Radde's Warbler

I spent several hours last Monday (10/9/2016) waiting for a glimpse of the Radde's Warbler that was found at Brownstown Head the previous day.  My reward was a two second glimpse of the bird when it briefly poped up from the brambles in the densely wooded garden where it was residing.  A new tick, but not entirely satisfactory due to the very brief sighting.  So when three new birds turned up elsewhere, including two at Barry's Head in Cork later in the week, I got another opportunity to try again for a better view.

The two birds at Barry's Head were favouring bramble patches in the yard of a derelict farmhouse and were showing reasonably well at times after they were found on Saturday.  I paid a visit to the site, very conveniently close to the Eastern Stonechat site, on Sunday and got to see both species.  It was great to get some good views of the Radde's.  One of the birds, which had been trapped and ringed elsewhere, showed quite well of a few occasions allowing me to get the following shots.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Today (2/9/2016) was my first opportunity to make the long trip down to west Cork for the Rose-breasted Grosbeak found at Garinish last Thursday by Tony Lancaster.  I was a bit concerned setting out that the bird might have departed into Staurday night's clear sky and the absence of any updates on the bird while I travelling wasn't helping matters. However the first birders I encountered on arrival at the site were already on the bird so my concerns were immediately dispelled. The bird was a little distant at first but it eventually moved back to the garden where it was originally found and gave us some very good views while it fed on honeysuckle berries.

Glaucous-winged Gull

West Cork turned up trumps again with the Glaucous-winged Gull that was found there a few weeks ago, following on from the wonderful American Bittern at Castlefreke last month.  Fortunately it has stayed around so I finally got an opportunity to take a trip to Castletownbere to see it last Tuesday. The bird wasn't immediately visible at the harbour when I arrived but it appeared shortly after some bread was presented to the local gulls.

The bird seemed to favour the tops of the street lights on the road to the east of the harbour and it retreated there each time the bread was gone.  I was surprised how timid it was when competing with the Black-headed Gulls for food.  It tended to hang back and seem to get very little of what was on offer.  It was also harassed by one of the Herring Gulls on one occasion.  Even though it moved around a few times while I was there it spent most of the time sitting on the water or perched on top of street lights so I didn't get much opportunity for flight shots.

American Bittern

This American Bittern was found at Castle Freke Lake, Rosscarbery, Co. Cork last Wednesday week (25/11/2015).  Between days of bad weather, including two storms, and work commitments I had to wait until today (6/12/2015) for a chance to travel to Cork to see the bird.  It proved to be a very rewarding trip as the bird came out in the open an hour after I arrived and gave great views for about 30 minutes as it fished along the north western shore of the small lake.  Amazing bird, great twitch!

Yellow-browed Warbler

I made the long trip down to Mizen Head in west Cork last Sunday (Sept. 28th) in the hope of seeing the Ovenbird that was found there the previous evening.  Unsurprisingly the bird did not show, however this Yellow-browed Warbler that was found nearby provided some measure of reward for the long trip.  It was a very bright and well marked individual, a fine bird on a nice day!  The bird was in the last garden on the road to the lighthouse. I also came across some fine butterflies on the stretch between the garden and the lighthouse, including a Clouded Yellow, a Small Copper and a fed Red Admirals.

Yellow-browed Warbler

Pied Flycatcher

I took a trip to Garinish on the Beara Penninsula in Co. Cork last Friday in search of  migrants. I got to see the long staying Western Bonelli's Warbler but did not manage to get any satisfactory shots of it. I did find a newly arrived Pied Flycatcher that seemed to be quite flighty and not very approachable.

Pied Flycatcher ©Tom Tarpey

The site has been a mecca for autumn migrants in the past few weeks and it had a good range of species on the day. Turtle Dove, Whinchat (2 birds), Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were also present in addition to the two previously mentioned species.

Turtle Dove ©Tom Tarpey

Whinchats ©Tom Tarpey