Outing to Carlingford Sunday 20 March

Outing to Carlingford

The next branch outing will take place in Carlingford on Sunday 20^th March. We will be joined by Breffni Martin of the Louth branch of BirdWatch Ireland. The outing is timed to coincide with a high tide and will last approximately 2 hours. We hope to see a variety of waders and other waterbirds including the little egret (see picture above), which is quite a common sighting in the area.

Meet at the Four Seasons hotel in Carlingford at 11a.m. or if you wish to car share meet at the market square Bailieborough at 9.30 a.m.

Bird Atlas Roving Event Sunday 20 February

Bird Atlas Roving Event

A Bird Atlas roving event took place on Sunday 20th February. The group met at the Kilmore Hotel car park on a pleasant Sunday morning. Here we met with atlas co-ordinator Brian Caffrey. We split into four groups- each group was assigned a 10km square to visit and was supplied with maps and a list of target species for that square. Our aim was to go out and record as many missing species as possible from our list. Some groups had more success than others but each group did manage to collect some very worthwhile records for the bird atlas. More information on the bird atlas click here.

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.