Egg-celent News!

It's been a busy week at the colony! Since I last wrote we've completed the colony fencing and we've had several great and enthusiastic 3rd/4th classes down from St Laurence's NS Greystones. It was very heartening to see such engagement and enthusiasm from the students, the future guardians of Irish nature!
Bird-wise we've had some interesting visitors around lately. Mediterranean and Iceland Gulls were welcome scarcities, as was a very rare spring record of a fantastic Little Stint. Non-avian highlights included Harbour Porpoise and several Viviparous Lizards.

When I last posted I mentioned that we were expecting our first eggs by the 20th of May. We weren't far off! Today, the 21st of May, we struck gold!

Our morning and afternoon were occupied with a visiting film crew, who are working on a documentary exploring the Kilcoole Little tern Project, more on that at a later stage. In the late afternoon all three day wardens focused on trying to locate the first tern nest. The shingle was scanned up and down until a suspicious looking bird caught the eye. Sitting hunched down, fluffed out, tail-tips slightly raised. All typical of an incubating bird...could it be? We quickly nipped over to where it was sitting and confirmed our suspicions...AN EGG! The relevant details were recorded, marker stones were placed to allow easier location from the hide/path, and we bade a hasty retreat to allow the bird to get back to incubating. Over the next week we can expect more eggs to be added to this nest until it reaches 3 eggs. After that the clutch is incubated for three weeks before, all going well, a fresh batch of chicks spill out onto the shingle!
Later on in the day another nest was found, this also containing a single egg. The egg flood-gates are opening, so to speak, and in the coming days we expect to find many more nests. Tern numbers are variable but staying strong at around 120-200

As a result of these developments the wardens have commenced full monitoring, and there will now be a warden present on the beach at all hours of the day and night. This is mainly to prevent disturbance from predators/rambunctious dogs. Wardens will be on hand to answer any questions and show you the incubating terns, as well as providing a visual deterrent to would-be predators.
Unfortunately, despite best efforts, there will always be predation. This evening while trying to get a roost count from the hide I observed a sparrowhawk ambush and kill an unsuspecting little tern, taking it away over the buckthorn. It was equal-parts frustrating and awe-inspiring. With birds as fast as sparrowhawks or peregrines not much can be done to thwart an attack in progress. Fortunately we've got a few tricks up our sleeves, and in the attempt to deter the sparrowhawk from making such a bold attack again an old friend will be may-ken his return to the dunes. More on that soon....

Cathal

The unfurling of the red flag- symbolising the completion of colony set-up 

Come check out our blackboards!

K1! Can you spot it?

A tiny visitor to the lagoon- A little stint

The Start of Another Season!

It's now mid May, and the Little Terns are just arriving back at Kilcoole after spending the winter around the warm seas of west Africa. Over the past two weeks the numbers of Little Tern have been steadily increasing, with a peak of 150 birds on Saturday. We expect this number to continue rising over the coming weeks. The birds are busying themselves with displaying and courtship. The males can be seen flying over the colony calling while carrying freshly-caught sand-eels in the attempt to woo a mate. The first copulation was observed on Sunday the 13th, so we expect our first eggs within the next week!

The wardens have been onsite since the 30th of April, setting up the caravans and preparing the beach for the first Little tern nests. The winter storms have had profound effects on the beach at Kilcoole, and there's a notable abundance of sand in the preferred Tern nesting areas, so we will watch with interest to see how the terns deal with this potential challenge over the coming season. So far the wardens have spent most of their time erecting temporary flexi-net fencing, demarcating the safe areas in which to walk (to avoid inadvertently trampling chicks or eggs). We've erected the colony and public fencing, as well as the Wardens' hide. Some attention has also been directed at locating the nests of other beach-dwellers, and to date 7 Ringed Plover and 2 Oystercatcher nests have been found! The wardens are present with telescopes, and would be happy to show you the incubating Ringed Plovers, 'Oycs' and the Little Terns, so make sure to pop down for a visit!

We've only been on-site just over two weeks, but already the great biodiversity of Kilcoole is apparent; we've seen Harbour Porpoise, Otter, Grey Seal and even Harbour Seal in and around the colony. This year one of the wardens(yours truly) is a keen birder, and I've already had some excellent scarcities such as Yellow Wagtail, Garganey and Little Ringed Plover around the colony. Good numbers of migrating Whimbrel are also a feature, while every day there's a new flock of waders in the lagoons. If you have any bird sightings, or indeed any wildlife sightings in general from the area, feel free to tell a warden, and we'll include them on our blackboard which will soon be back in its rightful place welcoming walkers from the north with the latest colony news. 

Will update soon on the latest developments.

Cathal

The caravans are back in place by the colony

Chris working on some flexi-net fencing

RP1- The first nest found on the beach this year

Erecting the hide

'The weather has taken a tern for the worse!'

A rare visitor to the lagoons behind the colony- A little ringed plover

Every inch of shingle is precious!