Little Auk & Glaucous Gull

Adult Glaucous Gull, Dingle, 8th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Adult Glaucous Gull, Dingle, 8th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

 A big, beefy adult Glaucous Gull, the Tony Soprano of gulls. Don't mess with this one.

Little Auk, near Castlegregory, 8th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Little Auk (same as above), near Castlegregory, 8th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Little Auk (same as above), near Castlegregory, 8th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

And at the opposite end of the size spectrum, one of two Little Auks seen at Sandy Bay this afternoon, both alighting briefly on the sea before heading N and out of the Sandy Bay area. Before something altogether more enormous appeared.

White-winged gulls, near the Cashen

The brown-washed primaries and tail band on this bird are characters of a Kumlien's Gull, this bird seen in fields near the Cashen Estuary, 30th November 2015 (D.Farrar). 

A more typical first-winter Iceland Gull, one of two present, also in fields near the Cashen Estuary, 30th November 2015 (D.Farrar). 

Regulars at TBWC

First-winter Iceland Gull, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 4th December 2015 (Ed Carty).

Second winter Ring-billed Gull, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 4th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

A couple of 'the regulars' at the TBWC.

Black Brant, The Trench

Adult Black Brant (left), 'The Trench', Sandy Bay, 30th November 2015 (Michael O'Clery). 

Adult Black Brant, 'The Trench', Sandy Bay, 30th November 2015 (Michael O'Clery).

Two Black Brant were seen in Kerry earlier in the autumn, during the annual Brent Goose Survey, one at Barrow Harbour and one at the same time at Spa, near Fenit. As in previous years, the several thousand Brent Geese frequent those areas for the early part of the winter, dispersing more widely in Tralee Bay and beyond from mid-winter onwards. Numbers of Brent at Sandy Bay have increased greatly this past week and the flocks also now include at least one of the Brants.

Lesser Scaup, plural

If you fancy an eye-strainer of a challenge, spot the two Lesser Scaups in these photos. One an adult, the other a first-year male.

Lesser Scaups with Tufted Duck, Lough Gill, 26th November 2015 (D.Farrar).

New N.E.W.S. news

From Helen Boland, BirdWatch Ireland

Hello Kerry Folks,

As you may know, the coastal Non-Estuarine Waterbird Survey ‘NEWS’ is being carried out this winter and the survey period runs from 1st December through to 31st January. It involves walking a section of coast (usually between 2 and 4km) just once during the survey period within three hours either side of low-tide and recording all waterbird species along it on the sea, the intertidal and the land. We need some help in Kerry and I’m wondering if any of you like to take on a sector of coast to survey?

For your interest I’ve attached a screen grab of the current Kerry coverage situation to date to give you a sense of where current gaps are in Kerry. The blue dots are the sections of coast that have been assigned to a counter (thanks to Kilian and Richard), the red dots are the priority sectors of coast that we need to find coverage for e.g. the same sectors that were covered 9 years ago during the last NEWS. The yellow dots are lower priority so we’re trying to allocate the priority red dots first.

You’ll see the main areas where we need help are at Caherciveen/Valencia; Dingle Peninsula; and the north Kerry coast south of Ballybunion.

The last ‘NEWS’ took place 9 years ago. This time we have teamed up with the BTO and observers can select their sections of coast through an online system. It means you need to register for a username and password but it is very straightforward, but if you have ever used BirdTrack or Atlas before you can use the same log-in details.

We’re trying to get an idea of where the real gaps are (rather than ones that people will probably cover but just haven’t gotten around yet to officially signing up to) so we can target our own fieldwork. If you would like to take on a sector it would be great if you could log on through the BTO online system (details below) and request your sector/s that way. Much more detail of the sectors is available there. Or else drop me a line if you have any queries at all.

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/webs/taking-part/non-estuarine-waterbird-survey-iii

Thanks, and I hope all is well!

Helen.

Tralee Gulls

First-winter Iceland Gull, Fels Point Hotel car park, Tralee, 21st November 2015 (Ed Carty).

First-winter Iceland Gull, Fels Point Hotel car park, Tralee, 21st November 2015 (Ed Carty).

Second winter Ring-billed Gull, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 21st November 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Probable 'Viking' Gull, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 21st November 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Probable 'Viking' Gull, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 21st November 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Although superficially like Iceland Gull, this first-winter white-winged gull has a strangely large head, a coarsely marked mantle, and a rather 'snouty' look, with a small 'piggy' eye set high and back in the head, features more consistent with a Glaucous Gull rather than the dainty, round-headed appearance of typical Iceland Gulls. This would seem most likely to be a Glaucous x Herring Gull hybrid (a so-called 'Viking Gull'), though a smallish one, and not terribly obvious as such from any distance. Anyone prepared to offer an opinion on this one?

Continuing to thrill the GBT community

Gull-billed Tern, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, 20th November 2015 (Davey Farrar).

The A-list celebrity tern gave point-blank views at the Wetlands Centre today.

Gull-billed Tern, Tralee

Most of us thought the Gull-billed Tern had finally had enough and moved on - no reports for nearly a week - but no! 

There it was again at the Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre today, even roosting in the nearby gravel car park at Fels Hotel, site of the world famous Rose of Tralee Festival, held annually in a rather large marquee in, let's face it, a gravel car park. Though they do put a few nice potted plants about the place and a good bit of red carpet.

Yes, this out-of-season super-rarity was standing on the very ground where this remarkable event happened. The very spot where Lovely Lady, Edel Buckley from Cork, bragged it up, revealing "...I am treasurer of the Donoughmore Tug of War Club.", and

 Just-as-Lovely Lady, Orla Gately from Roscommon, betrayed her raw, naked ambition by telling us, "My main achievements include receiving June Employee of the Month in Hodson Bay Hotel in 2011 where I worked as a waitress." (More here)

There was some sort of sprat run in the nearby river, perhaps explaining the tern's interest upriver from Blennerville. It was too late for the Rose of Tralee in any case.

Gull-billed Tern, Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, Tralee, 19th February 2015 (David O'Connor).

Great record for the Wetlands Centre. Only another ten days to beat the record for the longest staying Gull-billed Tern, and might it even grab the 'first for December' accolade? It survived the two ferocious recent storms, so both seem possible again.

Storm-blown birds

Winds of over 100km per hour were recorded on the Kerry coast yesterday, and many birds have been blown onto our shores, some of which were making their way back out to sea today. 6 Bonxies were seen heading west off Rough Point this morning, while a Leach's Petrel, 3 Pomarine Skuas and 2 Sooty Shearwaters flew west past Brandon Point.

First-winter Glaucous Gull, near Sandy Bay, 18th November 2015 (M.O'Clery).

First-winter Glaucous Gull, near Sandy Bay, 18th November 2015 (M.O'Clery).

First-winter Iceland Gull, Blennerville, 18th November 2015 (D.Farrar).

First-winter Iceland Gull, Blennerville, 18th November 2015 (D.Farrar).

The eye position on this bird is unusual, set high and towards the rear, more like a Glaucous Gull. Might there be a hybrid element to this bird?

Pomarine Skua, off Scraggane, 18th November 2015 (M.O'Clery).