Life List 248 (2 more life birds seen in my backyard)
The 2 new backyard life birds
Eurasian Bulfinch 1
Ring Necked Pheasant 4
Hi everyone, on Monday we leave for our next destination: Lisbon Portugal. Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and we will spend 2 weeks there. Todays post will mainly be about some of the highlights of Ireland. One of the best highlights was finding 2 life birds in my backyard. 1 was a EURASIAN BULFINCH. The other was RING NECKED PHEASANT spotted by my dad and also photographed by him. It turns out that there is a whole family of pheasants in our yard. The Ring Necked Pheasant was the bird I wanted to see most in Ireland, and it was seen in my yard! That was not a nemesis bird for too long! Here is a photo of the pheasant. Just as I was writing this post, my dad called me upstairs. He had spotted another pheasant! At the beginning of our time here I set myself a goal. My goal was to be on the top 10 list on eBird for the most species reported in Ireland for 2014. Now, I have exceeded my goal and am in 5th place with a nice 74 species. While I was here my Life List went from 188 to 248. That's 60 new species!!! In Ireland it is also nice to be living in a large house and be able to go birding in our yard (8 acres). I will not be able to do that in most places. Now I also know what it is like to be living in the country. I have been able to experience Irish culture too. Some examples of Irish culture are Irish pubs, Irish music, etc. Overall I think everyone has had a great time in Ireland and we are all looking forward to our 2 weeks in Portugal! It would be nice to come back to Ireland someday. Stay tuned, because the birding in Portugal is supposed to pretty good and there is also lots to do in the country's capital. Goodbye Ireland!!
Life List 248 (2 more life birds seen in my backyard) The 2 new backyard life birds Eurasian Bulfinch 1 Ring Necked Pheasant 4
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Today was the best birding day of my life, guaranteed. My dad and I drove to Mizen Head and met our guide, Dan Ballard. That day we saw a whopping 62 species! Dan hopped in our car and my dad drove us to Goleen Harbour. My dad told him about a time where we went to River Ilen and saw an electric blue bird, and Dan confirmed the ID for us. He said it was a kingfisher. Life bird 222! We arrived at the harbor where we saw only a few species such as MUTE SWAN and MEW GULL! The Mew Gull was life bird 223! We also saw this GREY HERON, which my dad photographed (see below). After the harbor we headed to a body of water filled with shorebirds. Some of the life birds there were SANDWICH TERN, EURASIAN CURLEW, EURASIAN LINNET, etc. One bird that I really wanted to see that day was a Ring Necked Pheasant, which is a common species in Ireland, but alas it eluded us. Then, Dan got a text from another birder about a rare sighting for Ireland of a bird called a Wryneck, a type of woodpecker. I wanted to go and see it, so we hopped in the car and drove to the spot where it was seen. We found this rare WRYNECK in someone's backyard!!! Life bird!!! Next we headed for a garden that is in Dan's friends front yard, the southernmost garden spot in all of Ireland. Oddly, this was one of the best spots of the day. We did find many good birds. I spotted a nice DUNNOCK in the bushes and Dan also spotted a few SONG THRUSHES, which quickly flew in and out. In the area, Dan also spotted SKY LARK, BLACKCAP, and GREATER WHITETHROAT. After that we stopped for a quick lunch at Mizen Head Café than drove back up the road where I spotted movement in the bushes. We found a few birds such as this EUROPEN STONECHAT. And this SPOTTED FLYCATCHER (below), which seems like he is in a good spot to catch his lunch (bugs). Next stop was a valley near 3 Castle Head, which is a peninsula where there are 3 castles along 1 trail. We did spot a few nice species here, such as GRAY WAGTAIL, WHINCHAT, and PIED FLYCATCHER which are all very good finds. The best spot -- and also the last spot -- was around a nearby lake. We drove in and Dan spotted a very rare WATER RAIL! He mentioned that a friend of his had been birding for 12 years before spotting one. We parked and started our walk through the wetlands. Suddenly a bird darted in front of us and landed across the body of water we were closest to. It was a PECTORAL SANDPIPER!!! This is a bird from America that must have flow over the Atlantic into Ireland! So rare! Here is a photo of this very rare Pectoral Sandpiper. Here is a photo of Dan and I birding. After the lake we drove back to the place we met Dan and that concluded our trip. This was the best birding day of my life. I also got 24 life birds and together we got a fantastic 62 species! The most I have ever seen in 1 spot! Please remember that I did not mention all life birds (see list below for all life birds and all species seen today). Also, since I did not see a Pheasant, it is now my nemesis bird.
Life List 246 (24 life birds today) + Kingfisher (seen recently) Bird List For That Day Mute Swan 2 Mallard 3 Northern Gannet X Great Cormorant 3 Grey Heron 2 Little Egret 1 Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1 (additional species seen by Dan and my dad) Water Rail 1 Life Bird! Eurasian Oystercatcher 5 Northern Lapwing 1 Common Ringed Plover X Common Greenshank 3 Life Bird! Common Redshank 3 Eurasian Curlew 12 Life Bird! Ruff 1 (additional species seen by Dan) Curlew Sandpiper 1 Life Bird! Dunlin 4 Life Bird! Pectoral Sandpiper 1 Life Bird! Black Headed Gull 2 Mew Gull 1 Life Bird! Herring Gull 15 Lesser Black Backed Gull 2 Great Black Backed Gull 2 Life Bird! Sandwich Tern 2 Life Bird! Common Wood Pigeon 1 Eurasian Wryneck 1 Life Bird! Eurasian Kestrel 6 Peregrine Falcon 2 Eurasian Magpie 2 Red Billed Chough 4 Eurasian Jackdaw 1 Rook 5 Hooded Crow X Common Raven 4 Sky Lark 4 Life Bird! Barn Swallow 15 Great Tit 1 Eurasian Blue Tit 4 Goldcrest X Willow Warbler 1 (additional species seen by Dan) Common Chiffchaff 4 Life Bird! Sedge Warbler 1 Life Bird! Blackcap X (additional species seen by Dan) Greater Whitethroat 1 Life Bird! Spotted Flycatcher 3 Life Bird! European Robin 10 European Pied Flycatcher 2 Life Bird! Whinchat 1 Life Bird! European Stonechat 10 Life Bird! Northern Wheatear 4 Eurasian Blackbird 2 Song Thrush 2 Life Bird! Dunnock 3 Life Bird! Gray Wagtail 1 Life Bird! White Wagtail 5 Meadow Pipit 3 Life Bird! Rock Pipit X Common Chaffinch X European Goldfinch X Eurasian Linnet 50 Life Bird! House Sparrow 1 The other day my family and I went to Barley Cove Beach, one of the only sand beaches in Ireland. While I was there I did pick up a few bird species such as this NORTHERN WHEATEAR. Life Bird 219! We walked to the far end of the beach and went swimming. We found a few fish and together we saw 2 crabs. After swimming I walked around the beach and this COMMON RINGED PLOVER flew right in front of me! Life Bird 220! As we headed out, I saw 2 birds feeding in a the same field as the Northern Wheatear. 2 RED BILLED CHOUGHS! Life Bird 221. Next stop was Mizen Head, a place I was looking forward to, but it was not as interesting as we thought. Where we went in Mizen Head was just a bunch of little museam like things which I cant stand. We drove the 40 minute drive back to the house and I was glad to add 3 birds to my life list!
Bird List For Today Red Billed Chrough 2 Life Bird! Northern Wheatear 1 Life Bird! Pied Wagtail X Herring Gull 5 Gray Heron 1 Rook X European Starling X Monday was my sisters 8th birthday, so we drove to the town of Clonakilty to take a pottery class. Right before getting in the car to leave, I saw an EURASIAN KESTREL fly by right next to our house! Life bird 215! After seeing the Kestrel we drove 40 minutes to Clonakilty, had lunch, then headed for the pottery class. A nice lady named Rita was our teacher. We started the class by making pots, followed by coils. We made coils by making the clay into a long round thin line. Then, we roll the up into a spiral shape. Finally, what we have all been waiting for, we were able to use the pottery wheel. Apparently you have to be 8 to do the wheel, and my sister has been waiting to do it for a while, so this was very exiting for her. Here my mom and my sister doing the pottery wheel. After all having a turn on the wheel, we headed home. We drove past many mudflats and saw many birds as we were driving. Luckily, everyone kindly stopped for a while so I could check out some of these birds I did see a few good birds such as LITTLE EGRET, GREAT CORMORANT, and 4 lucky BLACK TAILED GODWITS! The Godwit is life bird 217 I also identified my first ROOK, a species that I have seen many times but have not positively identified it until earlier that day. That was life bird 216! There was also a ROOK at the mudflats. It was a good day and im glad I got 2 life birds and am also very glad my sister had a good birthday!
Life List 217 (2 life birds that day) Bird List For That Day Mute Swan 6 Mallard 3 Great Cormorant 1 Little Egret 1 Black Tailed Godwit 4 Life Bird! Eurasian Jackdaw X Rook 1 Life Bird! A few days ago my dad took me to River Ilen to bird, a place really close to our house. When the water level goes down late in the day and the river is scattered with mudflats, a large variety of shorebirds arrive. We stood on a pier with a great view of many shorebirds. Many birds called COMMON REDSHANK were here, a shorebird with a bright red bill and bright red legs.Life bird 212! I also forgot to mention that the other day I saw my first GRAY HERON, which was a life bird for me. The most common bird of the day were about 30 EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHERS, a bird found often in Ireland. Then I spotted about 6 NORTHRN LAPWING! Life bird 213! Since I did not take any photos at all, heres a photo of a lapwing that I pulled off the internet. Almost every day we drive past this river and I always claim to see an egret, but I cant count it on my list since we are driving fast. Finally, that im here I have finally positively identified my first LITTLE EGRET! Life bird 214! At the beggening of our birding trip I also spotted 2 EURASIAN MOORHENS a species that i saw at St. Stevens Greene in Dublin. By the way to all of you who are not birders, life bird means that it is the first time you have ever seen that specific bird before. I was glad to finally go to River Ilen and see birds and positively identify them (not while driving by).
Life List 214 ( 3 life birds that day)+Gray Heron (seen recently) Bird List For That Day Black Headed Gull X (X means the number of birds of that species is unknown) Eurasian Moorhen 2 Little Egret X Life Bird! Eurasian Oystercatcher 30 Common Rdshank X Life Bird Eurasian Magpie 2 Rock Pigeon 1 Lesser Black Backed Gull 1 Great Cormorant 2 Hi everyone, today I did a little backyard birding. What is backyard birding? It is simply just enjoying the birds that are in your backyard instead of traveling to a specific spot to bird. A few minutes ago while I was birding in the backyard, I spotted this PIED WAGTAIL, an abundant species in Ireland seen on the roof of our house. I also saw a bunch of these WILLOW WARBLERS, a species I recently saw on the property. While spending most of my time photographing the willow warblers, I saw a few more species such as EUROPEAN ROBIN, EURASIAN BLUE TIT, and GREAT TIT. Well, that concludes my brief post about backyard birding.
Life list 212 (no life birds that day) Bird List For That Day European Robin 2 Eurasian Blue Tit 2 Willow Warbler 6 Pied Wagtail 3 Hi everyone, a few days ago my family and I drove to Baltimore Harbor to catch a ferry to Cape Clear Island. We boarded the ferry at 10:30. On the ferry, we met another birder named Gareth O'Donnell who identified a bird that I pointed out called a RAZORBILL. Life 207! Thanks Gareth. On the ferry ride, someone spotted a whale! This is the first time I have seen a whale in 5 years. Gareth also identified a bunch of BLACK GUILLEMOT , a species that looks exactly the same as a Razorbill to me, so good thing there was another birder on the ferry. Black Guillimonts are life birds for me! We also saw a few flocks of NORTHERN GANNETS, a few LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS, and the bird of the day, 2 MANX SHEARWATER. Life Bird 209! Then, I spotted a bunch of GREAT CORMORANT my second Cormorant species and life bird 210! Heres a photo of all those great cormorants on an island. There might also be a few European Shag mixed in, another species that looks almost the same as the Cormorant, though I did not look for the Shags. We arrived at the harbor after the 40 minute ferry ride where I saw this PIED WAGTAIL, a common species. We decided to take a hike, and one of the first species I saw was this EURASIAN JACKDAW. As we continued the hike I saw many birds including ROCK PIPIT, EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH, BARN SWALLOW, etc. We kept walking and stumbled upon a house with a man standing in the doorway holding a cup of tea. Gareth. First, I must tell you that Gareth's home was maybe the size of your bathroom . My dad claims all he saw in it was a cot and a cooking stove. We finished the hike and went to the storytelling festival, the main reason we came here. The storytelling festival is a place where many people meet up in a room and just tell stories. Personally, I thought it was kind of boring, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. After that, we took a 45 minute gaelic lesson, which was more fun than the storytelling festival, but I did not learn anything at all. Oh, and did I mention that Cape Clear Island is one of the last places in the world where people speak gaelic? Later, my mom and I went on a walk and I spotted this EUROPEAN ROBIN which is one of the most common species in all of Ireland. Shortly after I spotted the European Robin, My mom and I ran back to the harbor to catch the ferry back. At the harbor, I also spotted this HOODED CROW. We boarded the ferry, and that pretty much concluded our wonderful day spent on the island, seeing many birds including 4 life birds. It was a great day!
Life List 210 (4 life birds that day) Bird List For That Day Manx Shearwater 2 Life Bird! Northern Gannet 30 Eurasian Oystercatcher 5 Razorbill 1 Life Bird! Black Guillemot 10 Life Bird! Black Headed Gull 5 Herring Gull 25 Lesser Black Backed Gull 10 Rock Pigeon 3 Eurasian Jackdaw 2 Barn Swallow 20 European Robin 4 Eurasian Blackbird 1 Pied Wagtail 4 European Goldfinch 2 House Sparrow 40 Recently my family and I went on a 4 mile hike for 3 hours. The birding was great! At the beginning of our hike I saw PIED WAGTAILS followed by a COMMON CHAFINCH. Life bird 203! As we walked along, we walked to Runkerry beach, where I saw this female COMMON EIDER. Life bird 204! On the same beach, I saw this Rock Pipit, one more life bird! Boy, my life list is growing fast! Thanks to Jake Cvetas and Henry Griffin who told me what this bird was! I also saw 2 EUROPEAN GOLDFINCHES a bird that is found in northeastern IIlinois, mostly in Lake Co. Since this bird is fairly uncommon in Illinois, I have not seen one until now. We continued the beautiful hike overlooking the ocean and walking on cliffs. My parents claimed it was the most beautiful hike they have ever been on in their entire lives. Overall it was a beautiful hike with many birds.
Life List 206 ( 4 life birds that day) Bird List For That Day Common Eider 6 Life Bird! Northern Fulmar 6 Northern Gannet 1 Black Headed Gull 1 Eurasian Jackdaw 1 European Robin 1 Pied Wagtail 7 Common Chaffinch 1 Life Bird European Goldfinch 2 Life Bird Rock Pipit 3 Life Bird Recently my family and I went to Dunluce Castle near Bushmills. Dunluce castle is an old castle on a cliff that fell, and is now in ruins. We did an audio tour and listened to a guy tell us all about the castle. He told us something that he lost which always happened to be something important back in the day (wig curler, horseshoe, harp key, etc.). He would also tell us what room to go into next in the castle, where we would have to find the thing he lost. Here is me, my mom, and my sister at the castle. While walking around the castle I saw my first NORTHERN GANNET, a large white bird I spotted flying over the ocean! Life bird 201! On one of my posts titled "Ireland", I mentiond a gull species I did not know, and to contact me if anyone had an idea what it might be. Luckly, a birding friend named Henry Griffin knew what this species was. He said it was a BLACK HEADED GULL in nonbreeding plumage, which was life bird 200! After Dunluce we headed for the Bushmills whiskey distillery, which happened to be closed. As we headed back to the car, I spotted a EURASIAN JACKDAW in the parking lot! Life bird 202! All and all, it was a good day.
Life List 202 (2 life birds that day) + Black Headed Gull (seen previously) Bird List For That Day Pied wagtail 2 Northern Fulmar 1 Northern Gannet 1 Life Bird! Eurasian Jackdaw 1 Life Bird! |
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