Very sorry to see Mackey’s Garden Centre closing its doors for the last time on the 29th October. With its great stock of plants and trees and its friendly staff, always willing to disperse friendly advice it’ll be a big loss to the community. On behalf of the South Dublin Branch of BirdWatch Ireland I’d like to express our thanks and best wishes in the future to manager Breda Roseingrave who has been a great supporter of our Dalkey Tern Project. For many years Mackeys have donated hundreds of kilos of gravel to the branch which we have taken out to Maiden Rock and placed in and among the nest boxes and into niches in the rock where the birds were likely to nest. Undoubtedly the gravel has helped many terns to successfully raise chicks over the years by preventing eggs rolling away or being washed off the nest thus increasing the survival rate for the colony. And it wasn’t any old gravel either. Our terns probably had some of the most expensive nesting material of any terns in Ireland with various types of ornamental stones in various colours. It was typical of Breda’s concern that when I called in to say goodbye she urged me to take any of the ornamental stones that were left.

Birds at Bay
There’s a small parking bay off the coast road at Scotsman’s Bay where you can look out towards Howth over the waters of the bay framed by Joyce’s Tower on your right and Dun Laoghaire Pier on your left. A lovely view at the best of times but it also has its place in Ireland’s natural history. In front of you as you gaze out the rocks, which are exposed as the tide drops, has become a very special location, often being the resting place for a bird that was almost unheard of in Ireland fifteen years ago. Viewing from this spot has become one of the most reliable spots to see the Mediterranean Gull. Most of the world population of these birds breeds around the Black Sea but they have been gradually expanding their range to the extent that they are now breeding in small numbers in Ireland and many spend the winter in Dun Laoghaire. Some people who would normally be well disposed towards birds can be a bit indifferent to gulls with their raucous calls, dubious feeding habits and their seemingly malevolent expression. The larger species of gull such as Herring Gulls and Greater Black backed Gulls (incidentally the biggest gull in the world) can look quite intimidating and indeed to see their cold baleful glare they certainly don’t look too endearing. You may have seen film of the Greater Black Backed snatching unfortunate Puffins in mid air prior to devouring them and a few years ago we saw one swoop down and take a Guillemot chick that was swimming off Ireland’s Eye. But many species of gulls are much gentler in appearance and feeding habits and some of them can be very handsome indeed. The Mediterranean Gull certainly falls into this category especially when in full breeding plumage with black hood, white eye ring and deep red bill and legs. But most of the time when it is seen it is in its less dramatic winter plumage when its black hood fades to a small smudge on its cheek and it is less easy to differentiate from our most common gull the Black headed Gull. The Black headed Gull is small and also has a black smudge on its cheek in winter which turns into a dark brown (not black as its name suggests) hood in breeding plumage. Both birds have red bills and legs but the Med. Gull has a much bigger bill and deeper red legs. But the easiest way to tell the Med. Gull is by the absence of any black on its wing tips which is especially noticeable when perched or floating on the sea. The colourful crow and the acorn
Although I’ve been told this autumn was a poor seed year for many trees there certainly seemed to be an abundance of acorns on Killiney and Dalkey hills. Seed that falls near a parent tree has little chance of succeeding if it sprouts, growing in the shade of its parent and trying to compete with it for nutrients so it’s in the seeds best interest to fall farther away. Many trees such as Sycamore and Elm have small seed which are dispersed by the wind but acorns are too heavy to be wind borne so rely on other means of dispersal. One way the acorns are helped spread is by the most colourful of the crow family, a bird that is a sometime visitor to Killiney hill, the Jay. The Jay has a great appetite for acorns but also, being a forward thinker, it sometimes buries the acorns to be recovered later when food isn’t so abundant. These acorns sometimes remain uncollected by the Jay, who may have moved on or suffered some mild amnesia, subsequently these buried acorns may sprout producing a new oak tree away from the shading branches of the parent tree and extending the woodland. One morning in early autumn we were watching a red squirrel in an oak tree on Dalkey hill while in the background we could hear a Jay’s none too melodic but very distinctive call. Then it very thoughtfully flew into the tree right in front of us giving a nice view before moving on. With its beautiful brown body, dazzling blue plumage on its wings and distinctive white flash on its rump it’s one of our most colourful woodland birds. In Britain Jays are much commoner, often seen on bird feeders in gardens but here they keep a much lower profile and are much more nervous around people. Incidentally acorns aren’t a major food source for red squirrels who usually find them toxic though they can take them when fully ripe so it may have been an indication of shortage of food for the reds. Unfortunately acorns are a major food source for Grey squirrels who originated in the US where there are over two hundred different species of native oaks. After seeing my first grey squirrel on Killiney hill in November of last year one morning recently I saw six in different locations around the woods. A grey plague that’s sweeping the land might seem a very melodramatic term but preliminary findings from a nationwide squirrel survey indicate that red squirrels have become extinct in counties Meath, Westmeath, Carlow and Kilkenny as a direct result of the spread of the grey.

Gardening - Is it for the birds?
Feeding birds with peanuts and sunflower seeds is a great way to help them survive the winter and even summers like our last one when insects to feed their young would have been in short supply. But you can also make your garden attractive for them to nest and roost in while providing lots of natural food by planting certain flowers, shrubs and hedging. On Tuesday 8th January there is a talk and slide show at 8.00pm at the Kingston Hotel where you can learn how to make your garden more beneficial to birds and other wildlife. The talk is free and everybody is welcome, you don’t have to be a member of Birdwatch Ireland-but-the hotel is hosting a three day conference and we’ve been moved from our usual spacious room to a smaller one so if you want to be guaranteed a place make sure you get there early.

Feeding on the feeders
If you don’t have any Coal Tits coming to your feeders don’t worry, they’re probably in my garden. Hard to know how many birds are making use of the feeders but I have two feeders which have to be refilled with sunflower seeds at least twice a day with a constant stream of coal tits zipping in and out. They’re using nearly a kilo of sunflower seeds a day .Coal tits always take the food away rather then eating it at the feeders and sometimes may store it but usually eat it in cover. One recent Sunday I refilled the sunflower feeders and sure enough both were empty within a couple of hours. I’d meant to fill them to cater for their last feed before dark but got delayed. Coming in to the house from the garden my companion looked down towards the apple tree the feeders hang from then grabbed the binoculars. Perched in the tree, partly concealed by the branches, a female Sparrowhawk was perched, motionless apart from occasionally tilting her head to see what was happening around. No sign of her moving so we were able to get the telescope focused on her dramatic profile of hooked beak and wide alert yellow eye. We watched and waited and I wondered if a small bird came to the feeders should I scare the hawk away or let nature take its course. Sparrowhawks usually hunt by coming in low and fast maybe soaring over a hedge or through a gap in the trees taking birds unaware, the hawk’s long tail acting like a rudder to help it make fast turns in an instant. But this ones strategy seemed to be sit and wait. As the hawk sat there solitary birds would approach the feeders but evidently seeing the hawk they’d take off in a hurry. We watched and waited and so did the hawk. Over an hour had passed since we first saw it and its strategy of waiting for food to come to it didn’t seem to be working. Then suddenly with a quick wing beat it was gone from its perch and over the neighbour’s wall. Within seconds the coal tits were back so, figuring they’d waited long enough, we refilled the sunflower seed feeders so they wouldn’t be going to bed on an empty stomach. Small birds can’t carry much spare fat and burn it up keeping warm at night so they need to feed late in the evening and that’s why the tiny Long tailed tits are often the last birds on the feeders and the even tinier Goldcrest whose high pitched call (often compared to the sound of an old sewing machine) can often be heard moving through the undergrowth as darkness falls.