Wednesday 22 June 2011

Branch Trip Update

Just a quick post to say that the Carlow & Wicklow Branch outing to the colony on Sunday went really well with c.35 people in attendance which was great. It was really nice meeting you all!

As well as getting a close up look at some Little Tern chicks, we also saw some Lapwing fledglings & migrating Curlew in Webb's field, a nice colony of Pyramidal Orchids in the dunes & some Black-tailed Godwits in The Breaches.

Having a look at some rare breeding birds in Webb's field (NPWS nature reserve) © Andrew Power
We were lucky to get some nice weather for a change! © Andrew Power
Niall showing some c.2 week old terns to the group, explaining the processes of ringing, chick growth & wing development © Andrew Power
The terns have been doing well since the high tide & strong winds on Friday buried the seaward fence & washed out a few nests. There's been no indication of any major loss & we've even had quite a few new nests in the past couple of days so as far as I'm aware we currently have 70 pairs with 75 chicks & 65 eggs left to hatch! I'll bring you guys up to speed with colony news as soon as I have more time to write-up a bigger blog entry, in the meantime we're slowly tipping away at getting the seaward fence back up & running!

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