Deja vu

I am trying to get back into the routine of visiting WOW on a Thursday morning even though I can only visit the two open hides and wander round Kinnegar. Unfortunately since I was last there two weeks ago the water has disappeared and we are looking at a rerun of 2018 when the reserve was dry from late July until October. This year it has dried up in mid June and the tern islands are high and dry. I have managed to add swallow, swift and house martin to the WOW patch but the chances of migrant waders in autumn are not looking good without significant rain. Here are a few pictures (windows still not cleaned) plus two orchids from Kinnegar.

June 4th

June 18th

Lapwing

Black-headed gulls, chicks and terns

Curlew and black-tailed godwits

Shelduck

Pyramidal orchid

Common spotted orchid?

The garden continues to keep us entertained as we have families of blue, coal and great tits visiting the feeders and the goldfinches have suddenly decided that niger seed is  the must have delicacy - the feeder is being re-filled daily. My birding buddy David with the good camera visited recently for a socially distanced lunch so the first five photos are his.

Coal tit

Bullfinch

Coal tit

Robin

Titmice

House sparrow

Long-tailed tit family

Blue tit

Herring gull

Rook

I suppose the herring gull and the rook need an explanation. I have been ground baiting with past their sell by date rich tea biscuits to try and get a nice magpie shot. Three gulls suddenly appeared and all hell broke loose. They are massive brutes in a suburban garden and they didn't hang around. The rook appeared later and was much more wary. I did get the magpie and also the local jackdaws. I'll try jaffa cakes tomorrow to see what turns up. Local walks have added manx shearwater, fulmar and arctic tern to the list. Tollymore Forest gave good views of dipper, grey wagtail and jay. The dipper is a phone photo. What sort of idiot goes for a walk without a camera?? Anyway there was an adult and a juvenile on the Shimna.

Dipper

Shimna river also a bit on the dry side

I have also been woodland walking and looking/listening for woodpeckers. Unfortunately they were drumming while we were locked in. Now they are rearing young and not making a lot of noise so I will just keep trying. You only need to be lucky once.

2020

131: House martin

132: Sand martin

133: Arctic tern

134: Manx shearwater

135: Fulmar

Bangor West

66: House martin

Belfast WOW

74: Swift

75: House martin

76: Swallow

WOW, WOW and thrice WOW

With apologies to Frankie Howard and Up Pompeii we have no further truck with lockdown editions. WOW is again accessible with the two "free" hides open although the centre is still locked. No toilets and no coffee/tea, bring a flask and an empty bladder. Despite this it was great to be back (twice) and I managed 39 species between WOW and Kinnegar. Highlights were mute swans and 5 cygnets, sand martin, whitethroat, lapwings, black-headed gulls and hatched chicks, common terns, 80+ black-tailed godwits, singing blackcaps, greenfinches and willow warbler, a small blue butterfly and a knot in winter plumage??

Large tern island and gull chicks

Common tern

Common terns and a coot

Grey heron

Knot and black-headed gull

Elsewhere we have branched out with walks to Orlock, Portavoe, Ballymacormick Point and Clandeboye Wood. House martin has been added to the list and we have enjoyed some stunning sunsets and views over the North Down coast and Belfast Lough.

Orlock Point with a flock of starlings

Smelt Mill Bay near Bangor

Take 2

Take 3

Ballymacormick Point

The garden lockdown list is now at 31, with a flyover swallow, and the garden continues to provide views of common species and a few fledglings. I suppose the standout bird was the chiffchaff. We also finally managed to see two hedgehogs late one evening. I have long suspected they were around but late one night I went out to hunt for snails on the hostas and there they were on the lawn. One legged it but the other one sat long enough for a poor photo

Daily visitors

Hedgehog!!

House sparrow

Dunnock

2020

131: House martin

132: Sand martin

Bangor West

66: House martin

Belfast WOW

71: Whitethroat

72: Sand martin

73: Greylag goose