With spring in the air, and a south-easterly blowing I headed down to Wexford for some migrant hunting. I selected Carnsore Point as a starting point, and spent the first hour sea-watching. It was very productive, with decent numbers of Manx Shearwater, Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwake and Gannets passing through in a fairly constant stream. There were also a couple of Common Scoter, small numbers of Fulmar a few Red-throated Divers, and a similar number of Great Northern Diver, but nothing more exotic than that.
I then headed inland to Our Lady's Lake, the highlight of which was a large number of breeding Sandwich Terns, as well as lots of Black-tailed Godwits getting ready for the trip north.
Between the two sites I stopped to watch a female Sparrowhawk hunting. It crossed the road low in front of me, hopped of a hedge and ambushed a group of Black-headed Gulls in a field. It got hold of one bird by the head and spent the next 10 minutes locked in a death grip as the gull tried vainly to escape. Eventually the pair moved into the lee of the hedgerow, out of my view, but it didn't look good for the gull...
I then headed inland to Our Lady's Lake, the highlight of which was a large number of breeding Sandwich Terns, as well as lots of Black-tailed Godwits getting ready for the trip north.
Between the two sites I stopped to watch a female Sparrowhawk hunting. It crossed the road low in front of me, hopped of a hedge and ambushed a group of Black-headed Gulls in a field. It got hold of one bird by the head and spent the next 10 minutes locked in a death grip as the gull tried vainly to escape. Eventually the pair moved into the lee of the hedgerow, out of my view, but it didn't look good for the gull...
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