought that the hides were far enough in to be of zero interest to the toe rags , as in they would have to put in a bit of effort to reach them....:mad:

Billy Mays

Seeing a golden eagle in Tignes in the French Alps in March. It was the last day of my holiday and I was heading up the mountain on a chairlift when I spotted what I thought was a hang glider. It was only after a few seconds I realised it was some sort of raptor. When I was getting off I asked the chairlift operator what it was and he told me it was a golden eagle. I sat at the side of the lift in awe for about ten minutes just looking at it soaring over the mountains. I'd seen one when I was a kid in a raptor centre in Scotland but it was in a cage. I had no idea how big they actually are when in flight. It's wingspan looked around twice the size of a buzzards. It was a really great way to round off the holiday.