Ireland -the Gulls

A summary of the gulls from my Ireland trip, Larophiles (Gull 'enthusiasts') enjoy...

Ring Billed Gull:  We saw 5 RBG's, three adults and two 2nd winter birds.  There were 

two at Cork Lough, two at Tralee Wetland Centre and one at Castletownbere.  They showed pretty well too.

Mediterranean Gull:  Not quite as uncommon as the rest, but Med Gulls are always nice, and I got a surprise when we found eleven at Aghada!  There was a 2nd winter and ten adults which were coming into summer plumage, standing out well amongst Common and Black Headed Gulls.  There was also a 1st winter bird at Tralee Bay Wetlands.

Iceland Gull: We managed two Iceland Gulls, one at Tralee Bay Wetland Centre and one at Ballycotton Pier, both of them were 1st winter birds - I think.

Kumlien's Gull: A subspecies of Iceland Gull, but still a nice one to see.  There was a 1st winter individual showing extremely well at Kinsale Co. Cork.

Glaucous Gull: These huge birds are real stunners!  Dwarfing all the other gulls around them they're quite an impressive sight.  We had  1st winter birds at Kenmare Pier and Black Rock, with adults seen at Cahermore and Castletownbere.

Yellow-legged Gull:  A bird I'd been trying to see for a long time, and finally managed to get at Castletownbere, and if that wasn't enough it was sitting next to a Glaucous Gull!

Interestingly enough at the same location we found a Yellow-legged Herring Gull, surely just to confuse things.

Ross's Gull:  And of course the Ross's Gull.  This little beauty was at Kinsale Co. Cork, and showed unbelievably well. 

Really a fantastic trip.

Kenmare Birding....

After waiting 5 hours in the airport on Wednesday, our flight to Ireland was cancelled. Snow, ice and winds of up to 110mph in Cork made sure of that.  This storm left over 100,000 people in Ireland without electricity. Thankfully we did manage to rebook for the following day. The flight was still slightly delayed, but only by about 40 minutes.  So we made it to Ireland, at last.

 Today the weather wasn't too bad, so we decided on a spot of local birding.  The day started at Kenmare Pier. There were a few year-ticks here; Lesser Redpolls on the beach and the water held Great-northern Divers and Shag.

 We then headed across the road to Kenmare Bay, and soon found a Little Gull.  After a few minutes viewing it flew off in the direction of the pier.  I imagine it had probably been blown in by the strong winds, as they aren't very common in this area. Although it was my second sighting of one here.
There wasn't all that much else in the bay. So we headed back to the pier to see if the Little Gull could be relocated. In rather typical Irish fashion the rain now set in.  There was no sign of the Little Gull. However, as we were waiting for the rain shower to pass, a distant white winged gull flew by.  A 1st winter Glaucous Gull! Being my first Glauc.... I was pretty happy.  I presume another wind blown bird.

 Not  a bad start to my trip, 7 year-ticks and a lifer on my first days birding.  Hopefully this trend will continue.....