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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 15h

Please do pass on the numbers. If I don’t have to work I might find more good birds..

delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 16h

#donegalbirding

Well, no prizes for guessing where I’ve been. The Harlequins showed well this morning so off to Tory to get the Vireos. No sign, so it looks like they may have cleared out. Can’t complain though. Thanks Rob, again..

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 1d

#donegalbirding

The madness continued today when those who headed for Tory for the Grey-cheeked Thrush and RB Shrike, we’re also treated to THREE Red-Eyed Vireos. Another new species for the county. If I might paraphrase Scottie, ‘A canny take much more captain’!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 3d

#donegalbirding

Superb day on Tory with the Grey cheeked thrush showing well, eventually! Bonus birds that are always welcome were Red backed shrike and Lapland bunting. With the Blackpoll still at Arranmore, there’s a lot more out there!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 5d

#donegalbirding

Seawatch this morning with Chris Ingram at the Bloody Foreland. A quiet morning but still plenty of Sooties and a few Leach’s petrels. Interesting to see species coming in off the sea such as Pintail and Barnacle Geese. A poor attempt to digiscope a Leach’s..

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 10d

#donegalbirding

And some footage for good measure..

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 10d

#donegalbirding

A few more shots of the Swainson’s thrush at Malin More today that show the breast and belly pattern more clearly. A stunning bird that behaved totally against reputation by walking right up to us on occasion!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 18d

Rings of any kind - which it doesn’t have. And possibly signs of feather damage. This bird gets a clean bill of health on that front. Can’t really argue with location either. Had it turned up a few weeks later with Barnacles, I suspect there would have been a line of twitchers the following day.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 18d

#donegalbirding

Interesting to see a juv Black Tern and a 1st Winter Little gull feeding together at inch. Quite a few similarities between the two.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 18d

Depends on who you ask! The IRBC will look at things like date of arrival, location, signs of captivity, carrier species (which might indicate origin), weather systems etc. I think the nail in the coffin will be date and carrier species (Greylag) which are probably Scottish. Resplendent bird!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 27d

#donegalbirding

The run of Black Terns at Inch continues with 8 yesterday and 5 today. It’s been quite a few years since the last Autumn influx. Curlew sands are also everywhere with around 25 yesterday. Smaller numbers today. We need some of those yank waders that the north is getting!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · 28d

#donegalbirding

A seawatch from the Bloody Foreland on Thursday 11th was fairly quiet, but we did get 4 Great Shearwaters, 36 Sooties, 1 Leach’s Petrel, 7 Great And 5 Arctic Skuas. 1 Grey Phalarope also.

There probably won’t many more opportunities this year, but you never know.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Sep 9

#donegalbirding

Good passage birds today with Little Stint, Curlew Sand and 3 Black Tern at Inch. 10 Curlew Sands were at Blanket Nook.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Sep 8

Wasn’t aware of that practice, but you could be correct. I know they left out carcasses early in the release programme to help recently released birds.

I’ve heard that breeding success isn’t good, nor is survival rates of young birds due to presumed lack of available prey.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Sep 8

#donegalbirding

You see some odd looking ducks in moult at this time of year. This bird almost looks like it’s trying to be a Storm Wigeon. The pale head patches look even more creamy yellow in real life. However, it has grey on flanks among other things. Likely to be a mix of DNA in this chap.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Sep 3

#donegalbirding

Good day on Tory. The Greenish warbler was still there (unbelievably) and showed well. Later picked up a bonus bird in the form of a Pied flycatcher. Autumn migration has kicked off in earnest. 4 Porpoise and oddly, a Clouded Yellow was seen from the Ferry!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Sep 2

Can’t believe they haven’t accepted it yet. How dare they!

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Sep 2

#donegalbirding

Curlew Sandpiper at the grange end of Bkanket Nook this morning. A female type Garganey was at the Moyle end, associating with teal. Good year for Garganey! I think that is the 8th bird this year. 2 juv Black terns were also found at Inch (C. Ingrim / T. Campbell).

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 29

Thanks Simon, I know exactly where you were. Good to know alternative vantage points. Pencil in Tory island on your next trip, you never know what might be there. Greenish warbler (current thinking) found there today.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 29

Hi Simon, sounds like a great day out! Just to let you know, there is a #donegalbirding group. It would be great to have your news on there too if you’re birding the area. Do you have a pin drop for your watch point? The traditional spot is beside the beacon, but always worth checking other spots.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 20

#donegalbirding

Water rail have also had a good year at Blanket Nook. Clear signs of breeding success are visible such as this juvenile bird. Often difficult to see, but not so this year.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 20

#donegalbirding

Blanket Nook is still over-run with waders at the moment. 3 Little stints and a very showy Wood Sandpiper was the best this afternoon.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 20

I suspect that has a lot to do with it, but also I’d say there has been an increase in coverage in recent years. Donegal will probably never have the same number of active birders as somewhere like Wexford or Cork, but I do think it’s improving.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 19

#donegalbirding

Blanket Nook on Monday 18th revealed a large wader presence, with a wide range of species available. Among them were 2 Wood sandpipers, little Stint and 12 Ruff. Nook is best checked in the evening due to better light, when the sun (if the is one) is at your back.

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delboydonegal.bsky.social @delboydonegal.bsky.social · Aug 19

#donegalbirding

A trip to Tory proved interesting on Saturday 16th. The ferry over turned up a Grey Phalarope following and circling the boat for a short time. Cory’s Shearwaters were also present in decent numbers, but more notable was the volume of Cory’s passing the north end - 100 in 10 mins!

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