Winter lockdown

Happy days are here again with another six weeks of lockdown which will bring us to early March and the spring migrants. Last year I despaired of hearing willow warbler and it looks like the same again this year if it is extended over Easter. I am still out exercising - mainly along the coastal path but I have mopped up all the expected ticks except curlew and lapwing and the list is now on 48. The lapwing flock which was there in early December has legged it somewhere else and I haven't managed a curlew yet. I'm afraid you are getting a selection of garden birds and an update on the Birdwatch Ireland garden bird survey which runs for 13 weeks and wants to know the highest numbers of each species seen in the garden a week at a time. To date I have logged 28 species including a maximum of  3 blackcaps, 4 bullfinches, 11 blackbirds, 11 starlings, 1 goldcrest, 1 house sparrow and 5 linnets.  Today I had a pair of siskins, the first since 2018, they are not annual and not easily seen but today's cold spell might have helped. I have added herring gulls by putting out mince pies which were past their sell by date. I'm not supposed to count flyovers but there hasn't been anything which didn't drop in for a quick bite.  My spring lockdown list ended up at 31 but that had swallow, house martin and swift on, so  I have basically the same species all year round.

 A couple of rays of light to cheer you up, it is light till five o' clock and I have snowdrops and crocuses in flower in small numbers. Also my outside Christmas lights are still on to provide some winter cheer. Apparently you can keep decorations up until Candlemas which is February 1st. Mine will stay until the batteries run out. I will also throw in a few pictures of the garden as I haven't featured it for a few years. 

Fat block, sunflower hearts and suet pellets at the back on the apple tree

Fat balls and chopped nuts at the garage, softbill food on the table below the solar panel and sunflower hearts in the silver birch.

 

I ground feed a softbill mix, raisins and mealworms which pulls in the blackbirds, magpies, woodpigeons and collared doves. The tits, finches and smaller stuff use the feeders and occasionally the ground (dunnock and robin especially). Here is a selection of visitors.

Jackdaw, a pair breed in the neighbour's chimney

Herring gull on the lookout for mince pies

Great tit

Hooded crow

Linnet

Blackcap

Blue tit

Blackcap

Two blackcaps, there was actually another male below the female but I couldn't get all three in at the same time!

Siskin (M)

Siskin (F)

A quick visit to WOW en route to an essential run to Belfast added 7 to the list which has reached 30 - in two visits. The highlight was 300 shelduck and 60+ wigeon as well as rook and jackdaw.

2020  

76: Purple sandpiper

77: Stonechat

78: Lesser black-backed gull

79: Rock pipit

80: Meadow pipit

81: Siskin

NDCP 

32: House sparrow

33: Eider

34: Turnstone

35: Redshank

36: Great black-backed gull

37: Pied wagtail

38: Black guillemot

39: Grey heron

40: Ringed plover

41: Dunlin

42: Brent goose

43: Mistle thrush

44: Sparrowhawk

45: Wren

46: Purple sandpiper

47: Guillemot

48: Siskin

WOW

24: Wigeon 

25: Tufted duck

26: Coot

27: Knot

28: Black-tailed godwit

29: Jackdaw

30: Rook