Not often you get a lifer on your patch like the grey phalarope we spotted last year, but this year it has happened again at WOW when an American golden plover dropped in for a couple of days. They do pop up on the north coast every so often but don't usually stray south. Having said that, any wintering golden plover flock is always worth a close look just in case. Only difference for this patch lifer is that it had been spotted by someone else and reported on the NI birds website. It was always on the far side and frequently went missing behind the grass, but when it appeared it was clearly different from your run-of-the-mill goldie. With lower water levels there has been a good run of waders through WOW - ruff, common sandpiper, sanderling, whimbrel and an immature little ringed plover. Like last year the abundance of small fish has meant good numbers of cormorants, (11) grey herons (15), and little egrets (13) as well as the now regular kingfisher. WOW also provided my last swift of the year on August 8th. A look down Belfast Lough added guillemot and gannet as well as an unexpected great northern diver which flew up as I was getting the scope on it, looped round and flew east towards the open sea. Apologies for the blurry photos of the American golden plover - it was the best I could do!!
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| Male ruff |
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| Female ruff |
Other than that things have been quiet. England gave good views of nuthatch on Richard's feeder in Bolton and marsh harrier at Leighton Moss plus two great white egrets. We normally travel overnight to Liverpool but the daylight sailing gave me a "little" bonus from the ferry as we approached the Mersey estuary in the shape of two little gulls.
The coastal path finally provided a rock pipit but has been noteworthy this year for what it hasn't produced - curlew, lapwing, mallard, grey wagtail, swallow and house martin which I have always regarded as nailed on certainties on the patch. I haven't give up on curlew, lapwing, mallard and grey wagtail but there has been no sign of swallow and house martin which used to nest in the area and were regularly seen in previous years, but this year nothing and I have been desperately looking for flyovers along the coast. I haven't seen or heard a raven either, again I would normally have heard one over the garden by now.
147: Sedge warbler
148: Little gull
149: Whimbrel
150: American golden plover LIFER 😎
151: Little ringed plover
152: Sanderling
NDCP
57: Common tern
58: Rock pipit
WOW
80: Greenshank
81: Great northern diver
82: Gannet
83: Guillemot
84: American golden plover
85: Whimbrel
86: Little ringed plover
87: Sanderling
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