Latest Hits

Although the weather hasn't improved much in the last few days the winds have died down somewhat which has made birding a bit easier and less cold. I now have quite a good handle on all of my patch and spending time in each habitat has been proving to be quite productive. Yesterday I first came across a Little Grebe  at the mouth of the river Nanny at Laytown. Not exactly where I would expect to find one but I'm not complaining. In a field nearby I found a flock of Skylarks with a fabulous Buzzard nearby. I have seen up to 4 Buzzards every time I have gone birding on my patch. I wonder just how many Buzzards are now present in Ireland?
I moved on to the grounds of the national ecology center (Sonairte) and found a single Tree Sparrow in the main garden. I still don't have Snipe so a walk around the saltmarsh was called for. Alas, no Snipe but I was surprised to flush 3 Siskins, a species I was having trouble locating.
Today, I decided to walk to the very southern end of my patch, Ben Head, fort he first time since I started patching. I was hoping to find Rock Pipit in this area as I have been unable to locate one at Laytown. The beach had all the usual Gulls and waders but not one passerine. I had all but given up on getting a new species today but saw a large flock of Common Scoter not too far out to sea and scanned it in the hope of, maybe, a Velvet Scoter. What I wasn't expecting was a single Scaup in the middle of the flock! 5 Razorbills nearby are the first Auks I found so far.
..............and then it started raining!
82 species. 94 points.
Eamonn