Animals and birds you used to never see...

John_Rambo · 10-01-2019 11:38pm #1

But I see a lot now!

Just thought I'd share some sightings that have become common now, that as a wildlife enthusiastic kid in the eighties would have had me VERY excited. Just a chat, interesting topic!

1 - Herons. Yes, they were there, but not like they are now! Every morning they're flying over my house in the dawn and I can get so close to them now on rivers and mudflats. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

2 - Jays. Never saw them as a kid. Ever. Saw my first ones in the Phoenix park a few years ago. Very exotic looking. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

3 - Buzzards and kites. Can't really make out which is which, but they're on the motorways, sometimes pretty close up. Fantastic. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

4 - Kestrels, sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons. There's more of them. Much more. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

5 - Otters. Again, completely elusive in the past, but now a lot more common, happy to report multiple sightings close to home and on holidays around Ireland. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

6 - Egrets. One got blown over in a storm to Dollymount in Dublin and there were lots of ornithologists out with binoculars. Now there's loads of them. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

7 - Pine Martins. Only saw my first one in Wicklow two years ago, I've since seen two more, one in Galway, one in Kerry. (I am aware why they're more common now)

8 - Green finches. I never really saw them as a kid, and I'd be looking for them, but I got niger seed for my bird feeders and have loads of them in the garden now.

9 - Killer whales. (ok... still rare and a treat to see) I saw two in Howth a couple of years ago. Years of sailing in the Irish sea and I never saw them till then. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

10 - Corvidae. Is it me or is there just a massive abundance of (particularly) Grey crows, magpies and jackdaws compared to a few years ago?? (I'm not aware why they're more common)

Any more once elusive and now common sightings appreciated? Particularly advice on what to look out for.

magicbastarder · 10-01-2019 11:54pm

John_Rambo wrote: »

3 - Buzzards and kites. Can't really make out which is which, but they're on the motorways, sometimes pretty close up. Fantastic. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

both were extinct in ireland due to persecution. the buzzard re-established itself (in one of the six counties first, can't remember which) and has been spreading southwards for years since. the red kit was reintroduced, in avoca and north county dublin. has also been spreading since.

John_Rambo · 10-01-2019 11:58pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

both were extinct in ireland due to persecution. the buzzard re-established itself (in one of the six counties first, can't remember which) and has been spreading southwards for years since. the red kit was reintroduced, in avoca and north county dublin. has also been spreading since.

I remember looking out of plane windows in France and Spain as a kid and being amazed at seeing raptors flying around the apron. They were probably there for bird control, but it was something that just wasn't common place in Ireland. The kites and buzzards that are here now are very impressive and very "viewable" if you know what I mean.

looksee · 10-01-2019 11:59pm

I saw my first Jay ever this last summer, and I agree there are lots more herons. I'm not particularly a birdwatcher except in the most casual sense. I have also seen more raptors, but that is because I have had my attention drawn to them. Also occasionally seen owls which I had never seen before.

Pretzill · 11-01-2019 12:22am

I had red deer in my garden last May - big males the size of ponies! There's lots of deer around but they still impress me.

Buzzards - the first time I saw them was in the north about 10 years ago - seen them for the last three years here.

Bats (I think Natterer's here) love watching them feed in the long summer evenings - I'm going to invest in a bat detector for this summer

littlevillage · 11-01-2019 12:38am

John_Rambo wrote: »

But I see a lot now!

4 - Kestrels, sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons. There's more of them. Much more. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

Aggree about the Kestels & Sparrowhawks.... seen my very first of both probably a couple of years ago...See them nearly daily now. Same for Goldfinches. I seen my first probably about 2 years ago.... rarely a day goes by now ...that I don't see them. Had about 6 or 7 in my garden one day last year....amazing...such beautiful birds.

John_Rambo wrote: »

7 - Pine Martins. Only saw my first one in Wicklow two years ago, I've since seen two more, one in Galway, one in Kerry. (I am aware why they're more common now)

Why are they more common now ? is it that there are more pine forests :rolleyes:

gzoladz · 11-01-2019 8:18am

You can tell Red Kites from Buzzards by their tail. RK's are "forked", where Buzzards' are "fanned".

Some other species (some raptors, pine martin, etc) where hunted to nearly extinction in the country and they are coming back.

It can also be that you now got better at spotting them.

With mobile phones and all, I can see today's teenagers reporting in 30 years that they never saw a herring gull in their youth!!

magicbastarder · 11-01-2019 9:35am

John_Rambo wrote: »

6 - Egrets. One got blown over in a storm to Dollymount in Dublin and there were lots of ornithologists out with binoculars. Now there's loads of them. (I'm not aware why they're more common)

from 2006:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/egrets-settle-into-suburbia-and-the-seaside-1.1017515

Graces7 · 11-01-2019 3:21pm

I kind of shared a cottage with a pine marten and her young way back; early 2000s. She used to come down the chimney (place had been empty years) for food so I diverted her to eat at the door. Lovely creature and if she got hungry she would came and ask. And her young too.

tricky D · 11-01-2019 4:40pm

Egrets
Gannets
Woodpecker about a decade ago.
Bramblings and other assorted small birds.
Lots of BoPs: Kes, Sprawk, Buzzards, Peregrines, and my first Owl a couple of weeks back.
Odonata: Damsel and Dragonflies.
Porpoises, Dolphins, Killers and Humpbacks.

On the flip, I haven't seen a Basking Shark in a few decades.

corks finest · 11-01-2019 6:17pm

tricky D wrote: »

Egrets
Gannets
Woodpecker about a decade ago.
Bramblings and other assorted small birds.
Lots of BoPs: Kes, Sprawk, Buzzards, Peregrines, and my first Owl a couple of weeks back.
Odonata: Damsel and Dragonflies.
Porpoises, Dolphins, Killers and Humpbacks.

On the flip, I haven't seen a Basking Shark in a few decades.

Basking Sharks 2 years ago, Roberts cove , Cork

Pretzill · 11-01-2019 8:07pm

tricky D wrote: »

Egrets
and my first Owl a couple of weeks back.

I have never seen an owl - I live rural for many years and not a one

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 11-01-2019 8:08pm

For me it's Buzzard, Egret, Kingfisher and Dipper that I see more commonly now compared to 10 or 15 years ago.

cd07 · 11-01-2019 10:04pm

For me it's definitely Buzzard I'd never have seen one when was younger. And strange fish like gilthead bream showing up on the east coast!

corks finest · 12-01-2019 11:49am

Chough,,, myrtleville and up the cliff walk Roberts cove

Bogwoppit · 12-01-2019 12:06pm

Had an egret in the garden a couple of weeks ago, that was a first.

I’ve seen the odd jay over the years but las summer was on the way to a wedding with Mrs B and 3 flew out in front of the car, only 2 made it across.

Found a dead stoat on the road outside the house last year, only ever seen one before about 20 years ago. I knew it was around because I’d seen the footprints.

I see less mink around now which is good.

Wood pigeon numbers have increased a lot, I think due to the increase of rapeseed which helps them over winter.

Blaizes · 13-01-2019 12:38am

Pretzill wrote: »

I have never seen an owl - I live rural for many years and not a one

Saw a long eared owl a few years ago late one night flying very low. The eyes were amazing luminous yellow -orange.Would love to see one again.

appledrop · 13-01-2019 12:44am

Buzzards. Never see them years ago. Now I have my daily sighting everyday on various points on M1/ M50. They love to perch beside motorway + observe! Amazing when soaring in sky + I also know their calling sound so always look skyward if I hear one especially on warm summer day.

Never had goldfinches or greenfinches in garden as a child. Have loads now every day at feeder in garden.

appledrop · 13-01-2019 12:47am

If anyone wants to attract finches to their garden they love sunflower hearts.

appledrop · 13-01-2019 12:49am

Pretzill wrote: »

I have never seen an owl - I live rural for many years and not a one

On the plus side that means you don't have a lot of vermin where you live!

Pretzill · 13-01-2019 1:21am

appledrop wrote: »

On the plus side that means you don't have a lot of vermin where you live!

Ooh I wish that were true. We have a comfortable family of rats who we thought the fox and/or a feral cat was keeping under control but they persist - in fairness only one or two at the moment but I won't put out poison for obvious reasons and they are clever animals when it comes to traps - a barn owl would have lots to eat where I live!

magicbastarder · 13-01-2019 10:02am

appledrop wrote: »

On the plus side that means you don't have a lot of vermin where you live!

that's an odd leap of logic. perhaps they have lots of vermin precisely because they've no owls?
rodent poison is a big issue for owls too, especially barn owls.

my3cents · 13-01-2019 2:31pm

We've been feeding birds with fat balls, peanuts and wild bird food for years and we've had lots of rarities over that time and for ages one rarity was the Gold Finch. However in the last couple of years they have become the main bird on the peanuts. On average there would be 6 on or around the feeders and I've counted as many as 16. Three years ago we would have commented if we'd seen just one.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 13-01-2019 2:39pm

my3cents wrote: »

We've been feeding birds with fat balls, peanuts and wild bird food for years and we've had lots of rarities over that time and for ages one rarity was the Gold Finch. However in the last couple of years they have become the main bird on the peanuts. On average there would be 6 on or around the feeders and I've counted as many as 16. Three years ago we would have commented if we'd seen just one.

This may be, in fact most certainly is, unscientific and is based only on local observation but...the numbers of, and frequency of, Goldfinches visiting our garden (where I have daily records of species and numbers going back over 40 years) is directly proportional to the drop in numbers of Greenfinch over the past 6 years.

corks finest · 13-01-2019 2:42pm

Caiden Small Scanner wrote: »

my3cents wrote: »

We've been feeding birds with fat balls, peanuts and wild bird food for years and we've had lots of rarities over that time and for ages one rarity was the Gold Finch. However in the last couple of years they have become the main bird on the peanuts. On average there would be 6 on or around the feeders and I've counted as many as 16. Three years ago we would have commented if we'd seen just one.

This may be, in fact most certainly is, unscientific and is based only on local observation but...the numbers of, and frequency of, Goldfinches visiting our garden (where I have daily records of species and numbers going back over 40 years) is directly proportional to the drop in numbers of Greenfinch over the past 6 years.

Could be, something similar happened in my garden,and brothers ( he was 30 m away),can't say now as I stopped feeding them over rodents,still thave ivy, gooseberry, blackcurrant, strawberry etc bushes,and dome gorge on them

The Pheasant2 · 13-01-2019 2:43pm

Have never seen an owl or a jay..

Would see goldfinches, herons nearly daily and would see several foxes every evening/night - fox numbers appear to have exploded in my area the last few years, near impossible not to see at least one if you're out walking/driving at night

my3cents · 13-01-2019 2:44pm

Caiden Small Scanner wrote: »

This may be, in fact most certainly is, unscientific and is based only on local observation but...the numbers of, and frequency of, Goldfinches visiting our garden (where I have daily records of species and numbers going back over 40 years) is directly proportional to the drop in numbers of Greenfinch over the past 6 years.

That works for me. Greenfinch numbers used to be much higher and about 2-3 years ago they vanished (Trichomonosis they got from congregating at bird tables?) and that's when the Goldfinch numbers increased.

Now we comment about the odd Greenfinch that turns up on the feeders. We see one everyday but they used to be the bullies on the feeders all the time.

my3cents · 13-01-2019 2:50pm

The Pheasant2 wrote: »

Have never seen an owl or a jay..

Would see goldfinches, herons nearly daily and would see several foxes every evening/night - fox numbers appear to have exploded in my area the last few years, near impossible not to see at least one if you're out walking/driving at night

It really depends where you live? In the UK where we were for years Jays were all to common and a real pain the backside in the veg garden; you could not grow peas without really good all encompassing netting.

I once untangled what I thought was a dead Jay from the bottom of our pea nets. It must of took me about a minute and I had the bird on its back in my hand when one eye opened it looked around flapped like mad then flew off. Clever B4st4rds are Jays.

Haven't seen a Jay in years but daily I see Choughs in groups up to 30 at this time of year.

appledrop · 13-01-2019 3:02pm

my3cents wrote: »

That works for me. Greenfinch numbers used to be much higher and about 2-3 years ago they vanished (Trichomonosis they got from congregating at bird tables?) and that's when the Goldfinch numbers increased.

Now we comment about the odd Greenfinch that turns up on the feeders. We see one everyday but they used to be the bullies on the feeders all the time.

We are the same. About 3 years again we would have 15+ greenfinches on feeder and about 5 or 6 goldfinches. Then greenfinches just disappeared. Finally back this year but only 6 or 7 compared with 15+ goldfinches now.

appledrop · 13-01-2019 3:05pm

I would love to see an owl. The reason I'm saying about lack of rodents is because their was a brilliant bbc documentary about them. They will only live + nest in areas were they are plenty of rodents. They eat plenty of them so are a good alternative to poison if they stay.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 13-01-2019 3:10pm

appledrop wrote: »

I would love to see an owl. The reason I'm saying about lack of rodents is because their was a brilliant bbc documentary about them. They will only live + nest in areas were they are plenty of rodents. They eat plenty of them so are a good alternative to poison if they stay.

True, but a lack of owls does not equate to a lack of rodents. Indeed more likely less owls = more rodents.

Pretzill · 13-01-2019 4:30pm

I haven't noticed a decrease in Greenfinch over extra Goldfinch until this year (taking more notice because of the bird survey) what I do know is that Greenfinch seem to gather at the feeders later in the spring. (So I'm not giving up on them yet) There is a serious lack of dunnocks (tree sparrows) this year - and chaffinches are in very healthy proportions - so maybe it's just one bird species decline is another's rise? Spotted 1 tree sparrow this week - first since the count began.

Goldfinch are definitely a bird I see more now than years ago - I still remember seeing my first pair one warm summer day about 18 years ago and thinking they were some sort of exotic migrant. Beautiful birds.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 13-01-2019 6:51pm

Pretzill wrote: »

... There is a serious lack of dunnocks (tree sparrows) this year - and chaffinches are in very healthy proportions - so maybe it's just one bird species decline is another's rise? Spotted 1 tree sparrow this week - first since the count began.
.

Just for clarity; Dunnock used to be called Hedge Sparrows (although not sparrows) and the Tree Sparrow is a completely different, and much more scarce, species.

bogman · 13-01-2019 8:44pm

Spotted 2 Jays in the past few days, rarely see them, on the other hand while looking for a murmuration in west Cork in my car I came across a good few flies on the road near Rossmore, when did anyone here have to clean flies off their windscreens in the last 4 or 5 years...

John_Rambo · 13-01-2019 9:36pm

tricky D wrote: »

Egrets
Gannets
Woodpecker about a decade ago.
Bramblings and other assorted small birds.
Lots of BoPs: Kes, Sprawk, Buzzards, Peregrines, and my first Owl a couple of weeks back.
Odonata: Damsel and Dragonflies.
Porpoises, Dolphins, Killers and Humpbacks.

On the flip, I haven't seen a Basking Shark in a few decades.

Competed in a sailing regatta a few years ago in Kinsale and I actually thought we were going to hit one we saw that many of them. We saw a sunfish too!!! Even have a video of it. We hadn't a notion what it was.

Some great advice on this thread on how to attract wildlife in to the garden. Thanks everyone.

Markcheese · 13-01-2019 9:57pm

I've seen a couple of barn owls, but only in the UK...
I see loads of soaring birds of prey now... The smaller ones are usually by the side of the motorway... Coughs and egrets (coughs because I'm near the coast now)
Red squirrels, not always but on and off,
Don't see as many otters as I used to, but that probably just where I live now.. (supposed to be loads in Cork city but I haven't seen them in 7 or 8 years)

Unfortunately I only ever see dead hedgehogs...

Ghetofarmulous · 13-01-2019 10:02pm

I remember I went to a field in Gormanstown on a report that there might be short eared owls that come from Scotland. That was about ten years ago and I did indeed find them. Went to live in Scotland and saw an abundance of Wildlife since. Been back in Ireland living in the midlands. Keep an eye out for all things wild but not much in the way of Raptors or Red Deer. Pity, In Scotland the Grampians present a haven for wildlife to roam and as a result Aberdeen City becomes a flood of wild animals.

corks finest · 14-01-2019 1:18am

Markcheese wrote: »

I've seen a couple of barn owls, but only in the UK...
I see loads of soaring birds of prey now... The smaller ones are usually by the side of the motorway... Coughs and egrets (coughs because I'm near the coast now)
Red squirrels, not always but on and off,
Don't see as many otters as I used to, but that probably just where I live now.. (supposed to be loads in Cork city but I haven't seen them in 7 or 8 years)

Unfortunately I only ever see dead hedgehogs...

Red squirrel on the walk from the tennis village to the Lee road,plus a pair of jays

corks finest · 14-01-2019 10:00am

Spotted red squirrel,plus gold crests,all the finches,usual black birds ,thrushes,on the walk to the Lee fields, behind the tennis village,cork, hopefully a kingfisher b4 I get home,egret,,and a few cormorants spotted

finla · 25-01-2019 8:56pm

Get lots of greenfinches here in the south east, also saw my first yellowhammers last year! And lots of buzzards too.

corks finest · 25-01-2019 9:23pm

John_Rambo wrote: »

tricky D wrote: »

Egrets
Gannets
Woodpecker about a decade ago.
Bramblings and other assorted small birds.
Lots of BoPs: Kes, Sprawk, Buzzards, Peregrines, and my first Owl a couple of weeks back.
Odonata: Damsel and Dragonflies.
Porpoises, Dolphins, Killers and Humpbacks.

On the flip, I haven't seen a Basking Shark in a few decades.

Competed in a sailing regatta a few years ago in Kinsale and I actually thought we were going to hit one we saw that many of them. We saw a sunfish too!!! Even have a video of it. We hadn't a notion what it was.

Some great advice on this thread on how to attract wildlife in to the garden. Thanks everyone.

Sunfish lucky u

CJhaughey · 25-01-2019 9:34pm

I caught an Almaco jack a few years back, pretty unusual for these waters, see plenty of red squirrels most weeks and have noticed a few Jays coming around they don't come much closer than 40m to the house but are easily observable.
Lots of Frogs as well, I try and keep a section of ground undisturbed with long grass and wild flowers in the summer and I think this aids them as it doesn't dry out as much as mown lawn.
Plenty of mature trees around also helps with cover for larger animals, I found a sika fawn grazing the edge of the drive last year. I could walk up to within 2m of it and it didn't seem shy at all.

John_Rambo · 25-01-2019 10:00pm

corks finest wrote: »

Sunfish lucky u

In your Atlantic playground only a kilometre from the shore.

CJhaughey wrote: »

I caught an Almaco jack a few years back, pretty unusual for these waters, see plenty of red squirrels most weeks and have noticed a few Jays coming around they don't come much closer than 40m to the house but are easily observable.
Lots of Frogs as well, I try and keep a section of ground undisturbed with long grass and wild flowers in the summer and I think this aids them as it doesn't dry out as much as mown lawn.
Plenty of mature trees around also helps with cover for larger animals, I found a sika fawn grazing the edge of the drive last year. I could walk up to within 2m of it and it didn't seem shy at all.

Such good practice, we don't have that much room, but leave a good few square metres of dead wood, overgrowth, wild flower, nettles and long grass but all it accommodates is insects the hope of a hedgehog. We're across the road from a big park with active badgers and plenty of fox. Then the Bull Island with a permanent sea colony. We were delighted to spot a buzzard last week up close in the park and there's otter tracks in the mud flats on the Bull Island. Had to google the Almaco jack, very interesting catch.

JCJCJC · 25-01-2019 10:55pm

Fernanda Bitter Burglar wrote: »

Talking of owls, one night of the annual meteor showers (can't remember which one), around midnight I thought I'd see if I could glimpse anything out of an upstairs window. I was there for no more than thirty seconds or so peering intently when the window was suddenly full of wings as a large owl soundlessly took flight from the guttering just above. Scared the living nightlights out of me :eek:. I would have thought the house was too far into suburbia but obviously not.

I see owls on the motorways every few months or so. There’s one that hunts the median of the M20/21 near Dooradoyle in Limerick. Thirty years ago, I had one in my garden every night, because my house bounded a cornfield and there were lots of field mice in it. Then came set-aside, and corn growing stopped, the owl population dropped. The corvids are rocketing, because farmers aren’t shooting them over corn. In one three mile stretch of the N21 at Coolanoran, there are five newly-established rookeries.
My local rarities are blackcaps and long-tailed tits, very rarely see either. When I was a lad, egrets and rock doves were unknown. I have seen woodcock exhibiting strange behavior twice, running in circles on the road. I think they mistake roads for frozen rivers, if they arrive on migration on moonlit nights.

kildare lad · 29-01-2019 9:40pm

ive seen a barn owl once while i was out fishing one night , it was near a train station so there was a bit of light and one flew over my head. It was an amazing sight. See buzzards/herons regularly, had a lapwing in my garden last year during the snow, i live in kildare so i say thats a rare sight. Weve millions of corvids where i live, i throw out a lot of food that doesnt get eaten and there'd be 20 of them in the garden ina few mins. Had a raven out the back one day its the only time ive ever seen one, man it was huge.

Billy Mays · 01-02-2019 11:07am

As mentioned previously, buzzards and egrets mainly

Otters in the Liffey in the middle of Dublin city centre was the one that amazed me the most

Scotty # · 06-02-2019 11:11am

Owls are hard to spot, they're mostly out after dark and are pretty silent in flight. When they are vocal, most people who have hard a barn owl probably didn't realise it was a barn owl as they screech rather than 'hoot'.

I never thought I'd get to see a wild Pine Martin, then one morning out of the blue one (a giant one!) ran across the road in front of me. I've seen 5 or 6 since, all east Meath area, but unfortunately all road kill, 3 or 4 on the M1.

I regularly see Egrets along the Boyne in Drogheda. Probably the most exotic, to me anyway, of our more recent residents.

Despite spending plenty of time along riverbanks I've only seen Kingfishers twice and on both occasions it was just a glimpse of blue as they darted out of sight.

Never seen a dipper or a jay

My Brother swears he saw a spotted woodpecker in the garden one day (north county Dublin) but I'm not sure I believe him.

I usually try to get a week in Inishbofin once a year and it's a great spot to see birds you wouldn't normally see everyday, Corncrake, Ravens, Wheatear, Coughs, oh and the occasional basking shark.

JCJCJC · 06-02-2019 11:51am

Years ago pine martens were very rare - I used to go to the Burren to see them with the late and great John D. MacNamara. in the past twenty years they have increased their populations hugely, I've seen them around Abbeyleix and Adare. My local wildlife ranger in West Limerick has found their scats in the Sugarhill area.
Dippers are very easy to see, surprised you haven't seen one - stand by any shallow river with big rocks and you should get lucky. I saw about five egrets from the Maigue bridge in Adare this morning on my way to work. The first one appeared there about ten years ago, probably from the colony in Tarbert. Kingfishers are easy enough too - as a boy I used to do a bit of fishing and if you spend time on a river like that you'll see them. They use the same fishing perch over and over. I've seen jays and woodpeckers in abundance at bird tables in Sussex and Kent but not so often here.
Probably the rarest thing I've seen are whimbrels - a flock spent a winter on farmland behind my house a few years ago.

I took shelter under an ivy bush in a shower of rain years ago, and three barn owls flew out of it.

corks finest · 06-02-2019 6:18pm

Watching a red squirrel today inchigaggin walk from inchigaggin bridge- Lee fields

Markcheese · 06-02-2019 6:53pm

Not so much a never seen as a never heard (in Ireland), the Cuckoo,
I'd always thought I just hadn't recognised the sound, till I heard one once in Cornwall....

Wailin · 07-02-2019 10:26am

Had a boat for a few years back in mid 2000's and fished regularly out from Tramore on the south east. The amount of sea life back then was incredible. We saw Fin, Humpback and minke whales, Risso, Common and Bottlenose dolphins, Common porpoise, Blue sharks, sunfish (twice) and probably the most memorable, 20 to 30 basking shark feeding off Ardmore.

Sadly, talking to friends who still fish regularly, these are much rarer sights nowadays.

Animals and birds you used to never see...

Comments