Count totals:
- Fulmar: 21 north & 9 south
- Manx Shearwater: 4,010 north & 146 south
- Common Scoter: 15 north & 55 south
- Arctic Skua: 1 dark-phase flew north
- Kittiwake: 97 north & 40 south
- Puffin: 1 north & 2 south
- Black Guillemot: 2 north & 1 south
- Razorbill/Guillemot: 1,250 north & 38 south
- Guillemot: 1 south
- Razorbill: 3 north & 4 south
- Not counted: Common Gull, Sandwich Tern
- Maiden Rock: 19 Cormorant, 2 Shag, 3 Kittiwake, 1 Oystercatcher, 38 Common and Arctic Terns
- Clare Rock: 8 Cormorant, 2 Shag, 2 Great BB Gull, 3 Common/Arctic Tern
- Lamb: 9 Cormorant, 1 Shag, 2 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull: 18 adults and at least 9 chicks, 4 Great BB Gull, 1 Arctic Tern, Hooded Crow
- Dalkey Island: 3 Cormorant, 8 Shelduck, 5 Oystercatcher, 32 Herring Gull, Great BB Gull: 8 adults and 2 chicks, 1 Rock Pipit, Jackdaw, Starling
- Coliemore: Black Guillemot, House Martin, Swallow, Rock Pipit, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Coal Tit, 3 Raven flying south, Chaffinch, Linnet
Of the almost 6,000 birds counted passing by offshore, the majority were Manx Shearwaters (4,156) followed by Razorbill/Guillemots (1,288) and 100+ each of Kittiwake and Gannet. The Manxies reached a peak passage of 868 birds/15 minutes at around 07:30. However, the total numbers alone only tell half the story:
Manx Shearwater passage off Coliemore - north in blue and south in orange |
The nearest main breeding colonies of Manx Shearwater are located on the islands off Pembrokeshire in south-west Wales. As the Manx Shearwater flies, this would be about 170 kilometers:
Assuming the majority of the birds left colony in the hour before sunrise (5am @ Fishguard) and with an average flight speed of 55-60km/hr, this would leave the majority of Manx Shearwaters passing Coliemore between 7 and 8am ending up at the main feeding grounds in Dundalk Bay about an hour later.
Auk passage followed a similar trend initially, but became a bit more confused later on:
Auk passage off Coliemore. North in blue, south in orange |
Kittiwake and Gannet passage off Coliemore |
Early morning at Coliemore |
Adult breeding Black Guillemot |