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| Gannet by Andrew Malcolm |
On Friday the 9th
of August, 13 local birders and crew, captained by Martin Colfer,
sailed from Youghal
along the Waterford coast in search of pelagic
birds and perhaps some whales and dolphins.
Pelagic birds are birds
of the open seas, which are unlikely to be encountered on land other
than at breeding colonies.
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| Black Guillemot by Fran O'Connell |
Gannets were quickly
seen. These very large seabirds sustain themselves entirely by
fishing. They dive into the sea, often from a great height, in
pursuit of their prey. Once almost wiped out as a breeding species in
Ireland, they are now happily thriving.
Auks (family name
Alcids) are well represented in Irish waters by guillemots, black
guillemots, razorbills and, everybody’s favourite, puffins.
Looking comical and friendly puffins are, in reality, tough, ocean
going birds, capable of surviving the harshest conditions. Puffins,
like all auks, fish by pursuing their prey underwater, using their
wings to propel themselves forwards.
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| Puffins by Dominic Clancy |
Storm petrels are a
tiny (sparrow-sized) totally pelagic species, which dip feed on the
ocean surface. The name petrel is thought to derive from St Peter as
their pattering on the surface of the sea is reminiscent of the
Saint’s ability to walk on water. Storm Petrels are also known as
“Mother Carey’s Chickens” after a supernatural figure
representing the sea. Petrel’s tiny seemingly fragile appearance
again belies their ability to survive at sea in the most extreme
conditions. During the trip storm petrels were very much in evidence.
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| Manx Shearwater by Pat Veale |
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| Sooty Shearwater by Andrew Malcolm |
Shearwaters are a truly
pelagic species undertaking huge annual migrations. The name derives
from their flying method, whereby they appear to shear across the
waves. Manx shearwaters breed in Ireland and migrate to waters off
Brazil and Argentina in the winter. They were regular on the trip as
were small numbers of sooty shearwaters. “Sooties” breed on
southern ocean islands and disperse northwards along the western side
of the Atlantic Ocean, moving east into our waters in July/August
before returning south down the eastern side of the Atlantic to their
remote breeding colonies in November/December.
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| Fulmar by Fran O'Connell |
Almost
always on view during the trip was the fulmar. Fulmars look
superficially like gulls but their stiff winged flight and tube noses
are obvious differences and more reminiscent of their close relatives
albatrosses. The tube nose is an adaptation for excreting salt, which
is picked up through their prey and seawater. Now a common breeding
bird in Ireland this was not always the case. However with the
demise of the human population on St. Kilda in Scotland and the
subsequent reduction in hunting, fulmars quickly moved into all
available breeding niches in Britain and Ireland.
Also in attendance on
the pelagic trip was the kittiwake. This species is
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| Kittiwake by Dominic Clancy |
named after its
call. The kittiwake is a beautiful, dainty, small gull with jet black
wing tips as if dipped in ink. This is a truly ocean going species
which will never be encountered in dumps (as are other gulls) and
only rarely on land. Dunmore East presents a good opportunity to see
kittiwakes as they breed there on the cliffs in spring/summer.
Other species seen on
the trip included several species of large gull, terns and a small
pod of porpoises.
Martin Colfer regularly
runs bird watching and whale watching trips from Youghal and is
available on 087 265 7177.
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| Bottlenose Dolpin by Bernie Sheridan |
Dungarvan was recently
graced by a pod of bottlenose dolphins, comprising of ten to twelve
individuals. The dolphins lingered for a few days, hunting between
Ballinacourty Lighthouse and Ballyvoile. Bottlenose dolphins track
their prey by the use of echo location. These dolphins are regular in
Irish waters, with a resident population in the Shannon estuary and
the most famous of all “Fungie” in Dingle harbour.
