Bird Atlas Roving Event Sunday 20 February

A Bird Atlas roving event will take place on Sunday 20^th February. Meet at the lower car park of the Kilmore Hotel, Cavan at 10.30am.

Under the direction of Brian Caffrey, atlas co-ordinator for Ireland, we will split into small groups and each group will visit locations in the area where records of bird species are needed. Each group will be provided with the relevant map.

If you are interested in taking part please email elizmckenna@eircom.net as we need to know numbers taking part in advance to ensure that each group will have an experienced member.

For more information about the bird atlas visit the bird atlas website here

Outdoor footwear and waterproofs recommended.

It would be a good idea to bring along a snack and a drink as we may be out for approx 2 to 3 hours.

Milltown Lake outing

The group met up at the historic setting of Drumlane Abbey on the morning of Sunday 16th January.A good selection of waterbirds were seen including large flocks of tufted duck and widgeon,with smaller numbers of mallard and teal present. Other species seen included heron,cormorant,canada geese along with flocks of whooper and mute swans.

There was a good turn out for this outing and the pleasant weather and good company made for a very enjoyable morning for all.

Outing to Milltown lake

On Sunday 16th January, the branch is holding an outing to Milltown Lake. Meet at Drumlane Abbey car park, Milltown at 10.30 am. In the event of poor weather/road conditions be sure to check the blog to ensure the outing is going ahead as planned.

Directions: The abbey is South of Milltown village and located up a small lane- it is signposted from the crossroads in the village

November Talk by Eric Dempsey

"A Year of Birds", a talk by Eric Dempsey, was held in the Riverfront hotel Virginia on 25th November. The wintery conditions held off for just long enough to allow the talk to take place. The talk was well-attended and the audience enjoyed a great selection of photos taken over the year, many demonstrating the hardship experienced by birds in the cold spell of January 2010. Eric spoke with great enthusiasm and his talk inspired us to make an extra effort to feed birds during cold spells of weather.

Talk By Eric Dempsey,Riverfront Hotel, Virginia 25 November

Talk by Eric Dempsey

“A Year of Birds,” a Presentation by Eric dempsey will take place in the Riverfront Hotel, Virginia at 8pm on Thursday 25 November.Eric is a professional bird guide, author and a regular contributor to The Mooney Show on RTE radio This talk should be of interest to anyone who feeds garden birds or who enjoys the countryside and would like to know more about the birds they encounter while out and about. His new publication “The complete Field Guide to Ireland Birds” will be available to buy on the night for those who wish to purchase. His last visit to Virginia was a big success and we look forward to his return. All Welcome and admission is free!

Dundalk Bay 7 November

After meeting up at the Fairways Hotel, we headed out to Seabank where we joined up with Breffni Martin of the Louth Branch. A variety of waders were present including redshank, grey plover, ringed plover and dunlin. As the tide was still quite high, we decided to pay a visit to Hermitage where we enjoyed some close-up views of common scoter and red throated divers. We finished off the outing by returning to the town to visit the dockland area. Two little egrets were present along with a large flock of lapwing, some golden plovers, gulls, black-tailed godwits and a small flock of goldeneye.

After a great day’s birding, we called into the Spirit Store at the docks for a coffee. Many thanks to Breffni for joining us and for helping us to become more familiar with the excellent birding locations around Dundalk Bay.