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| Islandhill at dawn |
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| Whooper swans |
The flood gates at Ards added Great-black backed gull, Lapwing and
Pintail, quickly followed by Collared
dove at Loughries (34). Next stop
was the flooded area at Anne’s Point which gave us Greylag goose, Teal, Wigeon, Grey heron, Mute Swan and Little grebe
(40). A low tide at Kircubbin added Common
gull, Eider, Red-breasted merganser, Pied wagtail, and Greenshank (45).
Bishop’s Mill was disappointing and the run down to the Ferry only added Cormorant, Shag and Carrion Crow. (48).
The ferry crossing added Guillemot and
Black guillemot (50) and we stopped again at Castleward Bay to add Mallard and Gadwall. (52). A brief stop
at the Great Dam added Coot, Shoveler
and Tufted duck (55) before we hit the hide at Castle Island and the Quoile
Pondage Nature Reserve. No feeders at all in front of the Countryside centre
was a disappointment and the water levels were very high so Collector’s Bay had
few birds in the open and no new additions to the list except Goldeneye.
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| View from the hide! |
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| Mute swan auditions for Game of Thrones |
However two brief walks
produced Redwings and a mixed tit
flock with all four varieties of tits – Great,
Blue, Coal & Long-tailed AND Treecreeper, Goldcrest and Wren. (64) A Jay put in an appearance near the Coal
Quay. (65) It was at this stage we realised we had a number of omissions on the
list – like Moorhen and Great-crested grebe - but it was also at this stage
that the long awaited rain finally set in and the light dropped. As we headed
North we decided to try and target omissions at Killyleagh, Whiterock and
Castle Espie but not one new tick did we get in the last hour and a half, the
total remained stubbornly on 65 and the moorhen was never added to the list.
The NDCP Patch list did not
really get started till Saturday and Sunday but I managed to rack up quite a
few garden/local ticks in the first 5 days – Sparrowhawks were seen three times in five days and the male paused
briefly in the apple tree between the feeders. Herring gulls sit on the roof and the feeders attracted Woodpigeon,
Collard dove, Blackbirds, Dunnock, Robin, Blackcap, Starling, Chaffinch,
Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Great, Blue, Coal and Long-tailed tits, House
sparrow Redpoll and Siskin. In 2015 I waited until mid December for a
redpoll and 31st December for a siskin. Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Hooded crow and Mistle thrush appeared in
the garden or nearby giving a total of 25.
Today (January 6th ) I
walked the coastal path from the Long Hole into Bangor and home and cleaned up
a lot of the well expected common stuff –
Shag, Cormorant, Eider, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Turnstone, Pied wagtail,
Black-headed gull, Guillemot, Black Guillemot (35), plus two Great
northern divers (36), one at the Long Hole and one at Pickie. The most
surprising bird was a Moorhen on one
of the pontoons in the Marina!! Not
seen on the patch in all of 2015 and missed on New Year’s Day. I had a good look at it walked off,
turned and looked back and lo and behold it had disappeared and I have no idea
where it went. That took the total to 37, half of my total for 2015.
Update on Friday 8th
with a walk from Strickland’s Bay west to Carnalea and return added three more
patch ticks in the shape of Lapwing,
Grey wagtail, and Song thrush. The latter two were also year ticks.
Combining the New Year’s Day list
with the local stuff now puts the 2016 list at 74. The 65 species seen on January 1st plus the patch ticks
since then - Sparrowhawk, GND, Redpoll, Siskin,
Blackcap, Moorhen, Grey wagtail, Song thrush and Turnstone. The NDCP patch now stands at 40. Hopefully the
RSPB Harbour patch will kick off on Thursday when I resume volunteering duties.
2016 totals: 1 - 72 above
73 : Grey wagtail
74 : Song thrush
NDCP patch : 1 - 36 above
38 : Grey wagtail
39 : Lapwing
40 : Song thrush
2016 totals: 1 - 72 above
73 : Grey wagtail
74 : Song thrush
NDCP patch : 1 - 36 above
38 : Grey wagtail
39 : Lapwing
40 : Song thrush
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