Outing to Swan Lake, Gowna Sunday 22 January

The First outing of the New Year will take place on Sunday 22 January to Swan Lake,Gowna. Meet at the car park on the Granard rd at 11 am. If you wish to car share coming from the Bailieborough or Virginia area or if you wish to have soup and sandwiches after the outing in the Piker’s Lodge, Gowna please email elizmckenna@eircom.net by Saturday 21^st

Local Birdwatch Ireland member Tom Murtagh will join us on the day and has supplied the above photo and following information and directions to  the site.

Swan Lake is a wildlife refuge and is protected from shooting/hunting, thus leading to transient populations of duck species, mainly Mallard but with some Wigeon,Teal and Shoveler present. Gadwall and Pintail have been recorded here this winter.
As well as checking out Swan Lake,if time and weather permits, it may be possible to visit the Lough Gowna lake system itself, viewing from vantage points at Church Lake, Dernaferst, Erne Head Wood and Dring. Lough Gowna holds the usual duck species in small numbers and also Mute and Whooper Swan,Great Crested and Little Grebe, Cormorants, with Golden Plover, Curlew and Lapwing on its shorelines from time to time.Hen Harrier, Buzzard and Raven have also been spotted in the area. The woodland at Erne Head has Jay,Treecreeper, Siskin and Redpoll. Brambling was recorded here in 2010.Car pooling for this part of our outing (if we have the time) would be helpful.

 Directions:Gowna village is approx. 23km from Cavan town and is accessed from Cavan via the N55  (signposted Athlone),On arriving at Ballinagh village (on the N55) follow the signage for Granard/Athlone. On leaving Ballinagh, after approx 4km, take a right turn off  the N55  on to the L2514 signposted Loch Gowna . Arriving in Loch Gowna village (coming from Ballinagh/Cavan direction),turn left – signposted Granard and Swan Lake is visible on left on the outskirts of the village.. Wellies /walking boots and waterproof clothing recommended for this event.

Visit the Birdwatch Ireland webpage for more information on branch events here

Cavan Branch Outing to Dundalk Bay, Sunday 27th November

Report by Elizabeth

A branch outing to Dundalk bay took place on Sunday 27^th November. We met up at the Fairways hotel at midday and were joined by Breffni Martin of the Louth branch. Our first stop was near Lurgangreen where we spotted greylag, pink-footed and white fronted geese feeding in the fields. Flocks of lapwing and golden plover were also seen, with their plumage spectacularly illuminated by the bright sunlight. Next we visited Seabank where we picked up little egrets and a variety of roosting waders, before heading on to Annagassin and Salterstown.  At Annagassin we stoped off at the harbour where we enjoyed views of turnstones, redshank, widgeon and a variety of gull species. Also present were flocks of linnets and greenfinches feeding on the weeds. At Salterstown we got some good views of common scoters, divers and close-up views of some wader species. The highlight of the day was when we stopped off on our way home to observe the geese flocks once again. A tundra bean goose had been spotted earlier in the day feeding along with the greylags. Unfortunately we did not see the bean goose, but we thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent observing the flocks of brent, pink-footed, greylag and white-fronted geese feeding. A great finish to a great days birding!

Outing to Dundalk Bay Sunday 27th November

Our next branch outing will take place on Sunday 27^th November to Dundalk Bay. We will be joined by Breffni Martin of the Louth branch. The outing is timed to coincide with a high tide and will last approximately 2 hours. We hope to see a good variety of waders and other waterbirds as this location is a very important wintering area for many species including the black-tailed godwit (see above picture). We will visit Lurgangreen and go south to Annagassin and Salterstown. Meet at the Fairways Hotel Car park at 12 midday or if you are travelling via Bailieborough and wish to car share, meet  in the Market Square at 11am sharp.

Packed lunch and waterproof clothing and footwear recommended.

Outing to Inch Reserve, Co. Donegal

Report by Elizabeth

A joint outing with the Donegal branch of Birdwatch Ireland to Inch Lough and Levels, Lough Swilly, was held on 29^th October. After meeting up at 10am we enjoyed a short time on the reserve’s viewing platform watching swans and geese in the lough and its surroundings. Fortunately we made it to the hide as the weather began to turn and were able to enjoy a very pleasant couple of hours in the shelter of the hide watching a great variety of birds. The calls of large numbers of whooper swans which had recently arrived from Iceland greatly added to the atmosphere. Greylag and Canada geese were also present in the estuary, as were a large variety of ducks including shoveler and gadwall. Other sightings included curlew sandpiper, ruff and lapwing. By early afternoon the weather began to clear and the sun came out for a short while, allowing those of us still at the reserve to enjoy some good birding before reluctantly heading home! A big thank you to Ralph Sheppard and the Donegal Branch for their good company and help on the day.  All those who travelled up from Cavan thoroughly enjoyed our visit and were very impressed with Inch reserve and the variety of birds to be found there.

Birdwatch Ireland joint Donegal and Cavan Branch outing

 A Joint outing with the Donegal Branch will take place on Saturday 29^th October to Inch Lough and Levels, Buncrana,Lough Swilly,Co Donegal. We hope to see a great variety of water-birds including annual spectacle of newly-arrived flocks of migrant geese and swans.

 Meet at 10:00am at the Reserve car park beside the embankment. This is reached by turning left at Burt Church when coming from Letterkenny. Then,keep straight when the main Road curves right and this narrow road will lead you to the reserve car park

If you are travelling up on the day from Co. Cavan please email elizmckenna@eircom.net with your contact details in advance in case of any last minute changes.

Warm waterproof clothing recommended. You may bring a packed lunch if you wish and there is also a hotel and filling station close by with catering facilities.

Branch contacts details and information on upcoming events  can be found here. http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=284

Presentation By Niall Hatch in Virginia

Report by Elizabeth

“The Waterbirds of County Cavan”, a talk by Niall Hatch, was held in the Riverfront Hotel Virginia on 4^th October. There was a good turnout for this very informative talk where we learned many interesting facts about water-birds. Niall spoke of the conservation efforts of Birdwatch Ireland to protect the breeding sites of roseate and little terns but reminded us how important it is that these birds are also protected in their wintering grounds in Africa. He spoke of the importance of Ireland also as a wintering site for many species of waterfowl, in particular the slobs in Wexford which holds a large percentage of the population of Greenland White-fronted geese during the winter months.  It was also interesting to hear how some species such as the little egret have begun to breed in Ireland whereas the breeding populations of curlews has crashed in recent years, sadly leaving them at risk of being lost as a breeding species here. Clink on the following link to learn more about Birdwatch Irelands appeal to save this bird here.http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Ourwork/CryoftheCurlewAppeal/tabid/1106/Default.aspx

 We would like to say thank you to Niall for visiting the branch and for a really interesting presentation.