Seemed easier to do a couple of posts as there was a lot to catch up on with so much time spent looking at the garden. So here is an update on both patches. WOW on Thursday produced 40 species and boosted the patch total by three - Mediterranean gull, jackdaw and little grebe. The good news is that the five Mediterranean gulls are back and the black-headed gulls are flocking to the nesting islands again - we had 350+ as well as all the regulars. The new video camera is working well and hopefully will give good views of the nesting med gulls. The terns use the other island so we might get a lot of black-headed gulls on camera. There are three new roosting platforms in front of the observation room so hopefully we will get nice tern views in spring and summer.
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| Teal |
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| "Tern" island - all gulls - spot the med gull! |
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| Med gull screenshot taken from the monitor in WOW. The camera is on the island |
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| Breeding plumage creeping in to the head of the godwit |
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| I like millet too |
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| Bhg trying out the new roosting planks in front of the observation room. |
A walk along the coastal path from Bangor to Ballyholme added a rock pipit to the list as well as a diving shag and a wader roost.
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| Nearly missed it! |
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| Up for 10 seconds, down for 90 |
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| Spot three waders at the Long Hole |
The absolute patch gold highlight on Sunday afternoon in the garden was a pair of siskin, the first in two years. The male proved slightly more obliging and hung around long enough for a sprint upstairs to grab the digiscoping equipment, sprint back to set it up and get a couple of shots before a starling spooked him. His mate meanwhile munched on sunflower hearts but never came to the front of the feeder.
2018
111: Mediterranean gull |
| Patch gold siskin |
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| Good bird to practice id skills? |
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| And a nice robin to finish |
2018
Bangor West
50: Goldcrest
51: Rock pipit
52: Siskin
Belfast WOW
65: Mediterranean gull
66: Little grebe
67: Jackdaw
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