Water bird sightings of late

Common teal (Anas crecca)


The speedy common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) adorns the covers of many of the local bird guides probably because of its electric blue rump and back. We see members of this family often, usually darting from the woods to the bank below, then back to the woods. Never lingering. Its numbers are declining.



Greenshank (Tringa nebularia), its slender bill has developed along with its habit of eating buried worms and molluscs, but also fish, crabs and shrimp. They are visiting from Scotland and Scandanavia, where they will return shortly to breed.



The Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) is the largest (sometimes called a marsh hen) and easiest to identify local shorebird, its bill curved downward. It is noticeably larger than the others. Irish breeders are joined by Scots and Scandinavians in the winter. And it eats mainly ragworms, crabs, and molluscs. They forage individually during the day but roost communally, presumably telling stories like the one about the pesky ragworm that got away, and sorting out other thoughts they had.





Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus) flock together in the winter, the Irish breeders joined by continental breeders. They feed at day but also at night. Speculation is that the larger sub-water surface worms that come out at night might be a cause. As might be the need to avoid black-headed gulls and their troublesome kleptoparasitism (food robbing).









Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)



The grey heron, this one and the stern of Shane's boat.







A greenshank touching down.

Songbird sightings

Stonechat (saxicola torquata) down by the marsh. Our guide book says they, "perch prominently on tops of bushes."



Blue tit (Parus caeruleus)



A male chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs).


The great tit (Parus major) largest of all the tits has 57 distinct calls and songs.


Hmm. Sort of stumped on this one. Some of the colors of the goldfinch but the patterns are off.


An insect eating gray wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) is often found near water.


The European robin (Erithacus rubecula)

A sort of Ode to The Gray Heron and some of her marsh friends

The European Goldfinch

The seed eating Carduelis carduelis has recently climbed to the 9th most encountered bird in Ireland. Its population crashed in the 70's and 80's as agricultural practices intensified and weed seeds like thistle and teasel declined. Agriculture has not let up. Instead, the practice of installing peanut feeders in gardens has grown, and with it, the goldfinch population and human encounters.



A Rook, one of Irelands seven corvid species.
















The Litttle egret

Egretta garzetta was a rare visitor in Ireland until 1997 when it began breeding along the south coast. It now occurs in almost every coastal county.

Cork Lough

Which goose is this? Anser anser, the Greylag Goose





Black-headed gull in its winter plumage.





A male tufted duck





A female mallard















Columba livia, or Rock Dove.





Gallinula chloropus, aka the moorhen.

The Birds of Cork continues

Difficult for us to identify, our ecology professor Philip believes this is a rock pipit, Anthus petrosus.











The local robin is not a thrush like ours in North America. Erithacus rubecula is a lot smaller, and has a pinker orange than our burnt orange 'turdus'. They are year-round residents in Ireland but the numbers swell with continental arrivals in the fall.




European goldfinches feeding on the seeds of teazle, a protocarnivorous (traps and kills insects but can't digest or absorb them) plant that looks a lot like thistle.

Some of the non-human stuff

The Gray heron perched on an old oyster stand



A young herring gull slowly de-clawing its prey



Mute swan in Kinsale Harbor



A Eurasian curlew, largest of the shorebirds we've seen





A pied wagtail. "Pied" we've learned means black and white. These sharp-looking passerines are darn common even on city streets.