Siberian Chiffchaff, Ross Castle

Siberian Chiffchaff, Ross castle, 16th December 2015, one of two birds present.(D.Farrar).

Little Auk video

Some video of the Little Auk released near Camp yesterday

Little Auk, near Camp, 10th December 2015 (D.Farrar).

Click the 'four arrows' symbol on bottom right to see the full size video.

Little Auk release

This Little Auk was picked up yesterday evening in the brightly lit yard of a poultry farm near Knocknagoshel, at least 30km from the nearest coast. The owner Edwin Stryker took the bird into care and kept it overnight. This morning it was taken to the coast near Camp for release, in a sheltered bay, with plenty of potential feeding nearby and access to open ocean.

Little Auk, at the release site near Camp, 10th December 2015 (D.Farrar).

The Little Auk had perked up during the night, and by morning it was obviously ready to release.

 

Little Auk, near Camp, 10th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

Ageing and sexing Little Auks is very difficult, even in the hand. Characteristics of bill depth and wing measurement can be used, though only with an accuracy of 83%, according to a 2005 paper on the subject from the Seabird Group. Just to add another layer of detail, "White or white-tipped feathers in the lesser primary coverts (LPC) occurred more frequently in juveniles than in adults, while the reverse was true for the greater secondary coverts (GPC). Only 74% of the Little Auks were properly aged on [this] basis." 

If you want to explore this vexed and complex issue, make yourself a stiff drink, keep the Hedex tablets to hand, then download and read the article (in PDF format) from HERE, or alternatively, shrug your shoulders and say, "Ok then, but it's still definitely a Little Auk..."

Little Auk, Camp, 10th December 2015 (D.Farrar).

Little Auk, Camp, 10th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

The bird was placed on a rock with a gentle slope onto the water, and after a few minutes it stretched a little, then shuffled into the incoming tide and started to make its' way out to sea.

Little Auk, Camp, 10th December 2015 (M.O'Clery).

We last saw it heading strongly away from the coast, occasionally flapping, and diving. A happy ending to this bird's (mis)adventures. Let's hope this male/female/ youngster/veteran made it.

Big shout out to Edwin for taking this bird into care - a lot of people wouldn't have bothered. Good man.

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?