2023 round up

I had this up and ready to post when my good friend and fellow birder David told me he had a brambling in his garden, so I hung on till New year's eve and hot footed it up to Carnalea this morning and dipped out. Heading out after lunch and a phone call to say the brambling is showing well so up we went and got number 161 for the year at the second attempt. Thank you David - and it would be churlish of me not to put on some of his recent photographs taken at the feeders in his garden which is where the rustic bunting appeared two years ago. 

Sparrowhawk is a regular visitor!

Chaffinch with brambling

Brambling

Brambling

Tree sparrows every winter

So back to the quick and short round up of 2023 which is coming to an end soon. The totals were as follows

The year list finished on 161 plus the 26 birds seen in Alaska, claiming 187.

The North Down patch ended on 70.

The RSPB/WOW/Kinnegar patch ended on 94.

Both patches notched up one more each since the last post and they were unusual birds. The garden produced a treecreeper and WOW turned up not one but two great spotted woodpeckers - a male and a female. The two woodpeckers were coming to the peanut feeder at WOW and to be honest I am not sure I have had better views anywhere. I have seen them in England but not as close and not for such a prolonged view. Views in Northern Ireland tended to be brief and frustrating, but not any more. These two guys performed and also gave good flight views as they flew in to the feeder and then away. As usual both patch lists had serious omissions as did the 2023 list but let's concentrate on the positives. 

The Irish garden bird survey continues to entertain with numbers and variety. As well as the treecreeper I also had a jay in the garden and two visits from the sparrowhawk. The song thrush is still around and goldfinches and greenfinches have put in appearances. I also have regular visits from house sparrow and linnet. Blackcaps have provided 2 females and a male.

Blue-billed teal is still around WOW

Unseasonal greenshank

Male GSW

Male GSW

Female GSW

The female appeared on a grey wet drizzly day while the male pitched in on a bright sunny day. We have had quite a few of the former recently which has made photographs challenging at times. Some days I have looked out and decided not to bother, just enjoy the birds!! 

Here's hoping for a bird filled 2024 and here's hoping David and I  can kick off with the annual January 1st Round the Lough to kickstart the list. I have pencilled in a trip or two to Bolton as well as Tyneside, and hopefully I will get back to Islay again. A lot of this was will depend on the orthopaedics - but I can always sit in WOW or the back room with a pair of binoculars and as David says - "Anything can turn up anywhere"

2023

160: Willow tit

161: Brambling

+USA/Canada: 26 = 186 for the year

NDCP: 

70: Treecreeper

Belfast RSPB

94: Great spotted woodpecker

Approaching the solstice

 Need a quick update on what has been happening since the last blog as I have been out and about but there are no additions to the lists. 

WOW has been very quiet since the grey phalarope although the blue-billed teal is still around. Cormorant, heron and egret numbers have levelled out as the law of diminishing returns kicks in. We had three ringed godwits. The two black-tailed godwits were returning birds which were ringed here in 2021. The bar-tailed godwit was a Norwegian  bird which has been seen around the area a few times. All three were too far away for pictures. The main news from WOW is that D3 has been fenced off. This is the area beside WOW which has been ear marked for  a new cruise liner terminal. Planning permission runs out next year so they need to be seen to be doing something, so it has been fenced off. We are hoping they will retain the existing shelter belt but the current plans show a 1.6m path to access Hide 2. RSPB and local birders are arguing for a wider belt which would retain the trees, but basically it is the Harbour Commissioners land and they can do what they want. The last photo shows the shelter belt we would like to retain. The existing fence is to the left and as you can see 1.6m isn't very much! If you have time and energy you could write to the Harbour Commissioners about this. 

Unringed black-tailed godwits

Not much room for manoeuvre here

The sight which greets you at the gate

Yes they blocked it all the way down

See explanation above

David and I did the Montgomery hide on a rising tide in November. Usual cracking morning with the highlights being 5 grey plover, 5 greenshank, 500 knot and 600 golden plovers. I had 32 species all told, and all the following photos are David's. Interesting fact is the eider duck in the last photo which neither of us saw on the day!!

Approach along the stream

Teal

Distant knot

Distant knot in flight

Since my last visit they have huge nets over the captive birds to try and prevent bird flu coming in again from the wild birds. Looks like a giant aviary, not a pretty sight and must have cost a fortune. Bird flu forced them to close last year from October to January and they lost all their Halloween and Christmas footfall/income. They are also cutting back on feeders for the same reason so it is not as pleasant a visit as it once was. 

The coastal path highlight was a guided walk with the local Facebook group "For another path" to look at birds we might see along the path. This group has been set up to mobilise local opinion and lobby the council as to what improvements might be in order. It was a pleasant morning with 18 species noted, the highlights were 3 red-throated divers and a very odd plumaged eider duck which caused a bit of debate. 

The Irish garden bird survey started this week and I have been recording the maximum number of species seen in the garden over a week. A few interesting facts are as follows:

The only finches recorded so far are 2 chaffinches.

The blackcaps are back for the winter.

The coal tits are decimating the feeders and caching their food.

5 linnets turned up at the feeder.

5 house sparrows have also been about.

The sparrowhawk visited briefly.

A single song thrush has been a regular visitor.

It is a sobering thought that the return of this survey means that winter has arrived, a fact which was emphasised by the temperatures suddenly dropping to 3 - 5 degrees here in Bangor. Because we are close to the sea we do not get the colder temperatures recorded inland. However there is no doubt that there are more birds coming in to feed than there were a couple of weeks ago when temperatures were in double figures and there were still insects around. C'est la vie - BUT it is only 3 weeks to the solstice and the nights will be on the turn. 

2023

160: Willow tit

NDCP

69: Lapwing

Belfast RSPB

93: Stonechat