upper-rathduff-patch-2015-2-blog
Upper Rathduff Patch 2015-2017
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Sparrowhawk by Michael John O' Mahony
The main killer...
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Goldfinch by Michael John O' Mahony
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It’s been a while..
No blog posts for almost two years!! I was busy. Here a quick catch up. Patch Birding has produced some interesting findings. More Hen Harriers in the area than expected...along with some interesting behaviour
A yellow legged gull in December 2016!!
And more Hen Harriers!!!
In 2017 we got some great views of the local Peregrine Falcon.
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Always Look Up...
March 18th 2015: Spring has truly taken grip on the patch in the last day or so. A day of warmth and sunshine brought a lot of bird song this morning with plenty of male birds truly establishing their territories. Three new additions to the patch list are sparrowhawk, collared dove and the first “migrant” of the year a singing Chiffchaff. Plenty of song and even displays from Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Lesser Redpoll, Starling, Goldcrest, Meadow Pipit and Hooded Crow. Today was mostly about looking up.. and listening.
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All on track..
Nothing major has happened on patch over the last week. The weather has been a crazy mix of southerly gales and rain followed by warm sunshine. I recorded my first butterfly just off patch on Wednesday, a Little Tortoiseshell.
The mammals have also been showing a good bit more over the last few days. The patch is stuffed with fat bunnies.
Spring migrants have been arriving on the coast. But nothing to show on patch. The feeders continue to be busy. Plenty of goldfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch etc.
Good numbers of Bullfinch have been feeding strongly on the blackthorn hedgerows and flocks of Reed Bunting 6-8 strong are also busy feeding on the hedgerows. The wrens have really started to sing and hold territory over the last few days. The only new species to the list is Pheasant, with both a hen and cock seen.
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Lazy Sunday and over 40... species that is!
March continues to enter like a Lion with strong winds and rain. However, when it does clear for a while you can really start to feel the heat of the sun. The birds are starting to sing a good bit more on patch particularly the Song Thrushs, Robins and Dunnocks. The starlings are also singing every morning with their long mimic song. More and more Lesser Redpolls are turning up to the feeders and the first Siskins have also arrived. Some of the male Redpolls are in magnificent summer plumage. Mixed flocks of finches (siskins, redpolls & goldfinches) up to 50-60 strong have been also seen feeding on the Sitka spruce cones in the conifer plantations.
The Goldfinches and Greenfinches also provide great colour and activity to the feeders not to mention some very smartly plumed House Sparrows.
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Wet & Windy
The last day or two on patch have been wet & windy; typical early March weather. The only news is that a good few Lesser Redpoll have turned up at the feeders. One of them looked a bit "Mealy" being a bit bigger and paler. Good numbers of the "regulars" are turning up to the feeders (Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Robin). The apples are always popular with the Blackbirds and the odd Fieldfare. Other than that their was, for me, the odd sight of a Pied Wagtail in the garden under the feeders. Also word has it that Sparrowhawk turned up at the feeders yesterday. It appears he got nothing. It's only a matter of time before he is back.
My garden Robin
Lesser Redpoll
Possible "Mealy" Redpoll
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Lunchtime Surprise
The expansion of the Buzzard's range and population growth has been one of the happier trends of the last 25 years in Ireland. Therefore, it was a great sight to see a Buzzard flying over the patch at lunchtime yesterday. It is only the second time I have seen Buzzard on patch. Last year I had similar visit in May. Long may these visits continue. A male Kestrel was also see yesterday hunting around the conifer plantations at the North end of the patch. However, the real jewel of the area was just outside the patch. The local paler than pale, (I call him "Shiney"), male hen harrier was seen hunting around half a kilometre east of the patch. An absolutely magnificent sight. It's only a matter of time before he or his mate turn up on patch. Magic.
Finally, I continue to be amazed by the number of treecreepers that are around the garden. I had three chasing each other around the garden yesterday.
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Spring March's in
Already two months of the year down and things are starting to show signs of spring on patch even though early March has had some decent falls of snows.
Dunnock, Chaffinch, Robin, Wren and Song Thrush are starting to sing. However, the main news item is that the patch, (much to my surprise), is full of treecreeper.
Most of the year they seem to be very secretive and well camouflaged. However, now with the longer days and the breeding season starting shortly I have been hearing their distinctive calls and seeing them a lot more.
The other news is that eventually a pair of Siskins have turned up to the feeders. Normally I would have 6-10 of these in the garden for the winter but not this year. Redpolls also remain elusive with the occasional one turning up to the feeder for a while and then heading on.
The main surprise for today was a hunting peregrine at the bottom of the garden. (It is a big garden). I have noted peregrine to my surprise a this time of the year on patch and a pair have successfully bred a few kilometres away. However, this time of year they seem to be busy terrorising the Woodpigeon on the patch.
The number of winter thrushes still remain high. With good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing.
One of the more flamboyant birds this month has been the bullfinch. The patch contains a good flock of at least a dozen birds. And do they stand out.
A pair of ravens have also been seen and heard on patch of the last few weeks.
Probably the most nostalgic aspect of this year is that House Sparrow numbers have been strong and it looks like I will have nesting pairs this year. It has been at least 25 years since bred in the roof of the house. Their constant chatter is a very important sound of my childhood and I am happy to welcome them back. They will have to share will the 3 pairs of starlings in the roof, 2 pairs of Jackdaws in the chimneys and the Pipistrelles in the attic and the countless other nesters in the hedging around the garden. Happy Days.
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Some examples of the typical and not so typical garden birds so far in 2015. Top to Bottom: Great Tit, Goldfinch, Dunnock, GreenFinch, Starling, Reed Bunting.
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To begin...
This is a account of the progress of a Patchwork Challenge (see http://patchbirdingireland.blogspot.ie/2013/01/the-challenge.html for more information) on a "patch" in North Cork, Ireland. The patch is located in Upper Rathduff around 16 km North of Cork City. The habitat mainly comprises improved grasslands, hedgerows with ash and hawthorn, conifer plantations and occasional streams and small wetland areas with very occasional heath.
The challenge is already up and running a month with around 30 plus species recorded. To date it has been Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Rook, Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Raven, Magpie, House Sparrow, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren, Robin, Woodpigeon, Dunnock and Starling. All typical garden birds.
There have been good numbers of Northern Thrushes this winter with both Fieldfares and Redwing even coming into the garden to feed on apples. A local Pied Wagtail has also been making occasional visits to the garden during the colder weather.
The usual garden visitors to the feeders in winter such as the Redpolls and Siskins are almost absent this year. Only a few Redpolls have turned up and no Siskins yet. This appears to be due to a good crop of Sitka Spruce cones this year.
A good number of Snipe have been showing up in their usual winter marshy areas. In fact one turned up outside the kitchen window in November 2014.
The conifer forestry margins have had plenty of mixed flocks of Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Blue Tit and family parties of Long-tailed Tit. A single Skylark also made an appearance and there are a good few Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits in the young conifer and larch plantations.
Birds of prey have been scarce to date with only a single Kestrel being seen.
The more interesting and surprising finds to date have been a Reed Bunting in the garden. It should be admitted "the garden" is big and a very much managed for nature. A stop at the nearby bridge over a tiny stream revealed a singing Dipper, (which can sound a bit like a Sedge Warbler), a fly over Grey Heron and a pair of courting Grey Wagtails (Amber List I think).
During January and February I was surprised at the number of Lesser Black-backed Gull that fly over the patch. However, it was probably also due to the fact that I was observing a bit more.
The patch gold to date has been a small flock of Golden Plover that flew around the patch for an afternoon. A fantastic sight and a fantastic sound.
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