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!