Birds which will have spent the winter here will be nest building soon while March brings the first of our summer migrants. Our largest tern species, the Roseate Tern, will be appearing along our eastern coasts, often seen fishing off Dalkey Sound and in Scotsman’s Bay in Dun Laoghaire. Very few of this species nest on the east coast but they will head west after a few weeks to breed on the west coast and on some inland lakes.   Another very early arrival will be the Wheatear. It too will be found around the coast, not on the sea but on the shore, feeding on insects which are always found among the seaweed even in cold weather. After feeding up on the shoreline they will head inland where they will breed on rocky hillsides and mountains, nesting among rock crevices. Their name has nothing to do with cereals but the ‘wheat’ is in fact a derivation of white and the ‘ear’ refers to it’s rump which shows a flash of white when they fly. The first Wheatears to arrive will be male birds which will go to nesting areas to establish territories before the females arrive.

  Later in the month it’s highly likely the first sightings will be reported of Sand Martins, another regular early migrant and Swallows won’t be too long behind them. There used to be a Sand Martin colony in the sandy cliffs above the beach at Shankill. One of the first songbird migrants to arrive is the Chiffchaff and they’ll soon be heard singing. They’re named after their song a constant repetition of two notes. We hope to see some of these birds when the South Dublin Branch of Birdwatch Ireland have a outing to Kilcoole in April to look for newly arrived migrants and to say bye to some of our wintering migrants. Everybody is welcome. We meet at 10.30 at the car park beside Kilcoole ‘station’ then walk down the coast looking at birds on the sea and in Birdwatch Ireland’s reserve inland.
   There should still be some Brent Geese at Kilcoole though it’s possible some may have already left on their long migration north to their breeding grounds in Arctic Canada. Up till the time they leave many of these geese will be making a daily journey down the coast every morning, either flying across the bay from the Bull Island or else flying from Sandymount strand coming down over Dun Laoghaire harbour, passing Dalkey Island, often going through the Sound then flying across Killiney Bay towards Bray Head usually very low and close to the water. Although they go down the coast in small groups they often come back together in big flocks of over 800 birds which is a lovely sight to see. If there is a strong wind blowing from the north or west they will sometimes follow the coast around Killiney Bay then fly over the top of Dalkey hill.

You may already have nest boxes for birds in your garden and may watch Blue tits going in and out of the box hundreds of times a day bringing food for up to a dozen very hungry chicks. There are now available a great range of video cameras which can be fitted inside the box and provide live broadcasts to your computer or television. Some of these cameras have infra red night vision and sound recording. Nest box webcams can be bought in supermarkets but as in everything else you get what you pay for. One thing though to bear in mind. There is a very high rate of mortality among young birds and for a number of reasons they or their parents can die so always be prepared for the worst but hope for the best. Birdwatch Ireland have instructions on their website www.birdwatchireland.ie about making your own nestbox and where to position them in the garden. Their online shop also has a range of different nestboxes for sale. Birds like Blackbirds and Song Thrushes nest in hedges and bushes so once again I would urge, please be careful when gardening.

  If birds are nesting in your hedge the nest won’t be obvious so if you’re planning on trimming a hedge maybe get down low under the hedge or bush and look up. A nest will be much more obvious silhouetted against the light. If you leave out hair, dog or human, the birds sometimes take it to line their nest but don’t put anything in the nestbox; they might think there is already another bird in residence. I mentioned before about standing in a wood and watching a pair of Long Tailed Tits flying down and picking up feathers from a small heap on the ground. They’d then fly into a nest they were constructing a few yards away where the feathers would be used as a very cosy lining. The feathers were all small and white and looked more like the inside of a pillow than the remains of a bird so I was wondering where they had originated. I happened to mention my sighting to a friend who knew the area well. He told me it was in fact him who’d left the feathers there and was delighted they’d been used. It’s been proven that birds that have taking food provide in garden shave a better success rate when it come to having a family so keep feeding. The birds will have more time to feed insects to their young while taking advantage of the peanuts and sunflower seed you provide to feed themselves.