Irish Wildlife Observations 2012.

I didnt see an awful lot today, but I did stop the car at Waterfoot bridge, Co Antrim to try to photograph some big woodpigeon feeding on hawberries only feet from the road. My photos arent great.

Just to get the thread going for 2012, also want to thank everyone for contributing to a very good thread last year, with many interesting observations shared and educational discussions generated.

Please post your observations while out on the ground in the coming 12 months, whether your fishing or not!

I actually found this dead sea bird on 31 Dec but it'll start this years thread off. Its a Little Auk (Alle alle), I got it dead and bobbing at the edge of a big raft of deposited dead kelp, a bit north of Cushendall beach. Just out for a walk during a break in the rain and hail which has hardly stopped for about 3 weeks.

Its very fresh, they arent meant to visit Ireland? (this one could have drifted in from the open sea or been a bit off course), but it seems a lot are meant to winter in the Isle of Man and also in Eastern Scotland, according to the RSPB. They breed in the Arctic in the summer.

Can anyone else offer any info on them?

I was amazed at how small it was, only 19cm from beak to tail. Didnt realize they were just that small. Its like a miniature guillemot.

EDIT- Just googled 'Little Auk Ireland', an observation was made at Greystones on 1st Jan 12 :-

http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=063001

It seems they do visit Ireland after all, it also says they winter on the open sea but can be blown inshore during bad weather, which is probably what killed this one.

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Just spotted a gannet in Cork Harbour, working the channel between the Spit Bank and Cobh. The earliest I've seen them before has been February.

Gannets feeding that close in is a sign of the bad weather Pat!Maybe searching for sprat!

Quite a few of these geese (Brent?) around Donegal Bay today where I was fishing, it was very dull and drizzly so the light and hence the picture is not great. I also saw a large bird which looked like an all black gannet fly past, is it a juvenile of the species?

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its great to see this thread up for 2012,the 2011 thread was very interesting,thanks cathalger

I spotted a Great Northern Diver near omey island yesterday

Photo0751a.jpg

only had the phone with me and the photo is not great

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Spotted four buzzards at intervals along a stretch of road while on my way to fish yesterday (Sat 28 Jan). It was a dreary, overcast, wet, (hence the lack of photos), dead calm and cold morning and the buzzards were all perched either in trees or on fence posts along the roadside including one at a layby. I suppose these conditions don't suit the buzzards preference for passive soaring, circling and gliding rather than active wing flapping. The body language of the birds suggested they were thoroughly miserable and fed up as they sat, hunched up in the rain. Someday when there's less traffic and more light I'll manage to get a photo of one as I see them almost every time I travel that road.

Do otters count?

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what a brilliant photo where did that happen?

great picture

there was a mention of one getting caught from greystones harbour in this report last week
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=38011&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

what are the chances ha ha ha

LMAO, Has 2 be a new entry on the species list

Food chain on a line! Amazing picture!

How long did he hang on? You must've been pretty quick with the camera

Excellent photo!!! and damn you must have had your camera around your neck!!

you should send that picture into a news paper

Somehow, I don't think Hooker took that pic.



It's all over the internet:

Sorry, I should have stated it's not my pic. I wouldnt have claimed it as my own as I am sure some people on here will have seen it before. Originally not posted in wildlife observations for this reason. I came across it on another non fishing site and thought I would share it as it made me laugh. Apologies for the confusion.

I have had a tug of war with otters before on the river and in the harbour. Very funny incident once with a big eel and a young otter determined to take him. I ended up with the eel wrapped around my head! Eel slime doesn't taste the niceest

Do otters count?

Can't quite match that but I did once have a mink steal a fresh mackerel from beside my tackle box. By the time I got the camera, he was well away . The photo isn't great but you can see the mink with the mackerel on his left (headless, hence the pale coloured circle). He was last seen backing into a hole trailing the fish behind. I reached down to try and pull the mackerel back out to get a better close-up shot but the hissing and spitting that ensued made me think again...

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The wildlife here actually bring me fish ( well , once anyway ) .
There is a pond nearby where salmon occasionally get stuck when the water level drops . You sometimes find a carcass on the bank . Wasn't sure whether due to heron , mink or possibly otter but it is quite close to the house so that seemed unlikely . Anyway , I went into the barn early one morning to find this 1/2 fish on the floor . I knew it hadn't been there an hour before and it was in perfect condition so I trimmed the area where the upper half had been bitten off , filleted and fried it for breakfast . Excellent it was too !!
Notice the two parallel marks ( beneath the end of my finger ) . Too wide apart for mink so had to be from otter or the large feral cat which must have carried it into the barn .
I have since found otter tracks beside the pond , within 35 metres of the house , but only once . Have seen otters only twice and that was about 1/2 mile away , on the main river .
Interestingly we used to lose a lot of hens and ducks to the mink which were everywhere around . Touch wood haven't lost a bird or even seen mink since I first spotted otter 3 years ago . Apparently both animals are territorial and otter is the only thing which will see off mink .
It's just a pity about the salmon . I would much rather they got back to the sea . Or do they make it anyway ? I'm thinking in particular of the spent cocks which have developed the misshapen mouths . I can't imagine that they survive but can't find out despite a lot of googling . Does anyone know ?
ATB /