Mating damselflies

Surprised I haven't put this up sooner, it may not be the best photo of all time but I'm happy with it. I've found blue tailed damselflies to be a bit jumpy, but this pair were occupied with more important matters (ahem!). How dragonflies and damselflies manage to mate with the constant fighting I don't know...

My first mega...

Out at Broadmeadows in Swords yesterday I was hoping to get a look at some curlew sandpipers. At the very least I was looking for some close up shots of ruff, as my long lens isn't great for anything beyond 50 feet away, and the conditions were right - the tide was low, the sun was out, and usually a bit of patience rewards you with ruff coming in close and feeding along the shoreline.
I arrived and started scanning through the various waders when I happened upon the first curlew sandpiper; it was my first this year for Swords, and only the second I'd ever successfully found without having someone else to point it out or confirm it for me. After another minute I spotted a second so I was delighted with myself. But something was different about this one. I couldn't get my head around it at first and after flicking through my guide I still couldn't figure it out. "Curlew sands? Nah, bill too straight, legs are yellow. A stint? Too big, bill too short. Wood sandpiper? Maybe, but it's too small, and look at the bill. Yank wader? No way, I couldn't be that lucky!" I decided I'd ring my friend Mark and see if he had any ideas. After giving him a brief description he said "sounds like a stilt sandpiper to me, Niall", which I knew was a rarity (a Yank wader) but didn't think I'd ever find one. After a few more minutes, panicking and wishing someone more knowledgeable than me would show up, another birder Paul appeared. It was the lifeline I needed. He'd been watching the same bird and wanted to get closer to get a few photos.
Paul soon confirmed Mark's suspicions - it was a stilt sandpiper, a mega, and on my local patch! We congratulated each other and word was put out. I soon had another first - a major twitch. Birders were arriving within minutes, first Mark who I had phoned for help, then people I didn't know, then more familiar faces. By 6 o'clock there were 25 people and 15 cars, a minor traffic jam at the nearby roundabout, and lots of confused looking walkers and joggers.
The bird was nearly forgotten about in the madness, but everyone got great views, if a little distant. I went back today for another look and got better views again, it's an impressive little bird, very elegant with really long legs and bill and a nice supercilium. Of course the photos I got are pants but still! Lots of other stuff turned up: at least 5 curlew sandpiper, 6 ruff, some snipe, a buzzard and a peregrine. So two days of wonderful birding within 10 minutes of my house and a major tick for me!

2 of the many Ruff on show at Swords

The star of the show, Stilt Sandpiper. A ropey photo but you can see the bill length, and just about make out the dull yellow legs

Redshank. Taken while trying out a 500mm Sigma lens that was kindly given to me by Mary (thanks Mary!)

Black Tailed Godwits scattered by a passing Peregrine

Curlew Sandpiper, in front of the Redshank, which is in front of the Black Headed Gull

More moths

More new moths for me in my DIY trap, fairly common ones but new for me - Brown China Mark and Dark Arches:

Here's a few moths from my homemade trap from the last few weeks, I'm getting to grips with identifying them all and have realised I'm out of my depth! Luckily I could identify 3 of these without help, only the willow beauty caused me difficulty. They are - large yellow underwing, willow beauty, brimstone and small magpie . Large yellow underwing are pretty common, I usually get a couple each night. Willow beauty are common too, I had 2 in the trap this morning. Brimstone and small magpie are firsts for me. I also had my first live magpie in Clare last week, hiding in the toilets in the campsite I was staying in! Had only spotted one before, a dead one I found while cleaning the windows in my parents house in north Dublin...

Spring arrivals

Spring is in full swing here, first I had a chiffchaff, then blackcap, swallow and willow warbler, then finally sandwich tern, probably one of my favourite birds. I think I like them so much because they're the most common around where I live and you can sit on the beach and watch them fish quite close to shore at high tide. Always amazes me how they can dive from such a height into such shallow water. This was one of 3 I saw last week at the estuary between Swords and Malahide, along with a buzzard, sparrowhawk, kingfisher and adult little gull, among other things -

I also went out to Rogerstown for the first time in a while, spotting my first common blue and peacock butterflies of the year, along with a serious amount of willow warblers. I'd say I heard 20+ and spotted around 10 -

Whooper swan

This whooper swan has been at Broadmeadows since at least 11th October 2013 when I first spotted it, and that was after it had been reported by others. So 6 months now, give or take a day. I was very lucky the day I got this shot, the light was great and it was the only time I managed to get close to the bird. I waited a long time to get my first glimpse of a whooper swan, and then two trips to the west coast either side of Christmas and I saw them in nearly every lake and estuary I passed!

As of today this swan is still at Swords, a flock are often spotted flying over around this time so fingers crossed it'll spot its mates and be reunited with them soon.

Greenshank

Took a trip to one of my local patches the other day, Broadmeadows in Swords. Even when I'm heading to Rogerstown I always have a look here as it's a great spot for rarities, with a white-rumped sandpiper and spotted redshank last year. It's also a regular haunt for ruff, and a whooper swan has been there since October, nearly 6 months. I hoped to get a good view of the little gull that had been hanging around but it was a no-show. I had a quick look along the north side for common sandpiper - too early I'd say, but I was rewarded with great views of this greenshank feeding along the edge of the road. I used my car as a hide and got to within 20 feet, probably less. This shot is only slightly cropped - a real frame filler!

Turnstone

A winter plumaged Turnstone Arenaria interpres from a recent trip to Sandycove in south Dublin. I went looking for Mediterranean gulls, found loads but couldn't get any decent shots. This turnstone was a lot tamer...