Encountering the "Kerry" Toad

Today I was out around Castlegregory in search of an amphibian I have wanted to come across for some time.

The Natterjack toad pond today.

The Natterjack Toad is the only native Toad species found in Ireland. It was first observed in 1805 around Castlemaine harbour, the tidal body of water found between the Dingle and Iveragh peninsulas just East of Inch strand. Since then there has been some localized extinctions and as such the Natterjack population now resides in a few heavens to the North and South of the Dingle peninsula.
This Toad species is believed to have colonized the country naturally after the last ice age which ended in and around 11,000 years ago as they share some genetic similarities with the nearest Toad population over in England.
Now you might be thinking, whats so great about this Toad?
Well it is unlike any of the three other amphibian species found on this island nation. The more widely known frog might on its preface seem similar to the Toad but its not by a long shot!
Physically the Natterjack is a much broader beast than the streamlined frog, they crawl along like four legged cowboys in stark contrast to the frogs fondness of leaping and they are also coloured differently with the toad possessing a diagnostic white line running along the top of its back. Even the toads tadpoles differ from the frogs, the latter being inundated by varying shades of browns where as the former is jet black and also a much broader built bundle of flesh.
The habitat of choice for this amphibian is a very surprising one for a freshwater inhabitant.. by the coast! They utilize the small freshwater ponds nestled in amongst the dune systems of Castlegregory along with and suitable bodies of water within their range.

The Natterjack's home-range has probably become reduced due to the increase in agriculture over the past century BUT there is a scheme in place nowadays encouraging local land owners where the toad is present to dig ponds, maintain them and not use any chemicals which could effect the toads which would also forage on land. The areas around the ponds are usually grazed by cattle in particular and this system has yielded results as last year was a bumper year for the counties population.

At the waters edge where the smaller tadpoles were.

Back to today, I discovered where to find some of these ponds and decided to chance my arm. April is the peak time for breeding and I initially wished to head back to Castlegregory's dune system to hear the chorus of Toads in the ponds and maybe catch sight of one or two in the flesh. This plan changed however and I arrived during the day where I could actually see where a pond was positioned.
Judging from the map of the ponds I obtained this morning, the roads position and the local geography of a particular stretch of dunes I quickly identified the position of a pond which was evidently the cause of a sudden submergence of the ground between two dunes.
On further inspection the pond itself was located. I found it very odd that such a body of freshwater could be found so close to the sea to both the East and West along with being lined by sand blown in from either of the two surrounding bays, it was akin to the surface of Mars!
It didn't take long to find the first signs of the toads as I peered into the ponds shallow waters for the first time I spotted some relatively small toad tadpoles near the waters edge. Once they could see my figure towering above them most made a break for the safety of some nearby submerged vegetation while others played dead. These tadpoles are loaded with toxins which do not agree with the micro predators found cruising our bodies of water and as such they have an advantage early on in life.

Some small tadpoles over the sandy bottom.

Carefully stepping forwards along the left side of the pond I kept a careful eye out for any lingering adult toads both on land and in water, t didn't take long to stumble upon my first toad albeit a bit more static than what I was going for but I'll take it. The thin and slightly wrinkled body of a Natterjack lay outstretched just at the waters edge. It's dark green back blotched by darker polka dots was raised skywards while it's unique back stripe remained clearly visible. Its left fore limb was tucked underneath its body and its eyes were shut. I think this individual was a female as evident by some strands of spawn near its hind legs, in the water nearby, wrapped around some vegetation lay even more coiled spawn so it appears this individual has done it's bit for the next generation. I do not know what happened to it but there was evidence of an even more toasted toad further up the shore line which may suggest that some animals expire after spawning.

My first rather lifeless Natterjack

Continuing the tour around this hidden oasis I came across far more developed tadpoles, one of which may even be in the early stages of developing legs!

While watching these larger tadpoles I heard a call completely out of tune to the circling gulls and singing skylarks. I left off short raspy sounds all of which came from a patch of marrm grass of the closest dune over looking the pond. I inspected the area to no avail due to the grasses thick coverage and while doing so must have spooked this individual which was undoubtedly a male toad calling out to any potential suitors.

Some strands of spawn weaving between the vegetation.

I doubled back around the pond for a final look before leaving to discover vast strains of spawn intermingled with the grasses and water mint amongst other vegetation present in the pond. The individuals occupying the spawn were at different stages of development so they were laid on different occasions which I find to be very unusual to the system used by frogs where they all congregate at once, Natterjacks however seem to be more particular in they're ways.

All in all I can't complain with the days results but I will be back for more very, very soon!

Looking down to the pond and on the Brandon bay further West.

Sighting a Sea King

Today while out around Rossbeigh I decided to pay a visit to the mountain stage stretch of road to the West of the strand. The road is positioned (somewhat precariously) above a stretch of dirt cliffs which tower above Dingle bay below. The base of the cliffs has hosted some interesting guests over the past few years in particular a young male Sperm Whale which was them pummeled to pieces by the swell over the course of two to three weeks. But a rather special visitor has also made an appearance off those cliffs in recent weeks.
As an Irish first, the Black Scoter (a sea Duck from America) enticed many twitcher's (people who flock to rare bird sightings) from all corners of Ireland to catch a glimpse of this slightly larger black duck to the numerous and native Common Scoter.
I on the other hand did not rush to see this "lifer" due to college commitments and also the fact that I would have great difficulty spotting a single black duck in among a raft of 60 or so other black ducks with only the defining characteristics of this first visitor being is larger size and yellow bulge above its beak, these features over 1-2 km away are exceptionally difficult to pinpoint for a budding seawatcher such as myself!
Truth be told I may easily have spotted the Black Scoter either last weekend, today or even on both occasions without even really knowing it so I may or may not have my first "lifer" under the belt!
However sightings of another sea duck did secure my interest and beckoned me to try and locate it, a Common Eider. Most people would associate Eider with the downy feathers used in pillows etc but there's more to the Norther hemispheres largest duck than just our commercial uses for them.
The males are perhaps the most striking looking bird in Ireland with an overall snow white coloration along the birds back wings and neck, its underside is dark black along with a cap of black on top of its head, the male Eiders beak is creamy yellow to add to the birds appearance.
On the other hand female Eiders are colored in a less dramatic way than their counterparts, they are a combination of light browns, greys and blacks mottled by a light outline of white and finished off with a dark beak to boot.

The Eider feeds in shallow water down to 20m/65ft on crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms on the sea floor.

Eiders are encountered occasionally around the counties coast but are scarce winter visitors this far South in Ireland. I have always wanted to see this duck for myself since being enthralled by images of the males ghostly appearance in bird identification guides a few years ago and thankfully today was the day.

Once I reached the mountain stage I scanned the water for the rafts of Scoters which rest at the surface when they take a break from feeding in the depths with the naked eye and then I set up the scope to easily observe the birds up close and to hopefully find the Eider that was reported to be with the Common Scoters and single Black Scoter. 

I briefly scoped the nearest raft to no avail so I turned my sights to the larger one further out. While taking a break from the eye piece I noticed a much purer source of white than the occasional lapping whitecaps near the Scoters and swiveled the scope upon it for further scrutiny.. there it was the Eider and it lived up to its sharp appearance, it was a male and then it was gone, gone below the surf in search of food.

The Eider to the left of the main Scoter raft.

I quickly tightened the tripods relevant adjustment points and retrieved the camera adapter from the car which after removing the scopes eyepiece cover went into place easily, then the camera was attached and I was ready to record this elusive duck.

The waiting game then in sued where I had to consistently keep the cameras LCD screen on to see what was happening while trying to find a white bird on a very limited view of a grayish green canvas. After a few minutes in the cold with slightly numb finger I finally found him again and the clip I captured can be seen below, after just locating him he decided to dive once more which resulted in trying to relocate it again once he was topside once more. One clip which I have now reviewed captures the Eider chasing after a Scoter for no particular reason, the Scoter certainly wasn't too keen on staying around when the Eider was upset!

The video captured is to be honest rubbish quality but it does clearly show this Eider which as over a kilometer to the North of me.

Today was a good day and it was great to finally encounter one of the Sea's Kings at last!

The Eider itself!

Toothed Whales

A female Sperm Whale 

 The Odontoceti family of Whales comprises of various species of toothed Cetaceans, from the humble Harbour Porpoise all the way the the behemoth that is the Sperm Whale. Overall these toothed animals outnumber the baleen Whales by miles in the Cetacean families found across the globe. They are perhaps the most diverse cohort of mammals in the world and Kerry plays host to a diverse variety of these animals from the shallow bays eaten into the coastline by the Atlantic to the vast expanse of open ocean beyond the continental shelf to the West, defined by undersea canyons.
 Toothed Whales are categorised by not surprisingly having teeth!, a single blowhole or nasal passage, a dorsal fin half way along the animals back in the case of Dolphins and Porpoises (not the larger Sperm Whale) and a specialised organ on top/ to the front of the animals head called the melon (the spermaceti organ in Sperm Whales) used almost entirely for specialist feeding techniques but also for communication.    

Sperm Whale and Common Dolphin tooth comparison

Interestingly the two teeth featured on the left show just how drastic a size difference there is between the largest carnivore on earth and our smallest dolphin species. One preys upon Giant Squid alone in the bleak, blacked out abysses of the continental shelf while the other organises itself and others into efficient groups to corral fish such as Herring in the inshore waters of Ireland. Both animals could not be more physically different but they both exploit their own biological niche amazingly efficiently.
A bout of D.I.Y  C.S.I with these teeth can uncover the animals age by simply slicing the tooth in half, then smearing the slightly serrated inner grooves of the tooth with ink to count these grooves just as you would with a tree and its growth rings!
 As eluded to above, these animals have developed a sophisticated sound system over Milena. This system is composed of the melon/ spermaceti organ, fine tuned hearing and adapted bone structure, The animal would emmit a series of clicks from just below its blowhole, these clicks then pass through the acoustic lens that is the melon or spermaceti organ and bounce off the skulls curved centrepiece which resembles a satellite dish in my view. This sound is then shot out of the animals head towards whatever the animal wants to identify. The sound rebounds off of the object or prey and returns to the animal via its elongated lower jaw bones and directed towards its ears. Using this method the animal can see with sound and efficiently pinpoint their prey.
 These toothed Cetaceans are highly evolved to take advantage of prey sources and as such are regarded to be classed as second in intelligence only behind ourselves! Bottle nose Dolphins like Fungi in Dingle harbour are particularly credited as being highly intelligent due to their ingenuitive hunting techniques, ability to recognise themselves in a mirror and have their own form of language or advanced communication system. The mighty Sperm Whale is the holder of the largest brain of any animal so it's not surprising that these highly sophisticated species are only second to homo sapiens.

Baleen Whales

A young Minke Whale showing it's baleen and throat grooves.

 Otherwise known as the Mysticeti suborder group of the Whale family system, these animals include the largest species that have ever lived. This of course includes the mighty Blue Whale,Fin,Sei,Northern Right and Minke Whales. Although all of these Irish species look somewhat different, they all share the same body plan, just altered to maximise the animals efficiency at sea.
 These animals adapted to return to the sea rather than live on land like the majority of species choose to do after spending Milena undersea, the Cetacean family did this to take advantage of the plentiful supply of food found in the oceans.
 In doing so these animals underwent extreme physical changes, most notable the loss of their hind legs which are now only recognisable as minute twig like vestigial bones found around the back half of the animals stuck in place by a mass of flesh. Cetaceans also manoeuvred their nostrils to the top of their heads to improve efficiency while at the surface to intake more air. These animals also became extremely streamlined in the form of a more pointed head, hairless body and horizontal tail fluke (unlike a fishes vertical tail).
 Now with all these changes to a once land animal did result in the split of the Cetacean family between baleen Whales and the more common toothed Whales that I will go into more detail at a later date.
 So baleen Whales have all of the above features except for the following: baleen (or whalebone as the whalers referred to it as), throat grooves (not found on the North Atlantic Right Whale due to this animals massive mouth and feeding strategy which made such an adaptation redundant) and a double blowhole.

Inward bristles of baleen

Baleen is a unique feeding adaptation only found in the Mysticeti suborder of the Cetacean family group. It comprises of Keratin which is then made up of protein. It is the exact same as our own finger nails and hair, it's just a combination of the two!. It is a very flexible substance while living but once disconnected from a Whale it becomes rigid and begins to taper inwards. A single Whale can have hundreds of these baleen plates, they are only found on the roof of the animals mouth and are triangular in shape when seen from the side.
 It was known to whalers as 'Whalebone' as it is only derived from these animals. Baleen truly was the plastic of it's day, the most acknowledged use of it was in the creation of corsets in the fashion industry!, but baleen also had a niche in the production of brushes, to stiffen silk fabrics and even in judges wigs to name a few.

Outside view of baleen

Baleen works on a very simple premises, to ensure that virtually no prey items escape the clutches of a Whales massive mouths. It works synchrony with the Whales throat grooves, when the animal opens it's mouth just before swimming through a school of it's prey, it's throat grooves expand to accommodate a higher water intake thus engulfing more prey. Upon closing it's mouth the Whale then uses it's tongue to push all of the seawater it has taken in. This forces it's prey into the inward facing bristles of it's baleen while allowing the sea water to escape and this simple syphoning system has allowed Whales to grow to the enormous sizes they are today... all fuelled by unsuspecting prey that alone would barely support ourselves let alone a Whale! but due to such a large intake of these animals using an efficient system there really was no size limit in these animals weightless world.

Fin and Minke Whale baleen plate comparison

CSI: Cetacean Stranding Investigations

  I am involved in the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group's stranding scheme where as much information as possible is gathered from the carcass of a Cetacean. Now what does this really mean?

Common Dolphin stranded at Rossbeigh

Well the basis of this scheme revolves around most crucially obtaining a skin sample from a fresh animal which is sliced approximately into two thin 5mm long and 1mm wide strips without any blubber attached with a disposable scalpel to ensure that it can fit into a minute vial filled with ethanol to preserve the specimen. This sample is then accompanied by a card displaying relevant information on the samples date of collection,location along with its own unique code to keep track of every individual sample. The sample is then packed into a padded (pre-paid) envelope and sent directly to the Natural History Museum on Merrion Street in Dublin and placed in the national Cetacean genetic tissue bank which is run by the IWDG so that a substantial genetic collection of Ireland's Cetaceans is readily available to researchers in the future likelihood that a wide spread research project will be under taken in the coming years.

Skin sample taken from the above Common Dolphin

 Other than taking a skin sample (where possible) I also measure the animal from the tip of its lower jaw to the tip of its tail fluke and also the animals girth/waistline which tells us whether the animal was fully mature and roughly if it was at a healthy weight and not malnourished which may signal that there were some issues limiting the animals capacity to feed it self which could have eventually had led to its death, now if a Cetacean does not feed it also does not take in water which is ironic for an animal that spends its entire life in a weightless world of water so the only way for the animal to stay hydrated is to feed  so if this is diminished in any way it can be detrimental to  the animals health.

Harbour Porpoise skin sample ready to go.

 Now this abnormality may come about for a number of reasons, firstly the animal may have been too old and weak to catch prey, it may have been sick and injured either by one another or due to an altercation with man be it directly in the form of a collision with a boat or indirectly with fishing gear among many other factors which many have led to any one of the deaths of such animals that end up stranded along the counties coast be it already dead or still alive these issues are only theories unless proven beyond doubt but this highlights just how important this stranding scheme is even though it only covers very minute, specific data there is always room for more direct actions if more funding was made available such important initiatives.

The Irish White Tailed Sea Eagle reintroduction project: Early years

  In 2007 perhaps the most captivating conservation story of the past decade began to become a reality, bringing back the biggest bird in Europe to soar over it's former haunts, the White Tailed Sea eagle.
 I first heard of the project over the radio on my way home from school early in 2007 and was immediately perplexed with the concept that EAGLES would be released into my locality in the coming Summer months.

Admiring the pens view.

In preparation for the birds arrival the NPWS (National parks and wildlife service) constructed holding pens complete with a artificial nest which composed of a ply sheet lined with moss and boxed off to avoid any accidents. This provided the birds with some form of home comforts with an additional level of shelter. The pens also had a wide open area which was cris-crossed by burly branches to take the birds weight while they would eventually test their wing muscles in anticipation of their release in the end of August, to coincide with when the chicks would fledge from the nest in the wild. To top the pens off they were divided into at least four separate sections to divide the birds into smaller groups and even had fist sized holes covered over with a sleeve or leg from an old pair of pants! to ensure that the birds would not associate people with food as this would cause problems for the birds in the later years. The location of these pens remain a secret but are firmly in the heart of Killarney National park.

 In the early years of the project the birds were fed an exquisite mixture of 'surf n turf' which consisted of Red Deer hearts among other parts and the remains of Cod, Monk fish and other fish depending on availability. But this varied diet turned to mainly fish orientated menu in the latter years of the project.

    Two chicks on a makeshift nest.
 As already mentioned the birds would be released by mid to late August to coincide with when a wild chick would leave the nest. This is due largely to the fact that it takes the entire Summer for each chick to build up enough strength in their wings to support their body weight during flight.
 In the first year of the project 15 chicks were taken from various nests around the Norwegian coastline and surrounding islands. Each chick or eaglet was taken from nests that housed two chicks, a harsh reality in the natural world is if things come in twos or more it simply is a strategy to ensure that at least one individual survives especially in predatory birds where the larger sibling uses it's size to have the first go at any food brought into the nest, this results in the smaller chick becoming more feeble and unable to take in enough food which results in the bird being unable to fend for itself, so in a sense because one young bird was removed from per availing nest, the likely hood of both chicks surviving was greatly heightened!. A key concept during this phase was to maintain a 50/50 ratio between males and the larger females to avoid any future issues of having too many birds of the same gender as this would be of no use during the wild breeding stage of the project.
 The chicks were kept in a converted Norwegian barn during the collecting stage and once the quota of birds was reached they were carefully loaded into individual dog carriers and flown to Kerry on the projects own chartered plane!
 Once in the Kingdom the birds were met in 2007 with a placard of farmers showing their opposition towards the project at Kerry airport with the unwarranted fear that these large birds would pluck young lambs off of the counties countryside. But beyond this minor negativity the birds were ushered to the park in a convoy of vehicle and aptly placed in their new home in anticipation of their eventual freedom in the following months.
 I will follow on from this with the further trials and tribulations of this captivating project and my own experiences with these mighty birds over the past few years.

My Summer office

 Over the course of the year I make my way back West to Valentia island's Bray Head as soon as a decent spell of settled weather rolls in from the Atlantic, this combined with the sudden influx of large Whale activity in Dingle bay from mid-July running through to September in recent years that has been recorded from both Slea head and the Blasket islands further incentives me to intensify my efforts. This in a way dilutes the information obtained from the site as it is only consistent for some section of the year but due to the distance involved in travelling back to Valentia, I tend to go back when both of the above are in sync as it's better to observe some Cetacean activity rather than none at all!



Bray head is the western most point of Valentia island this prominent piece of landmass juts out into the North Atlantic and is flanked from the North and South by two varying seascapes, the outer Dingle bay to the North and by the highest cliffs in the county followed by the steeped sided Puffin island further out to the South. Immediately in front of the headland however is perhaps the most iconic sight in the country, the twin (although not identical!) rocky pinnacle peaks known as the Skellig islands.
 I chose Bray Head as a vantage point to spot Cetaceans because from the Southern half of Dingle bay right along the coastline until you reach West Cork there is a massive "black spot" as I call it where virtually nothing is known about the Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises that frequent and use these productive waters. There had been a few watches conducted from Bray head in the years running up to my own watches and these proved worthwhile as various species were recorded over the years even though they were not continued.

 For those of you who have never ventured up to the head, the 40 minute walk over the continuously inclined dirt road is well worth tackling as once you finally reach the Bray head tower, in my view you are rewarded with the finest view in Ireland due to the spectacular features as mentioned above.
 All of my sightings are officially validated via the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group's sighting scheme where they are put into the countries online database, by doing this I contribute some data towards a scheme that over time will allow us to piece together the movement's and uses Cetaceans have of the South-West coastline of Kerry, even though I set out deliberately to locate these marine mammals if you by chance spot what you deem to be either a Whale, Dolphin or Porpoise you can too add to our ever growing bank of information by filling out your own sighting report on the site.
I will delve into how I've located Cetaceans from land in my next post and go through why this past year has been my most productive to date.
Watch this space.
Sean