To Barry Levine and others,

I too had a wonderful trip to Ireland (May 20-31) and thourougly
enjoyed the birding. I won't enumerate the llist but I was well rewarded as
were you. I hired Eric Dempsey for two days, and I must say, I was very
pleased wth his approach to birding and knowledge of the area. He
definitely put me in the right places to see the birds that were there at
the time. He told me that late fall and winter are very good times for
birding in Ireland with high numbers of migrants passing through. You can
check his website at birdsireland.com. He has a new book entitled The
Complete Guide to Ireland's Birds. It is illustrated beautifully by Michael
O'Clery. There are two pictures for each bird, one as it appears in the
field, and the other a more technical painting. It is a 7.5" by 10" format,
so it is not suitable as a field guide, but it would be a wonderful
preparation book. (I don't get a commission from Eric. We became friendly
and I respect his work highly, and hope he does well as a guide.)

While we were there, he and other birders were very excited about the
first Irish record of a White Crowned Sparrow in Cork. What's common for
one is rare for another. You should not bird in Ireland without at least
checking out his information. I can't wait to go back.

Andrew McCormick
Bellevue, WA
andy_mcc at hotmail.com

_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online
http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963