As I promised in my final put up, my spouse and I had been in Dublin, Eire, when that put up went on-line. Yearly we spend a number of weeks working within the excessive south of Spain, and yearly we attempt to spend a couple of days someplace new in Europe, on our approach there. This enables us to begin adjusting to the 7-8 hour time distinction earlier than we begin our work actions. This yr it was Dublin’s flip.
Eire is a type of locations that I really feel ought to actually be skilled within the countryside, not within the metropolis. However 4 days shouldn’t be a lot time to take action, and jet lag didn’t assist both. So any birding I might handle needed to occur within the normal downtown space during which we stayed. A fast look on the metropolis’s eBird hotspots urged that my best choice can be St. Stephen’s Park, as this medium-sized city park was solely a 25 minute stroll from our lodge, and in contrast to different city parks, it sports activities a small lake.
I attempted to go out on the break of day, which in Dublin in October, is round 7 a.m. Sadly, I had forgotten that with out an Irish SIM card on my cell phone (I waited till Spain to purchase a type of), I might solely obtain Merlin’s British Isles pack wherever I might plug into somebody’s web. That delayed my departure from the lodge for a couple of minutes. Then I arrived on the park, and realized that I had the identical downside with my eBird app.
So off I went once more, trying to find one other enterprise that may let me use their web. Would you consider that Irish Starbucks don’t open till 8 a.m.?
Lengthy story brief, my outing to the park didn’t actually get going till about 8:15. However I had polished off a continental breakfast.
It didn’t take lengthy to find out which species dominate the St. Stephen’s ecosystem. Herring Gulls had been in every single place, particularly flying overhead. A number of Hooded Crows saved them firm, however curiously, there have been no different corvid species current (like Jackdaws or Rooks, widespread in different European parks). Many European Magpies might be seen on the bottom and within the bushes, which was a pleasure. I’m an enormous fan. Many, many Rock Pigeons wheeled round, in addition to a considerably smaller amount of Widespread Wooden-Pigeons.
These Magpies had been seen flying round ramparts close to the park.
Wooden-Pigeons look very like Rock Pigeons, however have made the sensible PR transfer of not sporting out their welcome worldwide.
Rock Pigeons, sporting out their welcome.
The lake had fairly a inhabitants of Mallards, amazingly tame Mute Swans, and Tufted Geese. Seeing the latter was a deal with for me.
Very tame
A male Gadwall ultimately turned up. He apparently shouldn’t be present in Dublin, however has lengthy been in residence within the park, and is kind of the movie star amongst native birders. He clearly has a detailed relationship with a sure feminine Mallard. Who am I to evaluate?
There have been additionally a number of Widespread Moorhens, together with one grownup accompanying an surprising October juvenile. And one Nice Cormorant flew right down to the lakeside, to strike a dramatic pose. A single Gray Heron did the identical.
Within the bushes, one might hear Eurasian Wrens, European Robins, and Nice Tits. I finally managed to see all however the latter.
Later within the day, whereas strolling alongside Dublin’s Liffey River, I regarded overhead and clearly noticed a raptor wheeling among the many many Herring Gulls. Sadly, my information of European birds of prey continues to be questionable, and once I downloaded the Merlin for Eire earlier within the day, it failed to show up with images. So I shortly marked it as a Black Kite, principally as a placeholder till I might right my ID once we bought again to our lodge. Inside minutes, I had an electronic mail from the native eBird reviewer informing me that Black Kites are extraordinarily uncommon, and that the one raptor more likely to be seen within the Dublin space is the Widespread Buzzard. Which in fact, as soon as I might examine my not-terrible picture with my rebooted Merlin, it was.
This was not a foul factor, as I ended up having a really good back-and-forth with the eBird reviewer. He’s the one which knowledgeable me of the Gadwall’s movie star standing. He instructed me he was completely satisfied that I had gotten to see it. (Gadwalls are fairly widespread close to Morelia within the winter, however I felt particular, anyway.) He additionally stated that whereas Widespread Buzzards are the principally possible chook of prey in Eire, it was nonetheless uncommon to see one proper over the center of Dublin. I felt much more particular.
My birding day ended with a really shut encounter with a number of European Starlings. In North America, I might need felt irritated to see this wildly invasive chook. However in Europe, the place they belong, its at all times a pleasure to see what good-looking creatures they’re.
