PWC2015 at Kilcoole: January-March update

After a delayed start to the patch birding New Year, I eventually made it down to the Kilcoole area on 11^th January for my first full day and was greeted instantly by a #patchgold Dipper along the Newcastle Sea Road stream, the first I’ve seen here in about 10 years!! This single bird later became part of a pair which moved extensively up and down the stream during February but with no sign of them since I guess they have found a quieter spot upstream to breed.

Dipper

The other highlight of the year so far in this area was the continued presence of Tree Sparrows around a farmyard along the sea road. A single bird was first found here in March 2014 by Stephen McAvoy during the Wicklow County Bird Race which was duly twitched soon after by myself as it was a most sought after patch tick. Delighted to report that the Tree Sprog numbers at this site have risen to a mighty 15 this year! Will keep an eye on them this Spring and hopefully confirm breeding.

Tree Sparrow

Not stopping there, the farmland around Newcastle Sea Road was very productive this winter for other passerines adding a single Fieldfare and some Redwing on day one, both good to get that soon on the scoresheet as they are highly unpredictable here. I later ended up with a flock of 20 Fieldfare and 12 Redwing in the field just inland of East Coast Nature Reserve (ECNR) in March. The stubble field beside the entrance to Newcastle Airfield held a consistent flock of 60 Reed Buntings, 15 Yellowhammers, 40 Linnets, 15 Greenfinches and 30 Meadow Pipits throughout the winter thanks to the planting and overwintering of game cover/crop. An impressive flock of c.70 Stock Doves was present in stubble fields at Kilcoole on 6^th February and it was encouraging to see pairs present in suitable habitat on the patch later on in the Spring also.

Both Lesser Redpoll and Siskin have been thin on the ground along the east coast this winter and I’ve only had two records of each from the patch (normally good numbers at ECNR). I once considered Grey Wagtail a scarce bird down here but have already amassed 10 records so far this year with a regular bird on the wet mud/cattle dung pools near the entrance to ECNR. A male Blackcap present on the feeders at ECNR in late January was possibly the first ‘proper’ winter record I’ve had on the patch. No sign of any Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the wood at ECNR during my searches there (only Treecreeper to add to the list) despite two sightings so far this year by other observers but I was intrigued by the presence of a hybrid Carrion x Hooded Crow near the usual Hoodie nest site there in mid-March. Might have to keep an eye on that and see what shenanigans are going on locally (and more importantly see if there are any pure Carrions to year tick!). The first Skylarks in song were recorded along the dunes at Kilcoole on 8^th February during the Wicklow County Bird Race.

Very pleased to see two soaring Red Kites off in the distance to the south of ECNR during a BirdWatchIreland Wicklow Branch outing there on 24^th January (only patch ticked them back in September 2014). The overwintering 2^nd calendar-year female Marsh Harrier was seen twice in January and once in February. The first successful overwintering bird at this site to the best of my knowledge (have had records of them into November before but not thereafter). A single ringtail Hen Harrier showed well in front of the main hide at ECNR on 6^th February, presumably the same bird most often reported down towards Broad Lough during the winter. Displaying Sparrowhawks were present at their traditional breeding site through March and it was a case of Buzzards aplenty with the highest single count relating to nine soaring over farmland and hills inland of the patch on 21^st March. No more than one Kestrel was seen on the patch in a given day, continuing their drop in numbers here since the severe run of winter storms in January 2014. An adult and a 2^nd calendar-year Peregrine were keeping the waders and wildfowl of the marsh on their toes through February and March.

Seawatching was pretty quiet but recording Gannet, Fulmar, Kittiwake and Black Guillemot from the get go in January was good, especially for Black Guillemots as it took me until April to find them last year! The undoubted highlight was a Great Skua (Bonxie) flying north out to sea from Kilcoole train station platform on 11^th January. It was quite distant but actively chasing Kittiwakes. My first winter record on the patch. Numbers of Red-throated Divers, Shags and auks sitting/feeding offshore have been below average, but a southbound movement of 1,250 Guillemots in three hours on 28^th January was notable. A Great Northern Diver offshore from Newcastle on 16^th March was most welcome as I thought I was going to go the first winter half of the year without seeing one.

Flood levels on the marsh were pretty low through much of the winter resulting in reduced numbers of certain species like Teal, Lapwing, Golden Plover and Black-tailed Godwits. The Light-bellied Brent Goose flock, which peaks in March, was only half its normal size also, but I still managed to get a Dark-bellied Brent Goose out of them, just about keeping up its annual status here. The presence of leftover potatoes in the field inland of Webb’s lagoon provided rich feeding for the Icelandic Greylag Geese and Whooper Swans throughout the winter which was fantastic to see. A real benefit to them with such a rich source of food along with grazing, fresh water and roost sites all in close proximity (highlighted by the fact that the Whooper flock rose to 89, the highest here in years). Both the Barnacle Goose and feral Canada Goose from 2014 stayed on through the New Year and onto the 2015 list as well as several Greenshank, a Tufted Duck, a Coot and a female Pintail. The Shoveler flock on the wet grassland flashes at ECNR reached an all-time high of 81 (hopefully it won’t be long before a nice male Blue-winged Teal joins them!). A couple of trips down to look for birds grounded in Webb’s lagoon during heavy rain and strong winds paid dividends in the form of a 2^nd calendar-year male Red-breasted Merganser, a 3^rd calendar-year Little Gull and a single Grey Plover.

3cy Little Gull

Returning adult 'Dark Neb' Whooper Swan (centre). More info here.

Colour-ringed Oystercatcher 'PJ' from the Dublin Bay Birds Project
(ringed at Merrion Gates, Sandymount Strand in Nov 2014)

As was the case across much of Ireland, migrants were slow to get going in March with my first at Kilcoole relating to Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving north along the coast (peak count of 99 on 16^th March) followed up by two Chiffchaffs in the wood at ECNR. Finished off the month of March with an enjoyable joint BirdWatch Ireland Wicklow and Dublin Tolka Branch outing to Kilcoole on Saturday 21^st where we scored our target Spring migrants in the form of a Sandwich Tern day roosting in Webb’s field (species #100) alongside a 3^rd calendar-year Mediterranean Gull and a female Wheatear on the beach. A great end to the first quarter of the year!

BirdWatch Ireland branch outing to Kilcoole

Kilcoole PWC2015 Stats (January-March): 102 species, 122 points, 60.69%, 18 BirdTrack lists and 1,020 BirdTrack records submitted.

Table 1. Summary counts of waterbirds at Kilcoole, Newcastle and Blackditch East Coast Nature Reserve, September 2014 - March 2015. Notes: Species in italics have yet to be recorded during PWC2015. Some I-WeBS counts from other observers likely to be higher than my own for certain species (e.g. Golden Plover) so figures given here don’t represent actual maximum totals for the site. Totals for regularly occurring gull species (BH, CM, HG and GB) relate to birds on the marsh only and don’t include those on passage/offshore.

Species	Peak Count	Peak Month(s)
Mute Swan	31	November
Whooper Swan	89	February-March
Greenland White-fronted Goose	1	October
Icelandic Greylag Goose	272	March
Canada Goose (feral)	1	November-January
Barnacle Goose	1	November-March
Dark-bellied Brent Goose	1	March
Light-bellied Brent Goose	c.550	March
Shelduck	14	March
Wigeon	849	February
Teal	397	November
Mallard	107	November
Pintail	1	October-March
Shoveler	81	February
Tufted Duck	4	November
Common Scoter	10 (on passage)	October
Red-breasted Merganser	3 (on passage)	November
Red-throated Diver	83	November
Great Northern Diver	2	November-December
Cormorant	26	September
Shag	44	February
Little Egret	10	September
Grey Heron	36	September
Little Grebe	16	February
Great Crested Grebe	2	November
Water Rail	9	December
Moorhen	4	September
Coot	6	September
Oystercatcher	13	March
Golden Plover	320	January
Grey Plover	1	March
Lapwing	347	February
Ringed Plover	13	February
Curlew	119	February
Black-tailed Godwit	192	January
Bar-tailed Godwit	1	November
Turnstone	7	September
Dunlin	55	September
Green Sandpiper	1	November
Greenshank	3	February-March
Redshank	49	November
Jack Snipe	1	November
Snipe	30	November
Sandwich Tern	23 (on passage)	October
Black-headed Gull	425	March
Little Gull	23	November
Mediterranean Gull	1	October & March
Common Gull	72	December
Lesser Black-backed Gull	99 (on passage)	March
Herring Gull	30	November
Yellow-legged Gull	1 (on passage)	November
Great Black-backed Gull	5	November
Total	3,931

April, May & June at Kilcoole

Time to play catch up seeing as it’s been a while since I last blogged on progress at the Kilcoole patch. Here’s a rundown of how the Spring went…

APRIL

The floodgates certainly opened with a flurry of (expected) migrants totalling 21 new patch year ticks that month alone. An increase in effort to make up for lost time in March certainly helped also. Friday 11^th saw seven species added during a nice wee fall with 5 Chiffchaff, 13 Blackcap (species #98), 24 Willow Warbler (99), 10 Swallow (100), 7 Wheatear (101), finally connecting with Black Guillemot (102), 9 Sandwich Tern (103) and a Sand Martin (104).

Wednesday 16^th added Sedge Warbler (105) and a female/immature type Marsh Harrier (106) at Blackditch East Coast Nature Reserve plus a Whimbrel (107) at Kilcoole to the list.

Marsh Harrier at ECNR. Another female/immature type was seen at Kilcoole on 17th June.

One of the most unexpected finds of year so far came on Monday 21^st whilst trundling about in the birchwood at ECNR failing to locate any Woodcock. In the thick of the wood I could hear a goose calling overhead which sound like a high pitched White-front. I dashed about looking for a gap in the canopy and just about jammed in on getting a good view of the bird flying North… a Pink-footed Goose! (108). Some seawatching from Newcastle added a Common Tern (109), 21 Manx Shearwaters (110) and a dark phase Arctic Skua (111) with a single Common Sandpiper (112) later on at Kilcoole.

The next day saw 7 House Martins (113) and three singing male Reed Warblers (114) at Ballygannon along with 2 Little Terns (115) and the first migrating trio of Sanderling (116) at Kilcoole. A striking white-headed Cormorant day roosting at Newcastle that afternoon was confirmed as being a fine example of a sinensis (Continental) Cormorant by Killian Mullarney (thanks for getting the protractor out!). My first record of this taxa on patch.

sinensis Cormorant

Spring Golden Plover flocks in Webb's field looking well. No repeat of last years AGP unfortunately.

The final year ticks of the month came on 26^th when doing some pre-Little Tern conservation project scoping of the beach with warden Andrew Power. The weather was horrendous and it was no great surprise that it pushed a superb group of 11 Arctic Terns (117) up along the beach. Once the rain cleared a stonking male Whinchat (118) popped up on the fence around the wardens camp in Webb’s field. Only my second patch record after getting the first here last August!

#patchgold Whinchat

April dips (birds seen by others): Ruff and Garganey at Kilcoole and a Mandarin Duck at ECNR (although perhaps not so worried about that last one!).

MAY

Most of May was spent out of the country surveying in Scotland or offshore on the R.V. Celtic Voyager and as such only managed five visits. Certainly missed out on my best chance for some high scoring rarities as May is definitely the best month on patch for picking up on these. Saying that, still got three year ticks so not a complete loss: the first Swifts (119) of the year and a flyover Yellow Wagtail (120) on 4^th followed up by a 2^nd calendar year Bar-tailed Godwit (121) in Webb’s field on 6^th.

May dips (birds seen by others): a flyover Spoonbill and a Curlew Sandpiper at Kilcoole.

JUNE

A total of ten days volunteering with the Little Tern conservation project during June culminated in no less than nine patch year ticks. Wednesday 4^th got the scoring rhythm back in action with a Puffin (122) flying North during an early morning seawatch followed up by my third patch record of an OSPREY (123) which drifted South overhead between 10:35-10:50 and then to top the day off, a Kingfisher (124) on the channel alongside Webb’s field later that evening.

#patchgold Osprey

Blackditch East Coast Nature Reserve produced the goods with a reeling Grasshopper Warbler (125) in the fen on 15^th and a triple whammy on 18^th thanks to an early morning start for a CES session where a Spotted Flycatcher (126) was seen in the wood and a female Cuckoo (127) followed swiftly by a male Whitethroat (128) on the walk back along the coastal path afterwards. Later that evening I racked up the fourth patch year tick of the day with a cracking Storm Petrel (129) feeding very close in from The Breaches at 21:35. The next morning added Roseate Tern (130) to the list with a single adult flying North and a most welcome 2^nd calendar-year Knot (131) which dropped into The Breaches that afternoon. A fine couple of days!

Reed Warbler caught & ringed at CES. One of eight recorded that day between Newcastle & ECNR. A good year for them on patch.

2cy Knot in The Breaches

The big dip in June came on Sunday 22^nd when I was awoken by a flurry of texts and missed calls whilst in bed, suffering from the aftermath of social ‘engagements’ with some drouthy cronies in Dublin city centre. A fine 2^nd calendar-year Laughing Gull nailed by local birder Cian Cardiff put in a brief appearance at The Breaches and was long gone by the time I got my act together and made it down that evening.

A Red Kite seen by Justin Ivory just outside the patch near Newcastle in late June gives hope that I will be adding it to the list soon enough.

June was also a particularly good month for other general wildlife sightings in the area with some highlights as follows: Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Poplar Hawkmoth, Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Garden Tiger, Buff-tip, Six Spot Burnet, Early Bumblebee, Cryptic Wood White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Hairy Hawker, Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser, Common Darter, Variable Damselfly, Harbour Porpoise, Otter, Leisler’s Bat, Soprano Pipistrelle and Barrel Jellyfish (40 of which washed up in The Breaches on 16^th).

Cryptic Wood White at ECNR

Hairy Hawker at ECNR

Barrel Jellyfish in The Breaches (pic by Anne-Lise Gerard)

So a PWC 2014 half time half score of 131 species & 169 points (83.25%) compares rather well with 136 species & 176 points by the end of June 2013 considering the amount of on site effort missed out on as a result of not working the Little Tern project as a full time warden.

Here's a few pics from my time spent volunteering with the Little Tern wardens so far this summer. Weather has generally been great and the chicks are certainly responding to it!