There were Black-headed and Herring Gulls, a possible Great Northern Diver, a dozen or so Wigeon, hundreds of Dunlin and Redshank, and a hundred or so Pale-bellied Brent Geese.
There were very good numbers of first winter birds, perhaps indicating a good "lemming year" to keep the Arctic Foxes happy, and reduce predation upon the goslings.
This is a group of five, the two adults and three first-winter birds, with the barring on their wings.
The population here is an offshoot of the main group of Irish over-wintering birds. These have come some from Canada but most from north to north east Greenland. There are two main flyways of the Greenland breeding birds. Some of them fly down the east coast of Greenland and then via Iceland to Ireland, being joined by fair numbers of Canadian birds. Others fly down the west coast of Greenland, some crossing the inland icecap at about the latitude of the Arctic Circle, others continuing down and around Cape Farewell, and probably bypassing Iceland. Main migration period mid-September to third week October, arriving in Ireland generally in the second half of October, occasionally shifting haunts over winter. Return occurs April to mid-May, arriving by early June, some crossing the inland ice-cap again.
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