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| HB, SC and me sen - The Point, Bull Island, Dublin, Sat 14 Jan 2012 |
Spent all day on Bull Island yesterday.
First was the January iwebs count (very low numbers of everything, not a single Little Egret) then I joined Helen and Sinéad who needed to see what roosted where at high tide.
If I write a quick list of our sightings - you'll get the gist of the kind of afternoon we had:
- 1 Merlin close up sitting, preening itself as we arrived and still preening itself as we walked away.
- A Skylark lifted and was chased by a Merlin. Skylark flew a curve and escaped, another Merlin joined in the chase, so now we're watching 2 Merlins chasing the Skylark. Poor Skylark snatched midair by 1st Merlin only for the 2nd Merlin to try and pull the Skylark's body from the other Merlin's claws - all happening mid flight.
- 'Short eared Owl!!' shout was called as one flew low over our heads, followed by 'There's Another'! Whilst swapping from binoculars to scope I lost sight of the SE Owls by focusing on a Peregrine Falcon which had gotten involved in the chaos.
- 2 Peregrine Falcons sitting on the grass, each eating their own separate catches.
Didn't have my camera, so no shots, no bird photos, just happy memories.
Aaaaaaah.
until I think about the Skylark - so sorry.
Blub.
Thanks to Helen and Sinéad and John and Ger for a great day.
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| Howth Head from the Point, Bull Island, Dublin - yes in January! (taken on ipod) |
