Seatrack Update: August 2013 survey sightings

The second & third Seatrack surveys of the year took place across two weekends in August & produced an excellent haul of seabird sightings thanks to conducive weather patterns coinciding with the peak migration season for shearwaters.

Volunteer surveyors out on headlands from Donegal to Dublin were treated to Fea's-type Petrels, Great, Cory's Balearic & Sooty Shearwaters, Pomarine Skuas, Sabine's Gulls, Roseate Terns & Grey Phalaropes.

The next survey weekend takes place on Sat 7th/Sun 8th September, with priority given to the Saturday so as to compliment other seawatching surveys being undertaken by FAME partners from headlands along the West coast of Europe also on that date.

If you would like to take part in upcoming Seatrack surveys then please get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Some early August Seatrack sightings reported so far as follows: (E = East, W = West, N = North, S = South & M = Milling)

Friday 2nd August

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)

2 W Balearic Shearwater, 1 W Great Shearwater, 4 W + 1 E Sooty Shearwater, 195 W + 411 E Manx Shearwater, 4 W Common Scoter, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 W Sandwich Tern & 8 W Puffin.

Saturday 3rd August 

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram)

4 S Sooty Shearwater, 698 S Manx Shearwater, 19 S Storm Petrel, 3 S Common Scoter, 1 S Great Skua (Bonxie), 18 S Sandwich Tern, 14 S Arctic Tern, 3 S 'Commic' Tern, 234 S Fulmar, & 654 S Gannet.

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)

2 Balearic Shearwater, 86 Sooty Shearwater & 3,500 Manx Shearwater. 

Black Head, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)

53 W + 20 E Manx Shearwater, 5 M Great Northern Diver, 2 M Arctic Skua, 11 W Sandwich Tern, 1 W + 1 E Black Guillemot & 1 W Puffin.

Ram Head, Co. Waterford (Andrew Malcolm)

1 W Balearic Shearwater, 61 W + 3 E Manx Shearwater, 57 W Common Scoter & 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie).

Brownstown Head. Co. Waterford (Darragh Sinnott, Paul M. Walsh & Mary A. Duggan)

35 W + 14 E Manx Shearwater, 35 W + 1 E Common Scoter, 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 25 W + 2 E Sandwich Tern, 1 E Black Guillemot & 1 Harbour Porpoise.

Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow (Niall T. Keogh)
204 N + 2 S + 1 M Manx Shearwater, 4 N Common Scoter, 1 S Red-throated Diver, 7 S Sandwich Tern, 7 N Roseate Tern & 1 S Tufted Duck.

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)
129 N + 6 S Manx Shearwater, 19 N + 23 S Common Scoter & 9 N + 2 S Sandwich Tern.

Coliemore Harbour, Co. Dublin (Stephen McAvoy)
21 N + 13 S Manx Shearwater, 19 N Common Scoter, 5 N Mediterranean Gull & 5 N + 1 S Black Guillemot.
 
Sunday 4th August

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Noel Keogh, Brian Porter, Kieran Grace & Simon Collins)
1 E Balearic Shearwater, 1 W Sooty Shearwater, 102 W + 195 E + 145 M Manx Shearwater, 15 W + 23 E Common Scoter, 2 W Arctic Skua, 1 E small Skua sp. & 1 W + 6 E Puffin.

Some late August Seatrack sightings reported so far as follows: (E = East, W = West, N = North, S = South & M = Milling)

Saturday 17th August

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)

119 Great Shearwater, 2 Balearic Shearwater, 415 Sooty Shearwater, 15,000 Manx Shearwater, 1 Grey Phalarope, 16 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Pomarine Skua & 12 Arctic Skua.

Bridges of Ross (Keith Langdon, Dave Andrews, Simon Woodhouse, Aidan G. Kelly et al.)

Full days totals (all West unless stated otherwise): 2 Fea's-type Petrel, 6 Cory's Shearwater, 614 Great Shearwater, 84 Sooty Shearwater, 2 Balearic Shearwater, est. 25,000 W + c200 E Manx Shearwater, 63 Storm Petrel, 1 Common Scoter, 4 Pomarine Skua, 14 Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 Arctic Skua, 9 Sabine's Gull, 10 Arctic Tern, 159 Whimbrel, 5 Ocean Sunfish & 40 Common Dolphin.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton et al.)

3 W Great Shearwater, 5 W Sooty Shearwater, 486 W Manx Shearwater, 10 W Storm Petrel, 11 W Common Scoter, 6 W Great Skua (Bonxie) & 3 W Arctic Tern.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Darragh Sinnott)

1 W Great Shearwater, 526 W + 2 E Manx Shearwater, 1 W Storm Petrel, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 18 W Sandwich Tern & 1 W Arctic Tern.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace)

161 W + 98 E Manx Shearwater, 1 W Cory's Shearwater, 8 E Common Scoter.

Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (Brian Porter)

168 N + 3 M Manx Shearwater, 8 N + 5 S + 6 M Sandwich Tern & 2 M Harbour Porpoise.

Sunday 18th August

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram)
2 S Cory's Shearwater, 269 S Sooty Shearwater, 744 S Manx Shearwater, 4 S Common Scoter, 5 S Great Skua (Bonxie), 4 S Pomarine Skua, 2 S Arctic Skua & 93 S Whimbrel.

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)

1 Cory's Shearwater, 132 Great Shearwater, 383 Sooty Shearwater, 12,000 Manx Shearwater, 13 Great Skua (Bonxie) & 9 Arctic Skua.

Black Head, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)
330 W + 77 E + 2 M Manx Shearwater, 1 W Storm Petrel, 1 W + 2 M Arctic Skua, 1 W Little Gull & 67 W Sandwich Tern. 

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Keith Langdon, Dave Andrews, Simon Woodhouse, Aidan G. Kelly et al.)

Full days totals (all West unless stated otherwise): 19 Cory's Shearwater, 85 Great Shearwater, 93 Sooty Shearwater, 4 Balearic Shearwater, 2446 W + c500 M Manx Shearwater, 1 'Blue' Fulmar, 7 Storm Petrel, 1 Common Scoter, 2 Grey Phalarope, 20 Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 Pomarine Skua, 30 Arctic Skua, 11 Sabine's Gull, 20 Arctic Tern, 1 Puffin, 50 Whimbrel, 1 Basking Shark & 10 Ocean Sunfish.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Noel Keogh & Kieran Grace)
1 W Great Shearwater, 1 W Balearic Shearwater, 261 W Manx Shearwater, 3 W Storm Petrel & 1 W Black Guillemot.

Great Shearwater, at sea off Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 22nd August 2013 © Andrew Malcolm

Cory's Shearwater, at sea off Cape Clear, Co. Cork, 22nd August 2013 © Andrew Malcolm

Sooty Shearwater, West Waterford Pelagic, 9th August 2013 © Andrew Malcolm

Storm Petrel, West Waterford Pelagic, 9th August 2013 © Andrew Malcolm

Seatrack Update: Late October Survey

This coming weekend (Sat 20th/Sun 21st Oct) sees the seventh and second last Seatrack survey of the season taking place, with a start time of 09:00am (crazy to think we were getting up for a 06:25am start back in July!). If you would like to take part then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for details.

The previous early October survey was rather quiet, mostly due to a combination of light winds & a fall of rare North American landbirds in Co. Galway which no doubt drew attention elsewhere! Saying that, Sooty Shearwater, Sabine’s Gull & Long-tailed Skua were all still picked up from Annagh Head in Mayo. On the East coast, the predominance of auks, Gannets, Kittiwakes & sea duck was notable compared to the almost complete absence of shearwaters. A single Balearic Shearwater was seen passing West at Carnsore Point, making an otherwise dead quiet morning of surveying worthwhile.

The forecast for the weekend looks as if calm conditions will prevail along the East coast on Saturday with moderate Southeast winds on the West followed up by moderate Northeast winds on Sunday in the East.

Best of luck to all this weekend,

Niall Keogh

Seatrack co-ordinator

Some early October Seatrack sightings as follows: (E = East, W = West, S = South, N = North & M = Milling)

Friday 5th October 2012

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)
61 Sooty Shearwater, 36 Great Skua (Bonxie), 7 Pomarine Skua, 8 Arctic Skua, 4 Long-tailed Skua & 1 Sabine’s Gull.

Saturday 6th October 2012

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)
1 M Manx Shearwater, 1 W Diver sp., 1 W Red-breasted Merganser, 4 W Light-bellied Brent Goose, 136 W Razorbill/Guillemot & 10+ M Common Dolphin.

“I guess I was the only birder to leave Co. Galway this morning!” (ed. the Kingbird had gone anyway so you were saved the hassle!)

Carnsore Point, Co.Wexford (Niall T. Keogh)
1 W Balearic Shearwater, 4 E & 1 W Common Scoter, 19 W Light-bellied Brent Goose, 1 E Teal, 2 E Red-breasted Merganser, 1 E & 1 W Red-throated Diver, 72 E & 65 M Kittiwake, 302 E & 244 W Razorbill/Guillemot, 7 E & 40 W Sandwich Tern, 2 Grey Seal & 5 Harbour Porpoise.

“The Balearic Shearwater was heading purposefully West at 09:44am. No Manixes or Fulmars seen! Many birds way far out towards the horizon line were left unidentified due to haze & strong glare. Plenty of Porpoise action throughout.”

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)
14 N & 1 S Common Scoter, 15 S Light-bellied Brent Goose, 2 S Red-throated Diver, 2 M Great Skua (Bonxie), 11 M Arctic Skua, 65 M Gannet, 140 M Kittiwake, 50 N Auk & 11 Harbour Porpoise.

“No shearwaters, no terns and a few auks (50) heading N early on. Only excitement was 2 Bonxies (milling) and 11 dark phase Arctics harassing a feeding frenzy of 140 Kittiwakes! Otherwise local traffic of Cormorants and a few Shags, very loose flock of 65 Gannets milling/foraging throughout the 3 hrs and max count of 11 Porpoises.”

Sunday 7th October 2012

Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (Niall T. Keogh, Katherine Keogan & Brian Porter)
24 N & 1 S Common Scoter, 27 N & 9 S Light-bellied Brent Goose, 3 N Wigeon, 2 N & 2 S Red-throated Diver, 10 M Mediterranean Gull, 5 M Sandwich Tern, 9 M Black Guillemot, 110+ M Razorbill/Guillemot, 1 Grey Seal & 3 Harbour Porpoise.

“Very slow going. Only real sightings of note were good numbers of rafting auks & dip-feeding Black-headed Gulls early on. Again, no Manxies or Fulmars seen.”

Seatrack Update: Early Oct Survey

This coming weekend (Sat 6th/Sun 7th Oct) sees the sixth Seatrack survey of the season taking place, with a start time of 08:35am. Please note that Saturday 6th Oct will be the priority day so as to complement other FAME surveys being conducted by our partners along the Western European seaboard, also on that date. If you would like to take part in this international seabird census then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for details.

The previous mid September survey saw the beginning of a turnover in species composition, typical for the latter half of the seawatching season. Manx Shearwaters were well represented on the West coast but present in low numbers or almost absent from sites along the East & South. Sooty Shearwaters held their own throughout with triple figure counts at several locations, typical for the time of year whilst a total of 8 Balearic Shearwaters were noted. Furthermore, Leach’s Petrels were far more numerous than Storm Petrels, skuas outnumbered terns, auk passage picked up, quite a few Grey Phalaropes & divers put in an appearance and some Long-tailed Skuas, Sabine’s Gulls & Little Gulls were also seen.

The forecast for the weekend looks as if calm, anti-cyclonic conditions will prevail on Saturday with a chance of moderate-strong South East winds along the South coast on Sunday.

Best of luck to all this weekend,

Niall Keogh

Seatrack co-ordinator

Some mid September Seatrack sightings as follows: (E = East, W = West, S = South, N = North & M = Milling)

Friday 14th September 2012

Black Head, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)

1 W Balearic Shearwater, 800 W Manx Shearwater, 1 W Leach’s Petrel, 1 E Great Northern Diver, 1 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 juv W Pomarine Skua, 15 Arctic Skua, 2 W Arctic Tern, 500 W Gannet, 150 W Kittiwake & 700 W Razorbill & Guillemot.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh et al.)

All birds heading W: 1 Balearic Shearwater, 123 Sooty Shearwater, 1,000 Manx Shearwater, 1 Blue Fulmar, 32 Leach’s Petrel, 8 Common Scoter, 18 Red-throated Diver, 71 Great Skua (Bonxie), 4 Pomarine Skua, 39 Arctic Skua, 3 juv Long-tailed Skua, 1 adult Sabine’s Gull, 35 Sandwich Tern, 28 Arctic Tern, 20 Grey Phalaropes & 5 Puffin.

Saturday 15th September 2012

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Chris Ingram, Frank Turpin & Gareth Doherty)

6 W Sooty Shearwater, 145 W Manx Shearwater, 1 W Eider, 4 W Common Scoter, 9 W Red-throated Diver, 5 W Great Northern Diver, 26 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 15 W Arctic Skua, 2 W Skua sp., 2 W Sandwich Tern, 1 W Common Tern, 5 W Arctic Tern, 2 W Black Guillemot & 1 W Puffin.

Black Head, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)

32 W Manx Shearwater, 1 M Leach’s Petrel, 4 W Common Scoter, 1 E Great Northern Diver, 3 M Grey Phalarope, 3 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 3 W & 1 M Arctic Skua, 1 W Sandwich Tern, 4 W Arctic Tern & 2 W Black Guillemot.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh et al.)

All birds heading W: 1 Balearic Shearwater, 87 Sooty Shearwater, 700 Manx Shearwater, 13 Leach’s Petrel, 3 Common Scoter, 39 Light-bellied Brent Goose, 4 Red-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver, 23 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 dark Pomarine Skua, 17 Arctic Skua, 2 juv Long-tailed Skua, 12 Sandwich Tern, 9 Arctic Tern, 2 Grey Phalarope, 800+ Razorbill & Guillemot & 5 Puffin.

Dursey Island, Co. Cork (Kieran Finch, A. Mee, C. Finch & D. Cooke)

392 N Manx Shearwater, 10 S & 174 N Sooty Shearwater, 4 N Common Scoter, 1 N Arctic Skua & 8 M Harbour Porpoise.

Helvick Head, Co. Waterford (Colum Flynn, Sharon Hogan & Daniel Weldon)

1 Balearic Shearwater, 4 Manx Shearwater, 4 Pomarine Skua & 12 Arctic Skua.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M. Walsh)

2 W & 2 E Manx Shearwater, 1 W & 3 E Common Scoter, 1 W Great Northern Diver, 3 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Arctic Skua, 1 W juv Sabine’s Gull & 6 W Puffin.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace)

334 W & 134 E Manx Shearwater, 1 W & 1 E Common Scoter, 1 Teal, 1 W Red-throated Diver,  5 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 W Arctic Skua, 40 M ‘Commic’ Tern, 300 W & 105 E Gannet, 348 W & 113 E Razorbill & Guillemot.

Clogher Head, Co. Louth (Ger Murray)

16 M Common Scoter, 80 S Light-bellied Brent Goose & 4 N Red-throated Diver.

Sunday 16th September 2012

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)

26 Sooty Shearwater, 29 Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 Lapland Bunting.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh et al.)

All birds heading W: 4 Balearic Shearwater, 223 Sooty Shearwater, 3,100 Manx Shearwater, 45 Leach’s Petrel, 3 Storm Petrel, 3 Common Scoter, 6 Red-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver, 19 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Pomarine Skua, 5 Arctic Skua, 3 juv Long-tailed Skua, 2 Little Gull, 1 Sanwich Tern, 22 Arctic Tern, 1 juv Black Tern, 35 Grey Phalarope, 3 Puffin, 1 American Golden Plover (in adjacent field), 3 Common Dolphin & 2 Ocean Sunfish.

Monday 17th September 2012

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)
1 N Manx Shearwater, 4 S & 1 N Common Scoter, 3 S & 1 N Red-throated Diver, 1 S Arctic Skua, 6 S Sandwich Tern, 1 Otter & 5 Harbour Porpoise.

Arctic Skuas at The Bridges of Ross, Sept 2012 © Kris De Rouck

Bonxie at The Bridges of Ross, Sept 2012 © Kris De Rouck

American Golden Plover at The Bridges of Ross, Sept 2012 © Kris De Rouck

Seatrack Update: mid Sept 2012

This coming weekend (Sat 15^th/Sun 16^th Sept) sees the fifth Seatrack survey of the season taking place, with a start time of 08:00am. If you would like to take part then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for details.

The previous early September survey revealed the beginnings of both diver & tern migration along with a good passage of Sooty Shearwaters. Small numbers of Great Northern & Red-throated Divers were reported right around the coast along with the second project record of Black-throated Diver which was seen passing Annagh Head. Furthermore, six species of tern were recorded, most notably 10 Black Terns from Carnsore Point and vast numbers of Sterna terns off Clogher Head.

Weather patterns over the next few days are likely to suit Atlantic coasts best as strong SW, W & NW winds prevail, calming for the weekend with SE winds predominating along the South coast on Sunday.

Best of luck to all this weekend,

Niall Keogh

Seatrack co-ordinator 

Some early September Seatrack sightings as follows: (E = East, W = West, S = South, N = North & M = Milling)

Saturday 1st September 2012

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram)
6 S & 6 N Manx Shearwater, 5 S Sooty Shearwater, 1 S Common Scoter, 1 S Great Northern Diver, 2 S Red-throated Diver, 1 S Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 N Skua sp (Arctic/Long-tailed), 1 S Black Guillemot, 12 S Whimbrel & 12 S Bottlenose Dolphin.

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)
1 S Balearic Shearwater, 12 S Sooty Shearwater, 2 S Great Northern Diver, 1 S summer plumaged Black-throated Diver, 5 S Great Skua (Bonxie) & 4 S Arctic Skua.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh)
1,056 W Manx Shearwater, 113 W Sooty Shearwater, 300 W Fulmar, 26 W Storm Petrel, 2 W Common Scoter, 6 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Pomarine Skua, 1 W Arctic Skua, 3 W juv. Sabine’s Gull, 7 W Puffin & 1 Lapland Bunting.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)
711 W Manx Shearwater, 5 W Sooty Shearwater, 1 W ‘Blue’ Fulmar, 5 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Pomarine Skua, 2 W Arctic Skua, 562 Auk sp (Guillemot/Razorbill) & 32 W Puffin.

Ram Head, Co. Waterford (Andrew Malcolm)
94 W Manx Shearwater, 1 W Arctic Skua & 36 W Sandwich Tern.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M. Walsh & Jonathan Bulfin)
6 E & 45 W Manx Shearwater, 6 E Common Scoter, 2 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Arctic Skua, 2 E & 24 W Sandwich Tern & 8 W 'Commic' Tern.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace)
340 E & 285 W Manx Shearwater, 1 W Red-throated Diver, 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 E Arctic Skua, 4 W & 1 M Black Tern, c.150 M Roseate Tern, c.20 W & C.200 M ‘Commic’ Tern & 3 W Whimbrel.

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)
80 N Manx Shearwater, 8 N & 8 S Common Scoter, 3 S Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 S Arctic Skua & 56 S Sandwich Tern.

Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (Brian Porter & Katherine Keogan)
2 S Manx Shearwater, 1 N & 1 S Great Northern Diver, 2 N Light-bellied Brent Goose & 4 M Harbour Porpoise.

Clogher Head, Co. Louth (Brendan Sheils & Ger Murray)
500+ S Manx Shearwater, 10 S & 19 M Common Scoter, 1 S Great Northern Diver, 1 N Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 N & 3 S Arctic Skua, 2 N Little Tern, 32 N & 5 S Sandwich Tern, 1 N Roseate Tern, 84 S Common Tern, c.500 M Arctic Tern, 100+ S ‘Commic’ Tern, 1 N Black Guillemot, 2 S Puffin, 8 S Light-bellied Brent Goose & 5 M Harbour Porpoise.

Sunday 2nd September 2012

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh, Chris Jones & Rob Innes)

3 W Balearic Shearwater, 627 W Sooty Shearwater, 1 W Leach’s Petrel, c.30 W Storm Petrel, 18 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Pomarine Skua, 7 W Arctic Skua, 109 W Sandwich Tern & 7 W Puffin.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Noel Keogh & Brian Porter)
1,370 W Manx Shearwater, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 W Arctic Skua, 1 W juv. Long-tailed Skua & 10 W Black Tern.

Clogher Head, Co. Louth (Brendan Sheils)
4 S Balearic Shearwater, 5,000+ S Manx Shearwater, 1 S Sooty Shearwater, 1,500+ S Gannet, 1 N Arctic Skua, 10 S Skua sp. (prob. Arctic), 29 S Sandwich Tern, 1,000+ S Common Tern, c.200 S Arctic Tern & 3 M Bottlenose Dolphin. 

Seatrack Update: 1st Sept Survey

This coming weekend sees the fourth Seatrack survey of the season taking place, with a start time of 07:35am. Please note that Saturday 1st Sept will be the priority day so as to complement other FAME surveys being conducted by our partners along the Western European seaboard, also on that date. If you would like to take part in this international seabird census then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for details.

The highlight of the previous August Seatrack survey weekend was undoubtedly the finding of not one, but two Fea's-type Petrels which were associating with a milling flock of Manx Shearwaters off Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford on Saturday 18th. Once considered a mythical species in Irish waters, it is now apparent that with a bit of luck, a small number of these enigmatic Gadfly petrels can be found regularly off our coast, almost always in the company of migrating or feeding Manx Shearwaters. Other sightings of note from the survey weekend included several Black Terns & Great Shearwaters as well as some nice cetaceans & Ocean Sunfish.

A series of low pressures are due to hit the Irish coastline this week which will surely produce some interesting results, particularly along the west coast, in SW winds.

Best of luck to all this weekend,
Niall Keogh
Seatrack co-ordinator

Some late August Seatrack sightings as follows: (E = East, W = West, S = South, N = North & M = Milling)

Saturday 18^th August 2012

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Chris Ingram)
5 W Sooty Shearwater, 7 W & 2 E Manx Shearwater, 401 W & 39 E Fulmar, 5 W Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 E Skua sp.

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)
3 Sooty Shearwater, 6 Storm Petrels, 4 Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 Arctic Skua.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh)
All birds heading W: 1 Balearic Shearwater, 16 Sooty Shearwater, 470+ Manx Shearwater, 590+ Fulmar, 20 Storm Petrel, 5 Common Scoter, 1 Pomarine Skua, 8 Arctic Skua, 6 Puffin, 5-6 Bottlenose Dolphins & 100+ Common Dolphins. Full details here. 

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)
3 Sooty Shearwater & 1 Ocean Sunfish.

Ram Head, Co. Waterford (Andrew Malcolm)

68 W Manx Shearwater, 1 W Storm Petrel, 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 Humpback Whale.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M Walsh)
31 E, 10 W & 50+ M Manx Shearwater, 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Arctic Skua, 2 E Common Scoter, 13 E & 43 W Sandwich Tern & 1 Grey Seal.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Noel Keogh)
2 W Fea’s-type Petrels, 1 Great Shearwater, 4 Sooty Shearwater, c.1,000 W + M Manx Shearwater, 3 Black Tern, 1 Little Gull, 4 Arctic Skua, 2 Storm Petrel, 1 Puffin, 15 Common Scoter, 5 Little Terns, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 100’s of ‘Commic’ & Roseate Terns.

Sunday 19^th August 2012

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh)

All birds heading W: 2 Balearic Shearwater, 30 Sooty Shearwater, 395+ Manx Shearwater, 190+ Fulmar, 142 Storm Petrel, 7 Common Scoter, 4 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Pomarine Skua, 12 Arctic Skua, 1 Black Tern, 2 Puffin, 1 Spotted Redshank, 8-10 Bottlenose Dolphin, 30+ Common Dolphin & 2 Leatherback Turtle. Full details here.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)

1 Great Shearwater, 6 Sooty Shearwater, 2 Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 Harbour Porpoise.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace & Alyn Walsh)

1 Sooty Shearwater, 12 Common Scoter, 1 Great Skua (Bonxie), 4 Arctic Skua, 7 Black Tern & 7 Great-crested Grebe. 

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)

2,000 N Manx Shearwater.

Seatrack Update: early August 2012

The first Seatrack survey session of the year took place on Sat 21st/Sun 22nd July. Normally one of the quieter periods during the project, this years July survey saw some nice sightings being logged however. Common Scoters were well represented all around the coast whilst Puffins put in a good showing along the West & South. Elsewhere, highlights were provided by 3 species of Skua from Galley Head, the first good run of Sooty & Manx Shearwaters of the autumn off Annagh Head and an always well received East coast Cory's Shearwater off Wicklow Head. 

The next Seatrack survey takes place this weekend (start time 06:45am), with a priority date set for Saturday 4th August so as to complement seawatching surveys being undertaken by our FAME partners who will also be watching from headlands along the West coast of continental Europe on that date. If you would like to take part in this international seabird census then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for details on how to take part.

July Seatrack sightings as follows: (E = East, W = West, N = North, S = South & M = Milling)

Saturday 21st July

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram)

145 W + 23 E Manx Shearwater, 6 W + 3 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 E Arctic Skua, 116 W + 26 E Puffin & 1 Red-breasted Merganser.

Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (Niall T. Keogh & Brian Porter)

605 N + 2 S Manx Shearwater, 68 N + 19 S + 5 M Common Scoter, 2 N Great Crested Grebe & 4 M Harbour Porpoise. 3 Crossbills also seen in the pines behind the watchpoint!

Sunday 22nd July

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)

71 Sooty Shearwater, c.7,000 Manx Shearwater, 18 Storm Petrel, 21 Common Scoter, 5 Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 Arctic Skua.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)

141 W + 28 E + 30 M Manx Shearwater, 3 W Storm Petrel, 8 W Common Scoter, 43 W Puffin & 2 M Whimbrel.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)

6 Sooty Shearwater, 864 Manx Shearwater, 1 Storm Petrel, 59 Common Scoter, 6 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Pomarine Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 56 Arctic Tern & 59 Puffin. All birds moving W.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M. Walsh & Jonathan Bulfin)

41 E + 865 W Manx Shearwater, 41 E + 12 W Common Scoter, 1 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 6 E Arctic Skua, 2 W Skua sp. (Arctic/Pomarine) & 5 W Puffin.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace)

102 E + 43 W + 50 M Manx Shearwater, 15 E & 18 W Common Scoter & 100+ M 'Commic' Tern.

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)

1 Cory's Shearwater, 1,068 Manx Shearwater, 41 Common Scoter, 1 Bottlenose Dolphin & 1 Harbour Porpoise.

Black Guillemots at the Coliemore Harbour watchpoint © Niall Keogh

Early morning seawatching at Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin © Niall Keogh

September Seatrack Update

The last Seatrack survey weekend (3rd/4th Sept) saw some good national & local movements of shearwaters recorded right around the coast from Donegal to Wicklow. Details from a few of these watches are listed below.

The next survey takes places this weekend (17th/18th Sept) with  moderate-strong North-westerly winds predominating so who knows what will be picked up this time around? If you're interested in taking part in a Seatrack survey then e-mail Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Location: Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal

Date: 3rd September 2011

Time: 07:05-10:25

Weather: F4 W turning F4 SW, dry with good visibility. 

Observer(s): Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram.

Sooty Shearwater: 112 W

Manx Shearwater: 125 W & 3 E

Great Skua (Bonxie): 7

Pomarine Skua: 2

Arctic Skua: 4

Sandwich Tern: 4 W

Puffin: 1 E

Great Northern Diver: 2 W

A good showing by the Sooties.

Location: Annagh Head, Co. Mayo

Date: 3rd September 2011

Time: 07:00-18:20

Observer(s): Alan Lauder, KDShaw, JMAOsborne, SDHousden, Dave Suddaby, Chris Jones, Rob Innes et al.

Cory's Shearwater: 4

Great Shearwater: 333

Balearic Shearwater: 3

Sooty Shearwater: 2,900

Manx Shearwater: 5,700

Fulmar: 1,920

Storm Petrel: 4

Great Skua (Bonxie): 43

Pomarine Skua: 20

Arctic Skua: 28

Sandwich Tern: 8

Arctic Tern: 19

Puffin: 18

Whimbrel: 2

An excellent tally of shearwaters. Cory's are often quite scarce away from Cork, so a good North-west record indeed.

Location: Dursey Island, Co. Cork

Date: 3rd September 2011

Time: 07:30-10:30

Weather: F4 NW, dry with good-excellent visibility.

Observer(s): Derek A. Scott, Joanna E. Scott & David Cooke.

Sooty Shearwater: 4 W & 133 E

Manx Shearwater: 110 W & 249 E

Great Skua (Bonxie): 3 E

Arctic Skua: 5 W

Arctic Tern: 2 E

Puffin: 2 E

Minke Whale: 1

Common Dolphin: 2

Harbour Porpoise: 12

A good run of Sooties in conditions which weren't ideal for seawatching from Dursey.

Location: Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford
Date: 3rd September 2011 07:40-10:40 ()
Time: 07:40-10:40
Weather: 4-5 SW later 2-3 W, vis moderate to good, occasional drizzle.
Observer(s): Jonathan Bulfin & Paul Walsh.


Balearic Shearwater: 1 W
Arctic Skua: 2 E
Great Skua: 1 W
Manx Shearwater: 60 E, 384W, 1 on sea
Fulmar: 7 E, 39 W
Gannet: 143 E, 94 W
Bar-tailed Godwit: 2 W
Kittiwake: 7 E
Sandwich Tern: 101 E, 37 W
Razorbill: 3 E, 28 W
Large auk sp: 4 E, 39 W


Another quiet watch, but with the (belated) first Balearic Shearwater of the year for Brownstown.

Location: Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford

Date: 4th September 2011

Time: 07:15-10:45

Observer(s): Noel Keogh & Kieran Grace

Great Shearwater: 3

Balearic Shearwater: 4

Sooty Shearwater: 20

Manx Shearwater: 6,300

Great Skua (Bonxie): 1

Arctic Skua: 2

Little Gull: 1

Puffin: 6

Anyone who has seawatched from Carnsore before will appreciate how good these totals are! One of the Great Shears came in nice & close too.

Location: Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow

Date: 4th September 2011 

Time: 07:30-10:30

Weather: Calm at the beginning, turning F2-3 SW later & F3-4 SE by the end with squally showers & poor visibility. 

Observer(s): Steve Newton

Sooty Shearwater: 1 N

Manx Sheawater: 3 N & 1 S

Storm Petrel: 1 S

Common Scoter: 12 S

Fulmar: 3 Milling

Gannet: 23 N, 14 S & 13 M

Kittiwake: 11 N, 169 S & 673 M

Auk sp: 6 S

Sandwich Tern: 32 S

Common Tern: 7 S & 6 M

'Commic' Tern: 1 N & 1 S

Black Guillemot: 1 M

Sooty Shears are always a welcome sight during an east coast seawatch!