Chris Ingram 25th-27th September

I recieved an email from Chris about a recent visit to Tory. Here is his trip list:


Great Northern Diver  1 from ferry just offshore
Fulmar
Gannet
Heron  1 on 25th
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan  1 with Mutes on west lake
Mallard
Eider  2 males offshore on 27th
Kestrel  1 female around each day
Ringed Plover
Golden Plover  c.5 at west lake on 25th
Dunlin  1 at west lake on 25th
Snipe
Curlew
Redshank
Greenshank  1 calling not seen on 27th
Oystercatcher
Turnstone
Herring Gull
Great Black Back
Black Guillemot  c.15  on return crossing
Rock Dove
Pheasant  2 on 26th
Skylark
Swallow
House Martin  1 on 26th
Rock Pipit
Meadow Pipit  fall of100+ on 25th.  2 flocks of 3/4 following ferry from Inishboffin
Pied Wagtail
Wren
Robin  2/3 on 25th 8 on26th
Redstart  female or imm on 26th
Pied Flycatcher  1 on 26th
Wheatear  c. 5 in east both days
Blackcap  1 on 26th
Chiffchaff  1 on 26th
Willow Warbler  1 on 25th 5 on 26th 1 on 27th
Goldcrest  1 on 26th
Chough
Hooded Crow
Raven
Starling
Tree Sparrow
Linnet  flock of c.25 on 26th
Reed Bunting 3/4 west town

Regards Chris

Late September

A brief recap of whats been a good few days on Tory.

22nd September

2 Common Rosefinch ( D. Hunter).


23rd September

1 Comon Rosefinch (D. Hunter).
2 Spotted Flycatchers
1 Whitethroat
1 Whinchat

24th September

2 Yellow-browed Warblers (D. Hunter).
2 Turtle Doves
1 Common Rosefinch
2 Garden Warblers
2 Pied Flycatchers
1 Whitethroat
1 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff

25th September

1 Yellow-browed Warbler (D. Hunter)
1 Common Rosefinch

26th September

1 Redstart (C. Ingram)
1 Pied Flycatcher.
1 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
5 Willow Warblers
8 Robins

Thanks to Davey Hunter,Chris Ingram, Irish birding and Wilton Farrelly at nibirds.blogspot for providing the news.

7th-10th September

The weather looked promising with a brief shift to north easterly winds predicted on saturday and sunday followed by a strenghtening north and north west winds on monday and tuesday.

Brad Robson was on Tory the weekend (7th/8th)and Chris Ingram (8th/9th) and with Ralph Sheppard on the 10th. Gerard Murray and I made a day trip over on monday 9th.

The weather was wet and windy on saturday and a seawatch from the lighthouse produced 100 Manx Shearwater, 49 Sooty Shearwater and a single Storm Petrel. A Ruff and 2 White Wagtails were the only other migrants noted.

Sunday was drier and less windy and Chris found a Whinchat and a Turtle Dove and Micky Meehans. A Lesser Whitethroat was mobile around West town with the only other migrants a Kestrel,Robin, Chiffchaff and 3 Willow Warblers.

Gerard and I got the early boaton monday. The best birds on the way over were single Sooty Shearwater, Arctic, Great and Pomarine Skuas. I tried chumming on the journey over and a mix of vegatable oil and fish blood and oil had about 5 Fulmar trailing the boat.

We met Anton and Chris at the pier and decided to start at the east end, around Antons patch. An elusive Willow Warbler eventually showed after an hour and was the only migrant in the cover. We headed back east and found no other migrants. A little dissapointed we started to walk back to west town. We recieved 3 texts in quick succession from Chris to say first Lesser Whitethroat then Pied Flycatcher and then Common Rosefinch had all been found in Antons garden in West town. Eventually after much sculking both the Pied Fly and the Rosefinch showed well around the garden. The Lesser Whitethroat and Pied Fly later relocated to the magic bush and surrounding gardens were they gave brief views. Other migrants noted Robin, Blackbird, 2 White Wagtails, Kestrel, Chiffchaff and 4 Willow Warblers.

All photos by Gerard Murray

Chris and Ralph visited on the 10th and had Great Skua and a Sooty Shearwater from the boat. The only migrants noted were 2 Robins, the Pied Flycatcher and the Lesser Whitethroat.

Chris Ingram 8th September

Chris Ingram is on Tory for the a couple of days trying to take advantage of the recent north easterly winds. He had a good day by Tory standards with Pomarine and Great Skuas from the boat, Lesser Whitethroat and Turtle Dove this morning with Whinchat and Jack Snipe in the afternoon. 3 Willow Warblers and a Robin make up the rest of the migrants.

I was planning a day trip tomorrow with Gerard Murray, so we might have timed it just right...

Chris Ingram; 7th August.

I just had an email from Chris who was on tory a couple of days ago.

'Here is my list for the 7th:

Fulmar  offshore
Gannet  offshore
Shag
Heron  1 at lake
Mute Swan  2
Mallard
Tufted Duck  adults with young on lake
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Dunlin  c.5 on beach
Knot  1 at lake unable to fly
Redshank
C. Sandpiper  1 at lake
Turnstone
Great Skua  1 from boat on out crossing
Common Gull
Lesser Black Back
Herring Gull
Great Black Back
Kittiwake  few on lake
Commic Tern  2 offshore probably Arctic
Rock Dove
Swallow
Rock Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Wheatear
Hooded Crow
Raven
Starling
Tree Sparrow

32 species'

Regards Chris

Autumn is here

I got a call from Anton to say that he spotted his first migrant of the autumn in the garden today, a Willow Warbler.

I hope to make my first trip of the autumn next monday. The weather charts are predicting strong west/north west winds all weekend I just hope they have died down enough for the ferry from Bunbeg to depart. I plan to bring some frozen chum for the crossing.

Chumming from the Tory Ferry

I started making frozen 'hard chum' recently with the intention of toeing it in a mesh bag from the back of the Bunbeg ferry (skipper permitting) on trips out to Tory in the autumn.

The ferry passed Bloody Foreland, one of Ireland best seawatching points, and I am considering making a large block frozen chum to be dumped off the ferry when passing Bloody Foreland for anybody seawatching in the area.

 Let me know if any seawatchers in the area are interested and I will try to coordinate the drop with one of my autumn trips to the island.

The other option would be to drop the chum block nearer tory so birders on the island might be able to sea some seabirds.