August Seawatching at the Bridges

Bridges of Ross 31st August 2011

Time: 07:35-10:35

Weather: Variable F2-3 E-NE, dry & dull but with relatively good visibility.

Observer(s): Niall T. Keogh

Manx Shearwater: 23 West & 245 East
Great Skua (Bonxie): 3 W
Arctic Skua: 1 pale phase adult chasing Kittiwakes
Sandwich Tern: 4 W
Common Scoter: 4 W
Fulmar: 16 W, 20 E & 5 Milling
Gannet: 100 W, 64 E & 3 M
Kittiwake: 5 W, 3 E & 4 M
Guillemot: 2 W
Razorbill: 10 W, 2 E & 4 M
Auk sp: 9 W & 20 E

Bottlenose Dolphin: c.6 travelling East close inshore.
Common Dolphin: c.10 feeding distantly offshore, travelling East.

Bridges of Ross  30th August 2011

Time: 16:30-19:30

Weather: F 1-2 N-NE, dry & dull but with relatively good visibility.

Observer(s): Niall T. Keogh

Manx Shearwater: 181 West

Common Dolphin: c.10 feeding distantly offshore, travelling East.

Sunfish: 1 

Bridges of Ross 29th August 2011

Time: 06:30-12:00

Weather: F2-3 N, dry & bright, turning F2 N-NE sunny & hazy later.

Sooty Shearwater: 2

Manx Shearwater: 61

Storm Petrel: 1

Great Skua (Bonxie): 7

Arctic Skua: 3 (incl. 1 juvenile)

Little Gull: 1 1st cal-year

Sandwich Tern: 10

Arctic Tern: 6

Common Scoter: 2

Peregrine: 1 juvenile

Common Dolphin: 2+

Bridges of Ross 28th August 2011

Time: 06:10-20:20

Weather: F2 NW in the morning, turning F3 N-NW in the evening. Dry & bright.

Sooty Shearwater: 8

Manx Shearwater: 280 (15:30-19:45)

Grey Phalarope: 1
Great Skua (Bonxie): 17

Arctic Skua: 65 (incl. 5 juveniles)

Long-tailed Skua: 2 adults (Niall T. Keogh & Neal Warnock)

Sabine's Gull: 2 adults

Sandwich Tern: 20

Arctic Tern: 21

Puffin: 5

Common Scoter: 6

Wigeon: 1

Bridges of Ross 27th August 2011

Time: 06:30-09:45 & 11:00-16:00

Weather: F4 NW in the morning, slacking to a F3 but persisting NW throughout the afternoon.

Balearic Shearwater: 3

Sooty Shearwater: 17

Storm Petrel: 1

Great Skua (Bonxie): 42

Pomarine Skua: 1 pale phase adult

Arctic Skua: 39

Sabine's Gull: 1 adult

Sandwich Tern: 26

Arctic Tern: 59

Puffin: 5

Common Scoter: 3

Whimbrel: 49

Bridges of Ross 26th August 2011

Time: 06:30-09:45 & 12:00-19:40

Weather: F2 N-NW in the morning, turning F4-5 N in the afternoon & persisting for most of the evening. Dry & bright throughout with some spray starting to blow in as the day progressed. Cold!

Blue Fulmar: 1 intermediate phase

Sooty Shearwater: 18

Storm Petrel: 2

Grey Phalarope: 1

Great Skua (Bonxie): 11

Arctic Skua: 13

Mediterranean Gull: 1 1st cal-year

Black Tern: 1 juvenile

Sandwich Tern: 18

Arctic Tern: 40

Black Guillemot: 1

Puffin: 6

Common Scoter: 3

Whimbrel: 19

Sanderling: 10

Niall T Keogh et al

Bridges of Ross 25th August 2011

Time: 06:30-10:30 & 14:30-19:30

Weather: F3 SE for the most part today with some periods of moderate-heavy rain at times.

Balearic Shearwater: 1

Great Shearwater: 1

Sooty Shearwater: 18

Storm Petrel: 15

Grey Phalarope: 1

Great Skua (Bonxie): 1

Pomarine Skua: 1 pale phase adult

Arctic Skua: 4

Sabine's Gull: 1 adult

Mediterranean Gull: 2 1st cal-years

Arctic Tern: 28

Puffin: 1

Common Scoter: 5

Whimbrel: 15

Sanderling: 20

Bar-tailed Godwit: 12
Niall T Keogh et al

Bridges of Ross 24th August 2011

Time: 06:30-19:00

Weather: F2-3 W-SW with some light showers in the morning.

Balearic Shearwater: 3

Great Shearwater: 4

Sooty Shearwater: 80

Storm Petrel: 8

Grey Phalarope: 1 (first of the season) 

Great Skua (Bonxie): 10

Arctic Skua: 29

Little Gull: 1 juvenile

Black Tern: 1 juvenile

Sandwich Tern: 7

Arctic Tern: 56

Puffin: 6

Common Scoter: 4

Whimbrel: 20

Bottlenose Dolphin: 10-12

Leatherback Turtle: 1 heading west close inshore @ 18:30

Sunfish: 1

Niall T Keogh et al

Bridges of Ross 23rd August 2011

Time: 06:30-10:30 & 16:00-19:00

Weather: F0-1 E in the morning with F1-2 SW later.

Sooty Shearwater: 18

Storm Petrel: 4

Great Skua (Bonxie): 2

Pomarine Skua: 1 pale phase subadult 

Arctic Skua: 2

Little Gull: 1 juvenile

Mediterranean Gull: 2 1st cal-years

Sandwich Tern: 52

Arctic Tern: 12

Puffin: 3

Black Guillemot: 1 juvenile

Common Scoter: 9

Whimbrel: 19

Teal: 4

Hen Harrier: 1 male quartering the fields behind the watch point

Chough: 2

Minke Whale: 1 close inshore heading west @ 07:05

Common Dolphin: 10-20

Bottlenose Dolphin: 10-12

Basking Shark: 1 off Loop Head

Sunfish: 1 off Loop Head

Niall T Keogh et al

Bridges of Ross 22nd August 2011

Time: 06:30-19:45

Weather: F1-2 N-NW in the morning turning F1-2 W in the afternoon.

Little Shearwater: 1 at 09:35 (Dan Brown, Tom Lowe, Keith Langdon & Mikey Hoit)

Balearic Shearwater: 8
Great Shearwater: 7
Sooty Shearwater: c.225

Manx Shearwater: 800+ (07:15-10:15)

Storm Petrel: 5+

Great Skua (Bonxie): 6

Pomarine Skua: 1 pale phase subadult

Arctic Skua: 6

Little Gull: 1 juvenile

Sandwich Tern: 24

Arctic Tern: 11

Puffin: 5

Common Scoter: 8

Whimbrel: 5

Shelduck: 2 

Common Dolphin: c.10

Bottlenose Dolphin: 10+

Sunfish: 2+

Niall T Keogh et al

Bridges of Ross 21st August 2011

Time: 06:30-19:00

Weather: F2-3 W-NW with light showers in the morning.

Little Shearwater: 1 heading west at 08:45 (Dave Cooper)

Great Shearwater: 38

Sooty Shearwater: 512

Manx Shearwater: c.10,000

Storm Petrel: c.25

Great Skua (Bonxie): 21

Arctic Skua: 23

Long-tailed Skua: 2 adults (Niall T Keogh & Dan Brown)

Sabine's Gull: 8 adults

Mediterranean Gull: 1 3rd cal-year

Sandwich Tern: 11

Arctic Tern: 52

Puffin: c.12

Black Guillemot: 1

Common Scoter: 2

Whimbrel: 48

Common Dolphin: 2

Bottlenose Dolphin: c.6

Niall T Keogh et al

Bridges of Ross Friday 19th August 2011
Great Shearwater 1
Balearic Shearwaters 2,
Pomarine Skua 1 adult
Arctic Skuas 10
Bonxies 5
Whimbrels 209
Storm Petrels 12


Minke Whale 1

Tom Lowe & Chris ten Bohmer


Bridges of Ross Thursday 18th August 2011

At the Bridges of Ross today there were eight Arctic Skuas, one Bonxie , one juvenile Mediterranean Gull and a Leather-backed Turtle.
Tom Lowe & Dan Brown


Bridges of Ross Tuesday 16th August 2011

One adult Sabine's Gull, one Pomarine Skuas, one Bonxie and eight Arctic Skuas were at the Bridges.

Eanna O'Flynn

Bridges of Ross Sunday 14th August 2011

At the Bridges or Ross this afternoon there were two Sooty Shearwaters, four Arctic Skuas, one Pomarine Skua, two Whimbrel and 50 Arctic Terns.

Jeff Copner.

Bridges of Ross Saturday 13th August 2011

There were three adult Sabine's Gulls, for Balearic Shearwaters, 50 Sooty Shearwaters, two Pomarine Skuas, 18 Bonxies, 12 Arctic Skuas, three Storm Petrels, eight Common Scoters, 14 Whimbrel and 16 Arctic Terns, 12 Bottle-nosed Dolphins and two Sunsfish at the Bridges of Ross today.

Alan Lauder, John N Murphy & Brian Finnegan.


Bridges of Ross Tuesday 9th August 2011
One Arctic Skua, five Bonxies and two Sooty Shearwaters were at the Bridges today.
Angus Murray & Chris McGuigan.


Bridges of Ross Monday 8th August 2011

There were five Sooty Shearwaters, seven Bonxies, two Pomarine Skuas and two Arctic Skuas at the Bridges of Ross.

Dave McNamara.

Bridges of Ross Friday 5th  August 2011

One Blue Fulmar was at the Bridges today along with 30 Whimbrel and few other birds of note.  Off the tip of Lop Head there was one Pomarine Skua, one Bonxie and one Sooty Shearwater.

John N Murphy, Finbarr MacGabhann & Clodagh Glasgow.


Loop Head Thursday 4th August 2011
Off a fishing boat 4km out to sea off Loop Head were three Sooty Shearwaters, one Bonxie and ten Storm Petrels.
Stan Nugent.

 Sooty Shearwater © Stan Nugent

 Bonxie © Stan Nugent

Storm Petrel © Stan Nugent

Wilson's Storm Petrel

Monday 18th July At the Bridges of Ross today there were two Arctic Skuas, one Bonxie, 11 Sooty Shearwaters, 22,000 Manx Shearwaters, seven Storm Petrels, nine Arctic Terns and eight Puffins. 


Sunday 17th July there was one adult Long-tailed Skua, one adult Sabine's Gull, one Pomarine Skua, four Arctic Skuas, five Bonxies, one Great Shearwater, two Balearic Shearwaters, one blue Fulmar and 53 Storm Petrels at the Bridges of Ross.


Donal, Owen & Conor Foley.

Saturday 16th July there was excellent sea watching conditions with storm West to North West winds pushing in seabirds from far out to sea.  The first Wilson's Storm Petrel (John N Murphy) of the season was found along with some other good seabirds.

Wilson's Storm Petrel  1
Great Shearwater  2
Sooty Shearwater   52
Manx Shearwater  30 - 40,000
Bonxie  3
Storm Petrel  32
Puffin  43
Red-throated Diver  3
Dunlin  3
Sanderling  8

Observers:  John N Murphy, Killian Mullarney, Jimmy Dowdal, Brian Porter, Shane Farrell, Robert Vaughan, The Foleys and Geoff Pearson.

Wilson's Petrel © Killian Mullarney

Sabine's Gull

Mark Carmody was at the Bridges of Ross today 9th July 2011 for a bit of sea watching and managed to find a first-summer Sabine's Gull, one Bonxie, 600 Manx Shearwaters and three Puffins.  A very good seawatch for this time of the year and slack westerly winds.  The following day 10th one other Bonxie was off the Bridges.

Early Cory's

Wednesday 6th July saw the weather change rapidly with a series of lows approaching Ireland from the south west.  So with predicted high winds from this direction it looked good for sewatching.  Brian Finnegan and I decided to head to the Bridges to do a couple of hours seawatch.  When we got to the Bridges the wind was from the east and not the south west as predicted.  Nevertheless we did a two hour seawatch in which there were over 2,000 Manx Shearwaters, one Cory's Shearwater and a pod of 14 Bottle-nosed Dolphins.  On the headland due to heavy rain and high winds small birds stayed under cover but we did see ten Ravens and two Chough.

John N Murphy, 6th July 2011.

June Seawatch

Geoff Pearson was back at the Bridges of Ross on Tuesday the 7th of June for another seawatch.  He managed to see two Bonxies and an early Sooty Shearwater.