Seatrack Update: early August 2012

The first Seatrack survey session of the year took place on Sat 21st/Sun 22nd July. Normally one of the quieter periods during the project, this years July survey saw some nice sightings being logged however. Common Scoters were well represented all around the coast whilst Puffins put in a good showing along the West & South. Elsewhere, highlights were provided by 3 species of Skua from Galley Head, the first good run of Sooty & Manx Shearwaters of the autumn off Annagh Head and an always well received East coast Cory's Shearwater off Wicklow Head. 

The next Seatrack survey takes place this weekend (start time 06:45am), with a priority date set for Saturday 4th August so as to complement seawatching surveys being undertaken by our FAME partners who will also be watching from headlands along the West coast of continental Europe on that date. If you would like to take part in this international seabird census then get in touch with Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie for details on how to take part.

July Seatrack sightings as follows: (E = East, W = West, N = North, S = South & M = Milling)

Saturday 21st July

Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal (Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram)

145 W + 23 E Manx Shearwater, 6 W + 3 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 E Arctic Skua, 116 W + 26 E Puffin & 1 Red-breasted Merganser.

Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (Niall T. Keogh & Brian Porter)

605 N + 2 S Manx Shearwater, 68 N + 19 S + 5 M Common Scoter, 2 N Great Crested Grebe & 4 M Harbour Porpoise. 3 Crossbills also seen in the pines behind the watchpoint!

Sunday 22nd July

Annagh Head, Co. Mayo (Dave Suddaby)

71 Sooty Shearwater, c.7,000 Manx Shearwater, 18 Storm Petrel, 21 Common Scoter, 5 Great Skua (Bonxie) & 1 Arctic Skua.

Bridges of Ross, Co. Clare (Paul Troake)

141 W + 28 E + 30 M Manx Shearwater, 3 W Storm Petrel, 8 W Common Scoter, 43 W Puffin & 2 M Whimbrel.

Galley Head, Co. Cork (Colin Barton)

6 Sooty Shearwater, 864 Manx Shearwater, 1 Storm Petrel, 59 Common Scoter, 6 Great Skua (Bonxie), 1 Pomarine Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 56 Arctic Tern & 59 Puffin. All birds moving W.

Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford (Paul M. Walsh & Jonathan Bulfin)

41 E + 865 W Manx Shearwater, 41 E + 12 W Common Scoter, 1 E Great Skua (Bonxie), 6 E Arctic Skua, 2 W Skua sp. (Arctic/Pomarine) & 5 W Puffin.

Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford (Kieran Grace)

102 E + 43 W + 50 M Manx Shearwater, 15 E & 18 W Common Scoter & 100+ M 'Commic' Tern.

Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow (Steve Newton)

1 Cory's Shearwater, 1,068 Manx Shearwater, 41 Common Scoter, 1 Bottlenose Dolphin & 1 Harbour Porpoise.

Black Guillemots at the Coliemore Harbour watchpoint © Niall Keogh

Early morning seawatching at Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin © Niall Keogh

Mid October Seatrack Update

The last Seatrack Target Weekend (1st/2nd Oct) was fairly quiet to say the least with light winds or heavy sea mist hampering seawatch efforts at most sites. The fact that quite a few scarce passerines were picked up at the seawatch sites says it all! 


Last weekend saw some good strong W-NW winds however, resulting in some very nice tallies along the West coast highlighted by plenty of auks, Bonxies, Pomarine Skuas & a smattering of Long-tailed Skuas. Numbers of shearwaters overall dropped off as expected, yet tallies of Manxies & Sooties made it into triple figures at some sites. The first wave of divers, mergansers, diving duck & Barnacle Geese was also picked up on, particularly in the North & North West.

The next Seatrack survey takes places this weekend 15th/16th Oct starting at 08:50. Again the forecast looks settled but the West may get some ok winds on the Sunday. This will be the penultimate survey of the 2011 season. Saying that, quite a few Balearic Shearwaters can often be recorded during this time, especially along the south coast, so do keep an eye out. 

If you're interested in taking part in a Seatrack survey then e-mail Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Barnacle Goose (Dick Coombes)

Location: Fanad Head, Co. Donegal

Date: 09/10/2011

Time: 12:10-14:40

Weather: F3 W-NW, good visibility with no precipitation

Observer(s): Chris Ingram

Great Skua (Bonxie): 3 W

Pomarine Skua: 8 W

Arctic Skua: 1 W

Arctic Tern: 2 W

Common Scoter: 4 W

Red-throated Diver: 3 W

Great Northern Diver: 1 W

Diver sp: 2 E

Red-breasted Merganser: 2 W

Gannet: 80 milling offshore

Kittiwake: 33 W

Guillemot: 33 W

Razorbill: 52 W

Auk sp: 87 W

Merlin: 1 

Snow Bunting: 10

Location: Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal

Date: 07/10/2011

Time: 08:15-13:50

Weather: F6 NW, good visibility with no precipitation

Observer(s): Ralph Sheppard, Chris Ingram & Gareth Doherty

Sooty Shearwater: 7 W

Manx Shearwater: 57 W

Leach's Petrel: 7 W

Grey Phalarope: 4 W

Great Skua (Bonxie): 156 W

Pomarine Skua: 77 W

Arctic Skua: 46 W

Skua sp: 17 W

Long-tailed Skua: 7 W

Sabine's Gull: 21 W

Common Tern: 4 W

Arctic Tern: 76 W

Eider: 10 W

Red-throated Diver: 7 W & 2 E

Great Northern Diver: 31 W & 4 E

Diver sp: 1 W & 5 E

Fulmar: 1 W

Gannet: 383 W & 48 E

Kittiwake: 646 W

Guillemot: 6 W

Razorbill: 18 W

Auk sp: 675 W

Barnacle Goose: 216 W

Brent Goose: 15 E

Teal: 4 W

Tufted Duck: 1 W

Red-breasted Merganser: 6 W

Snow Bunting: 3 W

Nice variety with good numbers of auks & skuas. Plenty of wildfowl & divers which is typical for this site at this time of year. 

Location: Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal

Date: 06/10/2011

Time: 18:00-19:00

Weather: F8/9 W-NW

Observer(s): Gareth Doherty

Sooty Shearwater: 8

Great Skua (Bonxie): 45

Pomarine Skua: 8

Arctic Skua: 38

Plus "countless" Manx Shearwaters & Gannets

Location: Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal

Date: 01/10/2011

Time: 08:05-11:15

Weather: F1-2 NE-N, excellent visibility with no precipitation.

Observer(s): Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram

Sooty Shearwater: 2 W

Manx Shearwater: 4 W

Great Skua (Bonxie): 4 W

Pomarine Skua: 1 W

Arctic Skua: 3 W

Sandwich Tern: 4 W

Arctic Tern: 1 E & 1 M

Common Scoter: 1 E

Red-throated Diver: 4 W & 2 E

Great Northern Diver: 6 W & 5 E

Diver sp: 3 W

Gannet: 366 W & 419 E

Kittiwake: 11 W & 3 E

Guillemot: 10 W

Razorbill: 78 W & 3 E

Auk sp: 254 W & 10 E

Black Guillemot: 2 W & 2 E

Bottlenose Dolphin: 10 W (incl. 2 large calves)

"Given the very settled weather, it could have been worse. The dolphins were amazing. Moving at speed just along the edge of the rocky shore, and surfing the only wave available, which even in these calm conditions is quite a substantial one running diagonally out from the shore at SW-NW, so we got a side view of the surfers in the green water."

Location: Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford

Date: 02/10/2011

Time: 08:30-10:00

Weather: F2-3 S, extremely poor visibility (<200m at times) due to heavy sea mist & drizzle.

Observer(s): Niall T. Keogh

Balearic Shearwater: 1 M

Manx Shearwater: 2 M

Great Skua (Bonxie): 3 M

Sandwich Tern: 2 W

Black Tern: 6 M (1 adult & 5 juveniles)

'Commic' Tern: c.120 M (approx. 90% Common & 10% Roseates)

Gannet: c.40 M

Kittiwake: 6 E & 4 M

Guillemot: 4 E & 2 M

Razorbill: 28 E & 28 M

Auk sp: 13 E

Yellow Wagtail: A juv/1st-winter flew west under the seawatch site

Lapland Bunting: 1 seen in flight & heard calling overhead

"All the action happened within the first 30 minutes with the majority of the birds listed above present in a single milling feeding flock just 300m offshore which dissipated rather quickly. The heavy mist enclosed soon after & hardly a bird could be seen for the next hour, but terns could still be recorded by ear!!!"

Location: Dursey Island, Co. Cork

Date: 01/10/2011

Time: 08:00-11:00

Weather: F3 NE decreasing to F1 NE, good visibility with no precipitation.

Observer(s): Derek A. Scott

Sooty Shearwater: 1 S

Manx Shearwater: 3 S

Great Skua (Bonxie): 2 S & 1 N

Pomarine Skua: 2 S

Common Scoter: 4 N

Great Northern Diver: 2 N

Fulmar: 2 S & 1 N

Kittiwake: 13 S & 6 N

Auk sp: 233 S, 287 N & 30 M 

Minke Whale: 1 N

Common Dolphin: 40 N

Harbour Porpoise: 12 M

"Herewith the sea-watch from the north-west tip of Dursey Island (from ‘Tea Bag Ledge’) on 1 October 2011. A fine dry morning with a light north-easterly breeze - not ideal for sea-watching. The Fulmars have suddenly all gone (and are now worth counting again!), and most of the Manx Shearwaters are long gone."

September Seatrack Update

The last Seatrack survey weekend (3rd/4th Sept) saw some good national & local movements of shearwaters recorded right around the coast from Donegal to Wicklow. Details from a few of these watches are listed below.

The next survey takes places this weekend (17th/18th Sept) with  moderate-strong North-westerly winds predominating so who knows what will be picked up this time around? If you're interested in taking part in a Seatrack survey then e-mail Niall Keogh at seatrack@birdwatchireland.ie

Location: Bloody Foreland, Co. Donegal

Date: 3rd September 2011

Time: 07:05-10:25

Weather: F4 W turning F4 SW, dry with good visibility. 

Observer(s): Ralph Sheppard & Chris Ingram.

Sooty Shearwater: 112 W

Manx Shearwater: 125 W & 3 E

Great Skua (Bonxie): 7

Pomarine Skua: 2

Arctic Skua: 4

Sandwich Tern: 4 W

Puffin: 1 E

Great Northern Diver: 2 W

A good showing by the Sooties.

Location: Annagh Head, Co. Mayo

Date: 3rd September 2011

Time: 07:00-18:20

Observer(s): Alan Lauder, KDShaw, JMAOsborne, SDHousden, Dave Suddaby, Chris Jones, Rob Innes et al.

Cory's Shearwater: 4

Great Shearwater: 333

Balearic Shearwater: 3

Sooty Shearwater: 2,900

Manx Shearwater: 5,700

Fulmar: 1,920

Storm Petrel: 4

Great Skua (Bonxie): 43

Pomarine Skua: 20

Arctic Skua: 28

Sandwich Tern: 8

Arctic Tern: 19

Puffin: 18

Whimbrel: 2

An excellent tally of shearwaters. Cory's are often quite scarce away from Cork, so a good North-west record indeed.

Location: Dursey Island, Co. Cork

Date: 3rd September 2011

Time: 07:30-10:30

Weather: F4 NW, dry with good-excellent visibility.

Observer(s): Derek A. Scott, Joanna E. Scott & David Cooke.

Sooty Shearwater: 4 W & 133 E

Manx Shearwater: 110 W & 249 E

Great Skua (Bonxie): 3 E

Arctic Skua: 5 W

Arctic Tern: 2 E

Puffin: 2 E

Minke Whale: 1

Common Dolphin: 2

Harbour Porpoise: 12

A good run of Sooties in conditions which weren't ideal for seawatching from Dursey.

Location: Brownstown Head, Co. Waterford
Date: 3rd September 2011 07:40-10:40 ()
Time: 07:40-10:40
Weather: 4-5 SW later 2-3 W, vis moderate to good, occasional drizzle.
Observer(s): Jonathan Bulfin & Paul Walsh.


Balearic Shearwater: 1 W
Arctic Skua: 2 E
Great Skua: 1 W
Manx Shearwater: 60 E, 384W, 1 on sea
Fulmar: 7 E, 39 W
Gannet: 143 E, 94 W
Bar-tailed Godwit: 2 W
Kittiwake: 7 E
Sandwich Tern: 101 E, 37 W
Razorbill: 3 E, 28 W
Large auk sp: 4 E, 39 W


Another quiet watch, but with the (belated) first Balearic Shearwater of the year for Brownstown.

Location: Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford

Date: 4th September 2011

Time: 07:15-10:45

Observer(s): Noel Keogh & Kieran Grace

Great Shearwater: 3

Balearic Shearwater: 4

Sooty Shearwater: 20

Manx Shearwater: 6,300

Great Skua (Bonxie): 1

Arctic Skua: 2

Little Gull: 1

Puffin: 6

Anyone who has seawatched from Carnsore before will appreciate how good these totals are! One of the Great Shears came in nice & close too.

Location: Wicklow Head, Co. Wicklow

Date: 4th September 2011 

Time: 07:30-10:30

Weather: Calm at the beginning, turning F2-3 SW later & F3-4 SE by the end with squally showers & poor visibility. 

Observer(s): Steve Newton

Sooty Shearwater: 1 N

Manx Sheawater: 3 N & 1 S

Storm Petrel: 1 S

Common Scoter: 12 S

Fulmar: 3 Milling

Gannet: 23 N, 14 S & 13 M

Kittiwake: 11 N, 169 S & 673 M

Auk sp: 6 S

Sandwich Tern: 32 S

Common Tern: 7 S & 6 M

'Commic' Tern: 1 N & 1 S

Black Guillemot: 1 M

Sooty Shears are always a welcome sight during an east coast seawatch!