A Weekend on Cape Clear

This post is a continuation from my previous blog post documenting our amazing time going whale-watching, as immediately after, I was about to embark on another exciting adventure in West Cork.

The day after our extraordinary trip where we got to see four new species of whale and dolphin, my parents dropped me off at Baltimore harbour, with my suitcase and the camera ready along with other things I needed. I was ready to spend the weekend on Cape Clear, the southernmost area of Ireland. As the boat sailed past Cape Clear on its way to the island’s harbour, I spotted a few cetaceans swimming past, with greyish backs and slightly curved dorsal fins. But were they porpoises, or were they bottlenose dolphins? I wondered. By the time I arrived on the island, I met the warden Steve Wing, who showed me to the bird observatory where I would be staying for two nights. I asked Steve what the cetaceans swimming past were, and he said that they were most likely porpoises, as bottlenoses rarely venture into the waters surrounding the island. After heading up to my bedroom and unpacking my bags, I met with five other people who I would be sharing the observatory with, and we went out for dinner together at Cotter’s restaurant. After dinner, I decided to go for a paddle in the sea, choosing the concrete ramp behind the island’s other restaurant, Sean Rua’s, and I took my towel with me. As I dipped my feet in the cold water, I spotted a seal swimming in the harbour while there was a person swimming in the vicinity. I knew well that seals can be dangerous, so I watched as the swimmer kept her distance from the seal before swimming to the safety of the nearby beach.

The next morning, Steve Wing showed us various species of moth that had been caught overnight in a special moth trap. Flame shoulder, dark arches, and antler moths were among the moth species hiding under the empty egg cartons left inside the large wooden box. Steve told us that it’s not the adult moths that eat people’s clothes despite popular belief, but rather their larvae, which I thought was a very helpful piece of information. Shortly after, we took our cameras and binoculars as we prepared to head out for a big long walk, and shortly after leaving the observatory, I could see a kestrel hovering above us in the distance before disappearing behind the hills. Steve led us into Cotters’ garden at the back of the restaurant, as we saw numerous bird and butterfly species. We then went back onto the main path, and began passing by an inlet, where I could see an emperor dragonfly hovering over the water below us. We then continued walking along by the inlet until we came to a path that led us uphill through grassy, well-vegetated territory. We sat down in an area of short grass with a few rocks, and looked out at sea with our binoculars, as we could see some common dolphins swimming around a few boats in the distance, my second time seeing this species in just two days (albeit from a much further distance). After spending nearly an hour looking out at sea, we then started to head in the direction of the Cape Clear lighthouse, while also looking at the fulmars and gulls flying to and from the cliffs. After observing a meadow pipit on the grassy mound next to us, we started heading inland as we spotted three crows flying over the fields we were about to pass through. Steve suggested they could be choughs, a species I saw during last year’s holiday in Cork. As we passed through the fields, we came across three pigs that had escaped from their enclosure at the Mara Farm and ventured onto the grassy trail we were on. We managed to get past the pigs as we went back onto the road. We returned to the road we took along the inlet earlier, as we headed to Sean Rua’s for lunch.

After a long break back at the observatory, Steve took us out again, this time towards Lough Errul, in the west of the island. As we began passing along the shores of the lough, we could see several rabbits knocking about in the fields to our left. Earlier, when we were leaving the observatory, I noticed rabbit droppings on the grass in front of the house, and rabbits seem to be the only wild land mammal on Cape Clear apart from (likely) rats and mice. There were lots of gulls (a mix of Herring, Lesser Black-backed and Greater Black-backed) along the shores stretching from the gate in front of us to near the cliffs, as well as a few Little Grebes swimming in the water. We passed through an old farm before we started heading along the strip of the lough where the gulls were, before climbing under some wires to look out at the sea. The other guests spotted a fulmar chick on a cliff ledge in the distance, and when I had trouble finding it on the cliffs, they told me to look at the yellow-looking rocks with my binoculars and then look upwards until I could actually see it. A relatively big, fluffy chick that seemed to be calling for its parents, who would have been hunting out at sea. A really special sight that I felt privileged to see. We then went back the way we came, climbing back under the wire and passing the gulls and grebes. As we passed the fields, I spotted two crows looking for food on the ground of one of the fields. I wondered “Could they be choughs?” and so I took a closer look at them with my binos. One of the crows showed a long, slender red bill and red legs, outright confirming that they were choughs. I managed to take some good photos of the choughs as they flew upwards and landed on the old house at the back of the field. The choughs really made my day out of everything I had seen today, besides the fulmar chick. Later on, after dinner, I decided to go for another paddle at the ramp behind Sean Rua’s. This time, I saw the silhouettes of two kestrels, first appearing several metres apart from one another, before they flew off side by side behind the hill. One of the kestrels could well have been the same one we saw earlier that morning. When I came back, I joined the other guests as they helped Steve to record the number of each different species we saw during the day.

The next morning after breakfast, I joined the other guests as Steve showed us some birds that had been caught on a net he had set up, taking each bird out of a small, cotton bag. The first batch consisted of two robins, a juvenile and an adult, followed by three young wrens. As Steve showed us these birds, he clipped a metal ring on the leg of each bird for the purposes of tracking them. Each one of the guests was allowed to take hold of each bird, restraining them in the correct manner, before letting them fly off into the undergrowth. We then did a walk up along the coast of the inlet, which was just up the road from where we were, before heading back to a fancy-looking house where we met two moth researchers. Among the moths they had caught with the moth trap were an elephant hawk-moth, and even a garden tiger. We then went back to the same spot where Steve ringed the birds, and he showed us four more birds. They were a greenfinch, male blackbird, dunnock, and great tit, and they were all juveniles. After each one was ringed, we were once again allowed to hold the birds and then set them free; I got to hold the great tit, which was the last of these birds to be ringed. Afterwards, we just sat down near the inlet while there was time before our boat, and I took some photos of two greenfinches perched up on the telephone wire above us. After that, we packed our bags as we prepared to board the boat back to the mainland, thanking Steve for all of his help and teaching us about the wildlife of Cape Clear. On our way back to Baltimore, we spotted the porpoises as they swam near the boat, showing their triangular dorsal fins. Now I have seen cetaceans of at least one species four days in a row, a nice and unexpected achievement! Upon returning to the mainland, I saw my mother waiting for me at the pier as she greeted me, and we met Dad back at the car, as we went to get lunch, before driving the long way back home.

Overall, this trip was pretty productive and successful: I stayed two nights by myself on an island cut off from the mainland, and got to see many interesting species, from dolphins and red-billed choughs to the fulmar chick and various moths. Along with the whale-watching trip, my stay on Cape Clear helped make this holiday in Cork worth remembering.