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BRANCH MATTERS We Gathered Together the Remnants of the Nest, Found Gadwall CAIRDE EANLAITH NA GAILLIMHE BIRDWATCH GALWAY This is a local forum newsletter – www.birdwatchgalway.org contributions and comments are QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER – EDITOR: NEIL SHARKEY most welcome. Telephone: 086 1680856 e-mail:[email protected] Distributed by e mail only Issue No. 67 Novembert 09 BRANCH MATTERS We gathered together the remnants of the nest, found Gadwall. The Gadwall were preening, with the white an old ceramic plant pot, about six inches in diameter, panel on the wing very much in evidence. A pair of and moved the family in. This we wrapped in an old Little Grebe was also picked out. Little Egret were Winter birds are flocking in and building up the towel, leaving a small opening at one side. We placed everywhere, hunting in the shallow water and flying in numbers of our avifauna. This heralds the start of the pot on our bedroom window ledge, the stopover and out of the reeds. A flock of around 100 Black-tailed another busy season with I-WeBS counts all across the spot, and hoped for the best. As this is west facing, and Godwit was also observed. county from the lakes and turloughs in the south-west it’s windy out here, we hoped that the towel would Suddenly everything went up from the lagoons; a around Gort to the ones in north-east around Tuam and provide some small amount of shelter and warmth for juvenile Peregrine was chasing the godwits. Well, I say from the south-east around Loughrea to the north-west the babies. After that we waited and hoped not knowing chasing, but to tell the truth, the bird didn’t seem to on the Connemara coast. The third round of winter how it would turn out. know what it was doing. It never really looked like Atlas counts have started again on the 1st of November The following morning the parents were still catching one of the godwits; presumably it was the first and soon there will be the winter garden bird survey as making forlorn trips to the site of the nest, food in time the Peregrine had been let out to play on its own. well. All records count, so please, submit as many mouth as usual. The babies were starting to perk up We watched the fun and games for a couple of sightings as you can onto our own website and make noise and, much to our surprise and delight, minutes, noting the brown upperparts, creamy streaked www.birdwatchgalway.org and onto the Atlas website feeding resumed by mid-day. It was fascinating to underparts and pale band at the tip of the tail of the www.birdatlas.net. If you submit your records onto both watch the whole feeding procedure and we certainly Peregrine. After a lot of flapping around, the Peregrine sites it will make life much easier for those who compile got, to pardon the pun, a bird’s eye view of got fed up and departed, leaving everything to settle the summaries, i.e. Chris Peppiatt dealing with the proceedings. No webcam required here! down again. Galway records and Brian Caffrey dealing with the The feeding went on day after day, four little There were also a number of butterflies using the Atlas records. They will both be very grateful to receive beaks constantly clamouring for more, and mom and scrub on both sides of the path. These included your input. dad obliging. We moved the nest to the opposite, and Peacocks, Red Admirals and, further on, Painted In recent weeks there has been a lively exchange more sheltered corner of the window, one blustery day Ladies. They provided a very colourful addition to the of emails and mobile phone text messages discussing as a precaution. Then one day, a week or more after bird life. what our national bird might be. While Tom Cuffe was the rescue, we noticed that the four little birds were out We continued to the end of the track and had guiding a group of American ornithologists he was of the nest sitting on the windowsill. By afternoon, one lunch in the shelter of a building at the old jetty, asked whether Ireland has a national bird and, in had gone and shortly afterwards the other three overlooking a flock of about 500 Black-tailed Godwit response to his plea for an answer to this question, lots managed to fly down to the front lawn. In fascination feeding on the mud with a couple of Common Gull and of ideas have floated around cyberspace. Of course, it we watched as the parents flew to and fro urging the Oystercatcher. The tide was going out and as a is always the foreign visitor who manages to ask the little ones on, feeding them every so often, and angrily consequence more waders were feeding on the awkward questions so Tom better gets used to it now chasing a magpie moving in for the spoils. By evening, exposed mud. After lunch we picked our way through that he has launched his new career as guide to visiting two more had managed to get aloft leaving the weakest the waders, coming up with Ringed Plover, Redshank birdwatchers. No better man to deal with such a behind. We didn’t interfere and the following morning and Dunlin, some of which showed the black belly of challenge so if you are ever asked for a guide, contact we found the fourth and weakest one dead on the summer. Tom at 087-9190818. As you will see from our grass. We followed the road back towards the airport. forthcoming programme Tom will kindly entertain us A week later another nest appeared in the same The road runs along the opposite side of the lagoons, again at our annual Christmas get-together with his spot as the original and the cycle began again. No coming out in the grounds of the airport itself. We were pictures of birds sighted during 2009. Please, come rescue required this time, as yet. lucky enough to hear two Water Rail squealing like pigs along and join us! in the reeds, but needless to say we didn’t see this Marianne ten Cate Clare and James Lundon elusive bird. A Sparrowhawk was then seen being mobbed by a Hooded Crow; the small size of the hawk A POTTED TALE OF BIRD REARING BRANCH OUTING TO SANNON AIRPORT compared to the crow suggested it was a male. Then came the final excitement of the day – we LAGOONS AND RAHASANE TURLOUGH, In July 2009 three families of European Swallows were stopped by the airport police and questioned decided to nest in our three year old house in Kiltullagh, 29/08/2009 about our activities around the airport. Apparently Athenry. After a week of much chatter and frenzied The branch organised this outing to Shannon Airport birders should contact the Airport Police Duty Office to flying to and from the muddy pond at the back of our Lagoons and Rahasane Turlough on the last Saturday get permission to watch birds in the airport environs. garden, we had three nests, and one failed attempt, of August. Like most people in the West, I’ve flown out We were eventually released (!) to continue back to the under the eaves of our house. Eggs were laid and very of Shannon regularly but I’ve never watched birds in golf club for a well-earned cup of coffee. soon we grew accustomed to the chattering and the area, so I was keen to go on the outing. We ended the visit with 51 species, which wasn’t constant swooping to and fro as the parents tended to The day didn’t start particularly well, with rain bad at all, and it only rained once and very briefly at their young. sweeping across Loughrea from the west as I left on that. Unfortunately, the visit to Rahasane Turlough only Very early on, after a particularly cold, wet and the drive south. At one point I considered turning back, yielded three more species (Tufted Duck, Jackdaw and windy weekend (what’s new this summer in Ireland?) but a smidgen of blue sky over Gort convinced me to Magpie). The water level was too high to be attractive the nest on the north-facing side of the house fell down continue. I arrived in the car park of Shannon Golf Club to waders and most of the usual waterbirds there. and two small featherless fledglings perished on the just after 11am, to be greeted by 7 other branch Many thanks to Marianne for organising such a driveway. members waiting to get going. successful trip and to the Shannon Airport Police Duty On the west-facing side of the house, just outside We headed out from the golf club towards the Office for its hospitality. I was glad I hadn’t turned back our bedroom window, much activity was still taking lagoons and immediately a Whimbrel and a Redshank that morning. place. Starting at about 5:30 every morning the babies were heard calling. The path from the golf club leads Participants: shrieked for food and the parents, using our window out toward the Shannon river with lagoons (presumably Marianne ten Cate Jo Gordon ledge as a stopover, tirelessly obliged. We could stand fresh water) and reed beds on the left and the river on Aidan Coleman P.J. Moore at the window and watch them, insects in mouth, rest the right. The path is protected by a high embankment, Deirdre Comerford Cathy Seale for a minute before taking off again for the next round.
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