Dundalk Bay Sunday 6th October

Brent Geese by Michael Mc Nulty

A branch outing to Dundalk Bay took place on Sunday 6 October. Although it was quite an overcast day, the mild weather made for pleasant birding conditions. The group met up at midday and we began our outing with a trip to Lurgangreen to see the high-tide wader roost. Very large numbers of oystercatchers were present, and it was especially nice to observe a small flock of brent geese who had just returned from Arctic Canada to overwinter here.

While the tide was still high, we relocated south to Salterstown where we enjoyed close-up views of a mixed wader roost. Of particular note were the flocks of red brested mergansers on the water along with very large numbers of black headed gulls in the nearby fields.

Black-tailed godwit

As the tide started to recede we concluded the outing with a visit to Seabank, where the spectacle of large numbers of black tailed godwits flying overhead as the returned to feed made for a nice end to the day.