First-winter female Lesser Scaup on Monalty Lough, Co. Monaghan
I couldn’t wait for the winter to finish up. Since autumn 2023 had drawn to a close, I had put a serious amount of time into checking lake after lake with little reward. Other than a pretty successful day in Cavan in late December 2023, where I managed to find a Great White Egret and a pair of Ring-necked Ducks within half an hour of each other, I was struggling big time to dig out anything of note. My weekends throughout the winter consisted of checking as many lakes as I could, be it in Monaghan or Cavan or both. I love birding my local patch around Carrickmacross, despite almost never seeing anything. In terms of rarities, I reckon Co. Monaghan would be in the bottom five counties in terms of potential but despite this, I would be lost without my patch! I try my best to check Monalty Lough and Moylan Lough 4-5 times a week throughout the year. It is usually the small things that make patch birding great, be it a brief Black-tailed Godwit or a pair of Redshank in a flooded field. B