Seatrack: final survey of 2014

The final Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 1st/Sun 2nd November with a start time of 08:25am (preference given to Sat 1st if possible so as to link in with other coastal seabird surveys being conducted by BirdLife Europe partners in France, Spain and Portugal).

Yet another Atlantic low pressure system will produce winds veering from Southwest to West over the weekend, hopefully conjuring up some good seawatching for observers on the Celtic Sea coast as well as along the Atlantic seaboard.

Some rather excellent late autumn seawatching continued over the past week or so with four species of shearwater seen from coastal headlands and islands in Co. Cork where small numbers of Balearic, Great and Manx Shearwaters were found among triple figure counts of Sooty Shearwaters. Strong Westerly winds coupled with an aggregation of Sprat saw a hive of feeding seabird activity in Galway Bay where impressive numbers of Kittiwakes, Gannets and skuas (particularly Arctic and Pomarine) were noted along with sightings of Leach's Storm-petrel and Little Gull. For an excellent series of pics from Galway Bay see the following blog posts by Dermot Breen and Cathal Forkan.

With the forecast for decent seawatching conditions this weekend, perhaps some Little Auks may be on the cards, particularly for those in the West and Northwest? Seawatchers should also keep an eye out for migrating divers and wildfowl with counts of Great Northern Diver, Barnacle Goose, Greenland White-fronted Goose and Whooper Swan making it into recent sightings reports.

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this season then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Balearic Shearwater from the R.V. Celtic Explorer, south of Roche's Point Co. Cork, 23rd October 2014 © Niall T. Keogh

Seatrack: mid-October update

The second last Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 18th/Sun 19th October with a start time of 09:00am.

Whilst the current weather predictions for the coming weekend are constantly changing, it would appear that the south coast will be the place to be with strong south to southwest winds and rain coming off the back of post-tropical storm Fay and likely to produce a few late autumn goodies. 

This past week has seen some excellent tallies of Balearic Shearwaters in Co. Cork with 30 passing the Old Head of Kinsale plus a separate 15 seen passing Galley Head on 8th October. Seabird rarities typically associated with late August continue to feature with a Barolo Shearwater seen eight miles off Quilty, Co. Clare on 7th Oct and both a Fea's-type Petrel and a Wilson's Storm-petrel seen several miles to the southeast of Galley Head on 10th Oct, all noted from the R.V. Celtic Explorer which is currently running transect lines through the Celtic Sea as part of the annual Celtic Sea Herring Acoustic Survey. In addition, several Great Shearwaters and Pomarine Skuas plus good numbers of European Storm-petrels along with Sabine's Gull, Grey Phalarope etc. have also been seen from the ship in the waters south of Cork/Waterford in recent days. The seabirds are certainly still out there!

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this season then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Balearic Shearwaters West of Cape Clear, taken from the R.V. Celtic Explorer © Niall T. Keogh

Seatrack: early-September update

The third Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 6th/Sun 7th September with a start time of 07:45am (preference given to Sat 6th if possible so as to link in with other coastal seabird surveys being conducted by BirdLife Europe partners in France, Spain and Portugal). 

The forecast for the weekend is set to be calm with light East to Northeast winds across much of the country. True passage may be slow but we will be interested to know of any feeding flocks present inshore during the calm weather so please do keep an eye out for any 'milling' seabirds. Observers surveying in the East may be affected by strong morning sunshine so an alternative evening watch with a start time of 16:05pm is suggested if necessary.

Reports of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater have been widespread so far this season but in typically low numbers with 1-3 birds at a time seen during seawatches from coastal headlands across eight different counties between Donegal and Wexford.

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this season then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

A new seabird blog featuring news updates and posts from BirdLife Europe partners in Ireland, UK, France, Spain and Portugal can be found here, or follow on Twitter by searching and posting using the hashtag #saveseabirds 

Balearic Shearwater off Baltimore, Co. Cork, 24th August 2014 © Robert Vaughan

Bridges of Ross 30th August 2014

Time: 0630-1810

Weather: F5 NW, dry, mild & good visibility.

Observers: Niall T. Keogh, Neal Warnock, Victor Caschera, Jimmy Dowdall, Eamonn MacLochlainn, John Power, Lee Gregory, Tom Buckley, Ger Murray, Des Higgins, Brian Porter, Tom Shevlin, Hugh Delaney, Aidan Moore, Dave Branagh, Bernie Sheridan, Dave Fox, John N. Murphy, Jarlath Coyle et al.

Common Scoter: 14

Red-throated Diver: 1 breeding plumage

Great Shearwater: 1

Sooty Shearwater: 50+

Manx Shearwater: 3,500 in first hour then 2000+ decreasing to 500+ per hour thereafter
Balearic Shearwater: 1
Wilson's Storm-petrel: 1 @ 09:22 (Lee Gregory et al.)

European Storm-petrel: 2

Leach's Storm-petrel: 15

Great Skua (Bonxie): 20

Arctic Skua: 5

Puffin: 2

Sandwich Tern: 51

Arctic Tern: c.75

Sabine's Gull: 5 (1 adult-type & 4 juveniles)

Little Gull: 2 juveniles/1st-winters

Peregrine: 1 juvenile

Common Dolphin: 8-10

Ocean Sunfish: 1

A busy start first thing, similar to yesterday but without the same level or rhythm of species diversity as yesterday. Saying that, an enjoyable few hours all the same. Whilst scanning through the seemingly relentless & uniform passage of Manxies, Lee happened upon a Wilson's Storm-petrel which caught us on the hop and showed up well to the left, only viewable for a brief period before disappearing over the ridge but thankfully at close range. The bird was in active moult with old outer primaries and new/growing inner primaries/secondaries and a short (half length) carpal bar. Great to see that bouncing flight style again! Fairly quiet for the rest of the afternoon & evening save for a trickle of Bonxies and a few showy Leach's every now & then.

Leach's Storm-petrel © Niall Keogh

Arctic Skua © Niall Keogh

Great Skua © Niall Keogh

Bridges of Ross 28th August 2014

Time: 0645-1715

Weather: F3 S (am) then F5 SSW turning F6 SW (pm). Dry (am) then persistent rain (pm). Moderate-poor visibility.

Observers: Niall T. Keogh, Neal Warnock, Victor Caschera, Jimmy Dowdall, Eamonn MacLochlainn, John Power, Lee Gregory, Tom Buckley, Ger Murray, Tom Tarpey et al.

Common Scoter: 1

'Blue' Fulmar: 1 'D'

Balearic Shearwater: 3

Sooty Shearwater: 21

Manx Shearwater: 1,100 in 5 hrs (am) and 215 in 45 mins (pm)

European Storm-petrel: 3

Great Skua (Bonxie): 4

Sandwich Tern: 9

Arctic Tern: 23

Black Tern: 1 juvenile

Puffin: 1

Whimbrel: 37

Bar-tailed Godwit: 1

Sanderling: 1

Common (Harbour) Seal: 1

Ocean Sunfish: 1-2

A most welcome increase in seabird variety today with a few nice close in Balearics, higher daily counts of Sooties, Arctic Terns & Stormies (just about!) than in recent days and the first juvenile Black Tern of the season.

Persistent rain & decreasing visibility this afternoon called for an early end to the days effort. Here's hoping tomorrows Westerlies will produce the goods!

Sunrise at BoR © Niall Keogh

The Soggy Bottom Seawatchers © Niall Keogh

Ocean Sunfish © Niall Keogh

Bridges of Ross 27th August 2014

Time: 0800-1000 & 1400-1700

Weather: F4 NE (am) & F5 SE (pm), brief periods of light rain (pm) & good visibility.

Observers: Niall T. Keogh, Neal Warnock, Victor Caschera, Jimmy Dowdall, Eamonn MacLochlainn, John Power, Lee Gregory, Tom Buckley et al.

Common Scoter: 10

Great Northern Diver: 1 adult 

Balearic Shearwater: 1

Sooty Shearwater: 2

Manx Shearwater: 850 in 1.5 hrs (am) & 420 in 3 hrs (pm)

Arctic Skua: 1
Sandwich Tern: 3

Arctic Tern: 10

Sabine's Gull: 1 adult

Swift: 1

Wheatear: 1 'Greenland'-type around the watch point

Common (Harbour) Seal: 1

Common Dolphin: 12+

Basking Shark: 2+ full breaching
Ocean Sunfish: 1

Another good day for animal watching! We're starting to think the adult Sab's is simply doing the rounds between The Bridges & Loop Head. A juv/1st-winter Mediterranean Gull was waiting for us in front of the pub at Kilbaha this eve! 

Serious high hopes for these SW and W winds coming tomorrow and Friday...

Arctic Skua © Niall Keogh

Swinhoe's Storm-petrel @ Bridges of Ross 25th August 2014

Time: 0730-1000 & 1430-1900

Weather: F4 SE, dry & sunny (am), intermittent showers (pm) & good visibility.

Observers: Niall T. Keogh, Neal Warnock, Des Higgins, Peter Gluth, Peter Colston, Sharon Hogan, Andy Marshall, Victor Caschera, Jimmy Dowdall, John Power, Lee Gregory, Stephen Hack, Simon Dennis et al.

Balearic Shearwater: 2

Sooty Shearwater: 6

Manx Shearwater: 90 in 1 hr (am) & up to 2000 in 1 hr (pm)

Swinhoe's Storm-petrel: 1 west @ 18:05 (SHack et al.)

Great Skua (Bonxie): 1

Arctic Skua: 3

Sandwich Tern: 1

Arctic Tern: 7

Loop Head (1330-1815):

Sooty Shearwater: 6

Manx Shearwater: up to 3,000 milling/rafting/passage South

Pomarine Skua: 1

Arctic Skua: 6

Arctic Tern: 10

Sabine's Gull: 1 adult

Another not so classic day of seawatching weather but a milling flock of Manxies moving between The Bridges & Loop Head with Sooties & skuas in attendance gave us something to look at.

The magic moment for those present at The Bridges of Ross in the evening came at 18:05 when UK birder Stephen Hack picked up a Swinhoe's Storm-petrel heading West. The bird was on show for about four minutes allowing seven lucky seawatchers to get onto it. This is the second record of Swinhoe's for The Bridges following one seen here on 15th August 1985 by Tom Tarpey. Not the first time a mega seabird has drifted by here in SE winds either (Fea's & Barolo have done the same) just going to show that the rewards are there for those willing to put in the effort. A great find and a great 400th Irish tick for John Power! Congratulations to all who saw it.

Unfortunately the author was seawatching from the tip of Loop Head at the time. That's what you get for abandoning your post! ;)

Rafting Manxies off Loop Head © Niall Keogh

Nice evening light at Loop Head © Niall Keogh

Bridges of Ross 23rd August 2014

Time: 0730-1905

Weather: F3 N (am), F3 NW (pm), dry, sunny & good visibility.

Observers: Niall T. Keogh, Neal Warnock, Des Higgins, Peter Gluth, Peter Colston, Sharon Hogan, Andy Marshall, Victor Caschera, Jimmy Dowdall, John Power, Dave Fox, Paul Keating, John N. Murphy, Finbarr MacGabhann, BirdWatch Ireland Clare Branch et al.

Balearic Shearwater: 2

Sooty Shearwater: 6

Manx Shearwater: 1200 East in 30 mins (am) & 485 West in 4.5 hrs (pm)

Arctic Skua: 6

Sandwich Tern: 1

Arctic Tern: 29

Black Guillemot: 1

Chough: 2 around the watch point

Ocean Sunfish: 1

Minke Whale: 1

Unidentified Whale sp: 1

Common Dolphin: 3

A short but busy passage of distant Manx Shearwaters going the ‘wrong’ way early in the morning probably accounted for most of the birds which drifted back the ‘right’ way throughout the afternoon. Both Balearics were typical in that they were on their own & quite close in, one of which put on a good show for the participants of the BirdWatch Ireland Clare Branch outing. 

The most tantalising sighting of the day related to a series of large, distant splashes from a breaching whale which was also seen to produce a blow on one occasion, behaviour suggestive of Humpback more than anything else but not confirmed unfortunately.

Bridges of Ross 22nd August 2014

Time: 0640-0940 & 1410-1820

Weather: F1-2 W (am), F3-4 NW (pm), dry & good visibility.

Observers: Niall T. Keogh, Neal Warnock, Des Higgins, Davey Farrer, Peter Gluth, Peter Colston, Sharon Hogan, Andy Marshall et al.

Balearic Shearwater: 1

Sooty Shearwater: 4

Manx Shearwater: 600 (am) & 465 (pm)

Arctic Skua: 3

Great Skua (Bonxie): 3

Arctic Tern: 3

Peregrine: 1 attempting to catch an Oystercatcher

Bottlenose Dolphin: 3 west @ 0830

Common Dolphin: 3 milling/logging @ 1510

Another slow day(!) which allowed for the surrounding gardens & marshes to be given a thorough going over, producing no more than a juv Ruff at Kilcredaun marsh, a Common Sandpiper at Kilbaha pool & a few juv Willow Warblers scattered about the place.

Arctic Skua © Niall Keogh

There will be a BirdWatch Ireland Clare Branch outing to The Bridges of Ross tomorrow to view migrating seabirds plus a chance of other marine wildlife such as Bottlenose Dolphin & Ocean Sunfish.

The meeting point will be at the car park at 09:00am from where it is a short walk on easy terrain the watch point.

The outing is free & all are welcome to attend. It is advised that participants bring along binoculars and/or telescopes with them in order to make the most of it but there will be some telescopes available to look through on the day as provided by event organisers.

We hope to see you there!

Seatrack: mid-August update

The second Seatrack survey weekend of the season takes place this Sat 16th/Sun 17th August with a start time of 07:10am. Current weather forecasts give the best conditions along the Atlantic seaboard with moderate West to Northwest winds hopefully producing some decent seawatching between Mayo & Donegal, particularly on Saturday morning.

This past week saw lots of media attention focusing on the arrival of the weather system affectionately known as 'ex-Bertha'. This post-tropical cyclone was followed up by a Northwesterly low pressure system, producing some nice seawatching at headlands along the West coast from Galley Head to Malin. Flavour of the month so far has been Cory's Shearwater which has graced the notebooks of many a seawatcher, albeit in small numbers. Along with these have been the first Sabine's Gulls & Grey Phalaropes of the season, small numbers of skuas and Balearic, Sooty & Great Shearwaters.

At the rarer end of the scale, singles of Wilson's Petrel were noted from The Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare on 8th & 12th August. Furthermore, there's been a superb early run of Fea's-type Petrel records as follows:

• 30th July: one from a pelagic 8 miles off Galley Head, Co. Cork (Paul Connaughton)
• 3rd August: one past Malin Head, Co. Donegal (Rónán McLaughlin)
• 10th August: one past Kilcummin Head, Co. Mayo (Brad Robson) with what was presumably the same bird seen passing Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby) no less than 3 hours & 9 minutes later!
• 13th August: one past Kilcummin Head, Co. Mayo (Derek Charles & M. Ullman)

If you would like to take part in this weekends Seatrack survey or wish to send on any additional seawatching records you've collated so far this month then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Arctic Skua © Gerry O'Neill

A special mention must go out to Liam Lysaght of the National Biodiversity Data Centre who is currently in the midst of his 'Wild Ireland Tour', an epic cycle around the coast of Ireland visiting some top wildlife destinations and meeting with folk involved in research & conservation along the way. Liam popped into The Bridges of Ross on Monday for a spot of seawatching & I have to say, he was the hardiest man there by the look of his get up! 

Liam seawatching in style!

Seatrack kicks off with some Cory's!

Seatrack volunteers Ralph Sheppard and Chris Ingram made the best of some moderate Northwesterly winds on Tuesday and were duly rewarded during a three hour seawatch at Bloody Foreland, Co. Dongeal where they clocked up 2 Balearic Shearwaters, 2 Cory's Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1,062 Manx Shearwaters and 4 Great Skuas. Not a bad start to the season at all!

The Cory's were no doubt particularly nice to see from a Northern watch point and great to get some records of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater in from the get go.

Many thanks to both Ralph and Chris for sending in their records to the Seatrack project.

Cory's Shearwater © Killian Mullarney

The forecast for the coming weekend appears rather settled with some light Northwesterlies on the Atlantic seaboard the best of it. Saying that, a Fea's-type Petrel was seen from a pelagic trip 8 miles off Galley Head, Co. Cork on Wednesday so the birds are certainly out there!

The first Seatrack survey of the 2014 season takes place this weekend Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd August with a start time of 06:45am. If you would like to get involved then please get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Seatrack 2014

The Seatrack project aims to assess the status & distribution of the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater as well as other migratory seabird species in Irish waters through a series of coordinated volunteer seawatching surveys from headlands right around the coastline between early August & early November.

If you would like to sign up your local headland as a Seatrack survey site or simply wish to send in some opportunistic seawatch records at any stage during the season then feel free to get in touch with Niall Keogh (Seatrack project co-ordinator) at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for more information on how to get involved.

There has been some excellent seabird sightings off the Irish coast over the past week which bodes well for the first survey weekend taking place on Saturday 2nd August. Pelagic boat trips off Mayo and Cork have recorded several sought after species such as Wilson's Petrel, Great & Cory's Shearwater, Fin Whale, Atlantic White-sided Dolphin etc.

Great Shearwater © Aidan G. Kelly

Seatrack 2014 Core Survey Dates (priority dates in bold):

August: Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd (start time 06:45am)

September: Sat 6th/Sun 7th (start time 07:45am)

October: Sat 4th/Sun 5th (start time 08:30am)

November: Sat 1st/Sun 2nd (start time 08:25am)

Seatrack 2014 Suggested Supplementary Survey Dates:

August: Sat 16th/Sun 17th (start time 07:10am)

September: Sat 20th/Sun 21st (start time 08:10am)

October: Sat 18th/Sun 19th (start time 09:00am)

Aidan Kelly & Victor Caschera were kind enough to send on some fantastic seabirds images taken during a recent pelagic trip to the continental shelf edge off North West Mayo. They'll hopefully whet the appetite for anyone thinking of doing some Seatrack surveys this Autumn!

 Great Skua © Aidan G. Kelly

Great Skua chasing a Lesser Black-backed Gull © Aidan G. Kelly

Great Shearwater © Aidan G. Kelly

Great Shearwater © Aidan G. Kelly

Puffin © Victor Caschera

Leach's Petrel © Victor Caschera 

European Storm Petrel © Aidan G. Kelly

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin © Aidan G. Kelly

Seatrack Update: early Sept 2013 survey sightings

The fourth Seatrack survey of the year took place on Sat 7th/Sun 8th September. Northerly winds throughout the weekend dissipated passage for the most part but some quality species such as Balearic Shearwater, Long-tailed Skua, Little Gull & Black Tern were still recorded along with excellent sightings of marine 'megafauna'.

The next survey weekend takes place this coming Sat 21st/Sun 22nd September with a start time of 08:10am.

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

Saturday 7th September

Black Head, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)
69 W + 8 E + 20 M Manx Shearwater, 1 W + 1 E Great Northern Diver & 5+ M Bottlenose Dolphin.

The Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh, Noel Keogh, John N. Murphy, Keith Bennett et al.)

Full day totals (all birds heading West): 1 Balearic Shearwater, 30 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Storm Petrel, 3 Common Scoter, 12 Great Skua (Bonxie), 7 Arctic Skua, 2 juvenile Long-tailed Skua, 2 juv/1st-winter Little Gull, 2 Sandwich Tern, 7 Arctic Tern, 10+ Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Harbour Porpoise & 4 Ocean Sunfish.

Dursey Island, Co. Cork (Derek A. Scott & Joanna E. Scott)
1 N Balearic Shearwater, 5 N + 130 M Sooty Shearwater, 2 N + 20 M Manx Shearwater, 2 N Common Scoter, 3 N Great Skua (Bonxie), 3 N Arctic Skua, 1 N Sandwich Tern, 3 N Common Tern, 42 N Arctic Tern, 91 N 'Commic' Tern, 10 N Common Dolphin & 8 M Harbour Porpoise.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Jonathan Bulfin, Darragh Sinnott & Paul M. Walsh)
30 E Manx Shearwater, 1 M Skua sp. & 1 E Puffin.

Coliemore Harbour, Co. Dublin (Stephen McAvoy)

2 N Manx Shearwater, 16 N Common Scoter, 1 N + 1 S Red-throated Diver, 7 N + 2 S Mediterranean Gull, 1 N + 2 S Black Guillemot, 1 N Puffin & 2 N Harbour Porpoise.
 
Sunday 8th September

The Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Niall T. Keogh, Noel Keogh, Keith Bennett et al.)
Full day totals (all birds heading West):  4 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Great Northern Diver, 15 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Pomarine Skua, 16 Arctic Skua, 1 juvenile Long-tailed Skua, 3 Arctic Tern, 20+ Bottlenose Dolphin, 2 Common Dolphin & 1 Common Seal.

Ram Head, Co. Waterford (Andrew Malcolm)

3 Manx Shearwater, 1 Storm Petrel & 1 Common Scoter.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace)
12 E + 66 W Manx Shearwater, 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Black Tern, 12 W Sandwich Tern & 300 W 'Commic' Tern.

Juvenile Arctic Skua, The Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare, 7th Sept 2013 © John N. Murphy