footit target assimilated

I've been sneakily banging in the odd year tick along the way this last week - nothing amayzing but bits and bobs like water rail and shelduck and the like. All these year ticks also count for my footit challenge too, as I've done no car birding on patch this year. Mainly cos I can't drive it on to the Magic Patio!

Anyway, with the January days fast running out, and being 4 short of the magic 100% figure of 70 species, I decided to try once again for the (fairly) regular whimbrel that hangs out in Dirk Bay each winter - I guess it may not be the same bird every year but it does hang out in the same spot all the time. Except on the 1st of January of course.

I lugged my scope too there, as I was hopeful of maybe picking up a razorbill in the bay or flying past at sea - it was all beginning to get a bit serious! But nothing like as serious as this, I should add! 127 miles of walking? Respect!

As I struggled up Shite Lane hill, marvelling once again at my brilliant scope porter (tm), I saw 4 small waders flying into the gusty wind. "Hmmm, probably snipe" I wagered to myself, as I raised my trusty bins, and sure enough, 4 golden plover flew onto the year list. Ker-ching! (67).

Descending into Dirk, there was the whimbrel sitting on the rocks where it likes to sit (except on the 1st of January). Bingo! (68). But that was me lot. No wintering chiffs or caps frolicking in the sheltered fuschia bushes (well, none that I could find anyway). Tried for a while to string a raz out of the few auks booting past out to sea but they were all pretty distant & the light was pants. There were 2 auks in the bay, but of course one was a guillemot and the other was a tystie (scream for me again, stevie g(antlett)). No raz tho. Booo.

Humped me gear all the way home (only about half an hours walk but its a steep hill!), and scanned the lake to see just the usual dabchicks, and with that, birding appeared to be pretty much over for the day. Luckily tho, I reckoned without the power of the lunch table to pull in the year ticks. Mid-sandwich I noticed a whitish looking gull flying over the lake, which through bins was clearly a white-winger. Rushed out to the garden with the scope to see a smart adult iceland gull (69) being wind-blasted on the lakeshore. Better again, at 50x zoom, I noticed a knot hunched in the rocks behind it, trying to shelter as well. Moob!! (70, or as we say in old money, 100%).

Unfortunately unlike some, I didn't think to take a selfie of the big moment. On the other hand, unlike some, I haven't walked 127 miles for my 100% (I might have covered 7 miles in total, but possibly not even that) so you'll have to make do with a couple of dodgy-scoped shelduck from midweek.

Kwality Kwacks!!

So there you go! Gonna try and nail Raz tomorrow if I can swing the time. Will involve my longest walk of this footit campaign tho - all the way to the light. And back!! Hope I make it!

globbies

Took a while but eventually caught up with the 2 glossy ibis between Owenahincha and Rosscarbery - saw them a couple of times swirling around over the main road on the school run and then found them in the field beside the road on another day.

Globular on-deck action

This is the first attempt of handheld phone-scoping, and so impressed was I with the results that I tried again on the black guillemot that has been hanging about on the lake the last few days. The results speak for themselves...

very tystie

It was miles away, and I couldn't be arsed getting off the patio! Tried really hard to get the globbies on the patch list yesterday morning, but unfortunately there was an inconvenient hill in the way. Did get wigeon, grey heron  and sparrowhawk  on the year list tho (63).

The BFG

One week into the new year, and I feel like I've hardly been out! The weather hasn't really been up to much, and what with the Great Island Bird Race last saturday (we came second - again!!), I've somehow been off-patch whenever the weather has been good.

Did manage to notice this fella through the salt-encrusted windows this morning tho (55).

BFG - big fat glauc

fisher of kings

Out with the usual 1st of Jan spring in my step this am but didn't get anything particularly unusual. Best of it was a kingfisher,  courtesy of Senor Faulty - saw it a couple of times last week, but a good one for the year - they ain't around every winter! Finished on 42 species for the year.

A fairly vintage year on patch

Although I've so far failed to add any further year ticks in December, overall the 144 species that I've gleaned at Galley in 2013 makes it the second best year total since records began (2004), beaten only by last years monstrous 149. With a whopping five full fat patch ticks, it shapes up pretty well, leaving me just 3 short of the magic 200 barrier! First of the year's patch tickage was this fine female long-tailed duck, back in January.

Exhibit A

This was followed in April by a distant but definite velvet scoter, which you can read about here.

August weighed in with a fine wood sandpiper, while 2 spotted redshanks nearly slipped through the net one September evening, but were sorted out the following morning. Final patch tick of the year involved this fine pair and a friendly push in the right direction from a loyal slave!

galley geese

Aside from the patch ticks, there was a good haul of decent migrants at Galley this year,including yellow wagtail, at least 3 wrynecks, 2 red-backed shrikes, red-breasted flycatcher and yellow-browed warblers. The seawatching was red-hot at times, with big numbers of big shears and a fantastic fea's day too!

yellow fever

fat neck

Shrike-tastic!

who ate all the flies?

In other news, I managed to twitch a hefty four (count 'em) Irish ticks, I think - black duck, gull-billed tern, mongolian plover and  serin:

Dack Blucks

oooof - bird of the year I think

Mizen Serin - lovely!

Bring on 2014 I say! Happy New Year (List!)