IRISH IMPRESSIONS. 2 A DAY ON THE COAST
Last Saturday, 29 April, I finally had sorted out the bus timetables and
discovered that on a Saturday I could spend 7 hours on the coast at
Ballycotton, but that on Sunday or Bank Holiday there were no buses at all.
The busride took about an hour, and I arrived (as one of two passengers!)
at the friendly village of Ballycotton (where Goldfinches outnumbered House
Sparrows, and where plenty of Jackdaws and Starlings nested in the
chimneys) in sunny weather, with a calm sea and cliffs glowing yellow with
Gorse Ulex europaeus, with patches of white (Campion Silene), pink (Thrift
Armeria maritima) and pale yellow (Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria), as
well as many other flowers. The cliff-walk along the coast started with a
large sign, exhorting me to scan the sea for seabirds, and when I
obediently did so, I at once saw a large hollow-winged white bird flapping
along parallel to the coast; long trailing black legs with yellow socks
proclaimed it to be a Little Egret, the last bird I would have expected
here (I heard today that a newly started colony exists a few miles away).
Otherwise of course there were not all that many seabirds around in this
season and weather, just the odd Gannet, and closer inshore, a few
Cormorants and Shelducks.
Off the cliffs pairs of Fulmar wheeled on stiff wings, or cackled on
their nesting ledges, and overhead a constant stream of large gulls sailed
, patroling the coastline. A few small bays yielded the odd Whimbrel and a
few Oystercatchers as well as some Shelducks, all species later seen in
much larger numbers in the estuary. (It is strange, by the way, that these
European Oystercatchers concentrate on the 'softer' stretches of coast,
while the very similar-looking Sooty Oystercatchers of the American West
coast---and indeed apparently all all black oystercatcher species--
concentrate on the rocky headlands and largely avoid soft bottoms.)
The gulls were not the only birds patroling overhead! there were also
various corvids: mostly Jackdaws, here in their original cliff dwelling
habitat, but also a few Raven, and regularly small flocks of the exuberant
red-billed Choughs with their wild cries; they always give me the strong
impression of 'Life is fun, and flying especially so'!!
Also Barn Swallows hunted over the gorse, while Skylarks and Meadow
Pipits sang overhead, mainly based on the small fields at the top of the
cliff. The gorse bushes themselves were dotted with resident pairs of
colourful Stonechats and small flocks of the always so cozy sounding
Linnets--- I have friends like that: they talk virtually all the time, say
nothing of particular importance or beauty, and still leave you feeling
happy and content!
Few warblers , as everywhere in Ireland until now. Here the only ones I
noticed were a few Common Whitethroats in the gorse, with their exuberant
and somewhat abrupt scratchy song-phrases, now and then in a short dancing
song flight. From lower down on the cliffs the energetic trills and rattles
of the Winter Wren could often be heard, and here and there Rock Pipits
produced their rather forgettable song strophes in a typical
'pipit-parachuting' songflight.
All in all a delightful cliffwalk, soon to be repeated!
After lunch I walked the other way from the village, to the famous
bird-rich estuary. It turned out to be easiest to watch from the other
side, a ca 5 km walk around the estuary along typical Irish 'hollow roads',
with roadsides full of unfurling 'tongue ferns' Phyllitis, patches of
yellow Primroses, and everywhere the ringing of the Bluebells Scylla---here
more than half, by the way, are white-flowered: Whitebells??
Dunnocks live up to their old name of Hedge Sparrow by being the most
numerous birds of the roadside bushes, closely followed by European Robins,
Chaffinches and Great Tits. No warblers here either, except in the
extensive reedlands where the always energetic Sedge Warblers were
everywhere, and a single Reed Warbler sang its much slower karre karre
keet..., which has earned it the Dutch name 'karekiet'.
The 'backside of the estuary', at Ballynamona beach, sported low dunes
full of Linnets and Skylarks, and a sandy beach---with banks of wrack--
where Oystercatchers and Whimbrels lined the shoreline, and where here and
there mixed parties of Sanderlings and Dunlins foraged, with Ringed Plovers
keeping their feet dry nearby. One Sanderling was already in beautiful
red-breasted summer garb, and first got up my adrenalin levels as
'something excitingly different'; this is a famous area for nearctic
shorebird observations, especially in late summer.
The sandy estuary itself was full of Shelducks, but otherwise I saw
little there: some Mallards, a few Grey Herons, a single Bar-tailed Godwit
still in winter plumage.
All day long I saw not a single tern, nor any Lapwings or
Tringa-'shanks'. But at least here were the Barn Swallows and Starlings
that I still miss in Cork (I saw one swallow there 1 May, as well as many
around Blarney Castle). And also here Rooks and jackdaws were everywhere
and greatly outnumbered the Hooded Crows.
On Labour Day, another gloriously sunny and calm day, I walked from Cork
along the Lee westwards to the next bridge, and then along minor roads and
through the fields to Blarney, ending up at the famous Blarney Castle,
where throngs of tourists lined up for kissing the Blarney Stone, which is
supposed to confer 'the gift of the gab', eloquence, to the kissers; being
too garrulous already, I reneged.
Highlights of this 15 km walk were 'fishing' Dippers and immaculate Grey
Wagtails along the Lee. A mystery also here the paucity of Warblers (a few
Chiffchaffs, no Sylvia warblers at all), and the apparent absence of
Buzzards Buteo buteo in a landscape that seems ideal for them.
I have for once added the bird lists of the two walks, although it shows
only too well my limitations as a bord spotter. C is coast-walk, B is
Blarney-walk.
C B
Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis x
N. Gannet Sula bassana x
Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo x x
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea x x
Little Egret Egretta garzetta x
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos x x
Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula x
C. Shelduck Tadorna tadorna x
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus x
Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus x x
Moorhen Gallinula chloropus x
Coot Fulica atra x
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus x x
Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula x
Sanderling Calidris alba x
Dunlin C. alpina x
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica x
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus x
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus x
Herring Gull L. argentatus x
Lesser Black-b. Gull L. fuscus graelsii x
Great Black-b. Gull L. marinus x
Rock Dove Columba livia x (x)
Stock Dove C. oenas x
Wood Pigeon C. palumbus x x
Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto x
Skylark Alauda arvensis x
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica x x
Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis x
Rock Pipit A. petrosus x
Pied Wagtail Motacilla (a.) yarrelli x x
Grey Wagtail M. cinerea x
Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes x x
Dipper Cinclus cinclus x
Dunnock Prunella modularis x x
European Robin Erithacus rubecula x x
Stonechat Saxicola torquata x
Song Thrush Turdus philomelos x
Mistle Thrush T. viscivorus x
Eur. Blackbird T. merula x x
C. Whitethroat Sylvia communis x
Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus x x
Reed Warbler A. scirpaceus x
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita x
Great Tit Parus major x x
Blue Tit P. caeruleus x x
Coal Tit P. ater x
Black-billed Magpie Pica pica x x
Chough Phyrrocorax pyrrhocorax x
Jackdaw Corvus monedula x x
Rook C. frugilegus x x
Hooded Crow C. corone cornix x x
Raven C. corax x
Starling Sturnus vulgaris x 1
House Sparrow Passer domesticus x x
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs x x
Linnet Carduelis cannabina x x
Goldfinch C carduelis x x
Greenfinch Chloris chloris x x
Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus x
Yellowhammer E. citrinella x
Wim Vader, Tromsoe Museum
9037 Tromsoe, Norway
until 15 June UCC, Zoology
Lee Maltings, Prospect Row
Cork, Ireland
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