Little Egrets

I came across a large flock of 19 Little Egrets late one afternoon recently (12/11/2019) at Moyviddy, Grange, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick.  Some of the birds were feeding on a flooded field beside the River Deel initially, however all but one of the birds ended up perched on a riverside tree in what looked like a pre-roost gathering.  Amazingly an even bigger flock of at least 30 birds was seen in the same area the following day by Andrew Holmes. This is the largest flock of this species seen in Limerick and interestingly John N Murphy had another 13 birds at Newbridge 13km to the north on the same day.

I returned with camera at the ready on 14/11/2019 and found 14 birds still in the area.

 

Bonaparte's Gull

Jeff Copner found a very smart looking adult summer Bonaparte's Gull at Clahane, Liscannor, Co. Clare in early August.  I caught up with it at the end of the month (26/8/2019) at Liscannor Harbour.  I had previously seen this American species in winter plumage, so I was pleased to see that it was still retaining much of its breeding plumage. Young birders Brian McCloskey and Cathal Forkan were on it when I arrived.

Bonaparte's Gull with Black-headed Gull

Brian and Cathal had also picked up an adult winter Mediterranean Gull.  It's a scarce but regular species in the mid west so it's always nice to come across one locally.

Bonaparte's Gull with Mediterranean Gull

 

Long-eared Owls

I was fortunate enough to have a family of Long-eared Owls near home in Castletroy this summer.  I had a adult male calling briefly from a tree in my garden in Spring 2018 and also had an adult bird carrying prey in mid May this year, so I wasn't altogether surprised to hear juveniles calling nearby on May 30th. It turned out that the young birds had already fledged by that time. They stayed in the locality for the month of June and could be heard calling on most evenings.