Chicks!

As you can guess from the title...we've got chicks!
22 days since our first egg was discovered and the first few clutches are starting to hatch here at Kilcoole. This morning while doing nest checks I found our first Little Tern chick, small, frail and still wet from the egg, but ready to take on the world! The team this year have decided to name this wee ternlet 'Laurence' after the excellent and enthusiastic classes we had visit from St Laurence's NS in Greystones. It's amazing looking at this tiny hatchling and imagining the monstrous migration that it will begin in only a matter of weeks... For now though, it's content under the warm wing of an incubating parent. This first chick was actually in the southern 'satellite' colony. We've got cracks appearing in a further 15 or so eggs, so this first chick won't be alone for long.

So far things are looking good for the terns. We're on over 140 active nests, and suspect this number might grow slightly. Although marginally below last years total this is still excellent going and we're hopeful for the coming weeks.

Weather is now our single biggest concern. The flattened profile of the beach(due to winter storms) means water can travel quite far up the beach with even a moderately high tide and some onshore breezes. This is exacerbated by the fact that we're nearing spring tides. Today we had to contend with a boisterous sea sloshing over the high water mark. Unfortunately four tern pairs had scrapes below said high-water line, and so a decision was made to lift their eggs from the nests and incubate them artificially. When the tide receded the eggs were quickly replaced, and the parent birds settled back down on the eggs as if nothing had happened! By doing this we managed to save three nests from certain destruction, a fourth was lost to the sea.

In other news our first nest of Oystercatcher has finally hatched. As a result the parent oystercatchers can be seen viciously dive-bombing the wardens when we enter the colony to complete nest checks. Their ferocity is understandable when you see the three balls-of-fluff they are safe-guarding. The parents can be seen tenderly feeding the young small pieces of dead crab/worms. I'm expecting they'll soon bring the chicks across the beach and train tracks into the lagoon behind, where the feeding is better.

In bird news the Garganey has been re-sighted on and off from the colony. We've had a few Mediterranean Gull fly past the colony, and we were delighted to have a Roseate Tern for a day. This tern was probably a non-breeder, and by rights should be up at Rockabill around now.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to pop down to visit the colony. We're a short 20 minute walk south of Kilcoole train station. The next few weeks would be an excellent time to visit as chicks will be hatching and visible. Friendly wardens are always on site to show visitors the terns and other beach inhabitants!

Cathal and the Kilcoole Team

'Laurence' the ternlet- left at first hatching, right after drying out a bit

The last two ringed plover nests to hatch

                         

Oystercatcher chick- 'I'm a rock and you can't see me'

Male Little Tern with a fish for his incubating partner

Roseate Tern- Ireland's second rarest breeding tern

Skylark

One of two broods of cygnets locally

Early June Update

In the last nearly two weeks since we found our first active nest we've gone all the way up to over 100 active nests, with no signs of slowing down. So far, it's been mostly plain sailing, we've had a small set-back with 7 nests lost to oystercatcher, but fortunately this has stopped...for now...

    I'm pleased to report also that the sparrowhawk I mentioned in my last blogpost has not proven to be as much of a menace as was feared. Since losing the adult tern at the start of the season we've had no more losses, despite the bird still being seen occasionally. 

    At present the main duties of the wardens consist of daily incubation checks which involve scoping out every nest to check that the adult is still present and that all is going well. We're also doing a hefty amount of nest-finding. First chicks are expected in about two-weeks time. Then the pandemonium begins!

  The local Ringed Plover nests are just starting to hatch now. Of a total of 9 nests 6 have hatched so far, with several chicks ringed already. These small fluffy 'heads with legs' are the polar opposite of the tern chicks, they're incredibly precocious and within a few hours of hatching can be seen sprinting up and down the beach, feeding and preening themselves and only occasionally returning to their parents for warmth. The terns on the other hand are altricial , meaning they need considerable care and attention during their formative months, constantly being fed by doting and diligent parents. 

    In addition to the terns and plovers we also have several Oystercatcher nesting on the beach, some of which can be seen from the public path near the railway bridge. As tern wardens we have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the oystercatchers, while they've recently caused some trouble for us by depredating several nests they also provide an immense helping hand by acting as the colony 'guard-dogs'. Should a crow or raptor(or warden) come too close to the colony they will immediately start alarm calling and vociferously dive-bombing the intruder. This not only alerts the wardens to a potential unseen threat, but often proves sufficient to drive away that threat, be that crows or the dreaded sparrowhawk. 

    Oystercatcher generally nest on the beach amongst shingle and sand. Generally...

I was walking down to the hide one morning when I noticed an oystercatcher fly up, seemingly from the train tracks. On investigation I noticed that there was a nest smack bang in the middle of the tracks! There are now two eggs lying in the middle of the tracks on the main Dublin-Rosslare line. The adult bird will incubate the eggs until just before a train comes, at which stage it hops out of the way and returns as soon as the train has passed! We'll certainly be keeping an eye on the progress of this nest and will report back soon.

In other bird news we've seen marsh harrier and red kite near the colony in recent days. There was another garganey seen near the colony on the first of June, but unfortunately none of the wardens got to see that. A small pod of Bottlenose Dolphin passed the colony during the week too, just another addition to the impressive list of mammals seen here at the colony.

I'll be back soon with more news!

Cathal

   

One of the more bizzare nest locations here at Kilcoole...

Right in the middle of the tracks!

Ringed Plover chicks awaiting ringing

Some excellent artwork by colony volunteer Daire

The sunsets are to die for!