My plan for the weekend was brent geese hunting yesterday and today I was thinking I'd make it down to Kilcoole.
However Friday night pints in the Lord Edward, followed by Owensie's album launch, followed by pints in the Thomas House, followed by a house party meant that yesterday was a complete wash out. Instead of looking for Brent Geese, we spent the whole day crying and laughing at a dvd I bought of the amazing life story of yorkshire woman Hannah Hauxwell. Still got a dvd of her in USA to watch yet - can't wait. Wish she'd visited Ireland instead of Rome, Vienna etc. she'd have loved it here.
Anyhow, this morning I headed out to the Crumlin Brent Geese sites and thankfully saw a flock of 200 in Sundrive cycle track, about 50 on Clonmacnoise roundabout and another 180 in a school field. There weren't any in Pearse Park when I was there, but there was very fresh 'evidence' that they'd maybe used the fields a few hours earlier. I also looked in Stanaway park and Lorcan O'Toole Park but nothing happening there. There's no access whatsoever now to Dolphin Park where I saw 1500 last year - it's all high walls and barbed wire.
After I read some tags (3DRY, HARY, VCRY+VURY, CJWW, CXWR+D6WB), counted 5 juveniles in the flock of 180 and only 6 juvs in the flock of 200, and checked for any dark bellies - I went home for some lunch and debated whether to drive out to Tallaght to check out Tymon North park for Brent Geese or maybe head down to Kilcoole.
I decided I'd try and get some more BG tags, so found myself walking fields upon fields of Tymon park - none of which had any Brent Geese or evidence of droppings. The trees were pretty quiet, I kept my eye out for Brambling, but didn't see any.
So that was my day. Before I headed home I dropped over to Phoenix Park to see what was going on there. I think I heard the GS woodpecker near where I saw it before Christmas, but I couldn't be sure. I saw a Jay at the spot I nearly always see a Jay, I saw Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Goldfinches - but no Bramblings. I also went down to the pond near the zoo to see if a Scaup was down there, but all I saw were tufties with their tufts. I'd like to see a Scaup. And a Brmabling. I have visions that whilst I was down at the pond in Phoenix park there was a Scaup giving a lift to a Brambling across a pond whilst I was looking the other way.
As always, if you see any Brent Geese feeding please report them to grahammcelwaine@btinternet.com.
