CAIRDE EANLAITH NA GAILLIMHE BIRDWATCH GALWAY This is a local forum newslett er – www.birdwatchgalway.org contributions and comments are QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER – EDITOR: NEIL SHARKEY most welcome. Telephone: 00353861680856 e-mail: [email protected] Distributed by e mail only Issue No. 78 August 2012 BIRDWATCH NEWS not proven to keep vandals out. Every season what my problem was, and asked if we could brings its own type of recreational users to park possibly 10 to 15 cars in their car-park; August still leaves Galway members of the woods and, depending on the weather, all ‘Certainly, you’re more than welcome’, I was BirdWatchreland without a committee or a sorts of debris can be found among the told. Are things working out, I asked myself? branch structure. I continue our appeal for vegetation and at the observation areas, – PHEW! I made up a notice to put on the members to come forward and fill this gap – ranging from tents to clothing, bottles, cans, ‘Dangan’ gate asking people to park at the surely there must be some willing to have a crisp packs, barbeque remnants, cigarette Westwood. go! packs, disposable nappies and other sanitary I arrived in Dangan at 04:15 on the 20 th of In the meantime we carry on as best we cast offs. May; one person was there before me – it can. An example is Brendan Dunne’s Over the years, good numbers of was her first Dawn Chorus outing. I tied my splendid effort in his solo organising of the members have taken an interest in The Small notice to the locked gate, looking around I recent Galway Dawn Chorus (see below). Wood and they have maintained and thought ‘OH! OH! THIS WILL NOT BE EASY!’ Well done, Brendan. Lots of good work, in enhanced the place and kept it clean. Only a A few more people arrived, having parked at various fields, is also being done by Tom couple of weeks ago, I received a text the Westwood. I was thinking of suggesting Cuffe, Aonghus O Donaill, Dermot Breen, message asking me who had been doing a we try somewhere else when another car Padraig Keirns, Marty Kerane and others. great job cleaning up the area. Without pulled up – an NUIG security man na from Chris Peppiatt continues as county bird hesitation, I could name quite a few potential heaven! coming to open the gates at 05:00 recorder and compiles the quarterly bird benefactors but the most rewarding thing was (as normal, he said,) - he was 10 minutes report. that nobody needs to be told to go and do this early so we got away at about 05:00. One In October, we hope to resume the sort of ‘thankless’ job – it just gets done by couple – I made a mess of getting names – Nimmo’s Pier ‘First Saturday’ outings with one person or another whenever they find the managed to park their car in the NUIG car Tom Cuffe, Brendan Dunne and others. In time and inclination to do so. park. The rest of us had left our four wagons November, we will be resuming Galway Bay BirdWatch owes it to the O’Malley in the car park of the Westwood Hotel – to and Lough Corrib counts organised by Chris family – and to The Small Wood and its whom I am very grateful. and Marianne ten Cate and those doing other wild inhabitants – to look after this gift The weather was calm and lightly I-WeBS counts will, we hope, start another with respect and gratitude. It is a credit to overcast, a perfect morning. I didn’t hear ‘our’ season of recording. So, all is not yet lost - all that this is still happening 15 years on. Goldcrest in the car park this time – most remember the Stork Margarine ad. – a Marianne ten Cate likely my fault as my hearing has deteriorated committee will be back again some day! a lot in the last year! We did the usual walk – AN IMPROMPTU DAWN CHORUS EVENT down to the River Corrib, swung left, over the NS gate, along the old Clifden railway line with When I realised, reading the Spring issue of the reed-beds on either side, crossed the THE SMALL WOOD Wings , about three days before the National awkward drain and on to the bushes. We Dawn Chorus Day, that there was no Galway were lucky – there was no rave party at In 1997, the O’Malley family of Barna donated branch outing listed - I GOT M A D, even Menlo Castle and no party at all, at all, in the The Small Wood to BirdWatch Ireland and ANGRY! house to our left, though we did disturb a cat since then members of the Galway Branch of I immediately sent an e-mail to Jamie (feline). We had a pleasant time and were BirdWatch and FÁS workers under the Durrant, Marianne and Neil saying that I was back at the car park at 06:00, having auspices of the Galway Civic Trust have going to be in Dangan at 04:30 on the 20 th of recorded 18 species. improved this three acre site for birds and May and that, if they wished, they could The couple who had parked in the car birdwatchers. Shrubs and trees were planted, broadcast same to the membership. Over the park opened the doors and two beautiful Irish briars and sycamore were kept under control, next couple of days, I got a few texts, wolfhounds bounded out to be brought for a nest boxes were put up and two observation including one from a member who went to walk and WOW, were they happy to get out! posts were erected. Later, bat boxes were Dangan at 04:30 on the day Derek Mooney Alas, no sign of Blue Tits nesting in the wall also put up to accommodate bats from the was broadcasting from Cuskinny Marsh at the car park. But we did hear and/or see, in neighbourhood. And last May, a pond was Nature Reserve, a week earlier! She had a no particular order: Song Thrush, Wren, dug in the swampy area that regularly floods nice walk – on her own. She did mention that Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Coot, Lesser when the incoming tide pushes the water of the gates were locked – PANIC, whom do I Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Hooded the freshwater stream along the boundary contact? When I found out, it was too late to Crow, Pheasant, Blackbird, Grey Heron, over its banks. This pond may favour get in touch. I thought there wouldd be no Cormorant, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, brackish water vegetation, frogs, ducks and difficulty getting by the gates on foot – but we Mute Swan, Rook, Magpie and Jackdaw. other species. It remains to be seen what will couldn’t leave cars jamming the road. (On the The general feeling was that it was an colonise this new bit of habitat. morning as we were at the gate, a couple enjoyable outing, though I got a bit frustrated Initially, the gate to The Small Wood was arrived by taxi to one of the houses after a about my hearing or rather, the lack thereof. locked to minimise vandalism but in latter night out – good job we hadn’t blocked the years the lock was removed to allow easier place!) After some thought, I rang the Brendan access to our members – a locked gate has Westwood Hotel, told them who I was and Dunne CAIRDE EANLAITH NA GAILLIMHE BIRDWATCH GALWAY This is a local forum newslett er – www.birdwatchgalway.org contributions and comments are QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER – EDITOR: NEIL SHARKEY most welcome. Telephone: 00353861680856 e-mail: [email protected] Distributed by e mail only Issue No. 78 August 2012 efficiency of time spent in the field and allow at a site near Gort and was a fitting reward for LOOKING FOR LONG-EARED OWLS more sites to be checked during the all- the immense amount of time, effort and important first three hours of darkness. The enthusiasm John puts into looking after Irish The Long-eared Owl is among the least well methodology was simple. Calls were raptors. known of all our bird species. Being strictly broadcast through a megaphone using an If anyone has any records of Long-eared nocturnal it is a very difficulty species to MP3 player. On arriving at a site I would Owls census. Most pairs of Long-eared Owls are listen for two minutes to see if any males in County Galway or elsewhere I would be discovered only when they have large young were calling. If calling was heard I noted the most appreciative if they could forward any in the nest which utter a far-carrying plaintive time and location and left. If calling was not details to me at call, often likened to a squeaky hinge on a heard the megaphone was used to broadcast Aonghus.O’[email protected] . gate. Estimating the distribution, population or the males’ call for two minutes. The density of the species based on calling young megaphone would then be turned off and I Aonghus O Donaill alone would be misleading as it would not would listen for a response for two minutes. If take into account pairs which may have a response was heard the type of response UPLAND HOLIDAYS AND SOME attempted to breed but failed at some stage would be noted and I would leave the site. If INCIDENTAL BIRDWATCHING in the breeding process before young chicks no response was heard the two-minute cycle began calling.