Suggestions for birding in Ireland (Clare, Kerry, Galway) September (1 Viewer)

[Tucson Birder]

Hello from across the pond. I'm planning to be in Ireland in early September, definitely in west Clare and either Kerry or Galway. It's not solely a birding trip, but I'm looking for suggestions on a few places to visit, especially for waders or migrants. Thank you in advance- and I'll happily repay the favor with information from my area in Arizona in the US.

 

[jogresh]

Hello from across the pond. I'm planning to be in Ireland in early September, definitely in west Clare and either Kerry or Galway. It's not solely a birding trip, but I'm looking for suggestions on a few places to visit, especially for waders or migrants. Thank you in advance- and I'll happily repay the favor with information from my area in Arizona in the US.

Do you like seawatching? Every year for several years me and a group of mates would go to the Bridges of Ross, near Loop Head, West Clare. It had quite a birdy vibe, tho I doubt as many people go as they did 15 years ago. But, if you're in west Clare, and u like seawatching, it's definitely worth considering. You can stay at the Lighthouse Pub, Kilbaha. They used to have a traditional session once or twice a week too.

 

[Charlie Lyons]

Hello from across the pond. I'm planning to be in Ireland in early September, definitely in west Clare and either Kerry or Galway. It's not solely a birding trip, but I'm looking for suggestions on a few places to visit, especially for waders or migrants. Thank you in advance- and I'll happily repay the favor with information from my area in Arizona in the US.

 

[Charlie Lyons]

rahasane turlough, bridges of ross, Seafield near Quilty and blennerville might be worth a visit. maybe Inishmore as well.

 

[twitcherf]

Get yourself a copy of Finding Birds in Ireland by Dempsey and O'Clery. This has details on all of the good sites in Ireland, with details as to species likely, access etc. You can then select the sites which best suit your itinerary/bird wants

 

[MMcD]

I just got back from a 2-week trip (featuring as much birding as I could shoe-horn in without alienating my wife). We stuck to Kerry and Galway counties primarily (day trips from Killarney, Dingle, & Clifden). In addition to “Finding Birds in Ireland”, which twitchterf recommended, I used eBird, Birdguides.com, and birdingplaces.eu.

eBird, was pretty underutilized, I felt, with a lot of sites having only one or two checklists in the last month (or longer). The latter two websites were intermittently helpful, but definitely brought me to some good spots.

That said, as an American, I found myself to be pretty pleased with whatever I came across. I found that I was adding new birds to my list even when I was “not birding” 😅

I’d also second the sea watching suggestion above. We had a fantastic trip to the area around the Blasket Islands with Blasket Island Marine Ecotours— very knowledgeable naturalist-guide, not just a guy with a few well-worn IDs. Ostensibly I was there to see the puffins, but the sight of Manx Shearwaters exploding out of the water at full speed is what really lodged in my brain. Inishbofin & Inishmaan were also great (though we were both coming down with norovirus on Inishbofin, so my attention was… elsewhere🤢).

I’d be happy to go in to more detail about my experience if you want to message me… don’t want to bore folks with a play by play.

 

[Tucson Birder]

Thanks for these suggestions. I've been to Ireland a few times - never solely for birding. I have the bird finding guide, and have done some birding along the coast near Quilty where I've stayed with (non-birding) friends the past two summers. My husband would not be super excited about sea-watching, so unless I can find other birders to meet up with that doesn't seem to likely.

 

[jogresh]

You'll meet plenty of other birders at the Bridges of Ross in early Sept. If u do some Googling you'll get a feel for how legendary it's been (from a European point of view) over the last 20 years or so. You could drop hubby off at Loop Head and tell him to walk to the Bridges.. 🤔
However! That's just me, and everyone's different. All I'd say is, Google it, get a good idea of the situation at BOR, then u can weigh up the pros and cons. 🙂🤔👍🐦

 

[Tucson Birder]

You'll meet plenty of other birders at the Bridges of Ross in early Sept. If u do some Googling you'll get a feel for how legendary it's been (from a European point of view) over the last 20 years or so. You could drop hubby off at Loop Head and tell him to walk to the Bridges.. 🤔
However! That's just me, and everyone's different. All I'd say is, Google it, get a good idea of the situation at BOR, then u can weigh up the pros and cons. 🙂🤔👍🐦

Thanks for the suggestion. We'll definitely try to go there.