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!

kumlien's

The wind continued this week, however the lake kept drawing things in in search of shelter. Highlight was a 1st w kumlien's gull on tues lunchtime which I'd seen coast pass the house a couple of days previously but didn't nail. Good that it reappeared anyway! First one I've seen on patch! The two house martins at the other end of the lake were new for the year, while a shag on the lake was also my first there, which was nice! Up to 15 arctic terns hawking over the lake despite the gale was also good to see.

Sedge warblers arrived on friday after the wind finally dropped, with at least 2 singing from the lakeside reeds.

Had a 2 hour hoof around Galley this am, but couldn't do better than a wheatear and a chiffchaff - pretty poor considering hordes of migrants seem to be hitting elsewhere! However, today was the first day of any real whimbrel movement, and I was pleased to pick out 3 bar-tailed godwits in one flock, including a nice summer plumaged one - tricky enuff for the year list, which now stands on a whopping 98, and I still need sand martin!

the seawatching

Very windy all weekend, but had to try and get some birding in so went seawatching for a change.  Manx shearwaters were pelting past in great numbers - several hundred going west in just a few minutes! Also managed 4 bonxies, 2 puffins and 2 arctic terns all west into the gale - good to see arctics this side of the summer - usually more of an autumn species here. The year list keeps ticking over! (94)

patch tickage baby yeah!

Well, the inevitable finally happened! A calm and dry morning first thing so I hurried back down to the scoter-scanning-spot to try my luck at bagging the lingering velvet scoter off Cloghna Head (approximately 1.5 miles off-patch). The scoter flock was still there, diving just off the rocks at the base of the head, seemingly unperturbed by the still fairly huge swell. It was quite easy to pick out the female common scoters, despite the salt spray, but seeing any kind of detail of the head pattern on the other birds as they bobbed up and down was pretty impossible.  However, my luck was in, as after only a few minutes, the velvet scoter flapped its wings briefly, and the white wing feathers shone out! Patch tick! Whoop! 30 minutes later, I clocked it again from the lay-by on Cloghna Head, on the way home from the school run - confirmation that the velvet hadn't morphed into a white-winged scoter overnight!

As the morning remained calm and dry, I had a quick scout around for migs, but couldn't do better than a solitary chiffchaff - the migrant floodgates are still to open hereabouts!

Final score of the day came in the form of a flyby 1st winter iceland gull from the dinner table this evening - April does seem to be the most regular month for these guys - another valuable year tick, bringing up the 90 with only a handful of migrants so far! Plenty still to get!