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??
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Large tern island and gull chicks
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Common tern
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Common terns and a coot
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Grey heron
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Knot and black-headed gull
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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.
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Orlock Point with a flock of starlings
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Smelt Mill Bay near Bangor
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Take 2
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Take 3
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Ballymacormick Point
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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
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Daily visitors
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Hedgehog!!
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House sparrow
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Dunnock
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2020
131: House martin
132: Sand martin
Bangor West
66: House martin
Belfast WOW
71: Whitethroat
72: Sand martin
73: Greylag goose
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