Dublin wildlife thread...

arybvtcw0eolkf

The fox thread turned from a horrible topic to IMO a very good discussion on wildlife in Dublin.

So having said that I thought 'how about a Dublin wildlife' thread, we could post up whats regularly seen in our postal area (ie Dub13 for me) and whats been missing for the last few years and the reason why you think its missing, ie over development..

I'll start with Dub13.

I'd regularly see foxes, rabbits, lots of hawks and other asorted birds.

Recently I've seen grey squirrel's in my gardens, which I'm putting down to development nearby stealing their old stomping grounds. I also hear there's lots of grey squirrels on the grounds of the old Belcamp College.

In Howth harbour the seals are famous of course.

Gaspode

There's a similar topic in the D15 forum that pops up now and then. I dont fancy repeating it all, so heres a linky to a more recent update.

arybvtcw0eolkf

deswalsh wrote: »

There's a similar topic in the D15 forum that pops up now and then. I dont fancy repeating it all, so heres a linky to a more recent update.

But thats Westie country - Mods please merge with Limerick :P

lightening

Perigrine falcons in the pigeon house (A fantastic spot in Dublin) These guys often venture in to the city center.

Three badger sets I know of (PM me for location, some undesirables out there)

Of course Dollymount is famous world wide, but there is a newish seal colony there. Also the arrival of little egrets has caused a stir, very attractive bird.

http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/Default.aspx?tabid=147

As we know now, the urban fox is getting spotted all the time now.

Dolphins and porpoises are getting more and more frequent in Howth and Dun Laoghaire every summer. Do the sea safari in the middle of the summer if you don't have access to the water, but call them and ask them if there is a pod in.

Wild native lizards in North County Dublin.

Oh yeah, has anyone seen the eerie hares in the airport long term car park? They are practically fearless.

_blank_

Mairt wrote: »

I'd regularly see foxes, rabbits, lots of hawks and other asorted birds.

Walk down to Campions any evening, on the left hand side of the Malahid Road and you'll see rabbits out for their evening silflay in the garden of the cottage there between the apartments and the pub.

WindSock

Always see squirrels flitting about in St Annes, Only grey ones, mind

I also once saw a badger many moons ago, first and last time I've seen a live one.
Foxes come into my mams garden a lot to annoy the dog.

Seen a few herons aswell around dollymount.


Edit: Might have been egrets. Also edited out Badgers location re:lightenings post. What do people do with them, turn them into shaving brushes?

Dancor

I like St Annes park, but the amount of rats I seen in my short time there put me off the place. A good spot for rabbits is the Travel lodge off the Navan road.

sunnyjim

Dublin 5 here, since september I've seen quite a few robins and blue tits, and they've been quite rarae around here over the past few years.

Seen a few hedgehogs around too, up in Santry. After a night on the town, me and the gf saw one in her front garden. She lives opposite the park @ Morton Stadium, so it must have gotten across the airport road in one piece!

lightening

dancor wrote: »

I like St Annes park, but the amount of rats I seen in my short time there put me off the place.

I'm there every morning, there isn't that many of them these days.

Windsock, people bait badgers with their dogs. I recently met a taxi driver who freely admitted that he took part in this, loved breaking the badgers jaw and watching his dogs tear it apart!

stovelid

South Dublin:

There is a little industrial estate (can't remember name) near the Outer Ring Road, and Corkagh Park (N7) and I saw loads of rabbits there one evening recently. Looked bizarre, there were loads of then just gamboling around.

Used to keep my eye for a pair of (I assume) hawks nesting in Ballinascorney quarry, years back. Dunno if any still nest there, as the quarry is closed off.

Have spotted the odd fox and badger around Mount Seskin, and Killinarden hill before. The badger was actually running towards us, and didn't seem to notice. It suddenly stopped, looked up (I assume it smelled us?) and disappeared into the ditch.

Used to spot foxes very regularly around Cowper road in Rathmines when my friend lived there.

damp sponge

There's a family of swans I discovered at the exit of the Nanikken river into Dollymount. I always have a look out for them when I'm going for a cycle along the coast, it was interesting seeing the young swan change colour of the summer.

If you wanna have a look for them they generally hang around directly opposite the carpark entrance to St. Anne's park on the coast road.

stovelid

Also a family of swans in Rathcoole park.

tricky D

From the north-east....

Kestrels from the Wooden Bridge to Bull Island all the way up to Bottle Quay at the end of Strand Road, Sutton. Spotted one hovering furiously over the high tide mark on Strand Road yesterday probably after rats. Woodpeckers in the same area and in grounds of Deer Park, rabbits too. Sparrowhawks in St Anne's Park.

Hedgehogs still out last Sat night in Howth. The bats seem to have gone in the last month.


Common and grey seals in and around Howth Harbour. Haven't seen any dolphins or porpoises ever in Howth but will keep an eye from my clifftop perch. Have seen a few Basking Sharks over the years. Herons on the beaches and even perched on the fishing boats in harbour. Herons used to be very rare around Dublin with just a few in Booterstown Marsh, but in the last 15 years they've really come back, I even saw one on the steps beside O'Connell Bridge one busy night a few years ago at midnight!!

Not often, but sometimes you can find large shoals of Mullet under Liffey Bridges or the Bull Island Wooden Bridge swimming against the tide and breaking the water now and again.

Heard a story yesterday about someone trying to reintroduce snakes to Barren Hill/Red Rock a decade or so ago. Dumb idea which obviously failed.

Loads of mushroom varieties in Deer Park up to last month including a few Fly Agaric and tasty Chanterelles.

The Swifts and Martins were pretty cool this summer bombing around all over the place.

Frogs at the start of the Cliff Walk and rabbits a bit further up and off path.

Bats and foxes in Merrion Sq.

lightening

Wow! I didn't know the woodpecker made it to Ireland. I often here a rapid knocking in st. Annes park that sounds like what I have seen on TV, never seen one though.

stovelid

tricky D wrote: »

Herons on the beaches and even perched on the fishing boats in harbour. Herons used to be very rare around Dublin with just a few in Booterstown Marsh, but in the last 15 years they've really come back, I

Always see them in Bushy Park too, especially along the Dodder Walk.

arybvtcw0eolkf

This is going to drive me nuts looking for all this stuff now!..

This and the discussion in the fox thread has certainly woken me up to the abundance of wildlife about us.

TrickyD thats some input, thanks. You've mentioned all my stomping grounds and I've never been aware of most of the things you've posted, I'm certainly aware of it now - CHEERS.

tricky D

lightening wrote: »

Wow! I didn't know the woodpecker made it to Ireland. I often here a rapid knocking in st. Annes park that sounds like what I have seen on TV, never seen one though.

Yup, I was gobsmacked too. There was a pair nesting in my aunt's backgarden in Sutton last year. Only found out yesterday about them and the Deer Park ones. Would loved to have got a snap. This year's sighting in Howth is actually listed in the autumn edition of Birdwatch Ireland's magazine Wings, as a Great Spotted Woodpecker on May 10th last.

stovelid wrote: »

Always see them in Bushy Park too, especially along the Dodder Walk.

Relative to 20ish years ago, herons are now almost everywhere near water. They might even become pests, errr, like foxes, afterall they have been known to kill wabbits doncha know.

WindSock

I didn't see any mushrooms...:(

Don't forget there are Wallabies on Lambay Island

WindSock

lightening wrote: »

woodpecker

tricky D wrote: »

I was gobsmacked

pun, sort of...

stovelid

tricky D wrote: »

Relative to 20ish years ago, herons are now almost everywhere near water. They might even become pests, errr, like foxes, afterall they have been known to kill wabbits doncha know.

Got chatting to a guy one night who was fishing in the Dodder (at the back of Bushy) and a heron was sat (the way they kinda fold themselves up when sitting) just across the way watching him, as if waiting for him to catch something. Looked eerie.

My friend's sister (in Tallaght) lost a load of goldfish to one as well, IIRC.

lightening

Wow tricky... that's amazing, thanks for letting me know. I will try my best to get a look at the one in the park, maybe even a snap.

arse..biscuits

stovelid wrote: »

Got chatting to a guy one night who was fishing in the Dodder (at the back of Bushy) and a heron was sat (the way they kinda fold themselves up when sitting) just across the way watching him, as if waiting for him to catch something. Looked eerie.

My friend's sister (in Tallaght) lost a load of goldfish to one as well, IIRC.

A friend of mine used to have a load of fish in a pond out his backgarden close to the dodder waterfall in Firhouse. He came back one day and saw a heron tucking in. No more fishies.
All along the dodder there there are all the usual suspects, rabbits, fox even seen a badger once. My dog loves chasing the rabbits but hasn't got the killer instinct, got within striking distance a few times but does nothing. One time I was walking the madra between some trees and I noticed a fox only a few feet away, the fox just looked at me for a few seconds and then ran off, my thick dog noticed nothing, such an amazing animal.

Freewheeling Ed

forget the name of the industrail est. but it was on the Nangor Road, just under the M50. Used to go for a smoke at the stream at the back at lunch time. A heron was a regular visitor, and there were trout, some of reasonable size there all the time (dont think they moved about much)

But what surprised me the most was a stunning flash of bright metalic blue, zoom past at 100mph. Which was really all you could see.. but I'm prett sure it was a kingfisher.

WindSock

Saw a lovely heron on my way in this morning. As bold as brass standing beside the road outside St Annes, so tall and proud.

arybvtcw0eolkf

WindSock wrote: »

Saw a lovely heron on my way in this morning. As bold as brass standing beside the road outside St Annes, so tall and proud.

St. Annes park?.

Degsy

I once saw what was definatly an eagle of some sort at the cliff walk in howth.
Ive seen enough hawks of various sorts to know this was not normal,it had a wingspan of at least five feet and just kind of soared by us,i didnt see it flapping its wings.
Has anybody else seen or heard of it?

trout

WindSock wrote: »

Saw a lovely heron on my way in this morning. As bold as brass standing beside the road outside St Annes, so tall and proud.

I saw it too Regular visitor there.

I live in D5 and regularly walk from BlackBanks to Bull Island ... huge variety of birds all along the coast and especially Dollymount beach. I can only recognise some of them, but there are certainly kestrels, hawks, any number of herons and other exotic visitors.

Loads of grey squirrels in St. Anne's Park. I bring my 2 year old up there at the weekends so he can spot 'squiggles'.

Also ... there's a hedgehog in my front garden. I don't know how much longer he'll be active though ... what with the weather.

Degsy

trout wrote: »

Also ... there's a hedgehog in my front garden. I don't know how much longer he'll be active though ... what with the weather.

if you want to feed the hedgehog,they love fresh eggs(in the shell)!

Tabnabs

In Dun Laoghaire harbour I've seen a Heron fighting off the seagulls, some noise they all made. A few weeks ago I saw 4/5 porpoises close in to shore in Scotsmans Bay. I've seen a massive stag in a field beside the M50 around Edmondstown and indeed it's not unusual at all to see deer up on Three Rock.

WindSock

Degsy wrote: »

I once saw what was definatly an eagle of some sort at the cliff walk in howth.
Ive seen enough hawks of various sorts to know this was not normal,it had a wingspan of at least five feet and just kind of soared by us,i didnt see it flapping its wings.
Has anybody else seen or heard of it?

Could it have been a White-tailed Eagle?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_Eagle

WindSock

trout wrote: »

'squiggles'.