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 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 July 2013 survey

The first Seatrack survey of the year took place on Sat 20th/Sun 21st July. With calm weather prevailing, a major passage of seabirds was not to be expected! Saying that, some nice sightings were logged from the various headlands surveyed right along the coast from Donegal to Dublin.

Perhaps most often thought of as being a winter visitor, some Common Scoter actually begin to arrive at post-breeding moulting sites around the Irish coast in mid-summer & a July seawatch can often reveal quite a few passing by. This was certainly the case during the Seatrack survey in question with many observers reporting flocks on the move. Another species which undergoes a strong post-breeding movement at this time of year is Mediterranean Gull, several of which were seen from sites in Leinster, on the move from breeding colonies in North West continental Europe (France/Belgium/Netherlands etc.) to traditional staging areas such as South Dublin Bay.

With the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater being the focal species of Seatrack, it was good to get one logged on the first survey session of the year, seen heading South past Kilcoole on the evening of the 20th. This bird, in the company of a light passage of Manx Shearwaters, was most likely moving between feeding areas around frontal systems at either end of the Irish Sea. A handful of 'Near Threatened' Sooty Shearwaters were noted from Bloody Foreland & Dursey Island, with an impressive Southward movement of over 7,600 Manx Shearwaters at the latter also.

The next Seatrack survey takes place this weekend (start time 06:45am), with a priority date set for Saturday 3rd August, to complement long running seawatching surveys being undertaken by FAME partners along the West coast of continental Europe. The current forecast gives a low pressure breaking against the South West coast from Wednesday, lasting until Saturday morning when some decent, local seabird movements may linger on for those seawatching between Cork & Wexford or potentially a more active passage along the West coast between Mayo & Clare.

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.

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

Saturday 20th July

Bloody Foreland., Co. Donegal (Chris Ingram)

1 N + 1 S Sooty Shearwater, 81 N + 63 S + 200 M Manx Shearwater, 4 N + 1 S Storm Petrel, 2 S Common Scoter, 2 S + 1 M Great Northern Diver, 2 S Diver sp., 1 N Great Skua (Bonxie), 3 S Arctic Skua, 2 N Sandwich Tern, 4 N + 10 S Arctic Tern & 8 N Puffin.

Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow (Niall T. Keogh)
1 S Balearic Shearwater, 370 N + 170 S Manx Shearwater, 25 S Common Scoter, 1 N Red-throated Dover, 2 N Sandwich Tern, 9 N Common Tern, 1 N (juvenile) Mediterranean Gull, 4 N + 1 S Puffin, 2 M Black Guillemot, 2 N Harbour Porpoise & 3 M Grey Seal.

Sunday 21st July

Dursey Island, Co. Cork (Derek A. Scott & Joanna E. Scott)
1 S Sooty Shearwater, 109 N + 7,617 S Manx Shearwater, 1 N Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 S Common Gull, 1 N Basking Shark & 10 M Harbour Porpoise.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)
199 W + 493 E Manx Shearwater, 15 W Common Scoter & 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie). 

Ram Head, Co. Waterford (Andrew Malcolm) 
560 W + 171 E + 150 M Manx Shearwater, 58 W Common Scoter & 11 W Great Skua (Bonxie).

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M. Walsh) 
85 W + 460 E Manx Shearwater, 62 W + 11 E Common Scoter, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 E + 10 W Sandwich Tern, 1 M (adult) + 3 W (2 adults + a juvenile) Mediterranean Gull & 7 W + 1 E Puffin. 

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace) 
138 W + 174 E Manx Shearwater, 6 E + 86 W Common Scoter, 1 E Little Tern, 100+ M 'Commic' Terns & 5 E Puffin. 

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton) 
44 N + 50 S Manx Shearwater, 4 N Sandwich Tern & 3 S (adult + 2 juveniles) Mediterranean Gull. 

Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (Stephen McAvoy) 
253 N + 4 S Manx Shearwater, 11 N + 8 S Common Scoter, 6 N + 4 S Sandwich Tern, 1 S Black Guillemot, 2 N + 2 S Puffin, 2 N Tufted Duck, 1 M Harbour Porpoise & 1 M unidentified Shark sp. (not Basking Shark).

Common Scoter © Mark Carmody

Seatrack Update: Early November Survey

This coming weekend (Sat 3rd/Sun 4th Nov) sees the final Seatrack survey of the season taking place, with a start time of 08:30am. Please note that Saturday 3rd Nov 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.

We are now into Little Auk season so be sure to keep an eye out for these charming plankton feeders this weekend. They have become surprisingly rare in Ireland in recent years but are still likely to be found on late autumn/early winter seawatches along the West coast when favourable weather conditions prevail. A large Northward movement in The North Sea took place on Monday when some 4,903 passed The Farne Islands alone!

The forecast for the next few days looks good along the West coast with moderate-strong West & Northwest winds coming from a low pressure off the Atlantic coast of Scotland with some draw further to the North. Winds will be strongest on Thursday & Saturday but weakening into Sunday. Could be the last good seawatch of the season?!

Best of luck to all this weekend,

Niall Keogh

Seatrack co-ordinator

Little Auk © John Murphy

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

Saturday 20th October

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Chris Ingram)
15 S & 1 N Eider, 78 S & 141 N Barnacle Goose, 8 S & 2 N Red-throated Diver, 3 S & 4 N Great Northern Diver, 1 S Great Skua (Bonxie) & 6 S Bottlenose Dolphin.

Dursey Island, Co. Cork (Derek A. Scott, Kieran Finch, Paul Rowe, David Cooke & Connor Finch)
1 S Sooty Shearwater, 1 S Storm Petrel, 1 N Common Scoter, 413 S Kittiwake, 899 S Guillemot/Razorbill, 1 N Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 N Pomarine Skua, 2 N Puffin, 2 S & 7 M Harbour Porpoise.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)
19 W Sooty Shearwater, 3 W Manx Shearwater, 7 W Common Scoter, 3 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Mediterranean Gull & 274 W Kittiwake.

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: 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: mid August 2012

The second Seatrack survey of 2012 took place during the August Bank Holiday weekend just gone. The transition into seawatching season ‘proper’ could not be more apparent when comparing with the figures from the July survey period. Favourable winds along the South coast produced some impressive numbers of Manx Shearwaters interspersed with nice tallies of Cory’s, Great & Sooty Shearwaters. Other highlights included a smattering of Pomarine Skuas throughout & six species of tern off Carnsore Point. The West & East coasts were generally much quieter in terms of numbers but quality was provided for those who stuck it out with a Gull-billed Tern off Bloody Foreland (only the 2^nd Donegal county record) & a tantalising possible Fea’s-type Petrel off Clogher Head in Co. Louth.

The next Seatrack survey takes place this weekend Sat 18^th & Sun 19^th August (start time of 07:10am). The forecast remains unpredictable but a low pressure is expected to break up along the coast which may favour Southern watchpoints. If you would like to participate then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for further details.

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

Friday 3rd August

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)

310 W Cory’s Shearwater, 32 W Great Shearwater, 61 W Sooty Shearwater, 442 W & 85 E Manx Shearwater, 6 Storm Petrel, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 4 W Pomarine Skua, 24 W Common Scoter & 34 W Puffin.

Helvick Head, Co. Waterford (Michael Cowming Jnr, Michael Cowming Snr, Colum Flynn, Daniel Weldon, Mary A Duggan & Paul M Walsh)

3 W Cory’s Shearwater, 1 W Great Shearwater, 2 W Sooty Shearwater, 40 E & 980 W Manx Shearwater, 105 W Fulmar, 10 W Storm Petrel, 13 W Common Scoter, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 E & 3 W Pomarine Skua, 2 W adult Roseate Tern, 8+ W Arctic Tern, 5+ Common Tern, 7+ ‘Commic’ Tern, 35 W Puffin & 3 Harbour Porpoise.

“Preceded by county-record totals of Cory's Shearwater at Ram Head & Helvick Head on the evening of Thursday 2^nd August, details of which can be found here: http://www.waterfordbirds.com/seawatches_2012.html”

Saturday 4th August 2012

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

118 W & 28 E Manx Shearwater, 6 W & 1 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Pomarine Skua, 2 W Arctic Skua, 1 E Gull-billed Tern, 1 E Sandwich Tern & 7 E Puffin.

Ram Head, Co. Waterford (Andrew Malcolm & Ann Trimble)

380 E, 540 W & 200 M Manx Shearwater, 2 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 W Pomarine Skua, 13 W Sandwich Tern & 1 E Ocean Sunfish.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M Walsh)

1 W Great Shearwater, 2 W Sooty Shearwater, 1170 E, 1190 W & 80+ feeding Manx Shearwater, 2 E & 7 W Common Scoter, 1 E Pomarine Skua, 1 W Great Skua (Bonxie), 2 E & 20 W Sandwich Tern & 1 W Puffin.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Alan Lauder)

5629 E, 63 W & 10 M Manx Shearwater, 3 E & 1 W Storm Petrel, 6 E Common Scoter, 1 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 E Arctic Skua, 6 E Little Tern, 2 W Black Tern & 15 E Roseate Tern.

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)

2 S Balearic Shearwater, 4 S Sooty Shearwater, 430 N & 532 S Manx Shearwater, 3 S Common Scoter, 1 S Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 S Arctic Skua & 15 S Sandwich Tern.

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

23 N & 432 S Manx Shearwater, 26 S Common Scoter, 1 S Arctic Skua, 3 N, 64 S & 15 M Sandwich Tern, 5 S Common Tern, 1 M Arctic Tern, 19 S ‘Commic’ Tern, 3 S Whimbrel & 3 M Harbour Porpoise.

Clogher Head, Co. Louth (Brendan Sheils)

1 S possible Fea’s-type Petrel  @ 09:30, 1 N & 20 S Manx Shearwater, 2 S Sooty Shearwater, 2 N & 3 S Storm Petrel, 48 S Common Scoter, 1 N & 1 M Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 S adult Long-tailed Skua, 48 S & 100+ M Sandwich Tern, 30 S & 80-120+ M Common Tern, 20+ S & 100+ M ‘Commic’ Tern, 1 S Great-crested Grebe.

Sunday 5^th August

Clogher Head, Co. Louth (Brendan Sheils)

507 N, 12 S & 55 M Manx Shearwater, 2 N Storm Petrel, 9 N & 41 S Common Scoter, 1 S Great Northern Diver, 3 N Pomarine Skua, 1 S Arctic Skua, 1 S Skua sp., 25+ M Sandwich Tern, 25+ M Common Tern, 92 S Arctic Tern & 1 S Puffin.

Ocean Sunfish, Ram Head, Co. Waterford, 4th August 2012 © Andrew Malcolm

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