Cetaceans on the Frontier 5

Following on from Cetaceans on the Frontier 4 which took place between January & February 2013, the next installment of our adventures, Cetaceans on the Frontier 5, will begin on Monday 20th January 2014 from on board the R.V. Celtic Explorer, spending two weeks at sea along the edge of the continental shelf off western Ireland.

This will be the fifth such multidisciplinary survey to be undertaken since 2009 with staff on board studying offshore bottlenose dolphins & other cetaceans, acoustics, plankton, jellyfish & micro plastics. A team from BirdWatch Ireland will also be on board to conduct visual surveys for seabirds to assess their distribution & abundance in Irish waters.

A project blog has been created so those of you on dry land can keep up to speed with our progress. The blog will be updated daily with cetacean/seabird sightings & pics and feature guest blogs from different staff members from time to time relating to specific areas of their research.

www.cotf5.blogspot.ie

FAME Seabird talks on tour

A series of seabird talks featuring the work being undertaken by BirdWatch Ireland & Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment (FAME) will be held over the coming weeks during BirdWatch Ireland local branch indoor meetings.

Each event is free & all are welcome to attend. 

Co. Westmeath

• “Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment – safeguarding Irish seabirds in a rapidly changing ocean” - a talk by Dr. Steve Newton.
• Bloomfield House Hotel, near Mullingar, Thursday 14th November 2013 at 8pm.
• Full details on event page here

Co. Dublin

• "Oceanic Wonders & Migration on the Edge! - seabird migration & the Seatrack project" - a talk by Niall Keogh.
• Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Tuesday 3rd December 2013 at 8pm.
• Details of South Dublin Branch events can be found here.

Co. Carlow

• "Oceanic Wonders & Migration on the Edge! - seabird migration & the Seatrack project" - a talk by Niall Keogh.
• Lord Bagenal Inn, Leighlinbridge, Thursday 12th December 2013 at 8pm.
• Details of Carlow Branch events can be found here.

Co. Wicklow

• “Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment – safeguarding Irish seabirds in a rapidly changing ocean” - a talk by Dr. Steve Newton.
• Glenview Hotel, near Delgany, Tuesday 21st January 2014 at 8pm.
• Details of Wicklow Branch events can be found here.

Kittiwake © Laura Glenister

“MedFest” – Enjoying Ireland’s wintering seabirds

The Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment (FAME) & BirdWatch Ireland

Free Outdoor Event

Date: Saturday 9^th November 2013

Time: 10:00am – 16:00pm

Location: Newtownsmith promenade, along the seafront between Dun Laoghaire & Sandycove. Look for our marquee on the green-space beside the seafront car park on Windsor Terrace (adjacent to the old baths).

About: Ireland is renowned for its seabirds. Our coastal cliffs & islands are home to significant populations of nesting Puffins, Manx Shearwaters, Storm Petrel & Gannets. On the East coast, rare breeding Roseate & Little Terns seek refuge at wardened sites such as Rockabill, Kilcoole & Baltray

But what do our seabirds do in winter? Where do they go when they leave the breeding colonies?

BirdWatch Ireland’s seabird experts will be on hand to answer all your questions & guide a series of short walks along the seafront promenade to view some of Ireland's wintering seabirds such as Razorbill, Shag & particularly, Mediterranean Gull.

Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus):
A rough translation of the scientific name would be ‘black-capped gull’ but given that we already have a Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) which actually has a brown head in the summer months then it can all become very confusing! Furthermore, the English name raises questions as to why we also have them in Ireland!

Okay, wind the clock back 20 years and yes, Mediterranean Gulls were generally seen in more southern parts of Europe – most of them breeding in southern France, Italy, Greece and around the Black Sea. In winter they would disperse over the Mediterranean Sea and out into the Iberian Atlantic. Then another ‘sub-population’ commenced breeding in the Low Countries and northern France. Instead of an expected southerly autumn migration, these gulls fly northwest to Ireland & the UK!

We can identify these birds in particular by the colour rings fitted to them as chicks by European ornithologists. The number of Mediterranean Gulls begin to build at staging sites such as Sandycove from July & can be seen there until they leave for their continental nesting sites in April. Their expansion has continued & Mediterranean Gulls now breed in small numbers in Ireland (since 1996), mostly in Wexford!

So if you'd like to see these beautiful gulls in the flesh, learn how to separate them from Black-headed Gull & have a go at reading some colour rings then be sure to head down to the Dun Laoghaire-Sandycove seafront promenade on Saturday 9th November. We'll also take a look at some other seabirds groups such as Cormorant & Shag, Guillemot & Razorbill and Herring Gull & Great Black-backed Gull.

We hope to meet you there,

Steve Newton & Niall Keogh (BirdWatch Ireland Seabird Team)

Adult winter Mediterranean Gull at Sandycove fitted with a white colour ring identifying it as a bird from a breeding colony in Belgium © Niall T. Keogh

Seatrack Update: early November survey

The final Seatrack survey of the year takes place this weekend Sat 2nd/Sun 3rd November with a start time of 08:25am. Priority will be 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.

A strong low pressure system moving through over the next few days is likely to create some good seawatching conditions on the West coast on Saturday, dissipating through Sunday.

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

The series of fast tracking low pressure systems which moved East across the Atlantic last week brought with them a wide array of seabird species which were recorded along the West & South coasts showing that a few surprises can still be in store even at the end of the migration season. 30 Sooty Shearwaters, 19 Pomarine Skuas & 2 Grey Phalaropes were some of the highlights among a heavy passage of Gannets & Kittiwakes at The Bridges of Ross on 27th Oct (Aidan G. Kelly et al.) with the first reported Little Auk of the season & 7 Leach's Petrels nearby on Loop Head the next day (Shane Farrell). A Great Shearwater at sea, South of Ballycotton from the R.V. Celtic Explorer on 24th Oct was another notable record (Stephen McAvoy).

Great Skua, Celtic Sea, 12th Oct 2013 © Niall T. Keogh

Kittiwake, Celtic Sea, 15th Oct 2013 © Niall T. Keogh

Rough weather has caused a number of juvenile Storm Petrels to crash land on boats offshore, like this one which came aboard the R.V. Celtic Explorer (released successfully), Celtic Sea, 11th Oct 2013 © Gary Robinson

Seatrack Update: late October survey

The second last Seatrack survey of the year takes place this weekend Sat 19th/Sun 20th Oct with a start time of 09:00am. Weather looks set to be best along the South coast with moderate to strong Southerly winds on Saturday turning South-west for Sunday.

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

Reports coming through from the herring fleet & observations from on board the R.V. Celtic Explorer over the past week have identified aggregations of sprat & herring already building along the South coast, between Schull & Cork Harbour and again from Mine Head to Tramore. As such, some impressive feeding activity should hopefully be encountered from South coast watch points  this weekend and likely to involve Gannets, Kittiwakes, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Great Skuas & late shearwaters along with a chance of Minke Whale, Fin Whale, Common Dolphin & perhaps even a Humpback or two...

Sites in the North West should be on the look out for divers, Whooper Swans & Barnacle Geese with widespread sightings of these species noted in the past week as the first wave of migrants arrived for the winter.

Bonxie & Gannets, Celtic Sea, 12th Oct 2013 © Niall T. Keogh

Sooty Shearwaters, south of Mizen Head, Co. Cork, 10th Oct 2013 © Niall T. Keogh

Humpback Whale, Glandore Bay, Co. Cork, 10th Oct 2013 © Niall T. Keogh

Fin Whales, Glandore Bay, Co. Cork, 10th Oct 2013 © Niall T. Keogh

Seatrack Update: early October survey

The sixth Seatrack survey of the year takes place this coming weekend Sat 5th/Sun 6th October with a start time of 08:35am. Priority will be 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.

Weather looks set to be best in the South West this weekend, particularly on Saturday with SW bearing winds forecast.

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

Moderate to strong SE winds with heavy rain over the past few days has created some ideal seawatching conditions along the East coast. Triple figure counts of Manx Shearwaters have been recorded from Dalkey (Dublin), Six Mile Point (Wicklow) & Greenore Point (Wexford) with some local highlights including a Sooty Shearwater off Dalkey (Stephen McAvoy) & 2 Balearic Shearwaters off Greenore Point (Killian Mullarney) both on 1st October and a Sabine's Gull feeding with rafting Kittiwakes off Kilcoole on 2nd October (Niall T. Keogh). Large numbers of auks, particularly Razorbills, have also been noted.

Razorbills in flight © Chris Proctor

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