Pectoral Sandpiper

I was in Tacumshin, Wexford on Monday and caught up with one of the two Trans Atlantic vagrant Pectoral Sandpipers, that have been lingering on a small flash flood south of the main lake.  Here are a couple of images of one of the birds which was fairly tame.

 

 Pectoral Sandpiper at Tacumcshin © John N Murphy

 

Short-eared Owl

I was at Tacumschin in south Wexford late this afternoon and below the High Car Park this Short-eared Owl put on a great display. He was hunting in the low evening sunshine and was not one bit shy as you can see from some of the shots I obtained of this beautiful owl.

 

 Short-eared Owl at Tacumshin John N Murphy

Continental Cormorants

I grew up on the banks of the River Slaney in Enniscorthy, County Wexford.  As young kids in the early 1970's my brother Jim and my cousin Jim, spent most of our summers exploring the banks and tributaries of this grand river. Exploring Kingfisher nests along with Sandmartins and finding bridges where Grey Wagtails were living were some of our childhood activities. Over the winter I have been back and forth visiting my aging parents and regularly take walks along the river south of the Riverside Hotel, where I often photograph the birds and wildlife along its banks.  When we were growing up here, there were no Little Egrets in Ireland, Buzzards were rare and Continental Cormorants we new nothing about. Even Reed Warblers had not colonised the Slaney at that point.  Now Continental Cormorants seem to be an everyday occurrence.  Here are a selection of shots from a few visits during March of this year.

 

 Adult Cormorant showing charachteristics of Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis John N Murphy

 

 Immature Cormorant showing characteristics Continental Cormorant of Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis  John N Murphy

Two adult Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax Carbo John N Murphy

 Adult Grey Herons John N Murphy

Grey Heron with Little Egrets and Little Egrets John N Murphy

Adult male Grey Wagtail John N Murphy

 Long-tailed Tit John N Murphy

 Indian Goose an introduced species to the Slaney John N Murphy

Otter on the Slaney

This Otter was actively feed along the banks of the River Slaney last week south of Enniscorthy Town. in Wexford.

Dog Otter John N Murphy

Iceland Gull & Eel

This 2CY Iceland Gull was at the Community Hall at Lady's Island Lake on Thursday.  It managed to dig this Eel out of the muddy sand where it struggled for some time to wolf it down.  The Eel gave a good fight, but the gull was far too powerful and eventually gulp him down.  Nice tasty meal.

Iceland Gull eating Eel John N Murphy