More spring goodies

We are now well into June so it is time to post an update before I lose all track of what I saw and where I saw it.

We will start local as there have been three additions to the local patch -  swift, Manx shearwater and gannet. The main reason for this is that the garden is in full leaf, birds are harder to see and I haven't walked the coastal path as much as I would like.

WOW continues to throw up surprises. We had 6 pairs of breeding Mediterranean gulls, and the sandwich terns have over 50 nests and now there are chicks - easily seen on the camera. It also served up a greenshank, ruff and 2 male garganey in mid May  plus arctic terns.  When I returned in early June one garganey was still there and this week we had two firsts for WOW - a Canada goose and a spoonbill. Obviously the spoonbill was the centre of attention as there is a feral flock of Canada geese in Strangford Lough. The spoonbill was feeding well outside Hide 2 and roosting at the back of the reserve so the photos are not good. At one point it was sitting on the trestle outside Hide 2 so I went round there only to find it had flown off to the back of the reserve. Oh how we laughed (not)!! I had 34 species this week including all 4 swift/hirundines, 5 ducks, 5 gulls and 5 waders. 

Spoonbill - no doubt

Better than a flyover

Please come closer

Oh look it's at Hide 2 - run!!

Garganey and black-tailed godwit

Garganey

Garganey

Shelduck family

Shelduck family

Arctic tern

Arctic tern

I also got to England (again!!) and we had a day at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. This added 6 birds which are not native to Northern Ireland or very hard to get a look at: Cetti's warbler, reed warbler, marsh harrier, marsh tit, sedge warbler and a flyover spoonbill which I got really excited about until I went to WOW last week. We were also told there were ospreys feeding and there is a nest for them according to the notice in the café.

Osprey cam

Well look at the ospreys, they have changed into a pair of greater black-backs with three chicks and we never did see the osprey (or hobby or bittern). Never mind it was a good day out with a nice lunch in the café and an oystercatcher nest with a single chick. 

        

Oystercatcher nest at Leighton Moss

Locally I added fulmar kittiwake and puffin on a round Rathlin boat trip, a mandarin duck on the river at Broughshane and a flyover red kite at the Quoile Bridge near Downpatrick. 

Mandarin duck

Finally there is this little chap which hit a window in Carnalea, was rescued, revived and released by my birding pal David Miller. We thought it might be a twite but then sanity took over and we went for a fledgling linnet.

2025

124: Carrion crow (from February!!)

125: Kittiwake

126: Fulmar

127: Puffin

128: Ruff

129: Garganey

130: Mandarin duck

131: Sedge warbler

132: Cetti's warbler

133: Reed warbler

134: Marsh harrier

135: Spoonbill

136: Marsh tit

137: Red kite

138: Manx shearwater

NDCP

55: Swallow

56: Swift

57: Manx shearwater

58: Gannet

WOW

83: House martin

84: Greenshank

85: Ruff

86: Garganey

87: Canada goose

88: Spoonbill

Spring migrants arrive

 As you guys all know April and May are the months to be out and about. Last year I wasn't out and about but this year things are much better. 

Bolton at Easter was a brilliant family time and birding had to take a back seat, however I was able to squeeze in the odd twitch and a few walks.  I finally got to Rochdale and the peregrine falcon  was spotted on the town hall. Unfortunately they are not breeding there this year so it's a bit hit and miss. There is a web site with a camera trained on the nest but mostly it is empty as the falcons are breeding elsewhere in the town but occasionally the male pitches in and you might be lucky. They also have their own Facebook page. 

https://www.rochdaletownhall.co.uk/conservation/falcons

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RochdaleFalcons

Rochdale town hall

Phone shot I'm afraid, peregrine is sitting on the wee buttress down from the top.

Elton Reservoir had singing willow warbler and a nice walk. We went to Formby beach to paddle and build sandcastles and got gannet offshore, and on the way home detoured to Marshside RSPB for common sandpiper and pink-footed goose. (I also managed to miss a little ringed plover and a spoonbill).  A trip to Martin Mere only added a wheatear flying across the road. The reserve itself didn't offer a lot as you know from the previous post. We finally heard a tawny owl on the last night having missed it in February. I am also adding in carrion crow which was seen in February but escaped the list!

Back home and the coastal path finally turned up sandwich tern but also a singing whitethroat. Not an annual event but it was nice to see one again. I also got a swallow one evening hunting over Main Street in Bangor having not seen one at all last year. 

WOW had lots of  interesting birds as the breeding season got underway. The Mediterranean gulls are back in force with at least 4 pairs and possibly five. The little gull was still there into its fifth week. The most interesting observation concerns the sandwich terns. Normally we see the odd one or two early in the season but they don't stay. This year we have had over 30 who look like they are settling to breed (displaying, pair bonding, mutual feeding and mating). This follows on from the 60+ we had roosting at the end of the summer in 2024. We think they have re-located from Cockle Island in Groomsport which has been tern free so far this year. High tides seem to have washed out the nests last year so we think the terns have voted with their wings and moved to WOW. Common and arctic terns have both arrived and we have had the full suite of sand martin, house martin, swallow and swift hunting overhead. The wooded areas are full of singing birds and I added willow warbler and blackcap in the trees behind Hide 2.  Finally we also had a common sandpiper feeding in front of the window plus all the resident birds nesting. 

A trip up to Glenwherry for cuckoo drew a blank but we came back via Capanagh Wood and the Starbog Road and bingo, cuckoo seen and heard. A tidy spring list and there is still three weeks to go. 

Black-tailed godwits are colouring up nicely

Shovelers are sleeping

Mediterranean gulls on the platform

Sandwich terns on the platform

Nesting coot

Common sandpiper

The two shots of the nesting platform are screen shots taken from the camera on the platform as they are too far away for reasonable photographs. The camera is focused on a Mediterranean gull nest and it is giving good views of the pair. Hopefully the sandwich terns will breed as well.

2025
110: Little gull
111: Willow warbler
113: Gannet
114: Pink-footed goose
115: Common sandpiper
116: Wheatear
117: Tawny owl
118: Common tern
119: Swift
120: Whitethroat
121: Arctic tern
122: Cuckoo
123: House martin
124: Carrion crow (from February!!)

NDCP

52: Meadow pipit

53: Whitethroat

54: Sandwich tern

55: Swallow

WOW

75: Little gull

76: Willow warbler

77: Blackcap

78: Common tern

79: Swift

80: Swallow

81: Common sandpiper

82: Arctic tern

83: House martin

Spark bird - what's yours?

 A spark bird is the bird that started you birdwatching. Over Easter we ended up in Martin Mere WWT doing a duck hunt with the grandchildren. Unfortunately the ducks were hidden in the collection area so I was unable to get to any of the hides. I had Merlin on for some of the time and it registered a Cetti's warbler but I failed to hear or see it so it isn't on the list. What did spark my interest was the South American collection which contained some Chiloe wigeons and this was my spark bird back in 1974.

Chiloe wigeons at Martin Mere

The Golden duck!!

We were visiting a friend in Blagdon in Somerset and his dad owned and ran a chemist shop in Weston-Super-Mare. We went to visit him and he was selling binoculars. At that time I did not own a pair and usually borrowed my Dad's extremely heavy 10x50 if I wanted to see anything. I bought a pair of 8x30 binoculars for £13.50 and we went off to Chew Magna reservoir on the following day to try them out.  I saw and recognised a lot of the basic wildfowl - mallard, tufted duck, mute swan coot etc.. but there was one strange looking duck I did not know. Later that day we came across a bookshop which stocked a copy of  The Hamlyn Guide to birds of Britain and Europe by Bertel Bruun and Arthur Singer (which I still have by the way - see below) so I bought that and started looking for the strange duck and was a bit confused to find that the bird wasn't in the book. On returning home I now had binoculars and a book so I started to look for, identify and record birds and that was the start of a lifelong and very enjoyable hobby. It was another 13 years before I finally nailed the odd duck on Chew Magna reservoir - a Chiloe wigeon. It must have been an escape from a local wildfowl collection clearly doing its bit to confuse novice bird watchers.

Interestingly I started looking at birds locally in the autumn/winter of 1974/1975, but the records in my book show that I did not see a redshank until  August 1975 in Ballycastle. How could I have driven from Ards to Greyabbey to visit relatives and not seen a redshank along the shore? I ticked off new birds in the book with a date and a location, and it makes for interesting reading 50 years later.  Magpie is not recorded until February 1975 at Fair head - seems there weren't any in Bangor in those days!! Here's a couple of random pages and a battered cover to bring back birding memories. Doubtless some of you started with this book or owned a copy in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Finch page

Duck page

Working at an update on Bolton over Easter and patch updates since our return.  Listing will resume in the next post. Please feel free to name your spark bird in the comments.

A pre spring roundup

Thought it would be a good idea to have a quick update before even more spring migrants pitch in. As well as that we are in Bolton again over Easter so best to update before we go. I have already seen the odd migrant and even had a chiffchaff in January at WOW. A lone swallow at Portavoe was a nice bonus on April 1st. WOW produced sandwich terns and sand martins. The garden has been very quiet as warmer temperatures have encouraged the garden visitors to move on, fortunately the coastal path added lesser black-backed gull and meadow pipit.

WOW has been quiet although we are still recording all seven of our winter ducks, large flocks of black-tailed godwits starting to colour up and a pair of Mediterranean gulls finally made an appearance. The main excitement has been four of our class of 2021 ringed black-tailed godwits reappearing and the odd vagrant gull dropping in briefly (Iceland gull and little gull). There has also been a whimbrel on the back bank for about two weeks. The anti-gull measures from the last blog seem to have failed as the island is now back up to 100+ black-headed gulls . The 2 Mediterranean gulls also seem to be setting up home where they did last year. It looks like we are back to the drawing board in deterring the gulls. 

Not working as well?

Med gull was not worried at all

Up and close with the godwits

Blue over yellow

Red over blue

Colouring up for migration

Had trouble with this one, all our godwits have this on their right leg.

More breeding finery

We also have little grebes

................ and coots

We also had a trip to Larne to look for mandarin ducks but drew a blank. The river did produce grey heron, grey wagtail and .........dipper!! Considering I did not see one in 2023 and 2024 it was a bit ironic to see two in the space of  15 minutes.

Inver river, Larne

Late news from WOW as I went to press was that the little gull which has been hanging around finally turned up on a Thursday morning. Being a little gull there was no point in trying for a distant picture as it was right at the back all the time. 

2025

105: Whimbrel

106: Mediterranean gull

107: Sandwich tern

108: Sand martin

109: Swallow

110: Little gull

NDCP
50: Sparrowhawk
51: Lesser black-backed gull
52: Meadow pipit

WOW
71: Whimbrel
72: Mediterranean gull
73: Sandwich tern
74: Sand martin

75: Little gull

Better to be lucky than good

Before exciting dipper news, a quick update on the Bolton trip. I was able to get a trip round Elton Reservoir and came up with 29 species including Canada goose and ring-necked parakeet which are "English" ticks and a female kestrel which I should get at home. As most of you will know they are becoming increasingly rare and more difficult to get in Northern Ireland. It is nearly two years since I have seen one at home. 

The following day we were able to visit Pennington Flash which has an excellent bird feeding station and I had hopes of adding to the 2025 list. The Flash delivered with nuthatch, reed bunting, stock dove, willow tit, great spotted woodpecker and goosander. These are all regulars at the reserve, but not always seen in one visit. What was unexpected was not one but two great white egrets which gave excellent views from one of the hides. All in all a good hour's work, 37 species and a nice bowl of leek and potato soup in the café. 

Phone shot at Elton

Phone shot again

Pennington Flash great white egret and grey heron - another phone shot!

Finally got a trip to Burton Mere RSPB before heading home and added 32 species including Egyptian goose and yet another great white egret! 

Burton Mere great white egret

Black-tailed godwits

Burton Mere RSPB

Since our return, the North Down patch has added a soaring sparrowhawk and a singing greenfinch. WOW has also been quiet with nothing to get the pulse racing until this week when the Iceland gull finally had the decency to drop in on a Thursday morning and a whimbrel popped up on the grass bank at the back. As usual too far away for a good image so you are getting my usual "record shot" as well as a nice godwit and a view of the black headed gulls on the island starting in to their whole breeding routine. This week however the team put a stop to that with a deterrent scheme to try and stop the gulls nesting, so that the island is available for the later arriving terns. So far it seems to be working. 

Last week

This week

Nothing in the centre

Blackwit

Spot the Iceland gull

There it is!!

Definite lack of black on the primaries and tail.

A trip to Craigavon gave good views of a ring-necked duck along with 56 pochard all but three of them male!! No photos I'm afraid. The initial sighting was too far away and I didn't fancy lugging the scope round the one and a half mile walk for a closer view. You will have to make do with a nice scenic view of the northern balancing lake. 

I also managed a walk along the Divis trail as well, a walk I have been unable to do for quite some time. We had a sunny day, beautiful views over Belfast and two additions to the 2025 list - skylarks chasing and singing and 4 ravens doing what ravens do when the weather is good - chasing, rolling, playing and calling. As per usual I heard them before I saw them. 

Belfast from Divis viewpoint

The dipper then I hear you ask? After two years of dipping out (groan) with multiple visits to the Sixmilewater at Antrim, the Threemilewater at Mossley and five different spots in and around Bolton where I recorded Dippers in the past, I finally nailed one on the River Tonge ten minutes walk from base in Bolton in a spot I hadn't previously checked. I went back twice to try and get a photograph and it wasn't there!! Typical birding mantra - right place right time or as Gerry Murphy used to say on a Thursday morning at WOW, "Better to be lucky than good" 

NDCP

48: Kingfisher

49: Greenfinch

50: Sparrowhawk

WOW

69: Long-tailed tit

70: Iceland gull

71: Whimbrel

89: Kestrel

90: Canada goose

91: Ring-necked parakeet

92: Nuthatch

93: Stock dove

94: Reed bunting

95: Willow tit

96: Great white egret

97: Goosander

98: Great-spotted woodpecker

99: Dipper

100: Egyptian goose

101: Ring-necked duck

102: Iceland gull

103: Skylark

104: Raven

105: Whimbrel