Realised it's been a month since a post and although things are moving slowly I am due in Cavan and Bolton in a week or two so it will be a while between posts if I don't do a wee update now. Since the last post I have added a few birds and had a couple of trips to islands - I like islands.
WOW has been quite busy, is still holding water and tern breeding is in full swing. We have common terns, sandwich terns and a few arctic terns. The spoonbill is still there after 6 weeks and we have also had at least 5 common sandpipers, greenshank, knot, dunlin, ruff and a long staying little ringed plover. Work continues on D3 and there is now an information board. The old jetty has gone as has the oil boom. Not sure what will happen if there is an oil spill, but as they say in work - "Not my problem".
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| D3 information board |
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| WOW from the sluice Gate |
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| There are 4 common sandpipers in this shot. If I had tech skills I would put a little arrow on them, but I don't!! |
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| Sleeping shoveler |
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| Common sandpiper |
The coastal path hasn't produced much of note but I have had a couple of additions with a calling raven overhead and a fly by common tern
Two days on Rathlin added corncrake and great skua. The former was a nice surprise, the latter sort of expected at a very windy seabird centre which closed at 1.00pm the day we were there.
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| Standard Rathlin view |
A boat trip to the Copeland Islands and a trip round the observatory on a warm clear evening was very educational. I was last there 10 years ago and it was great to make a return visit. Bird wise it was a bit disappointing as we only has single shearwaters, a couple of gannets, one puffin in flight and a brief stock dove in flight. The company was good and it was good to get an amble around and an update on the goings on from Wesley Smyth who gave us a tour.
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| Heading out from Bangor |
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| The landing |
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| The observatory |
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| Return sunset |
Sorry there aren't a lot of birds to look at, but there are some nice views.
2025
138: Manx shearwater
139 Little ringed plover
140: Corncrake
141: Great skua
NDCP
58: Gannet
59: Raven
60: Common tern
WOW
88: Spoonbill
89: Manx shearwater
90: Little ringed plover
