Arctic Terns

In the afternoon we moved on to Inner Farne. Similar birds but also the chance of seeing Arctic, Sandwich and Common Terns. The Arctic Terns were the reason for visiting here. Again I had seen them before but never this close. A feisty bird, they nest next to and on the paths and you come under constant attack from birds warning you to keep away from their nests. Wear a thick hat if you go there.

There must be a balance for the Arctic Terns. Nest close to where the people go as it protects against the predator gulls but keep the people away from the nests to protect the eggs. It was interesting that some of the birds took no part in the mobbing of the visitors, choosing to sit calmly on the nests as the people walked past just a few feet away. I wonder if these are older birds who know that they are safe and are happy to let the more excitable youngsters get on with the harassment.

It is difficult to believe that these tiny eggs will hatch in a few weeks and by the end of the year the young birds will be down in the South Atlantic part way through an annual 56,000 mile migration.

The Sandwich and Common Terns were a bit harder to find than the Arctic. The Sandwich Terns were nesting in a tight colony in the centre of the island.

Although their name suggests they should be easy to find, the Common Terns were in short supply on the island with just a few lone individuals found nesting.

The islands still show a brutal side. Gulls wait to attack and steal food from returning Puffins. They also predate nests stealing eggs and chicks. It looks harsh but they have to live and they also have chicks to feed.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

It is not a cheap trip, £35 for the all day birding trip and £26 to the National Trust for landing rights. Expensive but well worth it. The National Trust also has to get the balance right. Allowing people onto the islands inevitably means some disturbance and abandoned nests. However, the money they make goes to providing wardens and to protecting the birds. Keeping the cost high will deter some visitors but I have to say, not me. I will be going back at the first opportunity that I get.

Have the National Trust got the balance right? The boats were very crowded, I would say overcrowded, and there were lots of people on the islands. Most were not birders and many seemed to be surprised by the Arctic Terns attacking them. A well aimed brolly, handbag, or flailing arm could do a lot of damage to these small birds. I also wonder if all the money is being used for the benefit of the birds. I could not find any details of visitor numbers or income but they could easily be taking £5-10K a day. I hope it is all being spent on the birds.

Irish Birding

Whilst the birding has started to improve of late my photography seems to have taken a real nose dive. I have seen some good birds, but most of my shots have been taken at a distance and in this hot dry weather the air quality and heat haze have had a devastating effect on picture quality. The trouble is that I know this and I should have been spending more time getting closer to the birds.

Still this is a diary of what I have seen and photographed so you get the bad as well as the good.

The first success was the Turtle Dove which had been at the top of my hit list for a couple of months. I had looked at various sites and despite hearing them on a number of occasions there had been no sightings. My luck changed when I picked up Dave and we headed over to Pagham North Wall. It was all very quiet on the wall but we did manage to spot the Turtle Dove in the trees by Honer Farm. The bird was very mobile though and despite waiting a long time we could only get distant shots.

Turtle Dove

Dave was only carrying a 400mm lens but his pictures looked better than the ones I had taken using a 500mm and 1.4 converter. Heat haze, air quality, or just better skills?

I then headed off on a touring and walking holiday with the wife taking in Pembrokeshire and the South and West of Ireland. It was not a birding trip but I did have a target list and was intending to get a few hours birding along the way.

Pembrokeshire gave the first opportunity when we spotted Chough whilst walking over Stackpole Head.

Chough - It looks as though Junior still wants to be fed!

You can actually see the heat haze in the back of this shot

 Dave had told me to look out for Black Guillemot when we arrived at Rosslare Harbour and sure enough there was one there albeit a bit distant.

Black Guillimot

 One thing that I had not expected in Ireland was a complete roll reversal of Crows and Rooks. A Hooded Crow was top of my target list and I assumed that it would be easy to get a good picture of these as with Crows back home. In practice they seemed very shy and wary of anyone approaching them. The Rooks however had filled the vacant slot of picnic scavengers and were quiet happy to have their pictures taken.

Rook - beautifully groomed for the photo shoot

Hooded Crow - looking a bit tatty

Definitely does not want his picture taken

 There were lots of Terns about. We looked at the Tern Colony at Lady's Island Lake hoping to see a Roseate Tern. No luck with that but there was an Arctic Tern that ventured close enough for a picture.

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

And, sitting on the beach one evening we watched a long procession of close on a hundred Sandwich Terns fly past carrying Sand Eels. I assume they were also heading for Lady's Island Lake but the odd thing was that there was not a single Common Tern amongst them.

Sandwich Tern

We spent a few days around the Killarney National Park and the Cork and Kerry peninsulas and I spent most of the time with one eye on the sky waiting for a White-tailed Eagle to appear. I had one slight panic when a couple of ravens drifted over a hill we were climbing but that is the closest that I got.

Lots of the usual small birds about and lots of Juveniles in confusing plumage. I got some nice pictures but I am still trying to work out what they are.

No black Guillimots as we left Rosslare, so I was unable to improve on my record shot taken on the way in, but I was tipped off that the Tuskar Rock Lighthouse, just off the coast, was a good area to look out for Manx Shearwaters. Sure enough there were lots flying about. Most were distant but I did manage a couple of decent shots before the boat disappeared into a fog bank.

Manx Shearwater

My overall impression of birding in Ireland. There are not so many species about and some of the sites are hard to find or access but overall nature is having a better time of it over there. There were far more birds and butterflies about than I see in England.