September is a bit late to start thinking about a year list. However for one reason or another, I decided to tot up how many species I'd seen in Ireland this year already. The result was a measly 144. Its not the low number that bothers me but rather the absence of certain species. Missing from this year's list are:
Dipper
Merlin
Scaup
Whooper Swan
Tree Sparrow
And not one species of owl seen (LEOs heard at least late one night in February).....Oh for shame!!
Anyway, there's still a bit of time to go before 31st December and peak season is just upon us. But it's a reminder nonetheless, in the coming scramble for rares, not to overlook the every day stuff.
And while I pondered all of this I realised that the window for Green Sandpiper is closing, I know a little pool very near to the Dunkettle interchange coming into Cork city that is almost a cert every year for Green Sands. So with that I popped out there Sunday evening and picked up two birds bobbing around in the shallows, it might be another year before I see the next ones!
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