First visit of the year

 

Fieldfare on the walls of Loop Head Lighthouse © John N Murphy

I managed a trip to the Loop today 3rd January with very little about due to the wet day and rough weather prior to my visit. There were up to 500 Fieldfares and 350 Redwings throughout the headland and around the light. One large female Peregrine and a Kestrel were hunting around the lighthouse gardens where a Snipe, 20 Rock Pipits and two Stonechats were evading capture.  Five Razorbills, 18 Kittiwake and 25 Gannet were feeding off the tip with Fulmars and Common Gulls. Over 100 Rock Doves were feeding in a farmyard just east of Crotty's Farm at Cavan Cross.

In Kilbaha there were 8 Chaffinch and two Collared Doves in the gardens with three Great Northern Divers feeding in the harbour.  

Ross Bay had a further two Great Northern Divers, one Greenshank, 25 Turnstone and 60 Oystercatchers. No birds passed the Bridges of Ross.

Cloghaun Lough water levels were very high and waders were pushed up on the land with two Greenshank feeding the flooded back end of the lough along with 35 Curlew, 20 Ringed Plover, 40 Turnstone, 50 Oystercatchers, 6 Snipe, 40 Teal and two Eurasian Wigeon.

(JNM)

New Life on the Headland

A juvenile Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Loop Head Lighthouse in October 2023 © John N Murphy

Now that we are in 2024 and I have some time to update this site, its time to try and revamp this blogspot giving New Life to birding on the headland. The Autumn and birding season of 2023 was fairly average at Loop Head. After saying that we did manage a Buff-breasted Sandpiper for a couple of weeks feeding in the grass around the Eire sign in October but he sadly got picked off by one of the many Merlin's passing through the headland during this period. There were two Pied Flycatchers on the headland in autumn and a Turtle Dove. Kilbaha had one Yellow-browed Warbler, one Iberian Yellow Wagtail but the highlight and bird of the season was an American Cliff Swallow on 20th |September, a first time appearance and it was only a 2nd Irish record at that time. Over the coming weeks and months I will be updating this site regularly so anyone visiting the headland with sightings of birds, mammals or anything interesting please let me know and we will share info on this site for all to use.