"I'm just going to check this garden for American Redstart..."

I read this account of the historic day in Galley Head birding lore last night when both a philadeplphia vireo and an american redstart were present in Dirk and afterwards dreamt of finding rare american passerines in Dirk. One day....

Hard to believe it was 30 years ago!

Another rare, another planet

Although the wind had swung round to the west overnight, it still felt like there had to be more out there, if the success of yesterday evening was anything to go on. Would the current white-hot streak at Galley continue?

Up with the lark then, followed by the usual tramp about in the half dark until it eventually gets light enough to see properly!

Bleary early morning ear

More wheatears were in evidence at least, with at least a dozen booting around out on the head. A couple of  willow warblers and whinchats too, plus the spotted flycatcher still at Shite Lane and a few flyover siskins for the year too.

However, it was Old Spoons that turned up the goods today, with a fine ortolan bunting in the mahoosive beet field down the top lane. Coincidentally the very same field where I had my first one at Galley back in Sept 2010. Time was against me this morning, but a hoof around this pm proved fruitful, once I twigged that the bird I was looking at wasn't a meadow pipit! The old "should have brought the camera" adage also crossed my mind, so here's a record shot courtesy of Old Spoons himself.

Ortolan, Galley Head, Courtesy C Cronin

Abusing modern technology

It rained all day today. Until I got a call about a lesser whitethroat on Galley whereupon I looked out of the window and realised it had stopped raining and was clearing nicely. But I was saddled at home with 2 kids! Thrashing for migs was not a viable option! Nooooooooooooooooooo!

Luckily some quick thinking involving a tablet, a laptop and the promise of chips on the way home got us out the door and up the road. No sign of the lesser whitey but I was just watching a load of finches flitting around on the edge of a weedy field when a rosefinch popped up out of nowhere, and sat there eyeballing me! Full fat patch tick! And number 200 for the patch! Amazeballs!

Managed to call Old Spoons without dropping my phone or losing the bird, so he saw it too. Sadly instead of posing for a photo, it suddenly flew up, circled a few times calling, before disappearing northwards into the distance! Brief but brilliant!

There was enough battery in the electrical devices to give me a few minutes at Shite Lane before heading to the chippy. It seemed pretty quiet at first, but then I found a small flock of warblers, containg at least 6 willow warblers, blackcap and best of all yesterday's garden warbler, which I'd failed to catch up with. Only my second at Galley in 11 years - outrageous! They aren't particularly common, but I do seem to have a knack of missing the ones that do turn up. Not today though - cashed in completely!

The chips were good too!

Big score at Shite Lane!!

Had an hour this am before I was supposed to go to work so I decided to chance my arm with the light easterlies overnight. Out round the head at first light for 2 wheatears, while a skove down the top lane produced a late swift. Not much doing then, but I still had Shite Lane to go...

Quiet enough there too at first, before a weird phyllosc call caught my ear - kind of like a willow warbler "hoo-eet" call but higher pitched and thinner, kind of like someone doing a bad impression of a willow warbler. Views of the bird proved scarily interesting, clearly a phyllosc, with a pale grey head, a wide supercilium, greeny fringes on the primaries, dark legs and really clean pale grey/white underneath. When a willow warbler hopped up beside it, it was clearly bigger! "Help" I thought, "a Bonelli's Warbler", before ringing and texting frantically! By the time other folks arrived, I'd heard that the call fitted Western, as Eastern should give a "chip" type call apparently.

A couple of folks heard the call & got on the bird again briefly a short time later, and it showed well briefly again this pm, but was seemingly elusive for the rest of the time. Hopefully it'll behave better tomorrow!

Hoopoe invasion

The last few days have seen unprecedented numbers of hoopoes being reported all along the south coast of Ireland, from Wexford to Kerry, with many sites having multiple birds. Being stuck inland supposedly working while having to put out many of these reports on @corkbirdnews was doing my head in, as the one site that was still blank was Galley. Knowing there weren't likely to be any other birders covering it (underwatched in spring, innit), I cracked and headed home early. By 3.45 I was thrashing the patch, trying hard to think like a hoopoe.

An hour and a half later, with just a handful of wheatears and chiffchaffs, and a single black redstart to show for my efforts I was getting edgy. News of another two hoopoes 3 miles away in Ardfield was really galling, and after shouting aloud "there has to be one here", finally one flew up in front of me - Huzzah!

"You ain't seen me, roight?

After snapping a few proof of life pics, I hurried on to check the last few possible spots where a second bird could be hiding but no luck. Still, one hoopoe is plenty to be going on with, so I went back to try for more shots.

"What are you looking at?"

Eventually left him to it, and headed home. My first one here since 2004, when me & "Old Spoons" found one each in the spring. Corking birds!

Mid-October

Blimey - a month since I've been on here! Apart from a rather bird-packed few days on Shetland, I've seen very little. Not that I haven't been out slogging round Galley most days, its just there's been very little to see. Thus far into October I've managed siskin and redpoll for the year at Galley. A bit pants. Until today.

With the wind finally in the south-east, I was quietly optimistic that there'd be a bit more around today. And so it proved, with a fine yellow-browed warbler gracing Shite Lane - its not a proper autumn without one of these on the patch! Dirk held very little, and I was struggling to find anything out on the head when two pipits flew over, one calling like a meadow pipit and one calling like a tree pipit (121). I was rather pleased with this. I reckon that was probably only about my 6th tree pipit in 10 years here - tricky enough, and easily less regular than YBW.

That was my lot for the day though, however, with the south-east wind due to pick up, and rain overnight I'm hoping there'll be a proper fall tomorrow! We shall see!

What I saw on my holidays

south-easterlies

After a week of east winds, and a few empty slogs around Galley, this morning looked more promising, with a bit of drizzle and low cloud around. It was obvious that there were more wheatears around, with at least 40 knocking around throughout the day. A few willow warblers and chiffchaffs were flicking around in the hedges, while a goldcrest and a sedge warbler were occupying the magic bush.

Bird of the day had to be the flyover osprey which appeared near sibechat corner and flew out over the sea, heading south-west out past the Galley light at 8.55am. An osprey was seen on Dursey today too, so I wonder if it was the same individual? Its about 80 km in a direct line, so I guess thats no great distance for a migrating raptor to travel. Only my second Galley record, and a finds tick for me!

Shortly after the osprey had disappeared, I banged into another kwality migrant, in the form of a pied flycatcher. Again, this was flitting about in a hedge, suggesting it was not long arrived. Couldn't find anything rarer in the hedges tho, and with a spotted flycatcher in the Shite Lane sycamores, that was my lot for the day. Bit galling to discover that I missed a whinchat in the garden while in town between thrashing the place for migs, but its good that the winds are finally starting to produce some bits and bobs at last! Let's see what next weeks easterlies blow in!

A sedge warbler, yesterday (ish)

scouring for hoopoes

I love calm, sunny spring days at Galley! Inevitably, I start fantasising about finding hoopoes. And today was no different, particularly after the news of a hoopoe at Ballycotton this morning. I've found one hoopoe at Galley before and I enjoyed it so much I'd like to find another one!

So, as soon as I got free from work I headed out. But where to start? The only problem with scouring for hoopoes at Galley is that there are literally hundreds of spots where you could find one. So you have to check them all. So I did. Well, a lot of them anyway - as many as I could fit in. But couldn't find any hoopoes today. Maybe tomorrow then. I'll have to scour the place all over again!

Although I failed on the hoopoe front, I cashed in on the wheatear front! A full 5 days earlier than the average date which is 15th March. Win!

ooo migrants

and a bit closer er more zoomed in

Admiring my carrots? Yes, they are rather fine!

So that was that! Not as good as a hoopoe, but always great to score the first ear of the year - 1st one I've heard about this year in the county too - spring is finally here!

more migrant fun

Had a whole day to hoof around Galley and I enjoyed every minute of it! Got off to a good start right away as I banged into a shrike just round the corner from home. It took a while to pin down, as it was booting around a lot & the strong sunlight was making it look really pale, but with a few extra folk looking for it, it eventually gave itself up as another juvenile red-backed shrike - nice!

Tried for a wryneck in Dirk that was seen this morning, but waaaaaaaaay too much cover! However a spotted flycatcher was in there. As the rain began to close in, we picked up another spotted flycatcher on the cliffs, which hadn't been there long - fresh arrivals! Exciting! A male redstart sheltering in a garden was my first for the year - probably just less than annual here, so a bonus for the patch total this year. At least one whinchat was still hanging about around the top lane fields too.

Managed to finally get reasonable shots of one of the wrynecks that has been hanging around for a few days, before we bumped into a new bird on Marsh Lane. Pretty sure there was at least 4 different birds today, and possibly 6 or more over the last week. Reckon I can legitimately count finding 3 different birds so far this autumn - a good year for them! 

A reed warbler and a male blackcap were also in the valley.

With the wind finally going away from the east for the first time in about 8 days, these birds may move off again, but there's a fair bit more rain due tomorrow, so there's still a chance of some more migrant action, once it dries up again - we shall see!

Migrants at Galley!

Conditions have been good virtually everywhere of late, with a long burst of easterly winds blasting out of central Europe towards the UK and Ireland. Having just got back from an excellent trip to Shetland on Tues night, I was keen to get back out on patch as soon as possible.

And the east wind did the business!

Scanning a wall of a field I was delighted to spot a wryneck sitting tight. Unfortunately I botched the attempted photograph and it disappeared, as they do. Onwards and upwards though, as I bumped into 2 (count 'em) whinchats a little bit further on, before stumbling over the bird of the day - a fine juv red-backed shrike - only my 2nd ever on patch!

Score!!

Additional year ticks in the form of pied flycatcher  and spotted flycatcher were also most welcome! (134)

ooo migrants

ooo migrants

Tried my luck for migrants at Galley again this morning and it paid off! As I walked down past the sycamores at Shite lane, I could hear something giving little tic noises and began to pay more attention. But a quick glimpse of a plain winged small flycatcher was all I got, before it booted out over the maize field and away. I hot-footed it in pursuit, to the next lot of pines and picked it up at distance in a big willow - red-breasted flycatcher! Cracker! I got a bit closer, and eventually saw it well, and even got a few shots...

In action! (fluke-shot)

In repose

A great wee bird - this was my 3rd at Galley, but first outside of the forests of Dirk! In the same willow there were a few phylloscs and a reed warbler, which was also very welcome for the year list (127).

Another weekend of patch goodies

A slow week with too much work & far too much tedious wind from the north-west! However, yesterday evening the wind started to drop and I chanced a look at the lake - instant reward - partial summer plumage dunlin! Score!

Absolutely flat calm conditions this morning - my favourite for spring at Galley! And it wasn't long before I was back in the year ticks! Evidence of wader migration was still going on in the form of 14 partial summer plumage sanderlings on Long Strand, which was nice. And then a furtive collared dove was cooing hopefully from a telephone pole - he'll be lucky! First collared dove hereabouts since last summer I'd say! They don't breed and only pass through occasionally, though I'm not sure from how far away!

The fourth and final year tick was the best! Whilst scanning yet another hedgerow for a non-existent shrike I heard a snatch of grasshopper warbler reeling away (109). As I got closer, I could see it sitting right out on a bare bramble, before it flew inland to the next dyke - the way it was booting around suggesting it had only just made landfall. My latest ever here, as normally they would be through in the 3rd week of April, and I'd given up hope of getting one this year. A real bonus!

more migs!

Its been a slow couple of weeks at Galley - predominantly breezy north west winds haven't particularly conducive to going out looking for migs, and on the few mornings when it has been calmer there's been very little about. Until today....

First stop this morning was the top lane, and as I meandered down it, still half asleep, I noticed a dove flying past - flung up the bins in time for a blip view of a turtle dove zooming over the ridge towards Shite Lane - a good start!

There didn't seem to be much else until I arrived at Shite Lane to try and dig out the dove, only to find a whinchat on the whinchat hedge! Another bonus, and one that has been tricky enough in recent years!

A jaunt down Marsh Lane produced the years first 3 swifts, and by now I was feeling pretty happy with my lot, after such a dire couple of weeks, but the best was yet to come! Stopping to check Long Strand for the two female long-tailed ducks that I'd seen earlier in the week, I noticed what looked like a roosting wader on the rocks. Or was it just a grey stone that looked a bit like a roosting wader? Good job I checked more closely as it turned out to be a grey plover!! Only my 4th ever at Galley, and the first one I've actually seen on the deck here! Amayzing! (105)

patch yellow!

Been hitting Galley fairly hard over the last couple of weeks with little to show for it! However, today my luck was in for once! Approaching the Shite Lane crossroads I noticed a field of cows, with very short grass. It looked perfect for a yellow wag! "Better scan that for yellow wag" I thought, seconds before clapping my eyes onto a stunning bright yellow wagtail! Ker-ching!

Yellow wagtail - what a cracker!

Oooof!

This is only my 4th at Galley, following two together and a single a few autumns ago. First one in spring too, though I did miss a few spring ones in 2011, whilst away. All in all, a cracker! Maybe things will heat up a bit now!!

Whitethroats are definately in today too, with at least 4 setting up territory, moving me up to 101 for the year! All good!

migbashing in january

Today was freezing! Not as cold as the arctic conditions across the pond in englandshire but still way too cold to be looking for migs surely? It felt like the middle of January! with added wind chill! And yet there were birds about! And quite a few of them!

A male blackcap was an early bonus, and then the phylloscs took over, with c. 20 chiffchaffs and 2 willow warblers gleaned over the next hour or so (86). Most were working hedgerows and ditches on the sheltered side, trying to avoid getting iced by the savage wind, as was I!!

After a bit longer, the lure of cups of tea & warmth got too strong and I headed for home. Two warbler year ticks tho - pretty good for January!!

Springwatch

The very first hint of spring movement happened yesterday afternoon when a chiffchaff hopped and hooweted its way around the garden. The first official mig of 2013! Wasn't that confident that there'd be much doing this morning, as was still feeling pretty cold. However, the birding gods were on my side, as a male wheatear finally popped up just when I was about to give up, and then, while stalking the wheatear, a black redstart flew past! Bingo! Migrants galore!

Managed at least 3 chiffchaffs heading back towards Shite Lane, and then rounded Springwatch off nicely with my first swallow of the year over the lake (84) - 4 year ticks in the last two days! Spring must be here after all!

Desperate times

Its been a pretty good spring for turtle doves in Cork but the species still eludes me on patch for the year, and its about the only regular thing I still need this spring.

News of two at nearby (but off-patch) Red Strand got me wondering if they’d be visible from the top of Dirk Bay (on-patch, but approx. 1 km from Red Strand). There is a bit of history with long-range patch ticking from Dirk, (e.g. here) but not for a couple of skulky doves – this could be tricky!

Efforts to find a willing volunteer proved futile, meeting with various piss-poor excuses like “I’m in Kerry” and “Isn’t that harassing migrants” etc, so I drove to Red Strand to dig the birds out myself, in the unlikely hope they’d remain in full view while I pegged it back to Dirk. All was going well, until a power-walker appeared and headed purposefully up the very track alleged to be containing the doves! Bollox! If I was still at Dirk, I’d have seen them flush! Well, I did see them flush twice and then disappear into a tarmaced garden surrounded by a high hedge.

With the doves now pinned, I pegged it back to Dirk. The garden looked pretty small from there, and the light wasn’t great, rendering the 50x on the scope obsolete. However, after about 10 minutes, I noticed something grubbing around on the tarmac beside the house, followed by another something! The excitement reached fever pitch as the two dots doves headed down the driveway towards me – well, ok they got ever so slightly closer! At one point you could nearly clearly see that they were doves, and then one flapped a bit and the crowd went wild!

So, I finally got turtle dove for the year, which together with the water rail I gleaned last night (actually that was off-patch too, but clearly audible from patch) puts me on 115 for the year – streets ahead on any previous year, but will my luck hold?

more migs

Its been a busy week for year ticks! Although things slowed down a little after the bumper harvest on 1st May, there’s been plenty of on-patch action to keep me busy.  Weds & thurs were quiet enough, with numbers of willows, caps and ears slowly dropping off after the big fall, although I suspect there were still new birds moving through.  Friday morning also had nothing new, but a late afternoonspotted flycatcher at Shite Lane lifted the spirits, and was quickly followed by 20sanderlings on Long Strand – not seen many in spring – some were just coming into summer plumage too.

And then this weekend its been all ducks. Still bashed the patch both mornings, and had another spotted flycatcher and a male whinchat this morning, but an ever-expanding aythya flock on the lake has proved good value for year ticks, with 4 tufted ducks, 2 pochard and a female scaup all gleaned.

The discovery that I’d omitted pheasant from the year-listing proceedings was very welcome. I’d had an inkling that I maybe hadn’t counted it, but kept forgetting to check. All in all, patch year list now standing at a whopping 109 to date – beating my previous best in 2010 by 2 species and 3 days – all good!

Its currently blowing a stiff south-easterly and bucketing down with rain – what’s to be had tomorrow I wonder?

Patch Jam

Birding time was very limited today. Was out for an hour or so first thing this morning, but to be honest it was only really light by the time I'd finished - nothing in the bag at all. Mid-morning the lake caught my eye, and I wandered out to scan it, thinking that there really should be a shelduck on it. Bingo! There was one harassing some lesser black backed gulls - excellent! 10 minutes later, when I scanned again it had vanished!

 

The next bit of luck was even more jammy. A quick glance out the upstairs jax window prior to answering a call of nature revealed 2 male blackbirds having a go at each other on the garden wall. Only one looks like its got a white crescent on its breast. A quick scramble for the bedroom bins and Bingo again - ring ouzel! (79). What a cracker! He flew up on to the phone wire and then quickly back down to the same area, landing just the other side of the wall. Only my second spring bird here, and they are tricky enough in autumn. My luck today was definately in! Maybe I should try for something even more exotic tomorrow?

Winter v spring

Had just arrived at Shite Lane when a loud "nyeh" had me jumping off the bike - brambling! (77). It called a couple more times from the trees, showing well, before heading off. My 1st spring one, and I'd guess they are quite unusual at this time of year. Usually fairly scarce in autumn and not guaranteed so a good bonus for the patch challenge.

That was pretty much it though, not many signs of proper spring migrants!