The final few days

I had to head into work on 28th December but used the opportunity while over Macroom way to check Dooniskey for the 5 Goosanders reported from there on 27th December. Sadly however no sign, although there were several small flocks of Wigeon and a few larger flocks of Eurasian Teal, despite searching I couldn't pick out any Green-winged Teal amongst them. A single Great-Crested Grebe bobbed about on the reservoir along with a few pairs of Tufted Duck. The squawly showers became too frequent so I called it a day after about 30 minutes.
The weather was a little better on 29th so we headed over towards Ballinclamper once again stopping at Ballinacourty Pier to see if we could get decent views of the Black-necked and Slavonian Grebes. However the wind was ferocious and it was impossible to keep the scope steady. I had brief views of a grebe about 200 metres off-shore but it was so difficult to hold a steady view that in the end I gave up without identifying the bird. At least things were a bit better at Ballinclamper. It was actually pretty sheltered just below the carpark and both the Bluethroat and a Black Redstart were giving very close views.

Black Redstart and Bluethroat - Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford, 28th December 2011

The Black Red was especially friendly and often came to within about 10 feet, too close at times to focus but I did manage another short movie clip.

Youtube Black Redstart

The area below the carpark at Ballinclamper is nicely sheltered and the both the Black Redstart and Bluethroat were busy flycatching and feeding all the time both P and I were watching them. Several times the Bluethroat chased the Black Red away which is not a sight you'll see too often in Ireland, especially in late December. As the mild weather continues for the moment I hope both birds continue to thrive and make it through to the spring.

Photographing Bluethroat and Black Redstart at Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford, 29th December 2011

The Choughs as always were still there and seem to be getting a little easier to approach, probably seen so many birders at this stage that they no longer are bothered. I think this is my best Chough shot so far, this time I increased the exposure compensation by one complete stop so I could capture the eye and subtle colour sheen of the Chough's plumage.

(Red-billed) Chough, Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford, 29th December 2011

Just in case we hadn't had enough of all these birds we were back again today in Ballinclamper. First of all though we checked Ballinacourty Pier and this time without the gale force wind both Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes were easy to pick out. The Slav Grebe was about 500 metres out and showing well in the scope but too distant for even a record shot. The Black-necked Grebe though came in to about 200-300 meters from the pier giving me a chance to take one crappy, heavily cropped record shot but a shot nonetheless.

Black-necked Grebe, Ballinacourty Pier, Co. Waterford, 31st December 2011.

We continued on to Ballinclamper where I decided to ignore the Bluethroat and Black Redstart (both of which were still present) and have a look at what else was around. A single Great Northern Diver was snorkling off-shore. There were good numbers of waders feeding on the shoreline, mainly Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, a few Grey Plover (which I don't see too often) and Bar-tailed Godwit.

Bar-tailed Godwit, Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford, 31st December 2011

Michael Cowming and Colum Flynn mentioned that the Spoonbill had been showing close in to the channels over at Dungarvan earlier that morning so we decided to check there on the way home. Sadly however there was no sign when we checked at around 3pm. We stopped briefly at Lough Aderra where there were a few pairs of Gadwall, a small flock of about 8 Wigeon, a couple of Pochard and several Tufted Duck.

And so that is it for birding in 2011. I think I finished the year with 8 Irish ticks, not as much as other years but I tend to twitch a bit less than before and probably miss a lot by spending more time on the photography side of things. I already did a wrap-up of 2011 earlier in my blog, you can read Highs and lows of 2011 for the best and worst bits of my birding year. My next blog entry will be in 2012, until then Happy New Year to you all and good birding!!

Winter Birding - sort of!

After several days of eating, drinking and sitting on the sofa it took quite an effort to drag ourselves out this morning but seeing as the Ballinclamper Bluethroat was still present, both myself and Polina decided to head over to Co. Waterford to take a look.
Word from Twitter was that the bird had been seen in the morning but had remained elusive. However when we arrived at 12:45 the bird was on show below the car park much to the delight of the 10 or so birders that were watching it.
We both had nice views of the bird as it moved up the beach, but having already gotten decent shots of it 5 weeks ago I didn't take any shots this time and instead just watched it through my bins for about 10 minutes before it did a typical disappearing trick into the tussocky grass.
Once it was gone from view I moved further up the beach to see if any of the Black Redstarts were still present but all I could find were a few Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits.
While Polina tried for further shots of the Bluethroat I headed for the beach on eastern side of the carpark. There were plenty of birds here feeding happily on the weed, everything from Wrens, Choughs, Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Robins and a single 1st winter male Black Redstart. This bird was quite obliging and allowed a few decent shots as it fed amongst the rocks and seaweed.

1st winter male Black Redstart

Black Redstart Youtube Clip

Its been almost 7 years since I first saw a wintering Black Red in Ireland (in 2005 at Dun Laoghaire's East Pier) and I've seen many since in Ireland and in towns and cities across Europe but they are a bird I still really enjoy seeing everytime.
The Choughs which are always present at Ballinclamper posed briefly for some shots although I always struggle to expose them properly. I've added a movie clip also although you might want to turn the sound down on your pc as the wind noise is pretty strong. I'm sure there's some way of editing that out but I'm a bit of a novice with the HD movie function on the 5D.

Chough, Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford, 27th December 2011

Youtube clip of Chough


After a couple of minutes with the local Choughs we though it was time for lunch and so we headed back to the car. Warmed up by some coffee and a sandwich we decided to give the Bluethroat another go. About 400 meters up the beach it was giving nice views, not great light but still possible to get some shots. It's hard to belief that this bird is still present into late December, more than 5 weeks after it was first found by Micheal Cowming. It has given a lot of enjoyment to many birders this year and its been a nice bird to show to interested passersby. I suppose the mild winter, abundance of food and suitable shelter have meant its survived well so far. Hopefully it'll continue to do so into 2012.

5 weeks and still there - Bluethroat, Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford, 27th December 2011

With the light fading quickly and the cold setting in we headed back to the car and set off for home. All in all a really enjoyable days birding, a Yellow-legged Gull was also present at Ballinclamper with a Black-necked Grebe, a Slavonian Grebe, 2 Long-tailed Ducks and 2 Velvet Scoters present at nearby Dungarvan. Well done to the Waterford birders for continuously digging out the birds here. Its always a pleasure to come over to the Dungarvan area for a bit of birding!

Highs (and lows) of 2011

Each December I look back and ask myself what were the best birds I saw or what made up the best birding moments of that year. I gave it a bit of thought over lunch today and came up with my Top 3 birds / birding moments of 2011. I decided to split it up into 'Ireland' and 'Outside of Ireland' (as I birded in Latvia and Mallorca this year) and I have mentioned some of low points too (which has a serious side so please read that).

To start with here is my Ireland Top 3 birding moments (in reverse order);

Number 3
Ring-necked Duck at The Lough, Cork, 3rd April 2011.

Probably the same bird that Harry Hussey's brother found along the Lee Fields in November 2010. It stayed in that area but moved with the Mallards to The Lough in early April. Myself and Polina went there one Sunday morning but there was no sign of it. After a busy day's birding Polina suggested that we check the Lough one more time before we head home and this time the bird was present (well done P). The light was spot on and the bird came so close at times that I couldn't focus on it. We were both very happy with the shots that we got and probably won't ever get better shots of this species in Ireland.

Female Ring-necked Duck - The Lough, Cork, 3 April 2011

It was one of those beautiful spring evenings, the first Willow Warblers were singing from the island on the centre of the Lough. Chiffchaffs were aplenty, there were good numbers of Sand Martins around and the first few Swallows of the year were seen skimming across the water. Just to show that winter was still hanging on though, there were a couple of female Bramblings poking around also.


Number 2
Red-eyed Vireo at Mizen Head, 20th October 2011.

For a bit more detail see an earlier blog entry - A few days off

I had seen Red-eyed Vireo's before but they were high in up in the canopy of jungles in Panama and Ecuador, so it was such a pleasure to see one up close.

Red-eyed Vireo, Mizen Head, Cork, 20th October 2011

Number 1
Wood Warbler, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, 5th June 2011

I'd had the week from hell in work and knew it was going to get worse, P was away visiting her Mum and it was the June Bank Holiday weekend. I decided to drive up to Glendalough for the day and look for the Wood Warbler that had been reported earlier in the week. I'd seen Wood Warblers before in Ireland, Latvia, Mallorca and Bulgaria but its a very rare breeding bird in Ireland and Glendalough is a special place, so worth the drive. The weather was dull and drizzling but I had a feeling it would be a good day, driving through Hollywood, Co. Wicklow I passed by this Common Snipe sitting on a fence post, it was an opportunity shot, no plan, no set-up, no waiting, but I really like it.

Common Snipe, Hollywood, Co. Wicklow, 5th June 2011.

I continued on to Glendalough and soon located the bird singing in the Oaks near the Upper Lake. I found a good spot in the woods and just waited. I was getting bitten alive by midges but I didn't care less, the bird put on a great show, at times singing from branches at eye level about 20 feet away.

Singing male Wood Warbler, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, 5th June 2011

It was so good to hear the spinning coin song and plaintive 'puw' call in an Irish woodland. As I sat still watching the bird there was so much else to see, Spotted Flycatchers, Red Squirrel, Jay, Raven's calling overhead and a briefly calling Great Spotted Woodpecker.
I rounded the day off at the Coronation Plantation with some equally nice Whinchat but it had gotten a bit soggy by then as you can possibly see.

Whinchat, Coronation Plantation, Co. Wicklow, 5th June 2011

And I completely forgot about the shitty week I'd had in work! Thankyou Co. Wicklow!


'Outside Ireland' Top 3

Number 3
Tawny Pipit, Cuber Dam, Mallorca, 16th April 2011

Cuber Dam is a beautiful spot, up in the mountains in the North-West of Mallorca. We'd seen Firecrest, Nightingale, Common Redstart, Black Vulture and Booted Eagle that day but had no decent shots. Towards the end of the walk P found this very obliging Tawny Pipit sitting on a rock, I got quite bad sunburn on my left arm getting these shots but worth it I think.

Tawny Pipit, Cuber Dam, Mallorca, 16th April 2011

Number 2
Spotted Redshank - S'Albufera, Mallorca, 13th April 2011

I'd never seen summer plumaged birds before and they look amazing. Especially a flock of 30 which stayed for several days at the excellent S'Albufera Marsh near Port d'Alcudia. This one came close to the hide and allowed some nice shots. I was very pleased when Joe Hobbs asked to use one of these as a cover photo for his excellent reference article on Tringa spp.

Spotted Redshank - S'Albufera Reserve, Mallorca, 13th April 2011.

Number 1
Bluethroat, Nagli Fish Ponds, Latvia, 16th July 2011

Latvia is an undiscovered birding gem. P and I spent three days with a great guide called Karlis Millers and an evening visit to Nagli Fish ponds in east Latvia near the border with Russia was the highlight. While we waited for singing Bluethroat to appear we saw White-tailed Sea Eagle and Little Bittern. As the evening drew in we waited for the male Bluethroats to start singing. I played a brief snatch of song on my ipod and a male immediately popped out from the willows and eyed me carefully. Sadly my camera was 50 meters away in the car, by the time I got back he'd disappeared. I described to Karlis how it had a red spot on it's chest (subspp. svecica) which he said were very rare in Latvia, no photo to prove it though. I waited for another 30 minutes until another male appeared, this time a white spotted bird (subspp. cyanecula). The light had  faded so much that this shot needed to be taken at ISO1000.

Bluethroat (subspp. cyanecula), Nagli Fish Ponds, Latvia, 16th July 2011

 We went back early the next morning but the Bluethroat were much more elusive. Nonetheless there were Barred Warblers, Blyth's Reed Warblers and Garden Warblers all breeding along the same stretch of river bank.....smashing!!!

So what were the crappy birding moments of 2011??

Number 3
Falling into the mud in the Douglas estuary trying to photograph Barry Ryan's excellent Wilson's Phalarope. Ronan McLoughlin assured me I wouldn't sink in the mud but I'm heavier than him and had more gear. I got halfway across the channel and got stuck. I chucked my gear to safety but it landed short in the silt. I almost lost the use of my 500mm lens!!! I spent 2 hours getting these not so great shots and got an earful from P who I left on her own minding the car all that time............sorry again P!!

Wilson's Phalarope, Douglas Estuary, Cork, 17th September 2011.

Number 2
Double dipping on the Least Sandpiper and Semipalmated Plover. We searched but the Least Sand had gone and in order to salvage the day I drove to Ventry for the Semi-P plover (it was a cert after all!). We spent an hour looking at a Ringed Plover until I noticed it had no palmations, by then it was too late and we needed to get back to Cork. Double d'oh!

Number 1

On a more serious note I listened to a Talking Naturally podcast featuring Ceri Levy discussing the bird genocide that is taking place in Malta. Many of us are aware of the indiscriminate slaughter of birds by Maltese hunters. You really need to listen to this podcast to realise just how sad and maddening it really is. There are still knuckle-heads out there who think it is macho to blow the brains out of Wheatears, Nightjars and Short-toed Eagles. To cap it all several Maltese hunters were arrested recently for illegally shooting raptors in the UK.....staggering.

Talking Naturally podcast - Ceri Levy and Malta's illegal and shameful hunting

Well done to Charlie Moores and Ceri Levy for this excellent podcast. Please support Birdlife Malta! They are the heroes!!

BirdLife Malta

The Big Year

When Dustin the Turkey decided to promote tourism in Leitrim he came up with a slogan which went something like "Leitrim, its not as bad as you'd think!". Well I guess you could say the same thing about 'The Big Year'.
In case you don't already know The Big Year is a movie starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson based on Mark Obmascik's book of the same title. It describes the story of three US birders competing with one another to complete and win a big year.
I went to see it last night and to be honest, based on reviews and short previews I'd seen, I wasn't expecting much. I read the book when it came out in 2004 and can't remember much of the detail so I couldn't say how true to the book the movie is. I believe not a whole lot. All in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected and in the end you could say I quite enjoyed it. The couple travelling to Attu Island, Alaska for their honeymoon was hilarious, the accommodation on Attu made the Cape Clear Obs look like a Four Seasons Hotel (I love the Cape Clear Obs in case you're reading this Steve). It was good to see Brian Dennehy in a film, can't remember when I last saw him in anything. I would love to have seen a bigger part for Jim Parsons of 'Big Bang Theory' and I'm presuming 'Annie Auklet' played by Anjelica Huston is based on Debi Shearwater?!
So would I recommend you go and see it...........yea, why not! For birders its interesting, its not aimed solely at birders obviously so don't get too caught up in the finer details. If you can't make it to the cinema its certainly worth renting.
Here's a short clip to whet your appetite!

The Big Year

Return to Clonea

News from Friday that the wonderful Clonea Bluethroat was still on show was enough to tempt me in that direction on Saturday morning. As usual I was a little bit late getting out and only arrived in the carpark at Ballinclamper around midday. However on arrival Dublin birder Brian Porter, who had been there since 8am, said the Bluethroat hadn't been seen despite extensive searches. Neither had the Buff-bellied Pipit for that matter.....bugger!!. I looked myself where I'd seen the bird 3 weeks earlier but there was no sign. I did however have a female type Black Redstart over there. As it happened though there were plenty of commoner birds feeding on the remaining weed, Robins, Blackbirds, a pair of Stonechats (great to see their numbers return following the hammering they took the previous 2 winters), Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Starlings and Wrens were all joining the Rock Pipits and Pied Wags on the rotting weed. Further out towards the shore there was a  small flock of Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, a couple of nice looking Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover. The sun came out, the temperature seemed to creep up a notch or two and it was just good to be out birding, Bluethroat or not.

Clonea Strand, Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford . 10th December 2011.

I ambled up the beach and picked up a second Black Redstart, this time a first winter male judging by the pale panel on the wing.

1st winter male Black Redstart - Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford 10th December 2011

1st winter male Black Redstart - Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford 10th December 2011. 1 of at least 5 birds there today!

As I watched him, 2 more first winter male type Black Redstarts appeared and at one stage I had 3 in a single binocular view and out of the corner of my eye, further up the beach, I could see a fourth. Along with the first bird I had on arrival that was 5 Black Redstarts. Michael Cowming said there were a further 2 about a kilometer up the beach. An impressive count indeed, they must have a had a good year or perhaps the mild winter so far has meant they've not felt the need to move further south.....I don't really know.
I watched the birds feeding on the weed for a while, chased away at times by the local Rock Pipits, a territorial Robin and a pair of Stonechats.
With the light fading I returned to the car, by now the sea was flat calm and I could make out a single Great Northern Diver and Great Crested Grebe about 500 meters off shore. I hadn't time on the way back to check for the Black-necked Grebe or Long-tailed Ducks reported at Dungarvan but tomorrow is another day.

Late Lesser 'throat

I mentioned in my previous posting that the Lesser Whitethroat I saw at the campsite on Knockadoon Head was quite sandy looking and that a number of people believed it may well be of the eastern form 'halimodendri'. Same as the Drogheda bird from earlier this year and potentially the bird I found in the plantation on the Old Head of Kinsale in late October ('A few days off').
Anyway, Saturday morning was sunny and unseasonably mild so I thought I'd go to Knockadoon Head and try to get a better look at the bird. I arrived at the campsite at about 11.30am and parked up. Sure enough there was the bird feeding in the brambles on the bank opposite the campsite itself. I decided the best way to see and photograph the bird was to park my car on the opposite side of the road to where the bird was and wait. Cars make great hides after all! The brambles and the elder trees actually held quite a few different birds. In the time that I spent waiting on the Lesser 'throat to show well I had a male and female Blackcap, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Stonechats and several Song Thrushes and Blackbirds. However the Lesser 'throat just wasn't playing ball so I abandoned my comfortable hide and decided to do a walk-about of the campsite. I re-found the Lesser 'throat feeding in the cordylines along with a female Blackcap. However close approach was difficult so I let it be. I decided that it would be well worth checking the beach for Pipits and Black Redstarts so I moved my car around and as I got out the Lesser 'throat was right in front of me feeding in the brambles. I got a couple of shots as the bird moved around about 15-20 feet away.

Lesser Whitethroat - Knockadoon Head 3rd December 2011

As you can see the bird's upper-parts are quite sandy brown. Given that it appeared at the same time as several 'tristis' type Chiffers and a Pallas's, it is possible that it origins are somewhat eastern.
Just at that point Michael John O'Mahony arrived and the two of us elected to check the beach below the pier. Michael picked up a single Black Redstart. I didn't get great views of the bird though as it flew into a small cave and hid. The beach itself is very sheltered and insects were plentiful so it should have plenty to sustain it for the winter. Michael also picked up a Short-eared Owl hunting distantly over the fields. A couple of minutes later it flew over our heads mobbed by a single Hooded Crow.
Before I headed for home we checked the caravan park on the off-chance that the Pallas's Warbler from 2 weeks ago had hung about. Returning to the area behind the football pitch were the bird had previously been seen I played a few snatches of Pallas's Warbler calls. After a minute a bird came in looking in size and jizz like a Pallas's but it disappearred before either of us could get anything on it. No sight or sound of the bird after that, whatever it was. However if anyone is around in the next fews days the caravan park is worth checking just in case.
All in all Knockadoon Head has been a great late Autumn spot this year. In November alone it's had Garden Warbler, RB Fly, Firecrest, Pallas's Warbler, Black Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Siberian Chiffchaff, and a possible Hume's Warbler. In November 1980 it had Ireland's first Pied Wheatear and in December 2003 it had Ireland's first ever Hume's Warbler. It has lots of cover, is very sheltered in parts and best of all only 30 minutes from home!!

Bluethroat

It's the autumn that just keeps on giving, one month to go before Christmas and all sorts of good stuff is still turning up. Yesterday (19th November) saw the Pallas's still at Power Head and the campsite at Knockadoon Head had 6 Black Redstarts, a sandy coloured looking Lesser 'throat and quite a few Chiffs, several of which were likely tristis. Late in the evening a probable Hume's Leaf Warbler was picked up in the gulley between the shrine and the campsite but sadly it was not seen the following morning.
I had made my plans to head to Knockadoon Head on Sunday morning with the purpose of checking out the Hume's, however with no word on twitter all morning I assumed the worst. Nevertheless, Owen found his second Pallas's of the autumn with a bird in the caravan park, so I'd go for that and possibly it might pose for some pics. Sadly for me the bird was quite mobile so after a brief but unsuccessful search I headed over to the campsite. The Lesser 'throat was showing well but in such light that told me photos wouldn't be anything special.
A suggestion from Ronan McLoughlin that it might be worth heading across the county bounds to Waterford for a Bluethroat at Ballinclamper seemed like the right idea. Heading east over the mountains though with a heavy mist and diminishing light it seemed like we'd made the wrong call. I arrived at Ballinclamper about 10 minutes after Ronan, the light had improved slightly and Ronan had seen the bird. It was feeding on the bank which runs down onto the beach and occassionally on the seaweed. The amount of weed on the beach was significant. While it provided plenty of insect food for the Bluethroat and various Pipits it was slippery, uneven and stank to high-heaven!! Initially the bird did a disappearing act, but after about 15 minutes it showed feeding on the weed and for the next 45 minutes or so it gave great views at times coming within about 20 feet. Given the light conditions I think Ronan and myself did pretty well!

Bluethroat - Ballinclamper, Co. Waterford - 20th November 2011

What I really liked about the bird was something I only really noted in pics afterwards and that was its attractive rusty-red outer tail feathers. They're just visible in the first photo but were obviously much more apparent in flight. I assume from its plumage the bird is a first winter male.

Here are some movie clips posted to Youtube

Youtube clip of Bluethroat

Another Youtube clip of Bluethroat




Always a great bird to see, only my 3rd ever! It's been a great autumn, here's hoping for more!

One last look!

One more day out birding before reality bites and I return to work. I thought I'd have another crack off the Pallas's Warbler and possibly get some better shots plus it could be at least a year before I see another Pallas's Warbler, it had after all been 4 years since I last saw one!
However by the time I reached the garden where the bird was whatever bit of sunshine that had been there earlier was now gone and I had to ratchet the camera up to 1000 ISO before I could get shutter speeds of between 160 and 200. The bird was still in the garden showing reasonably well but it was unlikely that I'd improve upon yesterday's image. Instead it was just time to watch and enjoy the bird through my bins. A pale looking and silent Chiffchaff was feeding actively in the fushcias around the garden. Its probably an ordinary Chiffer but its upperparts seemed very pale......not sure if that signifies anything though to be honest. (Footnote: this bird was heard to call the following day and confirmed as tristis after all!).

Chiffchaff 15th November 2011 - Power Head

There was no sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler which had been present yesterday. Here's a record shot of the little guy from yesterday at least.

Yellow-browed Warbler - 14th November 2011 - Power Head

I did a brief check of the same spot where the 2009 Dusky Warbler had been and had a second Chiffchaff there and the first Redwing of the winter!
I detoured home via Ballynamona but with the tide fully out I decided to check the laneway for the Whinchat but it seems to have moved on, hopefully it's warming its bones somewhere in southern France or Spain by now.

The autumn continues!

Sunday 13th November was to be a lazy day with no plans for birding least of all twitching. However a tweet from Wexford Bird News that a male Desert Wheatear had been found near Bray Head Co. Wicklow changed all that. I read the tweet at 10.50am and was on the Cork-Dublin road at 11.30am. Not bad going, and there was now news of a second male Desert Wheatear at the same site. A quick 'bio-break' in Cashel and I had reached the base of Bray Head at 2.10pm. The walk to the site where the birds were was the hard part though, especially with a heavy lens and tripod on my back. It was more of a 'yomp' than a walk. Both birds were located in an area of burnt furze about 500 metres south of the cross on Bray Head. The area was pretty exposed facing right out into the Irish sea but the bird I saw seemed quite happy there.

Twitchers on Bray Head 13th November 2011

 
Being the sort of bird they are, it often sat up on small rocks or pieces of burnt gorze and posed for pics. This was much to the delight of birders who had come from Cork, Waterford, Wexford and Northern Ireland to see what were the 5th and 6th records of Desert Wheatear in Ireland. I guess with an Isabelline Wheatear across the water in Glamorgan and another Isabelline and a Pied Wheatear this autumn on Spurn, many of us were hoping for something similar in Ireland. This was a great find and goes to show you the potential some of these under-watched sites have.
Before the sun set behind the Wicklow Mountains I managed some shots of the more showy of the 2 males.

Male Desert Wheatear - Bray Head, Co. Wicklow 13th November 2011

Male Desert Wheatear - Bray Head, Co. Wicklow 13th November 2011

There's also this brief video clip of the bird too.

youtube movie of Desert Wheatear

With still a few days left before I return to work, I headed out to Power Head on Monday morning. The plan being to try and get some shots of the Pallas's Warbler that had been found the day before. The light was pretty crappy and the bird very mobile, calling only occassionally. However this "seven-striped sprite" (I think it was D.I.M. Wallace who coined that phrase) showed well enough to allow one decent enough shot.

Pallas's Warbler - Power Head 14th November 2011

Out of curiosity I wanted to find out a little more about the bird's namesake (Pallas himself). Here's a link for anyone who is interested.

Peter Simon Pallas
As we watched the Pallas's Warbler, a Yellow-browed Warbler called a couple of times and allowed brief views but no decent photos. 2 great birds in the one garden!
With 2 seperate flocks of Common Cranes, a Swift spp. over Cork City and a white phase Gyrfalcon in off the sea at Inch Beach this morning, this autumn isn't over just yet!

Ballynamona Strand

So much for the settled weather continuing until Thursday, this morning it was overcast skies and drizzle. A quick check of the weather forecast showed that tomorrow would be wetter so I decided to head out.
I drove over towards Ballynamona direction and decided to check for the Barred Warbler, Whinchat and Buff-bellied Pipit.
Arriving at about 10.30am I parked up and began checking the roadside bushes and hedgerows where I'd had the bird last Sunday. Sadly however it all seemed much quieter today with the only birds present being a few Greenfinches, a Robin, Song Thrush and a few Blackbirds. I gave it about 45 minutes before deciding to myself that the bird had moved on! As I write this entry at home now I have just received a tweet from Cork Bird News that Ger Walsh has had the bird at that exact spot.....d'oh!
Anyway, I moved further up the road on foot towards the car park and could see a chat sitting up on the right hand side of the road. However looking at it through my bins I could see it was a female Stonechat...darn! I'd only gone a few paces further when a second bird appeared sitting up on the hedgerow on the opposite side of the road and this turned out to be the Whinchat. Still there after all! I decided the best bet for a shot was to use the car as a hide so I went back and set up my gear in the car and drove carefully back towards the spot where it'd been. The bird was quite obliging, at times sitting quite close to the car but all the shots I got were of it against a dull, milky-grey sky and apart from being tricky to expose properly it didn't really look that nice. Plus the bird was quite mobile, often flying around the other side of the hedgerow or disappearing altogether. OK, maybe the Buff-bellied Pipit would be easier!! Let's try that instead I thought.
I parked up at the beach carpark and began making my way towards the lake. About half-way along I picked up the bird on the decaying weed. As I mentioned in a previous post there is a heck of a lot of weed on Ballynamona Strand right now so plenty of insects for wintering Pipits and Wagtails to feed off.

Ballynamona Strand 8th November 2011 - loads of weed!

A tweet just then from Cork Bird News said that Ger Walsh had had a Water Pipit at Silver Strand Ballycotton. That might be worth checking later!
I spent about an hour on and off with the Buff-bellied Pipit but the grey light meant crisp sharp shots were difficult.

Buff-bellied Pipit - Ballynamona Strand 8th November 2011

 
A kind dog walker asked me if the silver Saab in the carpark with its boot open was mine.....no wonder I lose stuff at Ballycotton!!! I headed back to shut it....this isn't going too well I thought. On returning I met Ger, he'd had a juv. AGP and the White-rumped Sandpiper at the back of the lake, too distant for shots though. The tide started to come in and as a high tide roost formed further up the beach Ger kindly showed me a juvenile-type Ringed Plover amongst the flock of other Ringed Plover, Sanderling and Dunlin which was smaller and darker than the rest suggesting it may be of the sub-species tundrae. Interesting stuff and worth keeping an eye out for over the coming months.
I decided to give the Whinchat one final go and drove slowly back down the road. It was still there and with a little break in the clouds the light was slightly better. The bird continued to move around fly-catching but as before all the shots were against the back-ground of a dull sky. If only it would sit against the hedge or even for a moment lower down in the hawthorn. It paid no attention at all to my car and at one stage flew within a few feet of my face as it chased a flying insect. Finally it perched on a low barbed wire fence. With a nice green back-drop this was my chance for a shot. Holding my heavy 500mm lens in my right hand balanced against the drivers door window and steering with my left hand, I edged carefully forward in first gear. When I felt close enough to get a shot and not spook the bird, I fired the shutter 3 or 4 times. Just then the bird flew, I checked the camera and one of the frames looked sharp. That'll do, time to go before I break any further rules of safe motoring!!

Whinchat - handheld (with one hand!)

A 'tail' of two Pallids

Looking outside this morning I could see a very thick fog lying over the River Lee and hoped that it might have grounded some overnight migrants.  I called Harry Hussey and told him I was planning to head out and could he be ready in 40 minutes. I picked him up in the city before heading towards east Cork. Given that Ballycotton and Power Head were already in the process of being checked we made an 'executive' decision to go once again to Knockadoon Head. First stop was the campsite. We checked the small beach and pier below for Black Reds or 'tasty' Wheatears but to no avail.  A further check around the campsite itself and the fields beside it yielded zilch and I was starting to think that autumn had finally finished. Moving further back along the headland we pulled up outside a house about 200 metres from the campsite and within a few minutes I picked up a small flycatcher perched on a fence post along the side of a private garden. As I checked it with my bins I could see it was a Red-breasted Flycatcher. It cocked its tail a few times as it sat in the sun before it disappearred into the fuschia bush. We checked the adjacent gardens and waited for 20 minutes hoping for further views and some shots but that was all we got. This was no doubt the same bird that was found last Saturday so buoyed by this we continued on to a number of other spots on the headland. Sadly however the best we could find was a Chiffchaff in the Pallas's Lane and no migrants whatsoever along the Holy Ground or in the Hume's Garden.

Pallas's Lane - just a Chiffer here :-(

The Hume's Garden - but no Hume's Warbler sadly!

I suggested then we head back to Ballycotton and see if we could relocate the Barred Warbler Harry had found the previous day. I hadn't really got any decent shots and felt the bird could still be there. As we reached Shanagarry Ger Walsh called to say the juvenile Pallid Harrier seen the previous week was again on view. With some good light still remaining we decided to head for that instead and hopefully I could get some decent shots.

Arriving there we were met by Ger Walsh and Paul Moore and joined soon after by John Meade. Ger and Paul had had the Pallid about 30 minutes beforehand and sure enough after about 10 minutes wait it showed up again quartering the fields nearby. I managed a couple of flight shots before the bird disappeared over distant fields chased by some grey crows. On checking the shots I could see one of its tail feathers was missing, I didn't think anything of this assuming the bird had lost that feather in the previous week since I had last seen it or perhaps in the misty conditions a week ago, that missing feather just wasn't apparent.

Photo 1. Juv. Pallid Harrier (with tail feather missing)

Just then a Merlin scattered the large flock of Starlings from the overhead power lines and as they took flight it was Ger who picked out a single juvenile Rosy Starling. The flock settled back on the wires but sadly once again the light was the wrong side of me.
As we waited for further views of the Pallid Harrier, a smart 2nd cy male Hen Harrier came in with at least one ringtail. Then the Pallid was picked up again, this time over a distant field. I watched it as it flew around for a short while before it alighted in the middle of the stubble. At this point I can remember hearing Ger and Harry describing how the Pallid was in the air and moving along the hedgerow on the edge of the stubble field. I started to get a little confused then, through my bins I could indeed see a Pallid Harrier in the air but when I switched back to my camera I could see the Pallid Harrier remaining on the deck in the stubble field.

Photo 2. Pallid Harrier - stubble field.

The pale coverts on the folded wing were very obvious and even visible with the naked eye in the fading light. I said that I thought the Pallid was still on the deck and that the pale wing coverts were clearly visible. Paul quickly said that he too had the Pallid on the deck and then I think it was Paul who exclaimed something along the lines of.....'there's two effing birds!' And that was it, all five of us at this point had been looking at not one but two juvenile Pallid Harriers in the same location. Until last April the species hadn't even been recorded in Ireland. What were the chances of this happening and where had this second bird come from (for that matter where had the first bird come from?). Anyway, we all watched in awe as both Pallid Harriers quartered the same field. One of the birds clearly differentiated from the other by its missing outer tail feather.

Photo 3. Juv. Pallid Harrier - the second bird. No missing tail feathers!

Photo 4. Juv Pallid Harrier - same bird as photo 3.

Photo 5. juv. Pallid Harrier - missing tail feather

Photo 6.  Obvious missing tail feather.

 (the shots above were taken at ISO 3200 and are heavily cropped so please excuse their crappiness)

So for a day that at one point seemed to signal a depressing end to the autumn it finished with an RB Fly, a Rosy Starling and 2 fantastic Pallid Harriers!