tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57538257755773574782024-03-19T12:07:35.139-07:00Bangor West Patchwork Challengederekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-5497529383420403682024-03-16T14:00:00.000-07:002024-03-16T14:00:25.527-07:00Citizen science and garden birdwatching<p><span style="font-size: large;">Returning home I was back at WOW with high water levels and 6 ringed <b>black-tailed godwits t</b>o look at. The reserve is still in a late winter stage with all seven ducks, flocks of roosting waders and singing robins. To date the only sign of spring is an increase in the number of <b>black-headed gulls</b> coming to the two nesting platforms. Mediterranean gulls have been noted, but not by me. The list remains at 59 as I have mopped up all the winter species I can reasonably expect. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The ringed godwits are all part of the ringing programme at the reserve in April 2021. Some have been noted away from the reserve in Whitehouse and Kinnegar as well as a few records from Wales. All part of the great citizen science project which is vey satisfying to take part in. Thanks to Gareth Platt who keeps an eye on our sightings.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyymBQEotsbwrg3Vz9H4qNxLcsV7MskL5C_uc_ih_K3TluvjcQT3KZsAlN63We_2KY4FS3PShpLbW7Yn9frU53kZaB3qMHIckVSyod8ukOU2l0iPiC-oergoc8mb_kJYokjB-GXIqdO3kL2J-fZ5Z__xOc4ifFSkZ35eLDtiacAVdUY6CrNOOuWAgxA2fd/s3072/Blue-black.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyymBQEotsbwrg3Vz9H4qNxLcsV7MskL5C_uc_ih_K3TluvjcQT3KZsAlN63We_2KY4FS3PShpLbW7Yn9frU53kZaB3qMHIckVSyod8ukOU2l0iPiC-oergoc8mb_kJYokjB-GXIqdO3kL2J-fZ5Z__xOc4ifFSkZ35eLDtiacAVdUY6CrNOOuWAgxA2fd/s320/Blue-black.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj077ngT6bSp5umL0Rh2BT-eb3oNgrtZiOVKvl8sd3KabFQ19auwsFfxgITHatQnM1Hi1BOrvNCoK6ur6y3RnZuIzAb_gBI8f1SZ-7JoqNIHIJ1knoaisNzw_6Xg-5O74MVOwtxaBpWh3Ncs45NG441BGFhezBlEqX7M2ru1WGO0lMwLR1X7gsTsIQVp5np/s3072/Blue-yellow.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj077ngT6bSp5umL0Rh2BT-eb3oNgrtZiOVKvl8sd3KabFQ19auwsFfxgITHatQnM1Hi1BOrvNCoK6ur6y3RnZuIzAb_gBI8f1SZ-7JoqNIHIJ1knoaisNzw_6Xg-5O74MVOwtxaBpWh3Ncs45NG441BGFhezBlEqX7M2ru1WGO0lMwLR1X7gsTsIQVp5np/s320/Blue-yellow.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoGBvBXNisXgV50ungrVOpfJIcP3MqWrCNkt6Zu8oQCEjmGsf4lkZpjDNG4QA9F3BJx1mAiOlLSXpED1Zpz5Dy6UfM76hjEeUyF_BFLYS1s8il4qCzcUl13w28qYiXjB70nNlEtJJ8PAOC84Fx9CEQGFaO4Lm1SXJ3IxKYBzLlPJjtR86UuJn19TFmNxb/s3072/Green-green.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwoGBvBXNisXgV50ungrVOpfJIcP3MqWrCNkt6Zu8oQCEjmGsf4lkZpjDNG4QA9F3BJx1mAiOlLSXpED1Zpz5Dy6UfM76hjEeUyF_BFLYS1s8il4qCzcUl13w28qYiXjB70nNlEtJJ8PAOC84Fx9CEQGFaO4Lm1SXJ3IxKYBzLlPJjtR86UuJn19TFmNxb/s320/Green-green.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucFd3rvn8TxZ6z30e51EmZ2HVUBQmrqEVWwj0YAz0NWIapECzIFeEQUR2KbbCGRS7Uehoo63itmzldJgUuUcXtTt30l3tvifgzG4zk6twHlKk3t9tYCq-VvDHoEBxvJdb3hpA9NtFRqQNz-6MYLJNTiy2yuxsxXsseb4_s4GDI1swb_72TQdaRzkkZAlv/s3072/Lime-blue.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhucFd3rvn8TxZ6z30e51EmZ2HVUBQmrqEVWwj0YAz0NWIapECzIFeEQUR2KbbCGRS7Uehoo63itmzldJgUuUcXtTt30l3tvifgzG4zk6twHlKk3t9tYCq-VvDHoEBxvJdb3hpA9NtFRqQNz-6MYLJNTiy2yuxsxXsseb4_s4GDI1swb_72TQdaRzkkZAlv/s320/Lime-blue.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXP8hlISXZnER_xvYRJu_M3tziPQBhYVsRod6Gfu79CrjIMagbOtoMVl4p4SaURLOOuwWpYvAK-oY9UHDYV49LHEHT17MGE73g5V-0p-gpfcnrbGL-zTWqQi7kQ8rPP0RW0mPkAnojWr3ApYZemSS_y621rBjn06djQzvl0Sx753FkobBdpffKs0pYt-Xc/s4608/Red-blue.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXP8hlISXZnER_xvYRJu_M3tziPQBhYVsRod6Gfu79CrjIMagbOtoMVl4p4SaURLOOuwWpYvAK-oY9UHDYV49LHEHT17MGE73g5V-0p-gpfcnrbGL-zTWqQi7kQ8rPP0RW0mPkAnojWr3ApYZemSS_y621rBjn06djQzvl0Sx753FkobBdpffKs0pYt-Xc/s320/Red-blue.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: large;">The garden has also hit a late winter stage with fewer birds at the feeders and the last week of the Irish Garden bird survey which runs for the three winter months. Basically much like last year with all the expected species. Excitement this year was provided by a <b>single jay, single treecreeper, 5 blackcaps, 4 siskins, 6 linnets and two redpolls</b>. I managed 30 species over the 13 weeks of the survey and <b>blackbird </b>was again the most numerous on the list. I was able to add sparrowhawk to the list and could have removed a woodpigeon as when I returned from England this was the sight which greeted me in the garden. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The high tide roost on Seacliff Road finally produced patch ticks of <b>purple sandpiper and dunlin. </b>Today a swallow and a common tern were reported at WOW which is a tad early for both species. Seems that climate change has kicked in following the warmest February on record. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphiGoq-IvjvHme64pniA5EXvHoRYaRvgWg9Qs5j5n5uP3Fw8VS2Ed7xHK6sT-TvEnX5NHxcx4211Zs3Ph69boR8mXWt6wLOmdkVmmOzN4bfwNKbmL9NyvhQDOYlj6d6c8qdMuNWjfQTXn18r8P1Jm53BSeRzJv9hClVVWMiBWJBBLI7AEuSbQulIsf1PL/s4608/IMG_20240226_170845969.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiphiGoq-IvjvHme64pniA5EXvHoRYaRvgWg9Qs5j5n5uP3Fw8VS2Ed7xHK6sT-TvEnX5NHxcx4211Zs3Ph69boR8mXWt6wLOmdkVmmOzN4bfwNKbmL9NyvhQDOYlj6d6c8qdMuNWjfQTXn18r8P1Jm53BSeRzJv9hClVVWMiBWJBBLI7AEuSbQulIsf1PL/s320/IMG_20240226_170845969.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9bujYXBtW6GlzTLllZVtOqUXaUE19xG9EZXp1IkgGjA6aspZr4CcZbCP1U9Fd5VLAeoutbiN5unzs1iHvTZyhr4-x2LBAhcu-x4k_6dQM-aiE3meFTShtisA4ev6H9TBdtzq_LPUSqMvqOvp88MVUnHv9AQzX4neouah7shPNVlvZk5qRZT9VZ1uTJ7_/s4608/IMG_20240226_170829176.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM9bujYXBtW6GlzTLllZVtOqUXaUE19xG9EZXp1IkgGjA6aspZr4CcZbCP1U9Fd5VLAeoutbiN5unzs1iHvTZyhr4-x2LBAhcu-x4k_6dQM-aiE3meFTShtisA4ev6H9TBdtzq_LPUSqMvqOvp88MVUnHv9AQzX4neouah7shPNVlvZk5qRZT9VZ1uTJ7_/s320/IMG_20240226_170829176.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfQqf1wfRUZKWsuXGoj510r-bE5kfuUMip26wRZzYXzAEysZnXhO7HY-pziqzDLRO_mJYsFMCBo4YTR8vbJkirpb2BSKdsh1D5GZW3RuANzNxEpqP_dqijDbPGNfQBZHS-HxintP50vIZ8UsMWLt4gn80hU77R2e-2cAd89AX8_WtweoJP-Yzu9D1YDz7/s3072/SNV33235.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfQqf1wfRUZKWsuXGoj510r-bE5kfuUMip26wRZzYXzAEysZnXhO7HY-pziqzDLRO_mJYsFMCBo4YTR8vbJkirpb2BSKdsh1D5GZW3RuANzNxEpqP_dqijDbPGNfQBZHS-HxintP50vIZ8UsMWLt4gn80hU77R2e-2cAd89AX8_WtweoJP-Yzu9D1YDz7/s320/SNV33235.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Female siskin</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06xtuy268KEZsvSf-vItsjNC_f_RzMgfAE9Dqkt7q3wAsi5QU-zr35VmTsABrtnnaPcz4kjad1ypAvt32OMNAcMm8n5dkdklrmeya8kbvkfP-8QKduN0oZSjUElBsSwnILbZQ1RLdjwjXiYrnqtIS5wGhG9DQI2J9GwqY4Nwm9aYq45iWj7nvR7fgnzAi/s3072/SNV33238.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06xtuy268KEZsvSf-vItsjNC_f_RzMgfAE9Dqkt7q3wAsi5QU-zr35VmTsABrtnnaPcz4kjad1ypAvt32OMNAcMm8n5dkdklrmeya8kbvkfP-8QKduN0oZSjUElBsSwnILbZQ1RLdjwjXiYrnqtIS5wGhG9DQI2J9GwqY4Nwm9aYq45iWj7nvR7fgnzAi/s320/SNV33238.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Long-tailed tit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTpvO134iof1DInRzzHDo6aTpwZgLQKTHOLioJBMnIxq2fl0oULW_Bnun40D94AwhZZxTtzKhapO1Ma7B8D0aQ7W1kLCmWHQv-HgX9pBXQRk6UCTChJwRhC1Im7yoB4zVD2FcuUCgOiOTZDmnkI-4Td0PjFQLG_8NHtW0ceOxA5HKc9RM74DPs3FJMZ5M/s3072/SNV33250.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTpvO134iof1DInRzzHDo6aTpwZgLQKTHOLioJBMnIxq2fl0oULW_Bnun40D94AwhZZxTtzKhapO1Ma7B8D0aQ7W1kLCmWHQv-HgX9pBXQRk6UCTChJwRhC1Im7yoB4zVD2FcuUCgOiOTZDmnkI-4Td0PjFQLG_8NHtW0ceOxA5HKc9RM74DPs3FJMZ5M/s320/SNV33250.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Male siskin</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6igZqN5l20_tkQzerY9uJaDb7H_T7GfHvC3RAp1EYQffwVvOTKOYAwL5nI3j2YWyY29u_3DO1XSUbWCtPL42k0NwVDhyDsHDL0ERSYBg6XF_4IgOK6TKLT4Sh2BS0nhB-Jz4433vTJ4jPH7-Q6DOzt5fD0PAAtFXhCKX-M_J7siV7h13GtRuIdGjhRnrC/s3072/SNV33259.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6igZqN5l20_tkQzerY9uJaDb7H_T7GfHvC3RAp1EYQffwVvOTKOYAwL5nI3j2YWyY29u_3DO1XSUbWCtPL42k0NwVDhyDsHDL0ERSYBg6XF_4IgOK6TKLT4Sh2BS0nhB-Jz4433vTJ4jPH7-Q6DOzt5fD0PAAtFXhCKX-M_J7siV7h13GtRuIdGjhRnrC/s320/SNV33259.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Female siskin at the niger feeder</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">While I was in England there were a couple of tasty birds in and around Portmore Lough so we took a run up to have a look. They were both seen well. The <b>great white egret</b> is now a regular visitor to Northern Ireland - Portmore has had 5 this winter. <b>Cattle egret</b> is also a more regular visitor and this one had attached itself to the only cow on Brankins Island Road which made it easy enough to find but not as easy to photograph as it kept hiding behind it in the reedy sedge. </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC2-8PmQXs0Kk2W2rsaer-O51LMtq1duFPZ22t80C3O0qWpC96fWDVlBsmadXDRCXyfzfUJ9KHR0mACgDbe-QV4rwZFurO_nSNfJQRVPlfV7aaj2FzZj_24pcS1I4c3Ywv30S1gyPyDH9esm8DpuFvzgFPQ1dEePY23HlEAgb5_0z92lRL-3o0_01LCQL/s3072/SNV33291.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC2-8PmQXs0Kk2W2rsaer-O51LMtq1duFPZ22t80C3O0qWpC96fWDVlBsmadXDRCXyfzfUJ9KHR0mACgDbe-QV4rwZFurO_nSNfJQRVPlfV7aaj2FzZj_24pcS1I4c3Ywv30S1gyPyDH9esm8DpuFvzgFPQ1dEePY23HlEAgb5_0z92lRL-3o0_01LCQL/s320/SNV33291.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cattle egret hidden behind the hedge close to the road.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcME1W5l2wA7-2NwVJy8Ae4J9l5O7t3CtpqC-E1xRbiEcTsOGrDrjOTBmgchG6LJAsVYijZXfxp0OQZpJEsL_ay05USiXAk4KwVYXlqRU9U_5pSnRLIn8kB9iJ_tzgccE1tzdxO9_mwUL_Zqz0YHG10IIDfzJ4JrTbYzcSoSVE4vugLPxGrArZJ3bYR5M/s3072/SNV33298.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcME1W5l2wA7-2NwVJy8Ae4J9l5O7t3CtpqC-E1xRbiEcTsOGrDrjOTBmgchG6LJAsVYijZXfxp0OQZpJEsL_ay05USiXAk4KwVYXlqRU9U_5pSnRLIn8kB9iJ_tzgccE1tzdxO9_mwUL_Zqz0YHG10IIDfzJ4JrTbYzcSoSVE4vugLPxGrArZJ3bYR5M/s320/SNV33298.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Great white egret is easier to see</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSfcJod2KYZ4k_bpXFnUOjvMMhwXF1218jhgXOjRRkle-f1gMrtMqXfjem8of0Uef_v91rhpe2WmUx9uioCfLaYkjendDO1LYd7C6a_koVnvIIZa57Zgx3vA7pOy-RJ_PjdXjV2PBbJ6XiJWddweqLTR9Qs8yN1JFWiOM7aXIkeL3Uz-mcJxq-De6puZo/s3072/SNV33301.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSfcJod2KYZ4k_bpXFnUOjvMMhwXF1218jhgXOjRRkle-f1gMrtMqXfjem8of0Uef_v91rhpe2WmUx9uioCfLaYkjendDO1LYd7C6a_koVnvIIZa57Zgx3vA7pOy-RJ_PjdXjV2PBbJ6XiJWddweqLTR9Qs8yN1JFWiOM7aXIkeL3Uz-mcJxq-De6puZo/s320/SNV33301.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">House sparrows</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSWR27yzEcvspdVmLu1vfkFEtDKcZSaui24Iwnk_UBOFzKhem9YSedPDA3YaJSwRj5ft-jy6eb-JeGJcGN-LFuMtFVkKwbE099UKHFaQYTfAbScBIUziXILNSOSIBsuSc5jXNhDuEle5ITOKnKJpqdHHGHu4ePM1O3hX7hyphenhyphenoUmrS1hj5xyDHTmIGY5K7m/s3072/SNV33321.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLSWR27yzEcvspdVmLu1vfkFEtDKcZSaui24Iwnk_UBOFzKhem9YSedPDA3YaJSwRj5ft-jy6eb-JeGJcGN-LFuMtFVkKwbE099UKHFaQYTfAbScBIUziXILNSOSIBsuSc5jXNhDuEle5ITOKnKJpqdHHGHu4ePM1O3hX7hyphenhyphenoUmrS1hj5xyDHTmIGY5K7m/s320/SNV33321.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cattle egret further away but still hard to see</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8K6H_dfFdovOZLTzy6AhqKAuNhtsIRGOt2yECoKMJ2MUd1lK8NhIAZ1PU_gOLFlCOBy1JUP55JhL8qMJst7a5LFGUrmab5IRv2bDKBNNwoeeQse9_sgPA8XgEBiyq6OVygwh5rQ0I9dO_5sh2TbNMhrIVPkAuL2Xlyx6wmAGMA9hK1Gv-arNQlVSnXld/s3072/SNV33305.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8K6H_dfFdovOZLTzy6AhqKAuNhtsIRGOt2yECoKMJ2MUd1lK8NhIAZ1PU_gOLFlCOBy1JUP55JhL8qMJst7a5LFGUrmab5IRv2bDKBNNwoeeQse9_sgPA8XgEBiyq6OVygwh5rQ0I9dO_5sh2TbNMhrIVPkAuL2Xlyx6wmAGMA9hK1Gv-arNQlVSnXld/s320/SNV33305.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tree sparrow</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Next week we are off again to Bolton to cover the taxi runs as the grand-children are in school. Hopefully we will be able to take in the odd bird reserve!!<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="background-color: #d0e0e3; color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: large;">2024<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">117: Nuthatch<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">118: Cattle egret<br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">116: Great white egret</span></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;"><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">WOW</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">59 Eider duck</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;"><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">NDCP</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">43: Goldcrest</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">44: Dunlin</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #d0e0e3;">45: Purple sandpiper</b></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-17408228443960769022024-03-09T11:15:00.000-08:002024-03-09T11:15:48.862-08:00Northumberland birdathon and other bits from England.<p><span style="font-size: large;"> A ten day trip to England always gives a few birding opportunities and this year was no exception. My birding pal David and I have been doing this for more years than we care to remember and have fallen into a predictable pattern starting at a reserve at Linton Lane and heading north until the light fails. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Linton Lane is a "flash" - a pond of water surrounded by reeds and rough pasture caused by subsidence. It required a bit of an effort to get there as there had been a lot of rain and the approaches were flooded I was using a couple of sticks which were sinking into four inches of mud. However the effort to get there was rewarded as we were quickly seeing birds in the water and around the shores. We started with <b>mute swans, mallard, tufted duck, gadwall, shoveler, wigeon, pochard, coot, herring gull, black-headed gulls, little grebe, carrion crows, grey heron, wood pigeon</b> and then a gorgeous <b>barn owl</b> which drifted over the hide and flew across the reeds in front of us. This was followed by a <b>buzzard </b>sitting on a distant pylon and a female <b>marsh harrier</b> slowly quartering the far shore and pushing about 200<b> teal </b>out of the reeds into the water. Back to the car and we added <b>robin, chaffinch, blackbird, song thrush, magpie, pheasant and grey partridge </b>before driving to the Queen Elizabeth II Country Park.</span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SdMcAWvhdikxJe754Tvgz4E4ayf5cxuUtp5cnXp4psTlANR4Kuhqkz2NhMVuJDxpf4bmSfGo8uqmvruYdqAb6NvRaOtSMMTJLfdJyEj-JpCOGkk_npOUwzeraJybQwjyHe03r5qxLFqBHFMallQr45NVP9cicz_yTJIRkuiKZRBsPRr6d0quOgaDgLoT/s4608/IMG_20240217_073306992.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SdMcAWvhdikxJe754Tvgz4E4ayf5cxuUtp5cnXp4psTlANR4Kuhqkz2NhMVuJDxpf4bmSfGo8uqmvruYdqAb6NvRaOtSMMTJLfdJyEj-JpCOGkk_npOUwzeraJybQwjyHe03r5qxLFqBHFMallQr45NVP9cicz_yTJIRkuiKZRBsPRr6d0quOgaDgLoT/s320/IMG_20240217_073306992.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Linton Lane</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;">This is an interesting site with good birds on the water but there is also a mob of ducks and geese in the car park coming to be fed by well meaning locals who roll up with pan loaves, rolls and baguettes. We quickly added <b>greylag geese, Canada goose, moorhen and common gull </b>in the car park, but the most unexpected bird was a single <b>whooper swan</b> in the middle of the bread feeders. The lake gave us <b> goldeneye, cormorant, great crested grebe and red-throated diver. </b></span></p><p><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPQ6gSjO3g2vR7vNFLh51fO8y63qruY11jgAeV3EYPpl-qsOqx02tbwN3ChOeJNoMdg7dwF8oDm06tMjlqZDl0lclXn5NmyZsysv-nUpDlV43mVIJroqCAvwaMh89o8qTzyCcWUhXr8v5Am_XFO9AOoEYCiamrmh0xndHhgsybKzYNJGXbpbzA1Nyw7Ra/s3000/P1250211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaPQ6gSjO3g2vR7vNFLh51fO8y63qruY11jgAeV3EYPpl-qsOqx02tbwN3ChOeJNoMdg7dwF8oDm06tMjlqZDl0lclXn5NmyZsysv-nUpDlV43mVIJroqCAvwaMh89o8qTzyCcWUhXr8v5Am_XFO9AOoEYCiamrmh0xndHhgsybKzYNJGXbpbzA1Nyw7Ra/s320/P1250211.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whooper swan</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Onwards past Woodhorn Flash an our first sightings of <b>pink-footed goose</b> and then through Lynemouth to hit the coastal road to Cresswell and Snab Point. The tide was fully in at this point so the flooded fields contained <b>stonechat</b>, <b>redshank, lapwing, curlew and oystercatcher.</b> The high tide meant that small waders were absent but we did pick up <b>great black-backed gull</b>, <b>fulmar, eider duck, shag and common scoter </b>out to sea. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Our next stop was Cresswell Pond which is another "flash" but as it is only 100 m inland it is good for waders, ducks and all sorts of other goodies. We had a lot of <b>wigeon, lapwing, coot and moorhen,</b> but were amazed to see 17 <b>Mediterranean gulls </b>on the water as well as <b>shelduck, red-breasted merganser, little egret, dunlin, ringed plover and turnstone.</b> The walk down to the hide is usually good for small stuff but this year there were no feeders so we only saw <b>wren, starling and chaffinch. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aY1obIVkWfMirAnzm4Ee7JEslcbUz094goe1HBzlWRLM6ivdWaDs1tN1XFZkZ4_fnRt9IMlw77LSJ-_BWAQqurJne29EULVKtgkCcxVdGDCaMnppqBum7QQMmkdw4mzRQn4rR1Akk4EMOB94ip5ZBpXd5wja03PfTajskowzbtIgXkqIM9nO_3DJEHU6/s4608/IMG_20240217_095350952.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aY1obIVkWfMirAnzm4Ee7JEslcbUz094goe1HBzlWRLM6ivdWaDs1tN1XFZkZ4_fnRt9IMlw77LSJ-_BWAQqurJne29EULVKtgkCcxVdGDCaMnppqBum7QQMmkdw4mzRQn4rR1Akk4EMOB94ip5ZBpXd5wja03PfTajskowzbtIgXkqIM9nO_3DJEHU6/s320/IMG_20240217_095350952.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cresswell Pond<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitm75jG2ZMbzAPixWNgy99AlO2P6l4oJXuYNChzFkOEmZ_r3Um2p94sGV7buMwto1SKBu2IpxxG3Ma8Qhpy4JJ1KCtyBqA1HI8S58SEQDBiy_sSsYaNFONXcZMxMjN2kw-Vh0ZPAehtwGzWwNNPKS8A1hWoTs87U50Y3Bv0QJwZ2WuJN68swouaiNqv135/s3200/P1250213.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2399" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitm75jG2ZMbzAPixWNgy99AlO2P6l4oJXuYNChzFkOEmZ_r3Um2p94sGV7buMwto1SKBu2IpxxG3Ma8Qhpy4JJ1KCtyBqA1HI8S58SEQDBiy_sSsYaNFONXcZMxMjN2kw-Vh0ZPAehtwGzWwNNPKS8A1hWoTs87U50Y3Bv0QJwZ2WuJN68swouaiNqv135/s320/P1250213.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mediterranean gulls</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><br /></span><span>The next leg to Druridge has a dune system on one side and farmland on the other side. There is usually a finch flock around the feeding areas for the cattle so we picked up on </span><b>goldfinch, linnet, 3 grey partridge, pied wagtail, rook, jackdaw, magpie and a single skylark.</b><span> A local birder asked us had we come to see the hooded crow. We laughed and said no, not really, we get them in the garden. Two minutes later the </span><b>hooded crow</b><span> did a flypast and got added to our list as well as being added to my Northumberland list. He also advised us that Druridge Pools were inaccessible without wellies, so after a cursory look and a nice <b>female kestrel</b> we headed for Widdrington where we saw</span><b> 14 red-legged partridge </b><span>and a nice wee </span><b>house sparrow</b><span> flock. </span></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfP0eDJXKfZSYikYtWLkjznvsacQEh8R2CgCtiSV0IGJdsAKtMk_fBGIZQLfk6wWwnuhhL2Nv7dyKP8wS-hBzLtkzVijwPYO0DoJzO3C8DSQ8yQdtLhrYvJ5a7uIyzVU1QJaOXZ728USK26c4k124Gl7YmS1_TSiY4TKjx5qWiTY1UmYFNc-XUg345rXL/s320/IMG_4533.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfP0eDJXKfZSYikYtWLkjznvsacQEh8R2CgCtiSV0IGJdsAKtMk_fBGIZQLfk6wWwnuhhL2Nv7dyKP8wS-hBzLtkzVijwPYO0DoJzO3C8DSQ8yQdtLhrYvJ5a7uIyzVU1QJaOXZ728USK26c4k124Gl7YmS1_TSiY4TKjx5qWiTY1UmYFNc-XUg345rXL/s1600/IMG_4533.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">East Chevington<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span>We continued north to East Chevington and the new hides but the lake only held <b>wigeon, tufted duck, mute swans, greylag geese, cormorants. lapwings and goldeneye, </b>nothing to quicken the pulse so it was on to Druridge Bay Country Park, lunch and the feeders. It took us a while to find them as they have been moved but once we got our eye in we added quite a number of passerines to the list - </span><b>coal tit, blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, tree sparrow, dunnock, bullfinch and eventually a willow tit.</b><span> Next stop was Hadston Scarrs and then into Hauxley Nature reserve and another feeding station which added</span><b> reed bunting, siskin and greenfinch </b><span>to the list. By this time the light was dropping, cloud was piling in and rain had set in so we had a quick look at the beach south of Amble, the Amble estuary, (</span><b>golden plover</b><span>) and sped back to the QE II CP for a last look for the redhead smew which we had missed earlier - unfortunately we missed it again. </span></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-qFlsHMUzKBmXz-cHhNNx2hpac749UFNXe4aMEchDp_5UlDhifYST5r1E3JAOhWLKET3Pf6seCZ7XmIR-S1DMsYgUEvrQNkkU97_odcxcXFa_42hhsF1B66S6U5MmSfZab0c_8vLUcMjEqc2vSLxMjXep7XzXcMgm4Fg5fbjahEaYFVEn70HNBBFrBkR/s320/IMG_4534.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht-qFlsHMUzKBmXz-cHhNNx2hpac749UFNXe4aMEchDp_5UlDhifYST5r1E3JAOhWLKET3Pf6seCZ7XmIR-S1DMsYgUEvrQNkkU97_odcxcXFa_42hhsF1B66S6U5MmSfZab0c_8vLUcMjEqc2vSLxMjXep7XzXcMgm4Fg5fbjahEaYFVEn70HNBBFrBkR/s1600/IMG_4534.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coquet Island from Low Hauxley</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7Jtk7igEkOs1fael2IKIT_HBKz6CReSeP4HqeWvagjwSJlwO9XuuikerZr3X8MzXyPr6yt3oJ15HpBF8T4omb-j8UYCG3VcHLH-XTzhnFIcgbFL-Szp1D5nUk7mnbMdDh3LBvZM_9Y9B2dCd1bsZBHEt9NTMApPhQDGNPMk2ukhF1-Fiy_w4klLEomzR/s4608/IMG_20240217_133506163.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7Jtk7igEkOs1fael2IKIT_HBKz6CReSeP4HqeWvagjwSJlwO9XuuikerZr3X8MzXyPr6yt3oJ15HpBF8T4omb-j8UYCG3VcHLH-XTzhnFIcgbFL-Szp1D5nUk7mnbMdDh3LBvZM_9Y9B2dCd1bsZBHEt9NTMApPhQDGNPMk2ukhF1-Fiy_w4klLEomzR/s320/IMG_20240217_133506163.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Feeders at Druridge Bay but no woodpecker.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cSvgMuxAt_fpnkbilBaeerE-fkTN3ICI54eLmCU2Lm1GDtRN75tjBrchtDZ-46WpWBv4q0Ismwio7LZ7_C64lwtnvRuSJ1rkTOptVuNy7enyAB_umz63jT_kIa1sTLpnkgKLlmsozuJPCZEy1oYGHKyv34rkd7nH6E7Myi4W_Xw6BZas8KPhOjVs1AJn/s2700/P1250220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2025" data-original-width="2700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-cSvgMuxAt_fpnkbilBaeerE-fkTN3ICI54eLmCU2Lm1GDtRN75tjBrchtDZ-46WpWBv4q0Ismwio7LZ7_C64lwtnvRuSJ1rkTOptVuNy7enyAB_umz63jT_kIa1sTLpnkgKLlmsozuJPCZEy1oYGHKyv34rkd7nH6E7Myi4W_Xw6BZas8KPhOjVs1AJn/s320/P1250220.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reed bunting (F)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span><span>My lack of mobility meant that sanderling didn't make the list and we somehow managed to miss collared dove, but we ended up with 75 species including 9 additions to the 2024 list. All in all a cracking day, beautiful scenery, friendly locals stunning birds and it was all we hoped it would be. </span></span></span><p></p><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>The scenic route to Bolton added <b>black grouse</b> at Langdon Beck and Richard's garden turned up a <b>nuthatch</b> on the feeders and a calling <b>tawny owl </b>in the nearby woodland. Pennington Flash was a bit disappointing as the main feeding station was flooded and the smaller one was overrun with grey squirrels. It did however have at least a dozen <b>reed buntings</b> - the most I have seen anywhere for a long time. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8D8ufC6hv6tOWjFoYcEnvpvWSSsFWmlEXiSDXba71JoUq4XaIcBy55WZKvcxoXvoLqw-Z_uc_YZuT8ras8gQ3LvqcrZAUVa5XhsrIrEIlCvf3tYkuPAfJsmf1Mjm_USCfxRBkcn5hLxgjMBZkjN7-zEH_iqa34jW8zhM2dXrJuK6Eu24T59EzpyocL7a6/s4608/IMG_20240224_150049037.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8D8ufC6hv6tOWjFoYcEnvpvWSSsFWmlEXiSDXba71JoUq4XaIcBy55WZKvcxoXvoLqw-Z_uc_YZuT8ras8gQ3LvqcrZAUVa5XhsrIrEIlCvf3tYkuPAfJsmf1Mjm_USCfxRBkcn5hLxgjMBZkjN7-zEH_iqa34jW8zhM2dXrJuK6Eu24T59EzpyocL7a6/s320/IMG_20240224_150049037.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pennington Flash, view from Pengy's hide</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FBkXWqtBj82mCnmtwM94L16C4v9fh6YI-YEwz2SmaJAARhStlZzVZVteBslrV_pq0Hr8sBpRgoOtWTL9RVutRXCWq7cDwkQmLdpr-Y0lyj20RYQE9Q2dS0AuCn85162bi-a_hHLJ-figW8tXIBeNBrvy5o8F7L7Qi8A1w58EdmeV5G5ytDAnsbehyphenhyphenhLY/s4608/IMG_20240224_145636862.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FBkXWqtBj82mCnmtwM94L16C4v9fh6YI-YEwz2SmaJAARhStlZzVZVteBslrV_pq0Hr8sBpRgoOtWTL9RVutRXCWq7cDwkQmLdpr-Y0lyj20RYQE9Q2dS0AuCn85162bi-a_hHLJ-figW8tXIBeNBrvy5o8F7L7Qi8A1w58EdmeV5G5ytDAnsbehyphenhyphenhLY/s320/IMG_20240224_145636862.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reed buntings</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfnz6xw2OZk6dqZ-DQ4tkGh_NSa326DPagS521m4K4tfB31jusqfbi4_rnow16shmklwUs_wQlcE5g-QqAUikiNKCA8f1HqNLPvURLbKRvwQtM-LxkT7c_91gsI3ufwswWwF2rCyybLXr4defEdcE-BLnmg9wr8Iuj0z7l2loz_L8X0I-kina5R848hQu/s4608/IMG_20240224_145537082.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfnz6xw2OZk6dqZ-DQ4tkGh_NSa326DPagS521m4K4tfB31jusqfbi4_rnow16shmklwUs_wQlcE5g-QqAUikiNKCA8f1HqNLPvURLbKRvwQtM-LxkT7c_91gsI3ufwswWwF2rCyybLXr4defEdcE-BLnmg9wr8Iuj0z7l2loz_L8X0I-kina5R848hQu/s320/IMG_20240224_145537082.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reed bunting</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">2024:</span></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">106: Pochard</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">107: Barn owl</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">108: Marsh harrier</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">109: Grey partridge</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">110: Mediterranean gull</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">111: Skylark</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">112: Red-legged partridge</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">113: Willow tit</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">114: Reed bunting</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">115: Black grouse</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">116: Tawny owl</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">117: Nuthatch</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">WOW</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">59: Eider duck, managed to miss this last time out!</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><div style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">NDCP</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">43: Goldcrest</span></span></div></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-27934863773412181592024-02-13T15:24:00.000-08:002024-02-13T15:24:41.726-08:00The Home Bargains fat balls edition<p><span style="font-size: large;"> Like all other garden birdwatchers I feed a variety of foods over the winter. I mainline on sunflower hearts with two feeders, one of which is squirrel proof. I also feed niger seed, fat blocks, suet pellets and kibbled peanuts on hanging feeders. Every morning I scatter mealworms and a groundseed mix from Vine House Farm - robin and friends mix if you are interested - not cheap but it all gets eaten and there is no mess. I have recently been feeding out of date mince pies but these are quickly snapped up by the <b>herring gulls</b>. Like most folk I bought a tub of suet balls from a local store, some were eaten quickly others had to be broken up eventually and scattered on the ground for the crows and pigeons. My son was feeding his birds on Home Bargains (HB) fat balls and they seemed to be disappearing at a rate of knots so I decided to try them as well. The difference was astonishing - they went like hot cakes, so now I only put one in the suet feeder and top up with different ones. I quickly noticed that no matter where in the feeder I placed the HB suet ball the birds always went for it first. Observation shows that all <b>four tit species,</b> and <b>blackcaps</b> go there first. If the <b>magpies, rooks, hoodies and jackdaws</b> appear they also do the same. Even the <b>blackbirds</b> which do not usually bother with the suet feeder as they can't really hang on for long will have a go at it. Evidence is below.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2ZhJzkXF6zeMlbxrC47AmlXZMdyBdr3xRiuk5Bxo-6lPl40hnukQZSL9SFKpV69IC66j_-hyl4T8h6LMLM6pM2c6aMI8laI6EnTFReXIsQ4i35_dlJD_Nl2K2tbajHkumUKPgK5xX5S2zEipzX9J2HMY6-5pE_QpAyus49KLrIaz71p2bXS7zIj9kLRu/s3072/SNV33113.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2ZhJzkXF6zeMlbxrC47AmlXZMdyBdr3xRiuk5Bxo-6lPl40hnukQZSL9SFKpV69IC66j_-hyl4T8h6LMLM6pM2c6aMI8laI6EnTFReXIsQ4i35_dlJD_Nl2K2tbajHkumUKPgK5xX5S2zEipzX9J2HMY6-5pE_QpAyus49KLrIaz71p2bXS7zIj9kLRu/s320/SNV33113.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The HB variety is one from the top and is clearly a different colour!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqg4vlgeWqXTtubwS8p9qs7AQ3hyphenhyphens-w7aDc1nrP1pSqLQiX0JI864tDLNKfraZQ45F0wErkqcQFe4qcyjQNoMga0WBLzpX64IimWvGhuCTPkrzd9r0hyphenhyphenTKOXqUbTwCFkP1nO00oNt7QNbqAH4pyakFGpbN7SD9LK3x2pBTYMNyHJ_9_qPahiPtY9CHYuSk/s3072/SNV33127.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqg4vlgeWqXTtubwS8p9qs7AQ3hyphenhyphens-w7aDc1nrP1pSqLQiX0JI864tDLNKfraZQ45F0wErkqcQFe4qcyjQNoMga0WBLzpX64IimWvGhuCTPkrzd9r0hyphenhyphenTKOXqUbTwCFkP1nO00oNt7QNbqAH4pyakFGpbN7SD9LK3x2pBTYMNyHJ_9_qPahiPtY9CHYuSk/s320/SNV33127.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Great tit and blackcap</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahkBw_YGlSptHp3S3GX3P4roBmaBa7ZtY8XH0Rc2wq1FHYNptFSFhqcUInscc7Xb6vVGtR6uomGSy8k-8CDYl1sCjUsSiMbcsoKo5M5O7iThD-zCqcXArV0KzSJn4HAdMvoGpD6oYhso-EvwFbfaYdVu0THi1wklhKaw95i9TVOlOsPMjcZBtrajWBMKX/s3072/SNV33133.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahkBw_YGlSptHp3S3GX3P4roBmaBa7ZtY8XH0Rc2wq1FHYNptFSFhqcUInscc7Xb6vVGtR6uomGSy8k-8CDYl1sCjUsSiMbcsoKo5M5O7iThD-zCqcXArV0KzSJn4HAdMvoGpD6oYhso-EvwFbfaYdVu0THi1wklhKaw95i9TVOlOsPMjcZBtrajWBMKX/s320/SNV33133.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blackcap (F)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYjF2syb_lLAa2QdDrgsqi7LBLfcmB6-wGBj6f1cwXWa6S16CCaN7h5ayTTns4GF1ks5Yt-VcHFdCBngEk34KgLo3HboQFaDHvvUN79Vk3C4UdeeDspbAs-wzKtA3McFnq_P7vjPFKhBU_epZ1ii2NIcnzZYlXCYz8YilX62IZauZgz7XYOcjCKzFuDq1/s3072/SNV33135.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYjF2syb_lLAa2QdDrgsqi7LBLfcmB6-wGBj6f1cwXWa6S16CCaN7h5ayTTns4GF1ks5Yt-VcHFdCBngEk34KgLo3HboQFaDHvvUN79Vk3C4UdeeDspbAs-wzKtA3McFnq_P7vjPFKhBU_epZ1ii2NIcnzZYlXCYz8YilX62IZauZgz7XYOcjCKzFuDq1/s320/SNV33135.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blackcap (M)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVK2DfX1DDMav29JXD1PBctVxrBpZqzDEthR34xNOSYprvk5iF8X_MM8_BTxWNEiNFkqqBd-A0pQvvWA5lcAS5FvspopRySIXkbbRdUjQ1g635gH0bik4CwBMUORiynN5dCvcsVzlxiv7LC0w31WJWhqCZ2Ab6-vtVZ1IgsXJ0wnepgm8eoiitTtBV14t/s2112/SNV33153.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="2112" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVK2DfX1DDMav29JXD1PBctVxrBpZqzDEthR34xNOSYprvk5iF8X_MM8_BTxWNEiNFkqqBd-A0pQvvWA5lcAS5FvspopRySIXkbbRdUjQ1g635gH0bik4CwBMUORiynN5dCvcsVzlxiv7LC0w31WJWhqCZ2Ab6-vtVZ1IgsXJ0wnepgm8eoiitTtBV14t/s320/SNV33153.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blue tit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjxJYELYS3emOM4iUOn2G439gVstd_ToLJ10gGzQbY0EHlHjW_HOq8N6t-x3s85ISdKiHYI_6kRlJP7Vf4DCT0dS4aSv0tISPuSfTOFRVu-E1KaTuurfBg-52YUiC4MCJD-lCZPxfC-gXquBuHJjQVTSQ6rgb7pxkP_lo-_6edQzgdLJ21WS9UfS2Ml8Q/s3072/SNV33207.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjxJYELYS3emOM4iUOn2G439gVstd_ToLJ10gGzQbY0EHlHjW_HOq8N6t-x3s85ISdKiHYI_6kRlJP7Vf4DCT0dS4aSv0tISPuSfTOFRVu-E1KaTuurfBg-52YUiC4MCJD-lCZPxfC-gXquBuHJjQVTSQ6rgb7pxkP_lo-_6edQzgdLJ21WS9UfS2Ml8Q/s320/SNV33207.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jackdaw</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>HB have also started selling suet blocks and they appear to use the same recipe so these are also going fast. They are a different colour, they contain black sunflower seeds, and they do smell different and before you ask, no - I haven't tasted them!! </span><span>Comments welcome as to why birds go straight to the HB fat balls first. </span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Recent patch additions are<b> goldcrest </b>in the garden plus <b>lesser black-backed gull, knot and robin </b>at WOW</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">2024</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">105: Redpoll</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">WOW</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">56: Lesser black-backed gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><span>57: </span><span>Robin</span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">58: Knot</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #cfe2f3;">NDCP</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; color: #ff00fe;">43: Goldcrest</span><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><br /></p></div></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-52173018925944107312024-02-11T10:49:00.000-08:002024-02-11T10:49:58.044-08:00Day trip to Cairnryan<p><span style="font-size: large;">You read it correctly, I took a day trip to Cairnryan with the NIOC and a minibus tour of birding sites in and around Stranraer. The logistics involved a 0520 alarm, meeting at the Stena terminal at 0630, the 0730 sailing to Cairnryan and then various stops in and around Stranraer to look for raptors and seabirds. We finished at a harrier roost at dusk (1730) before heading back for the 1930 ferry to Belfast. I arrived back in Bangor at 2230 17 hours after leaving. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to the NIOC and Gary Wilkinson (for organising and driving). Despite my lack of mobility I was well looked after and the nature of the trip meant I could take a full part as there wasn't a great deal of walking involved. Bird wise we started on the ferry at first light, then drove round Loch Ryan with various stops at viewpoints where we could set up scopes and scan. With 13 ace birders on board as well as me, we didn't miss much. I decided to forget about the digi scoping and just enjoy the birds. There were plenty of photographers aboard and hopefully they will post on the J Birds Facebook page, when they do you will get a link to view them. Here's a few shots from the phone</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4pZHc_09AYAX551hBEtqD65aeeA0_otAubPrB4DTpX-y8taKsAiMFJtIiaWifoTkT4VAh5zvG5v4HbsrfoOD53aFF7LOr2J7w3-Gomu4noKR8wkAFAbyqBmIAaSQU55KFhfm2NX2XGI4BlVZjyO2xGx0J5IsqZiT0JC_ldl-EDn5UHDl8197Z5wBvv2d/s4608/IMG_20240202_125621363.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4pZHc_09AYAX551hBEtqD65aeeA0_otAubPrB4DTpX-y8taKsAiMFJtIiaWifoTkT4VAh5zvG5v4HbsrfoOD53aFF7LOr2J7w3-Gomu4noKR8wkAFAbyqBmIAaSQU55KFhfm2NX2XGI4BlVZjyO2xGx0J5IsqZiT0JC_ldl-EDn5UHDl8197Z5wBvv2d/s320/IMG_20240202_125621363.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lunch stop at the Wig, scopes still primed for action</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvYPzLjjyyiiBdPO3IKbBl-FjpLObeVf_TeD0HOun7IL44kXg07tY5p4HQv63EvOEJokmbpXbkhZRLDJBIhyphenhyphenHOg3BzLrXeNIXBeIah8Y7dx0-7rSe8MKXhcIYBNVHyfMm4NcwcpuLbF0bJGEFmHEtWjvXoMXp0jnrviookVn9QrdU6df0btS6PM2doBLW/s4608/IMG_20240202_143611411.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvYPzLjjyyiiBdPO3IKbBl-FjpLObeVf_TeD0HOun7IL44kXg07tY5p4HQv63EvOEJokmbpXbkhZRLDJBIhyphenhyphenHOg3BzLrXeNIXBeIah8Y7dx0-7rSe8MKXhcIYBNVHyfMm4NcwcpuLbF0bJGEFmHEtWjvXoMXp0jnrviookVn9QrdU6df0btS6PM2doBLW/s320/IMG_20240202_143611411.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">White Loch, Castle Kennedy</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_VPo_N0yvT1E_v08c5IWPRbL2-ORbuNaM2As3TFn_UD66uI4zqDhyphenhyphenyEILhqoATo1b5aaFLix1C4VLS4hfzE2-85lwwYHV9nvQYVDaRdltYrImDCgI6anCBsNoP5t36haCde67gdxmxJvaTsZAzn9SgAA75ovu_EkFRBflbQOOlvXXf226g14myPiNYen/s4608/IMG_20240202_140129154.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_VPo_N0yvT1E_v08c5IWPRbL2-ORbuNaM2As3TFn_UD66uI4zqDhyphenhyphenyEILhqoATo1b5aaFLix1C4VLS4hfzE2-85lwwYHV9nvQYVDaRdltYrImDCgI6anCBsNoP5t36haCde67gdxmxJvaTsZAzn9SgAA75ovu_EkFRBflbQOOlvXXf226g14myPiNYen/s320/IMG_20240202_140129154.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Broadstone Road viewing Loch Ryan</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>I managed 66 species on the day and definitely missed at least 10 spotted by others in the group, such as robin and pied wagtail. The list included 16 year firsts and three to add to my Scotland list. Difficult to </span><span>pick a bird of the day when we saw 6 raptors (</span><b>4 red kites, 2 buzzards, 3 hen harriers, 2 peregrines, 2 sparrowhawks and a kestrel) </b><span>and 6 geese.</span><b> (brent, barnacle, white fronts, pinkfeet, Canada and greylag</b><span>). However two </span><b>golden plovers </b><span>and two </span><b>grey plovers </b><span>at the Wig were beautifully lit by a low winter sun and it would be difficult to go past these birds for top spot. Mind you four <b>common scoters</b> less than 50 m from the shore was a good spot as well. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Back in the local patches there has not been anything to add to the WOW list. The ringed <b>black-tailed godwit</b> appeared again but the bird feeder in the garden came up trumps with a pair of <b>siskins</b> and a pair of <b>redpolls</b> on successive days. I genuinely can't remember the last </span>time I saw either of these in the garden, certainly not last winter. I usually pick them up on the feeders at WOW but haven't seen any this winter. Traditionally they pop up on feeders in February/March when natural food is running out so there is still time to see them at WOW. The attached photos were a bonus as I have been setting the digiscope stuff up to get photos of the garden birds for this blog, and this week it came up trumps. Both of these guys will count towards the Irish Garden Bird count as well. There are three weeks to go and still time for the bullfinch to drop in. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe09mSPDy5_Wb6mxcQhFDLAeX6QGUUaWOt4eWMNye8aP1QMM2-ZGzUaRS-c1G4LE41F8lXwWFws4229HyHdzTfuv6a-aQDoPLhffibbcXRNycRdM4lnpSrgHhRnWi-FKDLdePfVwdhiaIgMf7NG5hqJQ3YhfHfA6CLiM119z-WV_ytpYTPTUE8capUiS1w/s3072/SNV33167.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe09mSPDy5_Wb6mxcQhFDLAeX6QGUUaWOt4eWMNye8aP1QMM2-ZGzUaRS-c1G4LE41F8lXwWFws4229HyHdzTfuv6a-aQDoPLhffibbcXRNycRdM4lnpSrgHhRnWi-FKDLdePfVwdhiaIgMf7NG5hqJQ3YhfHfA6CLiM119z-WV_ytpYTPTUE8capUiS1w/s320/SNV33167.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Greenfinch - never more than one</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWq8_Md6bDLEy2DhTbNH6Pn8m35YIaGI-1Z6y3x6ziz01rPNgY-6mgKClLbOJzTG-9W_u_A98OiwUtLM6KrvWdDonKdq_ZiHK20e2JV2RlSwmHSTMQWVfoI5Hn7XAHQ2dtzjCGLIhyphenhyphen4OoIjH6JEljGXYbQ4k4tFtb1VS6nYO0FkA6UwVdi2pDpx3-MxCIl/s3072/SNV33168.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWq8_Md6bDLEy2DhTbNH6Pn8m35YIaGI-1Z6y3x6ziz01rPNgY-6mgKClLbOJzTG-9W_u_A98OiwUtLM6KrvWdDonKdq_ZiHK20e2JV2RlSwmHSTMQWVfoI5Hn7XAHQ2dtzjCGLIhyphenhyphen4OoIjH6JEljGXYbQ4k4tFtb1VS6nYO0FkA6UwVdi2pDpx3-MxCIl/s320/SNV33168.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Siskin (M)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrJHIQpnrQoAvgQIlyLuK5Sbk18dFXdADoAh8hAXiVyTAl5TkpHLMabmAEOiREbYGcDMBcY4w-oAJur8J-jrZyyWQjv0GgZoFyTFiYq-JAoNtwoWIzswpl8Rusnhl77jA9nsObIvLbjREEEuIznZpUjz7tczDdoSDHsM0JtixnvMb7Y9xmwvURpO4HFwg/s3072/SNV33194.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrJHIQpnrQoAvgQIlyLuK5Sbk18dFXdADoAh8hAXiVyTAl5TkpHLMabmAEOiREbYGcDMBcY4w-oAJur8J-jrZyyWQjv0GgZoFyTFiYq-JAoNtwoWIzswpl8Rusnhl77jA9nsObIvLbjREEEuIznZpUjz7tczDdoSDHsM0JtixnvMb7Y9xmwvURpO4HFwg/s320/SNV33194.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Linnet</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV__hwOh2eKrPzScTKMBehMJtFTef7q9dfU-oNRK0BGSHBSGBJW-ayO6tJFAJcGYDNNorinVwK7Eti93dem5LW3O5i1zpeAYOP9EaDLwKspC3IWAHYbNoVgoVG56N-ajh8Qtoh-Cq4iZvFZm-I2RZsyfYedsgWTEM5S-rn_YBAu7JzWsgK886hyu6td86v/s3072/SNV33207.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV__hwOh2eKrPzScTKMBehMJtFTef7q9dfU-oNRK0BGSHBSGBJW-ayO6tJFAJcGYDNNorinVwK7Eti93dem5LW3O5i1zpeAYOP9EaDLwKspC3IWAHYbNoVgoVG56N-ajh8Qtoh-Cq4iZvFZm-I2RZsyfYedsgWTEM5S-rn_YBAu7JzWsgK886hyu6td86v/s320/SNV33207.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jackdaw</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSw_nB3zXGORNp7CHGTzIO6A7-_wF1rAhQ_DSaMO3yfRjj8YkmTzWmK0ACNXhQD2vTuSb2qbkNSeiGs2Rz48tVB6G4Z5T2TiSovotNODvmSEhw4elAY7uuvqVkYgKxc3wDqDoxBefEN7l4kghcq3lG3cy0POFBYqFMwsShyphenhyphenZrfmCLRqXbnmd3y3zApDRr/s1728/SNV33213.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSw_nB3zXGORNp7CHGTzIO6A7-_wF1rAhQ_DSaMO3yfRjj8YkmTzWmK0ACNXhQD2vTuSb2qbkNSeiGs2Rz48tVB6G4Z5T2TiSovotNODvmSEhw4elAY7uuvqVkYgKxc3wDqDoxBefEN7l4kghcq3lG3cy0POFBYqFMwsShyphenhyphenZrfmCLRqXbnmd3y3zApDRr/s320/SNV33213.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Siskin (F)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Mij-bJGc7vaLdDbpxtirFAET2XFRWtiZ1sVyeXYloFZbFgOK1Xyk0HPQxHxoYUqERx0SMsEM9ExYERIc5x8JUFKqCuOBg77H3HunIOewBThyDWZ73iVrmKWWhombIRS76y5Lxv-Y7cRUgtJcn75T-humc0w_5FrefesEZoT8zCg_RCsqV_1YBTUAaOOI/s3072/SNV33214.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Mij-bJGc7vaLdDbpxtirFAET2XFRWtiZ1sVyeXYloFZbFgOK1Xyk0HPQxHxoYUqERx0SMsEM9ExYERIc5x8JUFKqCuOBg77H3HunIOewBThyDWZ73iVrmKWWhombIRS76y5Lxv-Y7cRUgtJcn75T-humc0w_5FrefesEZoT8zCg_RCsqV_1YBTUAaOOI/s320/SNV33214.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Redpoll (F)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDw_1_t7MbfIksgaEAxFQWkG2Dzp2lw7tj70A5hVbGWhhJCGoD6BArmtAuxx_Jm7tLNFyIEOLZsewDIMdTLFO2xzaTZ-vid3Mt2mt9g4LLBAQ2OTFDLJD-6vaL1ifwtcfDhhAOLhO_K_7N5XtTe_xp12wtAY28FxAfv9ZkGBeoA-GSG9dH7HlEhTfd97W/s3072/SNV33216.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDw_1_t7MbfIksgaEAxFQWkG2Dzp2lw7tj70A5hVbGWhhJCGoD6BArmtAuxx_Jm7tLNFyIEOLZsewDIMdTLFO2xzaTZ-vid3Mt2mt9g4LLBAQ2OTFDLJD-6vaL1ifwtcfDhhAOLhO_K_7N5XtTe_xp12wtAY28FxAfv9ZkGBeoA-GSG9dH7HlEhTfd97W/s320/SNV33216.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chaffinch & Redpoll (F)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">2024</span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">87: Purple sandpiper</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">88: Siskin</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">89: Fulmar</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">90: Gannet</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">91: Golden plover</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">92: Kestrel</b></span></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: large;">93: Red kite</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">94: Scaup</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">95: Common Scoter</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">96: Peregrine falcon</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">97: Great northern diver</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">98: Grey plover</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">99: Pink-footed goose</b></span></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: large;">100: Canada goose</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">101: Barnacle goose</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">102: White-fronted goose</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">103: Woodcock</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">104: Hen harrier</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">105: Lesser redpoll</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br /></b></span></div><div><b style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe;"><span style="font-size: large;">WOW</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">55: Great black-backed gull</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">NDCP</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">40: Greenfinch</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">41: Siskin</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;">42: Lesser Redpoll</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /></span><p><br /></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-84925443486203043272024-01-27T13:56:00.000-08:002024-01-27T13:56:44.840-08:00It's still January<p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"> Came across this little poem which I thought summed up where we are this month:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> Thirty days hath September,</span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> </span>April, June and November,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> Unless a leap year is its fate</span><br /></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> February has twenty-eight</span><br /></span></span></p><p><span><span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> </span>All the rest have three days more, </span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> Excepting January</span><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><span> </span><span> </span>Which has six thousand one hundred and eighty - four.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Anyway the evenings are stretching out and we have only had one cold spell here in balmy Bangor. Cold spells are designated as such if my pond freezes over. This happened on four mornings last week. The local Bangor patch has added a <b>kingfisher</b> at the Long Hole and a <b>greenfinch </b>turned up on the feeder. The coastal path added <b>ringed plover, common gull and pied wagtail</b>. Here's a selection of garden visitors including one of the 5 <b>herring gulls</b> which fly round waiting for out of date mince pies. Other birds will take the crust and the crumbs when they are broken up but the gulls are quickly in and swallow them whole. It's nice to see the <b>song thrush</b> in the garden, I don't get too many and it is a regular visitor as are the <b>house sparrows</b>. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivogiLz5bVTNNNDJa0_bflPH5pV7Mmd-K3Je7Cd1l8wacOrCNfjQMQzRmJAgr346PV9wMhrtjKjUBq2eh9jVQA4pfHbNFxrJd7iNohkRm-xXlvheOVkhZRTWY-D7QEZvFV2-E3ZB8EocGqWopf0l21IuIYtqLhP2MtNJPIiAGjv5ZMocEle0-mxFMRuJeG/s3072/SNV32983.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivogiLz5bVTNNNDJa0_bflPH5pV7Mmd-K3Je7Cd1l8wacOrCNfjQMQzRmJAgr346PV9wMhrtjKjUBq2eh9jVQA4pfHbNFxrJd7iNohkRm-xXlvheOVkhZRTWY-D7QEZvFV2-E3ZB8EocGqWopf0l21IuIYtqLhP2MtNJPIiAGjv5ZMocEle0-mxFMRuJeG/s320/SNV32983.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Long Hole Kingfisher</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0aJL4DWJTwrOEKReLq4WO1MDs1_9nsuuS4AwEm5TICvRbbbtCt7aXhn4FClBnhx3ebnZKkJYl4ydefyDeuGA5t-ojUy2HaMEsJn-JpxiulV9sQ9Il5XIotZivwXV5_hN4IW69vz7Wt6jVz5-qvwJfyXhLzUolKWIAUS4rqly7wcXaAzWAelx2hBhj4eh/s3072/SNV33010.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS0aJL4DWJTwrOEKReLq4WO1MDs1_9nsuuS4AwEm5TICvRbbbtCt7aXhn4FClBnhx3ebnZKkJYl4ydefyDeuGA5t-ojUy2HaMEsJn-JpxiulV9sQ9Il5XIotZivwXV5_hN4IW69vz7Wt6jVz5-qvwJfyXhLzUolKWIAUS4rqly7wcXaAzWAelx2hBhj4eh/s320/SNV33010.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Mrs Blackcap</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkc23IUeNmRpMNuKjwVhlYfuq4cAlYe5-xaIKNwZC79zRLl8uk0RzY1VbjNZYB9yDABDho8lZNomRUboZ-H7JzXMj9KgGYk7FtYprGju0Hw_b3zsBIegXSgtmBFUxRZAZlTlH9GQkdXaXRMls2bSA3VaxVHzKeo5iC3QN5LBDjlrwav7wZU8QvW_QWU18j/s3072/SNV33019.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkc23IUeNmRpMNuKjwVhlYfuq4cAlYe5-xaIKNwZC79zRLl8uk0RzY1VbjNZYB9yDABDho8lZNomRUboZ-H7JzXMj9KgGYk7FtYprGju0Hw_b3zsBIegXSgtmBFUxRZAZlTlH9GQkdXaXRMls2bSA3VaxVHzKeo5iC3QN5LBDjlrwav7wZU8QvW_QWU18j/s320/SNV33019.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Collared dove</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLaDPdb1v0-1lsiXKKpbkDYhmnT8d_k3ebxa2Z5GPQiSi0CEH0-vsZJd8AGBsHECthsd1qvj36UzgVNbJQvxZbXZxIU7VFLKUyS3YwJY6LxMgoL2d48p5aIpM-KCAr_jNuCItO71bsfjkdKff183IjeqR6h5XZ5K_k6NDCRoD2rLVJwLeCAYOiKVoBLiQ/s3072/SNV33021.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLaDPdb1v0-1lsiXKKpbkDYhmnT8d_k3ebxa2Z5GPQiSi0CEH0-vsZJd8AGBsHECthsd1qvj36UzgVNbJQvxZbXZxIU7VFLKUyS3YwJY6LxMgoL2d48p5aIpM-KCAr_jNuCItO71bsfjkdKff183IjeqR6h5XZ5K_k6NDCRoD2rLVJwLeCAYOiKVoBLiQ/s320/SNV33021.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Coal and blue tit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8I3Z4aCmCJyK9TWPiJRQDxGniw45OgvW5urUrVwpXdWsXdKh8_5aKiJC1iRjIQc-MEcHlIOclcVTzvwnxctkoDsERbqmscMOPidy4DjDJsQI6d5FK02z7423-wloh1hDF97pAECSAHxsmuzx7eRCek5rQ0EU93bMYJvsydrQsk0ac5aGcQlXtfXKPLph/s3072/SNV33025.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8I3Z4aCmCJyK9TWPiJRQDxGniw45OgvW5urUrVwpXdWsXdKh8_5aKiJC1iRjIQc-MEcHlIOclcVTzvwnxctkoDsERbqmscMOPidy4DjDJsQI6d5FK02z7423-wloh1hDF97pAECSAHxsmuzx7eRCek5rQ0EU93bMYJvsydrQsk0ac5aGcQlXtfXKPLph/s320/SNV33025.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Mr & Mrs house sparrow</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTNf5PFtV0JAcrVn_Iv1he5AOToEO71LSU661OEZsJPJloF37g_9fVCY1OKRiMeh9To7pvhyphenhyphenWIbvgB5Qv9P3IeYiPVyjAOeEoJsyPjjW8sPMwV2ZJtip70AssPOlly8NFqYnQVubA18zxbNqhaJnp1Fq95Lb-WksrR_meaqyT-eDJRCuYAQ_w9Z8fP8FA/s1920/SNV33112.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioTNf5PFtV0JAcrVn_Iv1he5AOToEO71LSU661OEZsJPJloF37g_9fVCY1OKRiMeh9To7pvhyphenhyphenWIbvgB5Qv9P3IeYiPVyjAOeEoJsyPjjW8sPMwV2ZJtip70AssPOlly8NFqYnQVubA18zxbNqhaJnp1Fq95Lb-WksrR_meaqyT-eDJRCuYAQ_w9Z8fP8FA/s320/SNV33112.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Mr Blackcap</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WjlBPovpLxV0g1bgVRBmLg6vW_x72WjcLpLN03cm3k4bMH0aAd4_BYRC4QshgivubAOcQOePt1-4cfTfSxDA6zvlcABLK_dnpo17bmkvvPKERIdp6pDuP4gVDMWvSXsJluT1r142K2-WBRZ73qnR0qNaRdpTfkzd2f65H0iu7mj1qUK9ZglrAVsGkxPY/s3072/SNV33145.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WjlBPovpLxV0g1bgVRBmLg6vW_x72WjcLpLN03cm3k4bMH0aAd4_BYRC4QshgivubAOcQOePt1-4cfTfSxDA6zvlcABLK_dnpo17bmkvvPKERIdp6pDuP4gVDMWvSXsJluT1r142K2-WBRZ73qnR0qNaRdpTfkzd2f65H0iu7mj1qUK9ZglrAVsGkxPY/s320/SNV33145.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Song thrush</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_W-0rMiXDdfIAADZbfXP3VMkRYxXtL4mDOeX74wSCEFRT52CqiMUqokpIETc_O6fvPMizXZAe9-K-2wRASnrt0prSzi1V0ltAxlUJx2yjydQE4l-b50RK4nb-X9CNByKA7b6YdMt88hgAZMP153PKhMIXK9rEI2OSIkAJTD5VEjZAvDYvtaerWhsLMAP/s3072/SNV33161.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_W-0rMiXDdfIAADZbfXP3VMkRYxXtL4mDOeX74wSCEFRT52CqiMUqokpIETc_O6fvPMizXZAe9-K-2wRASnrt0prSzi1V0ltAxlUJx2yjydQE4l-b50RK4nb-X9CNByKA7b6YdMt88hgAZMP153PKhMIXK9rEI2OSIkAJTD5VEjZAvDYvtaerWhsLMAP/s320/SNV33161.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Herring gull</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK-dOaZ5AijlFE6DByZav7-qJ6IZ-S5Z7fWY4ks6toFSuAL93HLQiF58ZwnNsIV828zIHZmrk8ONX24S7wPyPzp0FkovCuPDA9R5AH70BsEn-L0KISUwFi7CSIJG0Md-DB7Frqo5ygVc-P5RanL3-864SkLB815JOaCKq3ybL5EB4wkeSENhu1JAgwfeh/s3072/SNV33154.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOK-dOaZ5AijlFE6DByZav7-qJ6IZ-S5Z7fWY4ks6toFSuAL93HLQiF58ZwnNsIV828zIHZmrk8ONX24S7wPyPzp0FkovCuPDA9R5AH70BsEn-L0KISUwFi7CSIJG0Md-DB7Frqo5ygVc-P5RanL3-864SkLB815JOaCKq3ybL5EB4wkeSENhu1JAgwfeh/s320/SNV33154.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Blackcap</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br />WOW continues to rack up species as you would expect in a new year. I am now up to 55 for the RSPB patch having added 15 species including <b>linnet, wigeon and stonechat. </b>The full list is below. </span><div><b><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">I promised a report on the ringed <b>black-tailed godwit</b> which was ringed as an adult female in April 2021. It has been resighted 10 times since then, six times at WOW, once at Whitehouse Lagoon on the north side of Belfast Lough, once on Kinnegar beach and twice at Island hill which is at the northern end of Strangford Lough. It has not been seen in Iceland where it should go to breed. Some of the other birds ringed in the same catch have popped up in North Wales and Norfolk but this individual has not been re-sighted outside Northern Ireland. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">The <b>buzzard </b>is a regular visitor and hunts a range of prey but last week it perched up with something different. It took us a long time to work out what it was but it turned out to be a single glove which had been left out by one of the volunteers who do work on the reserve. The picture is awful, but be assured it is one of our gloves. </span></div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgZwyqU9Oz7CPsO_JkUA9fl982Jn5xGvpUBJiaFAxu5ca7DsTsMFy9PJsS_U4KHoC1J3aoCkFLQeXqFjR6XZejziJ6RMrRYCp2WER1P0bu8wJQwTooOxMJkwLSHlQcw2cA4rONaxJ78D0X2ipt1sE9BpgFaFwfDKhOjScdjq-5eQLGA-ZnEnotP3ciQXd/s3072/SNV32938.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgZwyqU9Oz7CPsO_JkUA9fl982Jn5xGvpUBJiaFAxu5ca7DsTsMFy9PJsS_U4KHoC1J3aoCkFLQeXqFjR6XZejziJ6RMrRYCp2WER1P0bu8wJQwTooOxMJkwLSHlQcw2cA4rONaxJ78D0X2ipt1sE9BpgFaFwfDKhOjScdjq-5eQLGA-ZnEnotP3ciQXd/s320/SNV32938.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Moorhen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhx0L2BTpyJm6uSvqPhcYiyF74yuhnfgSB6yrbzPzmg1nbAdYiwqBYZApk2niQ2a05raJrHqZeGsG7XwocL9kVOkD2_ImoPdFrK6HW3eb3Y8Z8hMmbDYao9vAiYyXpV57c10aV3qh4wadFkbvUMZLHDhRaA97Yy6z8ir9AJGST9W1I4Tgg5FI1xoKsWJVW/s3072/SNV32939.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhx0L2BTpyJm6uSvqPhcYiyF74yuhnfgSB6yrbzPzmg1nbAdYiwqBYZApk2niQ2a05raJrHqZeGsG7XwocL9kVOkD2_ImoPdFrK6HW3eb3Y8Z8hMmbDYao9vAiYyXpV57c10aV3qh4wadFkbvUMZLHDhRaA97Yy6z8ir9AJGST9W1I4Tgg5FI1xoKsWJVW/s320/SNV32939.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Mallard pair</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUxKd_AxiQzEOrWtV0W-xVU-eJPAp6QSNFLXYDsu_Gvf9_HvwRswrFjYpHqlV6O_8pBb4Ea2sNIDFa-zCoeWxVfDy3Dim04psa8X3rltcUiT8e5yiV_eIusPnoFwjjXnf-uCbBtPcAkj1FGnbIMMxXaN715C9uXj_5QqzzXj33XlfdDcbhfRtbT_inStt/s3072/SNV32959.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUxKd_AxiQzEOrWtV0W-xVU-eJPAp6QSNFLXYDsu_Gvf9_HvwRswrFjYpHqlV6O_8pBb4Ea2sNIDFa-zCoeWxVfDy3Dim04psa8X3rltcUiT8e5yiV_eIusPnoFwjjXnf-uCbBtPcAkj1FGnbIMMxXaN715C9uXj_5QqzzXj33XlfdDcbhfRtbT_inStt/s320/SNV32959.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Ringed godwit - history above.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqOjLjk-lSqq55g73sIn3z3sc9cDivG5fFaooViKzxeq5r5jQkUZDN44n02TPGJ9312tkJE4pFvCJH53BzLNBgrHAqU3c37OmvqV4HNvmlPiZBy3BtFGGkxLCcn9nPNdw4AZ0L4NmCSi39HQ_yciN977p3F40LtOJZ2w8RHuywyfMsfs6r5892CxlOoNv/s3072/SNV32961.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqOjLjk-lSqq55g73sIn3z3sc9cDivG5fFaooViKzxeq5r5jQkUZDN44n02TPGJ9312tkJE4pFvCJH53BzLNBgrHAqU3c37OmvqV4HNvmlPiZBy3BtFGGkxLCcn9nPNdw4AZ0L4NmCSi39HQ_yciN977p3F40LtOJZ2w8RHuywyfMsfs6r5892CxlOoNv/s320/SNV32961.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Teal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYXdalHwcGZcA0UAbJc967_6DkLsO3xroOEHCtDgacsXC3nZwxiKgKEWL0LZrzr6nIY8Qtp2FuKQisUfiJO4SHVHCS7jDaNtgEkJjf5J2OykyqbLBP8b06PVyYLTSde0Pc7A6ypY6c18kN9MXY51ZvHM7IA10MQhGh8IBXJnMtzahB5PRyjh6OQa9pzcg/s960/SNV32976.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYXdalHwcGZcA0UAbJc967_6DkLsO3xroOEHCtDgacsXC3nZwxiKgKEWL0LZrzr6nIY8Qtp2FuKQisUfiJO4SHVHCS7jDaNtgEkJjf5J2OykyqbLBP8b06PVyYLTSde0Pc7A6ypY6c18kN9MXY51ZvHM7IA10MQhGh8IBXJnMtzahB5PRyjh6OQa9pzcg/s320/SNV32976.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Red-breasted merganser</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVqTDi5Wei_TjqMohh6gG8QZ9jd8Wpin5VlMx_tWFBufb24MpNAsKtl9fu8QevcCKAhyphenhyphenBoAQiZUdyRC3dGyERoiRQoq0vGpfuuIyZLI36dkXiPFY8VEHMU9bwTjISkvSXaoArNmD5u2eYVKXs6znfzozWlBFeJLW5FzuqtKe7BkOrglv9yvmmVjELtObt/s3072/SNV32980.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVqTDi5Wei_TjqMohh6gG8QZ9jd8Wpin5VlMx_tWFBufb24MpNAsKtl9fu8QevcCKAhyphenhyphenBoAQiZUdyRC3dGyERoiRQoq0vGpfuuIyZLI36dkXiPFY8VEHMU9bwTjISkvSXaoArNmD5u2eYVKXs6znfzozWlBFeJLW5FzuqtKe7BkOrglv9yvmmVjELtObt/s320/SNV32980.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Buzzard and glove.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Rf8AIARPCs8auBw7ZGh6GpEyCisSxAflJS1KM2qiH2AmbSI9z3SjSydSu_Ahqfkx26J49m453GatMZ5J-ZFUMdGXtc1jkCWNgio2anYBy_e_DFkuyAEycfSiomUxiSq32JoLtJARybw6-DFCd_3kkVr9F0X87PbXRoN6hszH0eKFSCM8nHZbNzZE4598/s3072/SNV32973.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Rf8AIARPCs8auBw7ZGh6GpEyCisSxAflJS1KM2qiH2AmbSI9z3SjSydSu_Ahqfkx26J49m453GatMZ5J-ZFUMdGXtc1jkCWNgio2anYBy_e_DFkuyAEycfSiomUxiSq32JoLtJARybw6-DFCd_3kkVr9F0X87PbXRoN6hszH0eKFSCM8nHZbNzZE4598/s320/SNV32973.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Little grebe</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">2024:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">85: Ringed plover</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">86: Kingfisher</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">87: Purple sandpiper</span></b></div><div><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">WOW:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">41: Long-tailed tit</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">42:Dunnock</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">43: Gadwall</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">44: Buzzard</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">46: Pied wagtail</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">46:Dunlin</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">47: Song thrush</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">48: Stonechat</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">49: Wigeon</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">50: Rook</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">51: ringed plover</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">52: Linnet</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">53: Robin</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">54: Meadow pipit</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">55: Great black-backed gull</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">NDCP:</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">36: Pied wagtail</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">37: Ringed plover</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">38: Kingfisher</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">39: Common gull</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">40: Greenfinch<br /></span></b><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><p><br /></p></div></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-6890753139969095782024-01-08T09:46:00.000-08:002024-01-08T09:46:42.342-08:002024 - first impressions<p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Well blogs are a bit like buses - you get none for ages and then two come along at once. Clearly there is a reason for this as I am a bit OCD about lists and this is the easiest way to record how the year has started. (It could be worse I could be CDO which is worse than OCD because the letters have to be in the right order!! )</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">As I hoped David Miller and I kicked off 2024 with our traditional dawn to dusk birdathon round Strangford Lough. We started at the Flood Gates in Newtownards to watch the sunrise and started off the list with <b>brent goose, oystercatcher, shelduck, lapwing, dunlin, knot, curlew, blackbird, woodpigeon, robin, starling, magpie, hooded crow, black-headed gull, herring gull, common gull, teal and little egret.</b> We were disappointed not to find any pintail at all in an area where they have wintered for the last 30 years. A stop at Barr's Bay added a cacophony of <b>rooks and jackdaws, a feeding greenshank and a pied wagtail, plus cormorant and shag</b> perched on offshore rocks. The saltmarsh near Anne's Point was full of <b>wigeon, teal and mallard</b> plus a passing <b>grey heron </b>and Greyabbey bay south added <b>mute swan, goldeneye, red-breasted merganser, great black-backed gull and great crested grebe.</b> A stop at Kircubbin had <b>rock and meadow pipit </b>and a nice pair of <b>stonechats </b>near the yacht club as well as a <b>mistle thrush</b> perched up on the wires. <b>House sparrows</b> chirped in the bushes and <b>eider ducks </b>called offshore. We diverted to Abbacy and Bishop's Mill for our first walk. There is always a good mix of waders and passerines and we hit paydirt while looking for snipe with <b>2 snow buntings</b> and a passing <b>sparrowhawk.</b> We then added <b>dunnock, song thrush, collared dove, great tit, blue tit and chaffinch</b>. Having said how good the river was for <b>grey wagtail,</b> one popped up to preen on a rock. The drive along the shore to the ferry added <b>fieldfare and carrion crow.</b> We crossed the ferry and added<b> guillemot and black guillemot </b>from the ferry and stopped at Castleward Bay for <b>gadwall</b> and another <b>greenshank.</b> The Great Dam added <b>greylag geese, coot and tufted duck </b>as well as a nice <b>wigeon flock.</b> By this time bright sunlight had been replaced by lowering cloud and poorer light and lunch at the Castle Island hide was a welcome break. Unfortunately the Quoile has not as many birds as it once had. There were only <b>2 goldeneye,</b> no tufted and no pochard, but we did get a lonely <b>whooper swan, 5 redwings, buzzard, pheasant, a pair of ravens, little grebe, pintail and shoveler. </b>A walk to the Yacht Club added<b> bullfinch, goldcrest and wren </b>before we drove round to Quoile Castle. The feeders added <b>goldfinch and coal tit</b> and then we were extremely fortunate to see the long-staying <b>long-tailed duck </b>at the Steamboat Quay We had looked for it down towards Castle Island, couldn't see it and decided it wasn't about and on heading off met three other birders along the path. I was getting ready to tell them it was not around when the following happened.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Me: "Are you looking for the long-tailed duck?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Birder "Yes it's diving here in front of us"</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue;">It was showing well with a load of black-headed gulls and we had totally missed it. </span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue;">As the light was dropping fast we headed for Shore Road and the chance of a mixed finch flock on the </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue";">set-aside</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue";"> field. This turned up <b>15 yellowhammer, with house sparrows and chaffinches </b></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue";"> By the time we reached Killyleagh we had run out of light as the rain set in and the tide had pushed in to the Lough so there wasn't a lot of dry areas to look for birds. As in previous years we missed a few we should have got and found a few surprises - <b><span style="color: red;">snow bunting, yellowhammer and long-tailed duck. </span></b>I ended up with 71 species for the day. The most notable omissions were moorhen, both godwits, greenfinch, linnet and tree sparrow. Anyway a fine day and some good stories and memories and three photos from David Miller</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryLLZy882yECXkBkQmg2sdzFoZ35UqTDfazfi90vPaj3fJBCuQgb078BI2mu7JDFuSYlxtTdmVIsh1cKfhviuNMAXAGACn2KOFkFnHCOz6a_OddR0AVQfCdBqYeLA3jFSFT_URMJRTOP5jkIicR6Kv0Yr_Uts_h1RSu5nyKjM0tU6rZbZaZdrzttpyfhC/s4000/warm%20front.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="4000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryLLZy882yECXkBkQmg2sdzFoZ35UqTDfazfi90vPaj3fJBCuQgb078BI2mu7JDFuSYlxtTdmVIsh1cKfhviuNMAXAGACn2KOFkFnHCOz6a_OddR0AVQfCdBqYeLA3jFSFT_URMJRTOP5jkIicR6Kv0Yr_Uts_h1RSu5nyKjM0tU6rZbZaZdrzttpyfhC/s320/warm%20front.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">From the ferry as the warm front moves east over us.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd6nuImLdalv97n3EpUxvDX6QRfMfDV2ZMzW8jBGZKWahxpjEWlbmWEwAA3xJ8QWSsx2oFhH3-9ApNXxq-Ym23UhgZP1ajrBsdPzAjM3Yi3edZGBIFC8dePTFxKEFU1Az5z6C82b4wizZFlMC9-MJvBKvvOm4x6BMRhWylDdgfwm-X3Bpd8GOm97Rt54J/s3472/P1240557.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2604" data-original-width="3472" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd6nuImLdalv97n3EpUxvDX6QRfMfDV2ZMzW8jBGZKWahxpjEWlbmWEwAA3xJ8QWSsx2oFhH3-9ApNXxq-Ym23UhgZP1ajrBsdPzAjM3Yi3edZGBIFC8dePTFxKEFU1Az5z6C82b4wizZFlMC9-MJvBKvvOm4x6BMRhWylDdgfwm-X3Bpd8GOm97Rt54J/s320/P1240557.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Long-tailed duck</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bc0JOgCPG3K8nGTHqZZrD7Ll3Rkz8yYGVSK6szKEDjfzMDNIGG6qD4i1RMkBs67oLo6VXsX65XCINdvhZtuq77GZVPAoPlw8bCIuy1RNpdrcW4Ea_BGUR-7pOdZVJUeqvYONIVQOfh7g_2S9vYrT3flfVMhz7Zye_dCJMaXX9FkBp3phbhE0w9T48v62/s3332/P1240590.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2499" data-original-width="3332" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-bc0JOgCPG3K8nGTHqZZrD7Ll3Rkz8yYGVSK6szKEDjfzMDNIGG6qD4i1RMkBs67oLo6VXsX65XCINdvhZtuq77GZVPAoPlw8bCIuy1RNpdrcW4Ea_BGUR-7pOdZVJUeqvYONIVQOfh7g_2S9vYrT3flfVMhz7Zye_dCJMaXX9FkBp3phbhE0w9T48v62/s320/P1240590.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long-tailed duck</td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue;">Since then I have added <b>long-tailed tit, blackcap and linnet </b>in the garden as well as a trip to Islandmagee to see <b>waxwings.</b> There have been large flocks in that area and we found 15 near Ballycarry Bridge. </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue";">A quick trip up to David's feeders in Carnalea added <b>tree sparrows</b>. </span><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue";">The first morning at WOW in 2024 started the WOW patch with 40 and also added a few ticks to the year list - </span><b style="font-family: "Comic Neue";">turnstone, black-tailed godwit, bar-tailed godwit, 30 snipe, moorhen, great spotted woodpecker and greenfinch. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>WOW also had a female sparrowhawk, a female red-breasted merganser as well as all the usual suspects - teal, shelduck, mallard, shoveler, lapwing, curlew, redshank, coot, woodpigeon, hooded crow, starling, great, coal and blue tit, goldfinch, chaffinch, little grebe, black-headed common and herring gull, blackbird, magpie, grey heron, </b><span>while Kinnegar added</span><b> oystercatcher, cormorant, greylag goose, tufted duck, mute swan, black guillemot, great crested grebe and brent goose. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvckwHO51QqdEbzrihS4hYf_x4-4EXz_83JwJoaSo2hHbUhSESBrlE0WOuTmSu7px18TeCGM3cEaO192oeFcsLKDBKhCHAzMub34hAQJ4kLNo4UBetH4UQdOtZg1vekHtUhLksAKhohng3nNMzpunP3AjRIpEjXlM5EIWTdrhMXuLx1_04_gnV3Hn8FYD/s3072/SNV32897.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvckwHO51QqdEbzrihS4hYf_x4-4EXz_83JwJoaSo2hHbUhSESBrlE0WOuTmSu7px18TeCGM3cEaO192oeFcsLKDBKhCHAzMub34hAQJ4kLNo4UBetH4UQdOtZg1vekHtUhLksAKhohng3nNMzpunP3AjRIpEjXlM5EIWTdrhMXuLx1_04_gnV3Hn8FYD/s320/SNV32897.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Returning woodpecker</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTPduylM_7F_L5PMWkVvWtYCwTN7aq9Nc1dB7S1NzQmQQpT9px3BAcjH0TBYDU9Kk7d3T2uVH5bSfTy85WeHCPKrNs0Dz39OuV8YF43erUy_LQQ5yePH7Y0qH6vzPp-kpRj0enNBAywzikuW1oJkG13exFMj-99DH6gKYmE8W-ttNpnpRaphS_Ivv_ali/s4608/IMG_20240104_123834280.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdTPduylM_7F_L5PMWkVvWtYCwTN7aq9Nc1dB7S1NzQmQQpT9px3BAcjH0TBYDU9Kk7d3T2uVH5bSfTy85WeHCPKrNs0Dz39OuV8YF43erUy_LQQ5yePH7Y0qH6vzPp-kpRj0enNBAywzikuW1oJkG13exFMj-99DH6gKYmE8W-ttNpnpRaphS_Ivv_ali/s320/IMG_20240104_123834280.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Returning ringed black-tailed godwit<b><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Finally the Irish Garden Bird Survey continues and this year has put 21 birds on the North Down patch list - <b>Blackbird, song thrush, hooded crow, woodpigeon, collared dove, jackdaw, magpie, starling, herring gull, blackcap, goldfinch, chaffinch, linnet, house sparrow, dunnock, robin, long-tailed, blue, great and coal tit and sparrowhawk (twice!!) </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">An amble along the coastal path added a few species which I expected to see - <b>oystercatcher, redshank, turnstone, moorhen, rook, eider, black-headed and great black-backed gull, brent goose, shag, black guillemot, grey heron and cormorant </b> but there was also a fly by <b>red-throated diver </b>which is a bit harder to get. That leaves the NDCP patch at 35</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>*</b></span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"> I'll add a note about the ringed godwit on the next blog.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">2024:<br /></span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">71 species from the trip round the Lough as outlined above, followed by <br /></span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">72: Blackcap<br /></span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">73: Long-tailed tit</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>74: Linnet</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>75 Waxwing</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>76: Turnstone</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>77: Black-tailed godwit</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>78: Bar-tailed godwit</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>79: Snipe</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>80: Moorhen</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>81: Great spotted woodpecker</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>82: Greenfinch</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>83: Red-throated diver</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>84: Tree sparrow</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>WOW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>40 species from Thursday January 4th as outlined above.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">35 species, 21 from the garden and 14 more from the coastal path as outlined above.</span></b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-83078004343229006082023-12-31T10:50:00.000-08:002023-12-31T10:50:45.201-08:002023 round up<p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">I had this up and ready to post when my good friend and fellow birder David told me he had a <b>brambling</b> 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 <b>rustic bunting </b>appeared two years ago. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vzmywZLt_GGKTznf2K5WvezZjOBPrO7sZH3h9FyCr7Lfn-wOqfI9ZWU4iBG92Fjmj3tCYed4IFy2mDPV69E0qzHJi0BW_2xF4cDHk_XmODE8RiP-BXSVrlbVcs43D5NojpVBIjfhkMrPAcw0rXzAllNi68eVcga2aoaNv1a_7D3RYeX9YCvJlchpInrX/s3710/P1240429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2782" data-original-width="3710" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vzmywZLt_GGKTznf2K5WvezZjOBPrO7sZH3h9FyCr7Lfn-wOqfI9ZWU4iBG92Fjmj3tCYed4IFy2mDPV69E0qzHJi0BW_2xF4cDHk_XmODE8RiP-BXSVrlbVcs43D5NojpVBIjfhkMrPAcw0rXzAllNi68eVcga2aoaNv1a_7D3RYeX9YCvJlchpInrX/s320/P1240429.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sparrowhawk is a regular visitor!</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimirwDYRc3Cmj3Fe-srnynjrYQ255Z5rSqFc6Emgszl0OMO0nlfPfmKsG_SnEjk0mMl09sb_CqA1q2svoJBRsSButI4vkyIqTLkHHE0IUt2qcELE-q2yC9sWbV9yLhyLf18B2nos0B5w3X217pxOH5m_2f6imzKdSzecPCKjevCVIGChXHMeiZKrh3OQRH/s2500/P1240459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimirwDYRc3Cmj3Fe-srnynjrYQ255Z5rSqFc6Emgszl0OMO0nlfPfmKsG_SnEjk0mMl09sb_CqA1q2svoJBRsSButI4vkyIqTLkHHE0IUt2qcELE-q2yC9sWbV9yLhyLf18B2nos0B5w3X217pxOH5m_2f6imzKdSzecPCKjevCVIGChXHMeiZKrh3OQRH/s320/P1240459.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaffinch with brambling</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mtUh1no9AXo3SgGwezGe_HDkXWaOt3kBcnE7qfoVn77yaa2FPxk94amQq3I3sIDh_-0vy486ZKUqkAkJmuc_MSg2sZXFfLcs_quU1Ob0-A67vVMEIWMZLUCy-2I5CdKRlSDE_VmAb-UWBlWuAcQN8hUfJYEWKHUa3sjoJlPzeHuT1hxvzolwSXCuTqJp/s2400/P1240460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="2400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9mtUh1no9AXo3SgGwezGe_HDkXWaOt3kBcnE7qfoVn77yaa2FPxk94amQq3I3sIDh_-0vy486ZKUqkAkJmuc_MSg2sZXFfLcs_quU1Ob0-A67vVMEIWMZLUCy-2I5CdKRlSDE_VmAb-UWBlWuAcQN8hUfJYEWKHUa3sjoJlPzeHuT1hxvzolwSXCuTqJp/s320/P1240460.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brambling</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oB8Hpn3zlxR-RK0UhcL_VOh9UuzLWdKeXRvUSm3MZiUZmbU2vxMQdsB8AbowImgaO0OwU7E6qbQQfiDO78W7yOnb3NiQyZmrnpG32VV2t7q3bbuZChVq_81-nadjAIHa2_7WU5pvM4I-DID4Ww64i_7u4e3VnQXctH3Wm4MoC1RE5ZzPL9duWZF_if8y/s2250/P1240463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="2250" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oB8Hpn3zlxR-RK0UhcL_VOh9UuzLWdKeXRvUSm3MZiUZmbU2vxMQdsB8AbowImgaO0OwU7E6qbQQfiDO78W7yOnb3NiQyZmrnpG32VV2t7q3bbuZChVq_81-nadjAIHa2_7WU5pvM4I-DID4Ww64i_7u4e3VnQXctH3Wm4MoC1RE5ZzPL9duWZF_if8y/s320/P1240463.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brambling</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1MlCrDsvnKGweKT-aTb71wjRqlmo6UfP3C3j6V14jcWUZ9I9Q9KWeBthDAFHZcznqm-Xq8l8dY9TMmPN0rZ4MHwyonQXVWEltOXgDrlpsmd1Gr_mQ4R0nbABMgAgOjD8e32hxFI1wOxveXT8mLuQKMafUPyTKq8d3ByqM9eva_at7StFY1v-iOdIBq5B/s3200/P1240416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1MlCrDsvnKGweKT-aTb71wjRqlmo6UfP3C3j6V14jcWUZ9I9Q9KWeBthDAFHZcznqm-Xq8l8dY9TMmPN0rZ4MHwyonQXVWEltOXgDrlpsmd1Gr_mQ4R0nbABMgAgOjD8e32hxFI1wOxveXT8mLuQKMafUPyTKq8d3ByqM9eva_at7StFY1v-iOdIBq5B/s320/P1240416.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree sparrows every winter</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue"; font-size: large;">So back to the quick and short round up of 2023 which is coming to an end soon. The totals were as follows</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>The year list finished on 161 plus the 26 birds seen in Alaska, claiming 187.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>The North Down patch ended on 70.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>The RSPB/WOW/Kinnegar patch ended on 94.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Both patches notched up one more each since the last post and they were unusual birds. The garden produced a <b>treecreeper</b> and WOW turned up not one but two <b>great spotted woodpeckers </b>- 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. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">The Irish garden bird survey continues to entertain with numbers and variety. As well as the <b>treecreeper</b> I also had a <b>jay</b> in the garden and two visits from the <b>sparrowhawk.</b> The <b>song thrush</b> is still around and <b>goldfinches and greenfinches </b>have put in appearances. I also have regular visits from <b>house sparrow and linnet. Blackcaps </b>have provided 2 females and a male.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Comic Neue";"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81bKVQIrEXA3GwgOpuqlFi8Bc0CVGUWXVmGZ7EsOK6KcJKQetmEDdnK9bKpzbcx8Car3ALblnbH-ozCa_uxCJr5WXob8FJyV13UBSB2ALfcQiLUAKiCap7P_wfUhBqe1d5WgPBAwV1UF8Ys1xFEB-gvAhOBoaovZZE6-p6eG4D2eGGO-iNIIsWXRC8Emr/s1536/SNV32825.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81bKVQIrEXA3GwgOpuqlFi8Bc0CVGUWXVmGZ7EsOK6KcJKQetmEDdnK9bKpzbcx8Car3ALblnbH-ozCa_uxCJr5WXob8FJyV13UBSB2ALfcQiLUAKiCap7P_wfUhBqe1d5WgPBAwV1UF8Ys1xFEB-gvAhOBoaovZZE6-p6eG4D2eGGO-iNIIsWXRC8Emr/s320/SNV32825.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue-billed teal is still around WOW</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV0gkMYt3eDKcPxU5Md3PrypFvPC5amyokIFaL6JP794Hb3GcSkH8Jk5WVBrpmoDVoJCJ4DMnCGKwfAbtd9WL56iqNgdfjvzzLMh3qSrn2-e1prvkh8Wa1jvz9AHfgTzBiEa8yYRD7ciwVrXlYPVztR7QY9-UEc_sUrBwhaVloacMmqGBeB_-95HkoZ3p/s3072/SNV32837.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJV0gkMYt3eDKcPxU5Md3PrypFvPC5amyokIFaL6JP794Hb3GcSkH8Jk5WVBrpmoDVoJCJ4DMnCGKwfAbtd9WL56iqNgdfjvzzLMh3qSrn2-e1prvkh8Wa1jvz9AHfgTzBiEa8yYRD7ciwVrXlYPVztR7QY9-UEc_sUrBwhaVloacMmqGBeB_-95HkoZ3p/s320/SNV32837.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unseasonal greenshank</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxwr-PCc0QlzflRDvKnpoCCspwoqfjizvkh_v8cDAJOFQJ_9FXXiRistLmHPK2RMOkWt14PmU-6vDbvFEvtY7eo_R8H4oWQqpDQFMi0LFRjEUav0YzeQcDtM2qKu7ak7rTaeG9q4rymeuq52i67VnykeKMPUUTTp1cE0rSJcopYQIO56OQ0QTo07ZdC7t/s3072/SNV32907.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgxwr-PCc0QlzflRDvKnpoCCspwoqfjizvkh_v8cDAJOFQJ_9FXXiRistLmHPK2RMOkWt14PmU-6vDbvFEvtY7eo_R8H4oWQqpDQFMi0LFRjEUav0YzeQcDtM2qKu7ak7rTaeG9q4rymeuq52i67VnykeKMPUUTTp1cE0rSJcopYQIO56OQ0QTo07ZdC7t/s320/SNV32907.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Male GSW</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYgdQdik0BW7DvrX0jO6E458wdPuEbruzwUdkOlOYPHBSCb66CtAoa9riqyILDq-VS1AIJZutIbMopUQ5ilFhZBdnsR2jIBfks6iCuMbJ1rRdkcgSAsES2kWDscbOEWUsR-NjHhjQ79ORQ-432I_NAPzqJy6Iyuihpl6hr63GLnz_OM-9LVLEziw0buMT/s3072/SNV32897.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYgdQdik0BW7DvrX0jO6E458wdPuEbruzwUdkOlOYPHBSCb66CtAoa9riqyILDq-VS1AIJZutIbMopUQ5ilFhZBdnsR2jIBfks6iCuMbJ1rRdkcgSAsES2kWDscbOEWUsR-NjHhjQ79ORQ-432I_NAPzqJy6Iyuihpl6hr63GLnz_OM-9LVLEziw0buMT/s320/SNV32897.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Male GSW</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLd2_6Jyo9nGNvWoj4e4c4FNVuN8BvLMJLvHR1f06y1ccn5ZEyFkkGvGXup3B_N_XS-OhYiwpVNBu_nqAoouyfmjXpfyKo_ptrWOp_Kt1op1uuMelGPepa0zzsJHDQITswTiImQvxqvxHgrgSQp8RLVBJ6ekeYeSteyZ0qaisd4ZvUF3VuOt2iy1A97qwn/s3072/SNV32880.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLd2_6Jyo9nGNvWoj4e4c4FNVuN8BvLMJLvHR1f06y1ccn5ZEyFkkGvGXup3B_N_XS-OhYiwpVNBu_nqAoouyfmjXpfyKo_ptrWOp_Kt1op1uuMelGPepa0zzsJHDQITswTiImQvxqvxHgrgSQp8RLVBJ6ekeYeSteyZ0qaisd4ZvUF3VuOt2iy1A97qwn/s320/SNV32880.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Female GSW</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">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!! </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">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"</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>160: Willow tit</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>161: Brambling</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>+USA/Canada: 26 = 186 for the year</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>NDCP: </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>70: Treecreeper</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>Belfast RSPB</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>94: Great spotted woodpecker</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><br /></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-84119420574181924682023-12-05T13:59:00.000-08:002023-12-05T13:59:15.692-08:00Approaching the solstice<p><span style="font-size: large;"> 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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">WOW has been very quiet since the grey phalarope although the <b>blue-billed teal</b> is still around. <b>Cormorant, heron and egret </b>numbers have levelled out as the law of diminishing returns kicks in. We had three ringed godwits. The two <b>black-tailed godwits</b> were returning birds which were ringed here in 2021. The <b>bar-tailed godwit </b>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. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0U6cVSDNTYVPmSQr1VSCJDVnFUyi0T59oeFqHBRzh6mQaVFFq-hBLL5PNtDveY9qqAigZc3d8pQSLx5ZjNGypQBvSmTyGxAhuZH_nWAmECie6S0RivxUOdgZHhyphenhyphenn-fg6I8MGvxLQ49owIAGxMThXfkwH1zisBcZPoIzSkdUrpK_rrLmMsabz-LqjzHN6/s3072/SNV32836.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0U6cVSDNTYVPmSQr1VSCJDVnFUyi0T59oeFqHBRzh6mQaVFFq-hBLL5PNtDveY9qqAigZc3d8pQSLx5ZjNGypQBvSmTyGxAhuZH_nWAmECie6S0RivxUOdgZHhyphenhyphenn-fg6I8MGvxLQ49owIAGxMThXfkwH1zisBcZPoIzSkdUrpK_rrLmMsabz-LqjzHN6/s320/SNV32836.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unringed black-tailed godwits</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblUtCdZXOo7-8obhBL0D6bzCXifxrZ4ecaRq7-yorzd1gkyGLJLzPHDnstdhpOKauVdKqrGYDP5m3iD3tbDfiPXlM2dDANCP5pZdBmjljXoooY3LeZ_W5veGWyCoEDEGdj3g9BlSWL5aRA0zVVcXBJw_6HD2amovPDZarWA9dzs8lX7LMihKsOF-Q4rM7/s4608/IMG_20231109_131019010.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblUtCdZXOo7-8obhBL0D6bzCXifxrZ4ecaRq7-yorzd1gkyGLJLzPHDnstdhpOKauVdKqrGYDP5m3iD3tbDfiPXlM2dDANCP5pZdBmjljXoooY3LeZ_W5veGWyCoEDEGdj3g9BlSWL5aRA0zVVcXBJw_6HD2amovPDZarWA9dzs8lX7LMihKsOF-Q4rM7/s320/IMG_20231109_131019010.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not much room for manoeuvre here</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAt0VrEJZjCl29yQUr9DBelSgxJ3Ie4UadUwCJeBJKk9gI0lh5drLI4TaIwY4WmEzv7WlMJ6d0Vj1FDoYgQYAoGc_ybLEh25ELwdKo85q9obnkUeRIh7gz-mUsVaHUUG3MIwFkLTXh4cWlGdjiKoHfHNC2kKcXP-eOV6Y1eTUc0lvd24rDs_S7XnCWBLx/s4608/IMG_20231109_131029959.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjAt0VrEJZjCl29yQUr9DBelSgxJ3Ie4UadUwCJeBJKk9gI0lh5drLI4TaIwY4WmEzv7WlMJ6d0Vj1FDoYgQYAoGc_ybLEh25ELwdKo85q9obnkUeRIh7gz-mUsVaHUUG3MIwFkLTXh4cWlGdjiKoHfHNC2kKcXP-eOV6Y1eTUc0lvd24rDs_S7XnCWBLx/s320/IMG_20231109_131029959.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sight which greets you at the gate</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhff8u9IkZxqS2INWs_uVrQxGa9VG6sElQdZBcHbd4Q1aOQDB89GZ00pT8cgp12Er8eh9-Us_LqyQlQsc4xFvzoPljybT3eGm9k9rS-KcR8FbTUIrqeqojHFtwo7_rN5UwOZCGBRJZVfaoi4XsCub78mL5Y7MycN4QeQmO5UbupvnCG-cCVrj2uGJ2Ga9fP/s4608/IMG_20231109_131544855.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhff8u9IkZxqS2INWs_uVrQxGa9VG6sElQdZBcHbd4Q1aOQDB89GZ00pT8cgp12Er8eh9-Us_LqyQlQsc4xFvzoPljybT3eGm9k9rS-KcR8FbTUIrqeqojHFtwo7_rN5UwOZCGBRJZVfaoi4XsCub78mL5Y7MycN4QeQmO5UbupvnCG-cCVrj2uGJ2Ga9fP/s320/IMG_20231109_131544855.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes they blocked it all the way down</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmfKrIt-_QA-AkqTvX0T33bd0N7dfapoD2LrBm_mLZPF3gEG27hRvLkYOyfBMdQk2fDpXL49Aapv5s9NQlQ9UpQkEvm2JoDbs4qH-tqDS8KLiy2XePzq234jlxsecRB6MwS9I8G5yqmCFZuRXCNNfoD9OXPtrKO24A0snH5FSn84ChOa-JKjddVqRy58c/s4608/IMG_20231116_130354627.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWmfKrIt-_QA-AkqTvX0T33bd0N7dfapoD2LrBm_mLZPF3gEG27hRvLkYOyfBMdQk2fDpXL49Aapv5s9NQlQ9UpQkEvm2JoDbs4qH-tqDS8KLiy2XePzq234jlxsecRB6MwS9I8G5yqmCFZuRXCNNfoD9OXPtrKO24A0snH5FSn84ChOa-JKjddVqRy58c/s320/IMG_20231116_130354627.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">See explanation above</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;">David and I did the Montgomery hide on a rising tide in November. Usual cracking morning with the highlights being <b>5 grey plover, 5 greenshank, 500 knot and 600 golden plovers.</b> I had 32 species all told, and all the following photos are David's. Interesting fact is the <b>eider duck</b> in the last photo which neither of us saw on the day!!</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkr9gEpef7U7OHrpX0XEvBDGzpDsom2Dmqfm14-juvsF9BVad4fSdVFg7g8fg9wakR-QsnkKlEQBzEXnFLTfyaeJyzLmpWqZ7AfNmQctCPLA_OZO7XviOCUkCP_LB_ATOGLRhKDwNZScG7cQ2vZU6Y7FYTUIlgezaOCvtm0TB4ThcsQeaJDSlJBACMAaix/s2400/P1240281.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="2400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkr9gEpef7U7OHrpX0XEvBDGzpDsom2Dmqfm14-juvsF9BVad4fSdVFg7g8fg9wakR-QsnkKlEQBzEXnFLTfyaeJyzLmpWqZ7AfNmQctCPLA_OZO7XviOCUkCP_LB_ATOGLRhKDwNZScG7cQ2vZU6Y7FYTUIlgezaOCvtm0TB4ThcsQeaJDSlJBACMAaix/s320/P1240281.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Approach along the stream</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr53iKd4VkNQ0ijhec-SHOlkseADtjSJBvEyQmDux_zPwJvnxaFXVfqN_YTfaeBsiUqwNfTNtrO_O8lub3l4n0SBPOPRKKlgb2P3Ejb8U6_KvQyv4YPjcPQ_MLyD3oeSUAjIN_B0VhT1eMldBAMaft25OfAN35Nu7TDz6lSBSOwGKvpu60qUuqlANC92ST/s2800/P1240305.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1865" data-original-width="2800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr53iKd4VkNQ0ijhec-SHOlkseADtjSJBvEyQmDux_zPwJvnxaFXVfqN_YTfaeBsiUqwNfTNtrO_O8lub3l4n0SBPOPRKKlgb2P3Ejb8U6_KvQyv4YPjcPQ_MLyD3oeSUAjIN_B0VhT1eMldBAMaft25OfAN35Nu7TDz6lSBSOwGKvpu60qUuqlANC92ST/s320/P1240305.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh618pnhAZnIISZUv79Po5yB-nDYBSdLwWyGsXJmM0Q3g_0OAwSLCzTFP2OIx2O47ltlWykHVMAHShsdfh6VQgU1cv7EEdRVLSJROrxq2yqgtyzC_OWTRMFRo5NY1cbRllpfSm2pPF9gbu-_f63yWOLRZjcQpz9hfmIvtN6_QbCaVLeuMB7MEcq2h-pzUu5/s3000/P1240310.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1999" data-original-width="3000" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh618pnhAZnIISZUv79Po5yB-nDYBSdLwWyGsXJmM0Q3g_0OAwSLCzTFP2OIx2O47ltlWykHVMAHShsdfh6VQgU1cv7EEdRVLSJROrxq2yqgtyzC_OWTRMFRo5NY1cbRllpfSm2pPF9gbu-_f63yWOLRZjcQpz9hfmIvtN6_QbCaVLeuMB7MEcq2h-pzUu5/s320/P1240310.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Distant knot</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-cN-jI3ItR-pxD3GOFH5ixRNU_NcOdLXMTojVFSZecTmu-QQgDyg1TmhrxXJzqcQav_G_uolVsrjeOzxZGiUqSpHhk7iRv8O2XVm8eKBhZ2D0bMHnpns8coI2gbw4N5yNEZgryrgl2c3qxiQQK61asMEFmsZoectvdFUjBUqlgiUhrfCxJyRtahYprel/s2800/P1240323.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1866" data-original-width="2800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-cN-jI3ItR-pxD3GOFH5ixRNU_NcOdLXMTojVFSZecTmu-QQgDyg1TmhrxXJzqcQav_G_uolVsrjeOzxZGiUqSpHhk7iRv8O2XVm8eKBhZ2D0bMHnpns8coI2gbw4N5yNEZgryrgl2c3qxiQQK61asMEFmsZoectvdFUjBUqlgiUhrfCxJyRtahYprel/s320/P1240323.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Distant knot in flight</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">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. <br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">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 <b>red-throated divers</b> and a very odd plumaged <b>eider duck </b>which caused a bit of debate. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">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:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The only finches recorded so far are 2 <b>chaffinches.</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The blackcaps </b>are back for the winter.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The <b>coal tits</b> are decimating the feeders and caching their food.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">5 <b>linnets</b> turned up at the feeder.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">5 <b>house sparrows</b> have also been about.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The <b>sparrowhawk </b>visited briefly.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">A single <b>song thrush</b> has been a regular visitor.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">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. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>2023</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>160: Willow tit</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>NDCP</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>69: Lapwing</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>Belfast RSPB</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>93: Stonechat</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-17337086294895295172023-11-15T14:06:00.000-08:002023-11-15T14:06:25.818-08:00Another lifer (N0T)<p><span style="font-size: large;">Things have been quiet on the birding front as I continue to try and mop up a few species on the patches. I have been over to Bolton and added a <b>willow tit </b>to the list. I also conducted a wild goose chase round Pennington Flash to try and add Egyptian goose to the list but they eluded me. How many flooded horse fields are there round the Flash? Quite a few is the answer but none of them contained the family of four geese. Locally I finally added <b>lapwings</b> to the North Down patch as the wintering flock were spotted by someone else and I was able to go down and see them. What was once 60+ is now down to less than 20, and recently 4 remained so they don't appear to be hanging around. Three recent walks have been largely bird free apart from gulls. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The most noteworthy bird of late popped up at WOW on October 19th and was still there on November 9th. It is a<b> blue-billed or Hottentot teal </b>a native of Southern Africa. Despite not being ringed it is of doubtful provenance and so cannot be added to any list, hence the title of the blog. Stephen Maxwell described it as a "fence hopper", i.e. a bird which has escaped from a collection - most likely Castle Espie. We did however have a great morning's entertainment trying to work out what it was. It was with teal, was the right size and it was dabbling. Despite scouring the books we had no idea what it was until someone started googling all types of teal and suddenly there it was in a picture on Google. The pictures give you an idea of our struggles as it did not fit anything we knew and until it flew and showed blue and white wing bars we had no ideas at all</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzR9qF4lv6djdrzxOB_7Zig06VGbHQJCf-ujNE-4eTqB580N2sNp6RhJLnF10-q19LRe15HVAHkeRpc4lyHiQ5opxvRMDpUuwUW16gfPXWD63GOM4qUZ46Df9HjTwSdHXY_IxEi7QODjaH9xPVdakssQ0UFjHKgqyttav5ShXpLoDi9HxfD9g0QOFgCy-o/s320/SNV32825.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blue-billed teal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdP3c_NvzvRih4YdLkglcj0IKor4ml8RQo5pItYJyROtK3-HikXINpN9o7mS7wQEfUY9qVGVCcA73RaSY3KGZVdzkvGfEYgo7a8LNg-93ND6TPLWfBk73Ma2yd_BTWbzwEV10_OezMN5uTqB_Crd8UngjIl1gieXKpMZs9Xo6ZxXluNF_vTPYjOwJ8CED/s3072/SNV32811.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdP3c_NvzvRih4YdLkglcj0IKor4ml8RQo5pItYJyROtK3-HikXINpN9o7mS7wQEfUY9qVGVCcA73RaSY3KGZVdzkvGfEYgo7a8LNg-93ND6TPLWfBk73Ma2yd_BTWbzwEV10_OezMN5uTqB_Crd8UngjIl1gieXKpMZs9Xo6ZxXluNF_vTPYjOwJ8CED/s320/SNV32811.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rear view showing wing bars</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVut4QDSwZq6Hk16m48_ZWyuzfCHyF01CP-x3QjFg-CKcD-qXSujc3IxEtBi-ykxCVslqEVJN1u-IIX7MKv-DeUvPjddY6-f5F71WRqm51ScFcpWhMl7BwU_-CMbIzrzacUUcbW6daL608sryhMROHvOMdztWgKNzrXJxW1unN4OhNAC2LF1QePPeGk4CU/s3072/SNV32824.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVut4QDSwZq6Hk16m48_ZWyuzfCHyF01CP-x3QjFg-CKcD-qXSujc3IxEtBi-ykxCVslqEVJN1u-IIX7MKv-DeUvPjddY6-f5F71WRqm51ScFcpWhMl7BwU_-CMbIzrzacUUcbW6daL608sryhMROHvOMdztWgKNzrXJxW1unN4OhNAC2LF1QePPeGk4CU/s320/SNV32824.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Female teal for comparison</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4i7IqXo37y3ENwGJpSDPJIwce-ha8Onr1LNQMj0-0Cqc-g17ewOjvAFj44Ly-StfF5Bxl_kh3zA6s_iZv9M8O7YIP3E3uudaWm3oBN9Jf3DnXJnHEINyLU_x4WIIU8c011Sr3qJgFI9NnQo5JuYXsbJq312Bt9X9mSWt1AuCeleemYquo2i6RKFjtvSCe/s4608/IMG_20231109_120453627.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4i7IqXo37y3ENwGJpSDPJIwce-ha8Onr1LNQMj0-0Cqc-g17ewOjvAFj44Ly-StfF5Bxl_kh3zA6s_iZv9M8O7YIP3E3uudaWm3oBN9Jf3DnXJnHEINyLU_x4WIIU8c011Sr3qJgFI9NnQo5JuYXsbJq312Bt9X9mSWt1AuCeleemYquo2i6RKFjtvSCe/s320/IMG_20231109_120453627.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Millet seeking moorhens</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsJBMUZ0KyqWXh0k5vrNC5gD6FqqCbVwdmI-DV6jgX_X_XydTHRntDzf6IxOcZP4MT4o4-04heaJpFHzmeOrQPRNqDrDkP1AWmzMyCiZx2s4cQU6fCb3p7AISxV31S7l8VmbCGI22adiIffA5WWDYUbzrRR3B4obIrkwVsNyAH4K4D11VvY7dD1MhdFVA/s3072/SNV32776.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsJBMUZ0KyqWXh0k5vrNC5gD6FqqCbVwdmI-DV6jgX_X_XydTHRntDzf6IxOcZP4MT4o4-04heaJpFHzmeOrQPRNqDrDkP1AWmzMyCiZx2s4cQU6fCb3p7AISxV31S7l8VmbCGI22adiIffA5WWDYUbzrRR3B4obIrkwVsNyAH4K4D11VvY7dD1MhdFVA/s320/SNV32776.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Little egret</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuzJ2atkUct8P_YYUcwiaFyVLB8iKceq2U5xijjvCk6_0rjANKAmhgn1k50s8XKaIXngsoX4KkfeDxPRL8dAnIjZ3GSgZ7lbQHMd4z8D6x5WeQIBCtWcJB_UCX7EhPCISiNXPe5i3-p2h9Gjr27eEtj60jfZHYzXjEM86iF97w8gpTYMYRTWFctwOp8IV/s3072/SNV32779.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuzJ2atkUct8P_YYUcwiaFyVLB8iKceq2U5xijjvCk6_0rjANKAmhgn1k50s8XKaIXngsoX4KkfeDxPRL8dAnIjZ3GSgZ7lbQHMd4z8D6x5WeQIBCtWcJB_UCX7EhPCISiNXPe5i3-p2h9Gjr27eEtj60jfZHYzXjEM86iF97w8gpTYMYRTWFctwOp8IV/s320/SNV32779.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cormorant</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJ4FWWt5GCkLNxArQYpwmpyd7yNTX3DG5Kp7E1qyzrIq4d4Q1hvXDRNPUG1ZhK0RbUpWFjejnuzT421WRMoMF780G0IcdDSm3w9Qi1O9d-l7rnUAcH14I1VqJLyotesTokOpfJISP0FBj6t0bgGzGurq8rE_wv3GHzJwnEAAbefHTrg25vKSBtqWaT3tm/s3072/SNV32781.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJ4FWWt5GCkLNxArQYpwmpyd7yNTX3DG5Kp7E1qyzrIq4d4Q1hvXDRNPUG1ZhK0RbUpWFjejnuzT421WRMoMF780G0IcdDSm3w9Qi1O9d-l7rnUAcH14I1VqJLyotesTokOpfJISP0FBj6t0bgGzGurq8rE_wv3GHzJwnEAAbefHTrg25vKSBtqWaT3tm/s320/SNV32781.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eurasian teal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_WKhYTGW5poR1C5tSRU6uBnuTeS5h0rOs3C1e9zZLZpM0btBCqGSedKuzuYyz9eyjwlOy0LVgAg1RObHxGRPO9KzqTt1EoCCtqmmDrPXqvnD-OHOw21E-qU92SWwHiWp4OyI6n-jcmdq5_jSgY4h5VtZUwytoApeuXPt5K1h0WQR9SGJUkhUa47xx12V/s3072/SNV32788.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_WKhYTGW5poR1C5tSRU6uBnuTeS5h0rOs3C1e9zZLZpM0btBCqGSedKuzuYyz9eyjwlOy0LVgAg1RObHxGRPO9KzqTt1EoCCtqmmDrPXqvnD-OHOw21E-qU92SWwHiWp4OyI6n-jcmdq5_jSgY4h5VtZUwytoApeuXPt5K1h0WQR9SGJUkhUa47xx12V/s320/SNV32788.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Moorhen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4yVK7wgF6zLK50SL2C9vnsK1z4kKY898YlseTh98lqBOaTFLL754048O2uh1SA5-oleC3Me3i_tnoPwwb9hOAE7RAwtkZDBoZ85waa6ViW37dS6WeuOzjdEfEikQq6flMwT6GGEIrTfk_nLf2VEnnW1eD-rTMnR_BjKEWz7M8RkNfbD128rsS8MG6H5o/s3072/SNV32818.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4yVK7wgF6zLK50SL2C9vnsK1z4kKY898YlseTh98lqBOaTFLL754048O2uh1SA5-oleC3Me3i_tnoPwwb9hOAE7RAwtkZDBoZ85waa6ViW37dS6WeuOzjdEfEikQq6flMwT6GGEIrTfk_nLf2VEnnW1eD-rTMnR_BjKEWz7M8RkNfbD128rsS8MG6H5o/s320/SNV32818.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grey heron<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">We have been getting large numbers of cormorants (20+), herons(16) and little egrets (14), but as water levels drop and the fish are eaten these numbers will fall. Recently we were down to 3, 6 and 4 respectively. The reserve is slowly changing into the winter pattern of ducks and waders, and the feeders are pulling in finches and tits. We live in hope of another megatick like the phalarope, but a redpoll would be nice. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>160: Willow tit</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>+USA/Canada: 26 = 186 for the year.</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>69: Lapwing</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>Belfast RSPB</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>93: Stonechat</b></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-23143451106101913272023-10-06T10:11:00.000-07:002023-10-06T10:11:35.308-07:00Patch Gold lifer<p><span style="font-size: medium;">As you can see from the title I found a good bird on Thursday at WOW. Seeing as I have been birding for 40 + years there's not much chance of picking up a lifer in Northern Ireland. Generally it is an overseas trip that adds lifers to the list. Sometimes one pops up elsewhere and I go to see it - cue the rustic bunting in Carnalea in December 2021 - but I struggle to remember the last time I had a lifer on either of the patches. The last one was probably the Wilson's phalarope in 2007 at WOW. The difference this time is that I found it, identified it and called it in. Fortunately a couple of experienced birders saw the post on NIBirds and came along to confirm the sighting (Thankyou Bob Watts and Aaron Long). The bird in question was a tiny wader called a <b>grey phalarope,</b> which has a particular method of feeding which involves going round in small circles picking up insects off the water. That's when I decided it wasn't the common tern juvenile I thought it was. The main problem was that I had never seen one before and it took me a while to work out what it was. It was a lot smaller than I expected as well. The said bird then got added to quite a few lists. Regular readers will know that I like lists!! So this one found its way onto the following lists: 2023, WOW, Life, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK. As well as the phalarope we had 40+ species including <b>9 grey herons, 6 little egrets, 11 cormorants, 2 ruff , 2 common sandpipers and a common tern. </b>I have added my very distant poor photos as well as a link to NI birds where people who have good cameras and know how to use them have posted their much better photos. There are other photos on subsequent days which are worth a look as well.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtABXA-1SjRd1AuH-gQI0YpGs7pKSqx93QjZFhA4AO85dNBdcxYMZpHv5_VwwpSEQ8zZRuaIMpoUxSCKUz4foDNsI0N6rAg_vViyQvJss8l2YQ0g7MIM0z1pgA3FiKXP0g3JQY3PfQ7fAIKy5A4nPXT3LKYiLCrBcw0trhhmuoNPsEbWjGMgyv0BKXGKAp/s3072/SNV32728.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtABXA-1SjRd1AuH-gQI0YpGs7pKSqx93QjZFhA4AO85dNBdcxYMZpHv5_VwwpSEQ8zZRuaIMpoUxSCKUz4foDNsI0N6rAg_vViyQvJss8l2YQ0g7MIM0z1pgA3FiKXP0g3JQY3PfQ7fAIKy5A4nPXT3LKYiLCrBcw0trhhmuoNPsEbWjGMgyv0BKXGKAp/s320/SNV32728.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little egret</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54dHYXq4YG_IEsT4aqI_RxelkqJyz8dnkS5SnI42ngXPeyP7n4UJJTo_fGtxpzex0D3C0d1W1ACbAwujC7dWQIaJZFYIcgJqMipiTAcWyAd6pO9jqqpjPBTOPuJYNj0Lsq-9cwOuXzU2-GbRnIBrG4B5cpYaBfq0TW866edBmO1dIoyI98qjwAFqGgjtP/s3072/SNV32717.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi54dHYXq4YG_IEsT4aqI_RxelkqJyz8dnkS5SnI42ngXPeyP7n4UJJTo_fGtxpzex0D3C0d1W1ACbAwujC7dWQIaJZFYIcgJqMipiTAcWyAd6pO9jqqpjPBTOPuJYNj0Lsq-9cwOuXzU2-GbRnIBrG4B5cpYaBfq0TW866edBmO1dIoyI98qjwAFqGgjtP/s320/SNV32717.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common sandpiper</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72PQY8xneIlT6AyWdupE1zbJbKm_ol6cJ7Omx0dRAEGS2N7zzbuVE4TpBWgtiO2AhYPhF_IDPRu6gmTuYaDBtzQtYjuQPZI1e_7DdyNu8F9GymOV-hYPLI8uezwNOCUVyDGb3TKYPDD2dq0dw7SO-9Jh_hzdgWCKk5zW3em1oNrZGGWm3mgS0Q4iGmoLZ/s3072/SNV32713.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72PQY8xneIlT6AyWdupE1zbJbKm_ol6cJ7Omx0dRAEGS2N7zzbuVE4TpBWgtiO2AhYPhF_IDPRu6gmTuYaDBtzQtYjuQPZI1e_7DdyNu8F9GymOV-hYPLI8uezwNOCUVyDGb3TKYPDD2dq0dw7SO-9Jh_hzdgWCKk5zW3em1oNrZGGWm3mgS0Q4iGmoLZ/s320/SNV32713.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grey heron</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_twJGKhmTrwKpSritujHh51Md-pyAvO5x9n7r1n3q2BFnMgtAvi572dKGFdfOwIbTSXNV0ocy5IKTZ-qCXFfk5lsBA4dXr4DAD-YT50KRbbEMFcFb5EvnUNfg9nSS5qTPvY3JP8JcMbdNKoBgIo8rkWlbJDkD5CWpLZDQOh0fgqNoc5c52Ji42Sw6OxR/s3072/SNV32729.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_twJGKhmTrwKpSritujHh51Md-pyAvO5x9n7r1n3q2BFnMgtAvi572dKGFdfOwIbTSXNV0ocy5IKTZ-qCXFfk5lsBA4dXr4DAD-YT50KRbbEMFcFb5EvnUNfg9nSS5qTPvY3JP8JcMbdNKoBgIo8rkWlbJDkD5CWpLZDQOh0fgqNoc5c52Ji42Sw6OxR/s320/SNV32729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A siege of herons</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNU5j7TjfwYqmXut2iJe-TZ6Q5gp7P9ZbGO6plMEvzZTpSy7cEnqs8GdTCfxh04xd0_kt3MHjafqJI2wsUpJTvn3exRrV38NznjeffuDdVyvERCVlQ7kCh_LVUtclcgDONbQrqLYJadrxwVwYgekBMP_DOUu4hHmKd1dhBnRg3H8aBJhjnDe2ml9PLqTM/s3072/SNV32730.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpNU5j7TjfwYqmXut2iJe-TZ6Q5gp7P9ZbGO6plMEvzZTpSy7cEnqs8GdTCfxh04xd0_kt3MHjafqJI2wsUpJTvn3exRrV38NznjeffuDdVyvERCVlQ7kCh_LVUtclcgDONbQrqLYJadrxwVwYgekBMP_DOUu4hHmKd1dhBnRg3H8aBJhjnDe2ml9PLqTM/s320/SNV32730.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAWG8euUUHjJys7ByXaZ0vf6muN5ZLrf1pBNYCGL0kU27_bwhRrAOUtBTC5q-Zuu1J8NHlDD28YxUaDmcs7eTyz8ll9NKuigqBYwC1XwcyjRoWa3CqNbGwFjVFBIzVNJxVegk8pjymZqf49cDCzajZ78QRVAohtQUyt9kzG0Ag8wr9JMmGMez1KQ4mdni/s3072/SNV32733.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWAWG8euUUHjJys7ByXaZ0vf6muN5ZLrf1pBNYCGL0kU27_bwhRrAOUtBTC5q-Zuu1J8NHlDD28YxUaDmcs7eTyz8ll9NKuigqBYwC1XwcyjRoWa3CqNbGwFjVFBIzVNJxVegk8pjymZqf49cDCzajZ78QRVAohtQUyt9kzG0Ag8wr9JMmGMez1KQ4mdni/s320/SNV32733.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj608c2vTp4AOZ5r8jp7476NKMB9OSz0xhYtMy6Gh5fQbgFtChjyR1Vr_ESp05Qo95Qb5Wam3z5sIT6X1HwwxUX0pumQZ_jriOZbMlSEXks6dG7oQuYd84V2Wy46Z-o7HOfBAAIARvl8K0N77mgMCcbSybn0i0I6H6p-JqgT8yzDeb5VfyE9AyrZJKHfCJw/s3072/SNV32734.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj608c2vTp4AOZ5r8jp7476NKMB9OSz0xhYtMy6Gh5fQbgFtChjyR1Vr_ESp05Qo95Qb5Wam3z5sIT6X1HwwxUX0pumQZ_jriOZbMlSEXks6dG7oQuYd84V2Wy46Z-o7HOfBAAIARvl8K0N77mgMCcbSybn0i0I6H6p-JqgT8yzDeb5VfyE9AyrZJKHfCJw/s320/SNV32734.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYB-P6EspkY4Y3p2YA6wge6fFRQzD2o7KWEsd5UwIvsv5SVRgC1_Ns0dmbBAKAwH9mZ34rqFoZIQCwZj1OXxi25VtAkBP_YEfjIEaGAJIJ0IwibPGE1jHkhN39VnSzKAqMhNcb_Aqkd9xp5Hg8yLl2-ZHpEciZgeVLvOdK8pq20dqgAxTCiJtkmkyDWF9B/s1152/SNV32737.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYB-P6EspkY4Y3p2YA6wge6fFRQzD2o7KWEsd5UwIvsv5SVRgC1_Ns0dmbBAKAwH9mZ34rqFoZIQCwZj1OXxi25VtAkBP_YEfjIEaGAJIJ0IwibPGE1jHkhN39VnSzKAqMhNcb_Aqkd9xp5Hg8yLl2-ZHpEciZgeVLvOdK8pq20dqgAxTCiJtkmkyDWF9B/s320/SNV32737.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">1 - Initial view sitting on a spit on the far side, mainly white black head pattern looked like a juvenile tern which have used this spit before</span></div></div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2 - Moving and feeding by picking insects off the water, terns don't do this so alarm bells start ringing. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3 - We are now thinking grey phalarope, consulting books and calling in a possible sighting. Note the size compared to the moorhen, a really dinky wee bird. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">4 - Zoom in from photo 1</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The oracle that is NIBirds is found at this link:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://nibirds.blogspot.com/2023/09/bird-news-friday-29th-september.html" target="_blank">https://nibirds.blogspot.com/2023/09/bird-news-friday-29th-september.html</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Elsewhere things have been slow as we enter the last 3 months of 2023 and try to mop up a few missing species on both patches. Firstly I looked through the lists to identify what I need to be looking for between now and Christmas. This led to me adding a few birds I had seen earlier in the year and forgotten to add to the lists. (Yes I am as shocked as you are!). So I was able to add <b>skylark</b> seen on Islay in March, a <b>jay </b>which flew across the garden in March and <b>greylag geese </b>which flew over the house about two weeks ago. WOW also added a <b>Bonaparte's gull </b>and a <b>black tern</b> both found on the beach at Kinnegar as well as <b>gannet and razorbill</b> offshore in the lough. There was also a distant pair of <b>stonechats</b> now that the taller vegetation has been trimmed. In terms of what I need to see the main omissions are dipper, redpoll, siskin and reed bunting. Hopefully the feeders at WOW will do the trick there but I might need a visit to Mossley Mill for the dipper. I'll finish off with photos of last years Bonaparte's gull as this years one was even further away than the phalarope!!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kShLOVdJViENZs_oPGk1iSbuhYRZVw0H5EKYnhySXadPQQA5s77a3ahI8xbwsDj-J5LqCdfE3jx7ejEoUdqSbRlEj5CUW7MHbm5iiVlckFGwILJqzIQbgbryKEwQc0fgQYj4hXPGJKUFHvE0tEpeEF1GOL4Zs-MKY4MHYgqjpHMcfA0NyTROpaEeZt5K/s3072/SNV31948.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kShLOVdJViENZs_oPGk1iSbuhYRZVw0H5EKYnhySXadPQQA5s77a3ahI8xbwsDj-J5LqCdfE3jx7ejEoUdqSbRlEj5CUW7MHbm5iiVlckFGwILJqzIQbgbryKEwQc0fgQYj4hXPGJKUFHvE0tEpeEF1GOL4Zs-MKY4MHYgqjpHMcfA0NyTROpaEeZt5K/s320/SNV31948.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhni-MY1tZeDRQRC9RheGg4JDktIM1VAwCh-zkhvhdf-ZaWZKGwyG_1J2bBI6cGKDCFdoA_RV3xBJ2DuVNeyJ6RwSAjqxyq9YMA1ogwDsAf_CQ6000ozLA4y3PNrIvyJA66WNpXp3x_ofteLGS2tygmyNXib_vTdbQ0vlAFhnOPKNuq56xjYTOJHsAu52v6/s3072/SNV31956.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhni-MY1tZeDRQRC9RheGg4JDktIM1VAwCh-zkhvhdf-ZaWZKGwyG_1J2bBI6cGKDCFdoA_RV3xBJ2DuVNeyJ6RwSAjqxyq9YMA1ogwDsAf_CQ6000ozLA4y3PNrIvyJA66WNpXp3x_ofteLGS2tygmyNXib_vTdbQ0vlAFhnOPKNuq56xjYTOJHsAu52v6/s320/SNV31956.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQNsJSJYO8CeRJIxwodvldAS_Izc3k2zqRZoUzOwKlzNb2-t27ID2GbKcGFvDWyGiQalGadsk5T_-rnOu-t4yLcc1o9pVTM2XIQj1FGhe-uKkS7rFqYuqJBvNNBYBQo7Xc4wKQ0hhktsFWaf20cCC28vp3s4N7z96WVOzZz0iMSRN2FXQbhhphCc5i8pV/s3072/SNV31957.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQNsJSJYO8CeRJIxwodvldAS_Izc3k2zqRZoUzOwKlzNb2-t27ID2GbKcGFvDWyGiQalGadsk5T_-rnOu-t4yLcc1o9pVTM2XIQj1FGhe-uKkS7rFqYuqJBvNNBYBQo7Xc4wKQ0hhktsFWaf20cCC28vp3s4N7z96WVOzZz0iMSRN2FXQbhhphCc5i8pV/s320/SNV31957.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>155: Curlew sandpiper</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>156: Bonaparte's gull</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>157: Black tern</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>158: Skylark</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>159:Grey phalarope. Lifer 😎</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>+ USA/Canada: 26 = 185 for the year.</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>67: Greylag goose</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>68: Jay</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>Belfast RSPB</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>87: Bullfinch</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>88: Gannet</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>89: Bonaparte's gull</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>90: Black tern</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>91: Razorbill</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">92: </span><span style="font-size: large;">Grey Phalarope 😎</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">93: Stonechat</span></span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></span><p></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-20530067886493216832023-09-10T12:30:00.000-07:002023-09-10T12:30:55.979-07:00Autumn update<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Another week in Bolton with few birding opportunities as we reach the end of summer and migrants are on the move. My last <b>swift</b> of the year was at WOW on August 4th. <b>Swallows</b> are still around but starting to gather on the wires. The first <b>brent geese </b>of the year appeared on cue at Kinnegar, so we are slowly moving into autumn. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">We did however manage a day to ourselves and decided to look at Marshside RSPB near Southport. It is a marsh area bordering the Ribble estuary with two hides (one of which was closed for repair) and three walks. We had hoped to visit in early July but the forecast wind and rain and the lack of any cover meant we put it off. This time we were hit by temperatures of 26-28C which meant we were walking in full sun with no cover at all. We switched to Plan B with a shorter walk, more time in the hide and lunch eaten there as well. The highlights of the visit were at least <b>30 little egrets, one great white egret, 4 grey herons and 5 spoonbills. </b>It also had a <b>common sandpiper </b>and about 60 <b>lapwing</b>. The downside was the huge numbers of <b>greylag and Canada geese.</b> We were playing the "Try and find something that isn't a goose" game and fortunately the herons and egrets stood out. This was an initial visit to see if it is worth returning to. Pennington Flash and Elton are much closer and usually have good birds - Pennington turned up a <b>nuthatch </b>this time. Now we know the layout we know a few things for future reference - bring a scope, apart from hides there are no facilities, so bring supplies from Southport, if the weather is bad it is wide open. Hopefully we will get back there as it looks to be a good winter spot for ducks and geese, but Leighton Moss and Martin Mere have better facilities and can also provide a nice list of different birds. However the <b>spoonbills</b> gave good views and were well worth the trip. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wPVoJ5n0ZYWAw0-NDygs_vPb-IXzU60bfydHKr7aq05UDlxiP_VmZ0k4Qhw4hoIBUT2Rjo6MHe69IflsrAh5_H1yhgd8U0krx_r6r6TiWOw16ylBaDuUeQFXJPLkP779EepLQB4mynRUvJodjWeh71DL-DE9Io5lFn9cTBX0-6-a2D_WUYyMxYGREQK8/s4608/IMG_20230904_120124420.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5wPVoJ5n0ZYWAw0-NDygs_vPb-IXzU60bfydHKr7aq05UDlxiP_VmZ0k4Qhw4hoIBUT2Rjo6MHe69IflsrAh5_H1yhgd8U0krx_r6r6TiWOw16ylBaDuUeQFXJPLkP779EepLQB4mynRUvJodjWeh71DL-DE9Io5lFn9cTBX0-6-a2D_WUYyMxYGREQK8/s320/IMG_20230904_120124420.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Water, marsh, ducks and geese.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzplfPfXIE6mSyp-qLLsUxARNrpnIhS480Vc-BzfJYRe4do5FOvAYGtTOby5rD75U7LPmnXrJQaK18QSdEuo-x28098f2Gh6ZiNjMUSPwMc3Ri748KGiF3LiaKtE_XLmkCr5r8uBpmAs1ElwI7AGBMdONVwdOh6hcmFmiP_KNWH7VqNPTmN1tXugEsX3uN/s4608/IMG_20230904_120142467.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzplfPfXIE6mSyp-qLLsUxARNrpnIhS480Vc-BzfJYRe4do5FOvAYGtTOby5rD75U7LPmnXrJQaK18QSdEuo-x28098f2Gh6ZiNjMUSPwMc3Ri748KGiF3LiaKtE_XLmkCr5r8uBpmAs1ElwI7AGBMdONVwdOh6hcmFmiP_KNWH7VqNPTmN1tXugEsX3uN/s320/IMG_20230904_120142467.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The white blobs are spoonbills, honest!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U1B2VMKhZbrJoLQw0xG6WvsQket2jQaVLhmTpwonbszSH-t8doOG2FOvnLxc9OOv4TmbEW9PT-BJhqPdARWLQAvgaBwCOY56hHBBrLptye0ziDg7QZGYu5LE-3jkP6sFcUmZDYf5K0nRlq4Obj0z7NwOqdH8CNEAvz6tDORd-RCs9tXPR7D4wqxBj5h2/s4608/IMG_20230905_184950459.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U1B2VMKhZbrJoLQw0xG6WvsQket2jQaVLhmTpwonbszSH-t8doOG2FOvnLxc9OOv4TmbEW9PT-BJhqPdARWLQAvgaBwCOY56hHBBrLptye0ziDg7QZGYu5LE-3jkP6sFcUmZDYf5K0nRlq4Obj0z7NwOqdH8CNEAvz6tDORd-RCs9tXPR7D4wqxBj5h2/s320/IMG_20230905_184950459.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Marshside RSPB, 2 hides and three walks, no cover whatsoever.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The garden is bird free as I have removed all the feeders for cleaning and I have not managed a walk along the coastal path since we got back from Bolton. The neighbour photographed a sparrowhawk in his garden, no idea where I was at the time. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>WOW still has lots of </span><b>common terns </b><span>and quite a few young chicks at various stages of growth. The deeper water (and fish) has encouraged </span><b>cormorants </b><span>to come in to the reserve. We have had up to 20 present whereas previously we would have had the odd bird which didn't hang about. The difference this year is that they are catching enough small fish to make it worth their while. Here's a selection of pictures from the last couple of visits. The </span><b>curlew sandpipers </b><span>were too far away for a photograph. The site bullfinch tick flew across the Airport Road in front of the car!!</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigzSNvac-Ec8byD2KN29SdD2-rVSQ1F5KOBwm7FjAfAfDGG2CqNbnjpG0RwYJI5Y8PrhJa1YKLNTiyhhloXLFKY4739X3x3GvOzwvkdx5q_wIhOhNvxdeA41bUaN3WmL4mmgm4SNOW-IV7kTvjPL5pjt-x3EdXMVZLed8QzgYCsy0kk2Fyx_dNTXxjp3_z/s3072/SNV32648.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigzSNvac-Ec8byD2KN29SdD2-rVSQ1F5KOBwm7FjAfAfDGG2CqNbnjpG0RwYJI5Y8PrhJa1YKLNTiyhhloXLFKY4739X3x3GvOzwvkdx5q_wIhOhNvxdeA41bUaN3WmL4mmgm4SNOW-IV7kTvjPL5pjt-x3EdXMVZLed8QzgYCsy0kk2Fyx_dNTXxjp3_z/s320/SNV32648.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two of the 18 cormorants outside Hide 2</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2TwrUKHC94trcmGuWomPo_Dxl6f3EyJinWxVEFax6ZHmqVi4zqSrCKhzEHKjbrEJ6V44VyxRqDJM1V_cOW4PhBHiuxYlvu41PUIBYmJKIIYAXth1-k4b7dP-XsvIhH_k9HcMI5e6l2dHID-CFuJPUTLiZPFdZEnr4M7TU79PRdlXvm_Ny6-TJqgNwmz5/s3072/SNV32654.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2TwrUKHC94trcmGuWomPo_Dxl6f3EyJinWxVEFax6ZHmqVi4zqSrCKhzEHKjbrEJ6V44VyxRqDJM1V_cOW4PhBHiuxYlvu41PUIBYmJKIIYAXth1-k4b7dP-XsvIhH_k9HcMI5e6l2dHID-CFuJPUTLiZPFdZEnr4M7TU79PRdlXvm_Ny6-TJqgNwmz5/s320/SNV32654.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I survived bird flu</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpw7r6ZWvAdMbPMk36VPDKBqBobn9eAn3CA3nadpaNeacAJcJ4BVPGxJMv7_UBZri-FsAPflfqJeTDdFxv6luW5kdXbUa7SJviISzWlCeS0CwNYUYH3iHGbDbgatxqQLeMflMl8ytE-tezSvgEZ-7B35zLbliC7TsVYaz9rF5zG25TNeJm72LziY9AflI/s3072/SNV32663.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpw7r6ZWvAdMbPMk36VPDKBqBobn9eAn3CA3nadpaNeacAJcJ4BVPGxJMv7_UBZri-FsAPflfqJeTDdFxv6luW5kdXbUa7SJviISzWlCeS0CwNYUYH3iHGbDbgatxqQLeMflMl8ytE-tezSvgEZ-7B35zLbliC7TsVYaz9rF5zG25TNeJm72LziY9AflI/s320/SNV32663.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Closer in to the Ops room</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTNZCPT_5UqYo3ZT-UhSTIlJ3Ot4_m40ANL_Bp7xC8k-bHKshU2X3zUQliNkmcN5wBrulGTrgLET2UQ8muXwSlQO_GXwDoaGD2971RQoh11e7y4Fpzd8lERpQUbPbEzBLbTAFQbUB2N8hwkF7NlddwW_Sm1WmLroHcRAwBg5dTesZogvTnboYcM3R3_HB/s3072/SNV32679.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicTNZCPT_5UqYo3ZT-UhSTIlJ3Ot4_m40ANL_Bp7xC8k-bHKshU2X3zUQliNkmcN5wBrulGTrgLET2UQ8muXwSlQO_GXwDoaGD2971RQoh11e7y4Fpzd8lERpQUbPbEzBLbTAFQbUB2N8hwkF7NlddwW_Sm1WmLroHcRAwBg5dTesZogvTnboYcM3R3_HB/s320/SNV32679.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Moorhen and daisies.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItXZ9oIMxY04ZMIfy-qFLFqRmgkvz-5xMddcoKg32XLDK97HKx9_Qd8GkN_VOslByWEF3xeBQUNYzgQzQ4O7LgqEnKeMHxQ5qg5OIKJgXG5b314fYAmU3ec7mQZ_E7IDNVqtWdKYGL1xErtse5fSrjciOq4l98-RuMKMVfhHjIR8urYS1tRYAXFHKOTjP/s3072/SNV32702.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItXZ9oIMxY04ZMIfy-qFLFqRmgkvz-5xMddcoKg32XLDK97HKx9_Qd8GkN_VOslByWEF3xeBQUNYzgQzQ4O7LgqEnKeMHxQ5qg5OIKJgXG5b314fYAmU3ec7mQZ_E7IDNVqtWdKYGL1xErtse5fSrjciOq4l98-RuMKMVfhHjIR8urYS1tRYAXFHKOTjP/s320/SNV32702.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Return of the Koniks</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLyvbe1Vgo5jKqpHHjCbrvZSlEiz0FpFlmWUQRZNELue3IPxRCiqeDO_-MdCbh0VOlKl1QXHyXzj4up2W1kor-waiRnRTN3SDJE_r9adTfho1IehYs4rNMRjwnGbQU7tZCyUXZ6FoXkzT74nTabJHlu1eE7DqROzShbWV1lEZfgA-TEdEK0pO1lOQ5ife/s3072/SNV32703.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLyvbe1Vgo5jKqpHHjCbrvZSlEiz0FpFlmWUQRZNELue3IPxRCiqeDO_-MdCbh0VOlKl1QXHyXzj4up2W1kor-waiRnRTN3SDJE_r9adTfho1IehYs4rNMRjwnGbQU7tZCyUXZ6FoXkzT74nTabJHlu1eE7DqROzShbWV1lEZfgA-TEdEK0pO1lOQ5ife/s320/SNV32703.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">20 little egrets at Kinnegar</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdFmHdivUPisnYOTSKRMsHs9Uhr34josu3CAFPEwdeciJBCvzb8BTBeKOnDt2fBymEutNkPKFxsr9LgVF0-4b8tQIsdl_oup_f_S9nSK9YWcHlF7eiVVcZxEgMFI5x_0_C2IIDCnhDF6wQyDoM_fbOLATRU0TZkCzINsM9C8QIguPmhSfzxI9M_qJ5RQM/s2112/SNV32706.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="2112" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdFmHdivUPisnYOTSKRMsHs9Uhr34josu3CAFPEwdeciJBCvzb8BTBeKOnDt2fBymEutNkPKFxsr9LgVF0-4b8tQIsdl_oup_f_S9nSK9YWcHlF7eiVVcZxEgMFI5x_0_C2IIDCnhDF6wQyDoM_fbOLATRU0TZkCzINsM9C8QIguPmhSfzxI9M_qJ5RQM/s320/SNV32706.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common tern</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlXcf9bBDgWcFLSHviw2gza8C5T4_ej6lymaI2NIUOOPShA5cQWUltN2hSnHs4xztLZgc8BzDw1Y-ikMQ177Kvx_APhODtWqZsOK4-Epett0cJmQKZSrkrr8T_yjAtBjhJ1xWUb0pcpqjSNcuwFthdtw-pQjq7kTv_DUVALdmV6OgQvTyC1HC6IgzdQ_k/s2304/SNV32707.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="2304" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlXcf9bBDgWcFLSHviw2gza8C5T4_ej6lymaI2NIUOOPShA5cQWUltN2hSnHs4xztLZgc8BzDw1Y-ikMQ177Kvx_APhODtWqZsOK4-Epett0cJmQKZSrkrr8T_yjAtBjhJ1xWUb0pcpqjSNcuwFthdtw-pQjq7kTv_DUVALdmV6OgQvTyC1HC6IgzdQ_k/s320/SNV32707.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Adult and chick</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNJ-dIH_3Sl56EXhyicxfbzfLVYjSr8MBq0ccYNRTsFeJGuzVLOwaLWoEd1uHFxN_5pnRE-qhmOzab9CxUGZbo-fdV0zLDzu9o6Wx3F9s25Q7URfxffuvDgIWEOOJBvRcBvXzmF5zYZjCMrcdOBu78Uq8j-xS_OxsDpA7TgsGaLT5orb1g-hOq-LafgfK/s1728/SNV32708.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNJ-dIH_3Sl56EXhyicxfbzfLVYjSr8MBq0ccYNRTsFeJGuzVLOwaLWoEd1uHFxN_5pnRE-qhmOzab9CxUGZbo-fdV0zLDzu9o6Wx3F9s25Q7URfxffuvDgIWEOOJBvRcBvXzmF5zYZjCMrcdOBu78Uq8j-xS_OxsDpA7TgsGaLT5orb1g-hOq-LafgfK/s320/SNV32708.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common tern</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJhnFcVmQOYzFdlbA-QJs5bqdH3we5cdrWAB83rUI4C8GYqmgzLfu21aera9VABNRmQqUr4CjxHW0ANjLAt7wx6Gx3yfkKDS4aY0QpfZliZ3w_Of0Z-0CKMoAHaD_WeuloQu7UU9P9GzI8zwDFittMc2WCZrajBuB1EPanCjXw93mLiq9yTT4UWFu9D40/s1920/SNV32709.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJhnFcVmQOYzFdlbA-QJs5bqdH3we5cdrWAB83rUI4C8GYqmgzLfu21aera9VABNRmQqUr4CjxHW0ANjLAt7wx6Gx3yfkKDS4aY0QpfZliZ3w_Of0Z-0CKMoAHaD_WeuloQu7UU9P9GzI8zwDFittMc2WCZrajBuB1EPanCjXw93mLiq9yTT4UWFu9D40/s320/SNV32709.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2 on the reserve</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="color: #2b00fe;">2023<br /></b><b style="color: #2b00fe;">154: Spoonbill</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="color: #2b00fe;">155: Curlew sandpiper (USA/Canada: 26 = 181 for the year)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #ff00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">NDCP</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">66: Manx shearwater</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Belfast RSPB</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">85: Kestrel</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">86: Curlew sandpiper</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">87: Bullfinch</span></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-40320721130493336272023-08-13T05:52:00.000-07:002023-08-13T05:52:57.653-07:00Catchup<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Before I start a re-cap on our Bolton trip I am going back to a highlight of the Vancouver trip. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was looking on YouTube for the pileated woodpecker and came across this so I thought I would share it. We heard the drumming from the treetop walk so were watching carefully and the bird then flew across and landed on the trunk of a tree where it sat for about two minutes in typical woodpecker pose. Has to go down as a great birding moment!!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://youtu.be/NqPPioNKIfo" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/NqPPioNKIfo</a><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Anyway back to Bolton and what was a more normal two weeks of child minding and rain. I actually didn't get a lot of birding done. Etherow Country Park added <b>mandarin </b>to the list but Pennington Flash was so wet the hides were flooded and locked as the ranger couldn't get to them. We had a short trip to Brockholes LWT reserve and during lunch spotted a <b>great white egret </b>fishing in the lake - pleasant and unexpected surprise. Other than that there was little to see and not much to hear. It was July after all so things were quiet and a couple of walks offered nothing more than <b>magpie, carrion crow, wood pigeon </b>and flying gulls overhead. The garden feeders are down for cleaning (my job). The one day we had to explore on our own was so wet we went to see Oppenheimer instead. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXirCfNdlalMijxEw5xDg-T4O8jzLkWxYaVHcCftBvHZE_klJ430rTeV9sTO1Z3TtL8Y45aITjvCCDdP_UxNq_dgBsXdtm-3zHnC46YPWAVhLPiNUDs8Eixd9cNQml_okGj8asbJUiq_YDqNFLKjzz_aFQA020S0tPcqP9QQOU6AoWs8LRlR5W70tt36U/s4608/IMG_20230717_163345952.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAXirCfNdlalMijxEw5xDg-T4O8jzLkWxYaVHcCftBvHZE_klJ430rTeV9sTO1Z3TtL8Y45aITjvCCDdP_UxNq_dgBsXdtm-3zHnC46YPWAVhLPiNUDs8Eixd9cNQml_okGj8asbJUiq_YDqNFLKjzz_aFQA020S0tPcqP9QQOU6AoWs8LRlR5W70tt36U/s320/IMG_20230717_163345952.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandarin duck behind 4 mallard</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIFnAspe9_sF1iB9OcRMCNXGl93p5MzKsIX5xh5iLnkrNc5oTqpLFXJV2Ng7qoOAgBeX_BxNyOnM3VuuB_ATBkEEFCId6S_42fpdC_mSfGuRAImnNikQ5tE6QDclibqS4FK2mXROtBggFQ2Ly0C4-FcppXCRUKFUB5fZeuqF6WomH2AwVfLmizzRvvFaD/s4608/IMG_20230717_153850418.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIFnAspe9_sF1iB9OcRMCNXGl93p5MzKsIX5xh5iLnkrNc5oTqpLFXJV2Ng7qoOAgBeX_BxNyOnM3VuuB_ATBkEEFCId6S_42fpdC_mSfGuRAImnNikQ5tE6QDclibqS4FK2mXROtBggFQ2Ly0C4-FcppXCRUKFUB5fZeuqF6WomH2AwVfLmizzRvvFaD/s320/IMG_20230717_153850418.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mandarin female?</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;">Back to WOW this week where there are enough fish present to pull in 6 </span><b style="text-align: left;">cormorants.</b><span style="text-align: left;"> wader numbers are increasing and the <b>common terns</b> still dominate. Bird of the day however was this rather lost and out of place chicken seen near Hide 2. Comments welcome as to what to do with it, how did it get there, can I add it to my WOW list and would it go nicely at 180 in a fan oven with a hunter's sauce? The update is that the chicken was caught safely and sent to Moira where it is happily living with other female species of the same chicken. </span></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrQUAZhMKtFefZ-BGb3rhKPxY9EJCbFX_750mSh4aVhln0vgQCB2PHOcL3QlLGzmvJ9ydd61q4uqyh8P_HLrRwEHRXX5np9ly7PC5wQ5quPwzsx_C6wzPwYlWD9jr_lDZpbCDytOHk9CNloVjsDipJ7m1JKLbX8A5_KSwRb7v9GozVrx-VIc1Nm7rhV_t/s4608/IMG_20230803_112213536.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmrQUAZhMKtFefZ-BGb3rhKPxY9EJCbFX_750mSh4aVhln0vgQCB2PHOcL3QlLGzmvJ9ydd61q4uqyh8P_HLrRwEHRXX5np9ly7PC5wQ5quPwzsx_C6wzPwYlWD9jr_lDZpbCDytOHk9CNloVjsDipJ7m1JKLbX8A5_KSwRb7v9GozVrx-VIc1Nm7rhV_t/s320/IMG_20230803_112213536.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Other birds included <b>common sandpipers, arctic terns, returning teal, curlew, godwits, lapwing and common gulls.</b> We also saw a <b>lesser black back</b> take a tern chick and two <b>herons </b>were escorted off the premises by the terns. </span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlpamtZ_UQ4KzaU7tfUNOAzkAiRFMv4aSgeIwUh_bxncbcgYLsJqYf-IL2YKnnZHYyLUW5XleaXNfoPXEIsORdZ2-4SGe-yKlqTvbeyHBboddrh9wpz6sO48kaYtoiN6UvrwpDdX93dlRcXLkg91WbxD4wNacRnxAooHofinvYK-Bh3_K_XTIeWxATxGX/s1728/SNV32625.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlpamtZ_UQ4KzaU7tfUNOAzkAiRFMv4aSgeIwUh_bxncbcgYLsJqYf-IL2YKnnZHYyLUW5XleaXNfoPXEIsORdZ2-4SGe-yKlqTvbeyHBboddrh9wpz6sO48kaYtoiN6UvrwpDdX93dlRcXLkg91WbxD4wNacRnxAooHofinvYK-Bh3_K_XTIeWxATxGX/s320/SNV32625.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common terns</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8CEn-nrfdcbfdbVo9qT1JaUgEbCodJ8xwjxYekNFIGKZv55XLgYIM4hmlIRD9DZuezzs-_EaZTLW5cjQNa-Xd9Zg4hsyejzkGs7MWv4cN-nu-mEiUdueXscjAs0YP0dAAI-GWSCGnTo4rqbaTg3kBfkHnkue408t4ujsczvUobKIqdj7WWg3ydIycS17/s1728/SNV32626.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8CEn-nrfdcbfdbVo9qT1JaUgEbCodJ8xwjxYekNFIGKZv55XLgYIM4hmlIRD9DZuezzs-_EaZTLW5cjQNa-Xd9Zg4hsyejzkGs7MWv4cN-nu-mEiUdueXscjAs0YP0dAAI-GWSCGnTo4rqbaTg3kBfkHnkue408t4ujsczvUobKIqdj7WWg3ydIycS17/s320/SNV32626.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arctic and common</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bUTBDhLECAa24MdxGUHlc9zZ2KakbB3OF6-4KsQI7bp9TXp9e57D3oOncwUAjRQSjyUI9b8axXYJqbvOFeRaq-8s8w4MruDDnfNAonPFz5X-ptKnQW5ACizCvlVGWn_RdTo7SmOU9ZP-pLoaQTtSj-E3lk2GFje9ZHJoatBzzuUWq9GgvgzwzBELqC2_/s1920/SNV32627.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bUTBDhLECAa24MdxGUHlc9zZ2KakbB3OF6-4KsQI7bp9TXp9e57D3oOncwUAjRQSjyUI9b8axXYJqbvOFeRaq-8s8w4MruDDnfNAonPFz5X-ptKnQW5ACizCvlVGWn_RdTo7SmOU9ZP-pLoaQTtSj-E3lk2GFje9ZHJoatBzzuUWq9GgvgzwzBELqC2_/s320/SNV32627.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arctic and common</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUBu6Anm9GnxzFWi3d2ts5uNrWcZH8QYvrA8t16ktreg1b31Z8kI83k3CaQHMUd-ozpHKf634tQ4kfHBDoQe_j4gh6_gW9OiDKsPrlPl89RW0phZeuaH5FMxUDj6b5QPkbpUtxO0mj9S1Y1WUawz3Py0LZTOa_wMMfenm9ErKWLT84vepseFA9eVhRFr4/s2112/SNV32628.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1584" data-original-width="2112" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUBu6Anm9GnxzFWi3d2ts5uNrWcZH8QYvrA8t16ktreg1b31Z8kI83k3CaQHMUd-ozpHKf634tQ4kfHBDoQe_j4gh6_gW9OiDKsPrlPl89RW0phZeuaH5FMxUDj6b5QPkbpUtxO0mj9S1Y1WUawz3Py0LZTOa_wMMfenm9ErKWLT84vepseFA9eVhRFr4/s320/SNV32628.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common sandpiper</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As you can see August is on the quiet side, not one passerine was seen at WOW apart from <b>swallow, sand and house martins and swifts.</b> The garden is devoid of birds BUT autumn is on the way and things will improve bird wise if not weather wise. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">2023</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">152: Mandarin duck</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;">153: Great white egret (USA/Canada: 26 + 179 for the year.</span></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;">NDCP</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;">66: Manx shearwater</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;">Belfast RSPB</span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;">85: Kestrel</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p><br /></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-63387513372668332312023-07-14T13:41:00.001-07:002023-07-14T13:41:51.473-07:00Vancouver<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/INcT5dwnS5o" width="320" youtube-src-id="INcT5dwnS5o"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Starting off with a video of the Nuggett Falls which I struggled to get on to the previous post. You can see the corner of the glacier as the camera swings left. We've seen glaciers in Norway and Switzerland but most Americans haven't so it's a big plus to see one. Having said that both glaciers were impressive in their own way. </span><p></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">We had good reports of Vancouver and had a list of places to go and three days to go there. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Day one saw us going to the Capilano suspension bridge and park which is another good example of the temperate rain forest along America's west coast. The bonus here was the treetop trail which got us up at eye level with some nice birds including <b>rufous humming bird,</b> <b>dark-eyed junco, </b><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">chestnut-backed chickadee and a seen and heard pileated woodpecker. </span>We also saw another <b>belted kingfisher</b> as well as the usual gulls and crows. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPamibwBVPCiDM0Zl_HPqr_W04RyxXnvI4MDBvaChjiIuGSzSZOlJsvetYodq2xqXaXAhR1ImZOZCDOmfSWwScYs6DrzEVrj0YHPZnBl2LOBKXTAI8IpVzoiZCjDn-iJBlYT_QysCa_exdsf_Lu1wW-R8sQRllEnmVrGhglahYdNqomFPJHXx2m1KauEMR/s4128/20230625_101254.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4128" data-original-width="3096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPamibwBVPCiDM0Zl_HPqr_W04RyxXnvI4MDBvaChjiIuGSzSZOlJsvetYodq2xqXaXAhR1ImZOZCDOmfSWwScYs6DrzEVrj0YHPZnBl2LOBKXTAI8IpVzoiZCjDn-iJBlYT_QysCa_exdsf_Lu1wW-R8sQRllEnmVrGhglahYdNqomFPJHXx2m1KauEMR/s320/20230625_101254.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Treetop trail</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZAP3l9r5xTQNvGvuau2CCMEVGGnCUJtQZJSI5pC5U3lW8OZc9bvVzgFyLiQ7_7AInBKi64x1TtXaodwdtxWj9rgcIKw9oRok2ttK6SUIkPpAkJq53w931iMfTwJo1eePbL_GDULf7bZ357lX8CzD4JLczBWrP4m6NIS3EZ2KpVDBIIgQynlAnd26x_hm/s1600/IMG_20230625_101416014.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZAP3l9r5xTQNvGvuau2CCMEVGGnCUJtQZJSI5pC5U3lW8OZc9bvVzgFyLiQ7_7AInBKi64x1TtXaodwdtxWj9rgcIKw9oRok2ttK6SUIkPpAkJq53w931iMfTwJo1eePbL_GDULf7bZ357lX8CzD4JLczBWrP4m6NIS3EZ2KpVDBIIgQynlAnd26x_hm/s320/IMG_20230625_101416014.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Good views from higher up</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAPtBccSkJviI4BAbf9zwkam9aiZ-SlT2hW5MqqowSUH1Ia_0Avap0cRsSkgc2QsD6Fv8SEUjFCbecLg5xgeSkg5h4cdolr3CarQ5MzosoBlqDacQC5WYIV1qvHbFFVRrbKLfEwAzb7vcNDiSJkBCYcGdELwrj0i9RvKwmoEz49WlDWfNfTZmqAhjWjlm/s1600/IMG_20230625_105448198.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAPtBccSkJviI4BAbf9zwkam9aiZ-SlT2hW5MqqowSUH1Ia_0Avap0cRsSkgc2QsD6Fv8SEUjFCbecLg5xgeSkg5h4cdolr3CarQ5MzosoBlqDacQC5WYIV1qvHbFFVRrbKLfEwAzb7vcNDiSJkBCYcGdELwrj0i9RvKwmoEz49WlDWfNfTZmqAhjWjlm/s320/IMG_20230625_105448198.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cheeky red squirrel</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3iUsrNnb5qzUhLL9-gasq3jBq_OA850nBtCliL-AoD5qeRY-hDPC6Jl4OQ2-y6voEuQUB9vl5COV5m0HxeL1QnHyG8fNrVaOfV0aWGupzHagVqa2IJyjr8wHIrU8WCdhepYyGmJtHVmcgUKSypPQSE7i05dWd71XeCabjVKy7-PwgLwyqrCIg5hr0oa3K/s1600/IMG_20230625_115352153.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3iUsrNnb5qzUhLL9-gasq3jBq_OA850nBtCliL-AoD5qeRY-hDPC6Jl4OQ2-y6voEuQUB9vl5COV5m0HxeL1QnHyG8fNrVaOfV0aWGupzHagVqa2IJyjr8wHIrU8WCdhepYyGmJtHVmcgUKSypPQSE7i05dWd71XeCabjVKy7-PwgLwyqrCIg5hr0oa3K/s320/IMG_20230625_115352153.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The ravine</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjra8Y-X9JzA41N9XVncXeh8xsERGT5R6JV4HhjpnoqpuEzU2EAow2TQuztyBg8J_5w2yF2BW04ntfWFe74fGqS3qYqxq0FLaiAnV3OLK-jNmNyFMxxXCkvbgmoe_AInzxPvLSUhWIE2x-QqE4JW5ecODjV8bZt80M_v7x2L6wDXA3H2-1TPJsIeJ28Q1PY/s1600/IMG_20230625_121955483.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjra8Y-X9JzA41N9XVncXeh8xsERGT5R6JV4HhjpnoqpuEzU2EAow2TQuztyBg8J_5w2yF2BW04ntfWFe74fGqS3qYqxq0FLaiAnV3OLK-jNmNyFMxxXCkvbgmoe_AInzxPvLSUhWIE2x-QqE4JW5ecODjV8bZt80M_v7x2L6wDXA3H2-1TPJsIeJ28Q1PY/s320/IMG_20230625_121955483.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The suspension bridge</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc3EnQ0WKpTQpNdXDcQreTclL8KEslttlUjNSnYJrDR-16HBuWrcMiLxVzCBk67Vcj-UIBIuSZrYdXjTInwXMFAq8SxY48rmWdT1PbStJX-bxT36ThKybHpYDSv6TGzakyCw3MxuLF7uYyaU_dQgOey8TK6V9Jf1ZqtYE6Qj2rK5VvHSpMvoUDRJLYFyO/s1600/IMG_20230625_122116797.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc3EnQ0WKpTQpNdXDcQreTclL8KEslttlUjNSnYJrDR-16HBuWrcMiLxVzCBk67Vcj-UIBIuSZrYdXjTInwXMFAq8SxY48rmWdT1PbStJX-bxT36ThKybHpYDSv6TGzakyCw3MxuLF7uYyaU_dQgOey8TK6V9Jf1ZqtYE6Qj2rK5VvHSpMvoUDRJLYFyO/s320/IMG_20230625_122116797.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clifftop walk</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Day two was based round Granville Island and the hop on- hop off bus. Birdwise it was a quiet day with no new species apart from <b>house sparrow and mallard!!</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDFeG8jkqPZKQfe6dUo8xTO8eFW5iSPoQ2WprGg-dHkCC-FuDY_ObRtM5A1yVgPIsVz1D97lTTVpxGBeejtMVIkWM6d_95yR16o1T62__u1WnIqAK0peUyoFo4z3GtuCP_0Y08ihQyubL5Sru2_98SIJDraGUWvBBWAeC_p8HsKunex6Fn3KEC_0gGhGl/s1600/IMG_20230626_132549882.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDFeG8jkqPZKQfe6dUo8xTO8eFW5iSPoQ2WprGg-dHkCC-FuDY_ObRtM5A1yVgPIsVz1D97lTTVpxGBeejtMVIkWM6d_95yR16o1T62__u1WnIqAK0peUyoFo4z3GtuCP_0Y08ihQyubL5Sru2_98SIJDraGUWvBBWAeC_p8HsKunex6Fn3KEC_0gGhGl/s320/IMG_20230626_132549882.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vancouver skyline</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMzdzYQ_M-mlPAaoiGcQmiKc678oGGy9QpOj3lx9AHOk4HtNZVVA8fMp956qUtx3SuE3HW5H19JhpYHb0lJ4QQzeaQXHMcVJu4Y4nuNvgTVJ63kvFMA7j55nVQmgCifIzzkn-DT8z7pbMJc8kSNuWlAoNRH3QBrG1lHjxkE2uzWtJtC7GbN_o3F-qu25v/s1600/IMG_20230626_134942143.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMzdzYQ_M-mlPAaoiGcQmiKc678oGGy9QpOj3lx9AHOk4HtNZVVA8fMp956qUtx3SuE3HW5H19JhpYHb0lJ4QQzeaQXHMcVJu4Y4nuNvgTVJ63kvFMA7j55nVQmgCifIzzkn-DT8z7pbMJc8kSNuWlAoNRH3QBrG1lHjxkE2uzWtJtC7GbN_o3F-qu25v/s320/IMG_20230626_134942143.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Granville Market</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9glZQx-V-CfEPvKWKQjr_O4O82dhSE-30cT-Pn1klRg6Mhw5BzJnQE5nfSXeS3VVr-U1m9AdS7iYrUeMnwty_gNkjIZFVfSA4yYcGwL-qRae0GUjdUiD7a2p5Ni720oWDZ4qXTwtZARfmJTnIR6RrNRO2M_epG3Otos3K8cciCif0XOcvbQzT7tuRNsV/s1600/IMG_20230626_153735804.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9glZQx-V-CfEPvKWKQjr_O4O82dhSE-30cT-Pn1klRg6Mhw5BzJnQE5nfSXeS3VVr-U1m9AdS7iYrUeMnwty_gNkjIZFVfSA4yYcGwL-qRae0GUjdUiD7a2p5Ni720oWDZ4qXTwtZARfmJTnIR6RrNRO2M_epG3Otos3K8cciCif0XOcvbQzT7tuRNsV/s320/IMG_20230626_153735804.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Glaucous-winged gull</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco_jtC4lfScT9ZXpzErLjIrRvr9rIN1baorNwupU_S1bUA4mnJRZ9rMGVVBoYRyc4FnEPuNQxJwI2XhXck0MqJ0a_-hnZBzy9XWou_u53abW1059v57MK5IJDCVmW4RY-tzpCzHHayojKXFr-Aea7NirqGq5D8gFl85qQPAWBkAeqYjma8YJb5y1GEmaN/s1600/IMG_20230626_170720300.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhco_jtC4lfScT9ZXpzErLjIrRvr9rIN1baorNwupU_S1bUA4mnJRZ9rMGVVBoYRyc4FnEPuNQxJwI2XhXck0MqJ0a_-hnZBzy9XWou_u53abW1059v57MK5IJDCVmW4RY-tzpCzHHayojKXFr-Aea7NirqGq5D8gFl85qQPAWBkAeqYjma8YJb5y1GEmaN/s320/IMG_20230626_170720300.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The steam clock </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Day three saw us back to Stanley Park a large recreational area with woodland trails, lakes and a sea wall walk with stunning views. We had the usual <b>gulls and crows, Canada geese, both types of cormorant and several great blue herons </b>on a list of 16 species. However a walk through the wooded area and a stroll round Beaver Lake added a few new birds to the list - <b>Carolina wood duck, bank swallow, red-winged blackbird, </b><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">fox sparrow, white fronted sparrow and hermit thrush. </span>No sad faces as the camera had packed in by this stage. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktbs5rtkXp_rGfD5DeGXVo8GODao7JjAWiSaI85gZGuHgQMeN1LV2Ld1UxGBHqBDmZ2TIraFHnlsk8Xoq5sDiqYWYYo7XNwwbqrGYajFtCzI8WJgbJJe5PPgxM8kLxyVXnZ6-Ni_0lnz8LY2ZhzPvc49trQiE9S-l7F0JVLRpRzCozwzLj21pcOC5cRcV/s4608/IMG_20230627_110842814.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktbs5rtkXp_rGfD5DeGXVo8GODao7JjAWiSaI85gZGuHgQMeN1LV2Ld1UxGBHqBDmZ2TIraFHnlsk8Xoq5sDiqYWYYo7XNwwbqrGYajFtCzI8WJgbJJe5PPgxM8kLxyVXnZ6-Ni_0lnz8LY2ZhzPvc49trQiE9S-l7F0JVLRpRzCozwzLj21pcOC5cRcV/s320/IMG_20230627_110842814.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vancouver from Stanley Park</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78RLZO0LFHYWLYoDhVZqBhKImJkdEVA1SmfrgeYq-S1mLb7Fa9EMJIpXUxBrQRxG9C0NcaGWyKT9kF5FYhwUwGO5K2JCFXQQu4RGZqJh6Qd7SwJXgmLxew2dekUCubErjSxKtJU20tZRJ3Wc10RmZubpwk88KTSqpeSNtea3kGQtuflQxqHrzyCLYmfK9/s4608/IMG_20230627_121148803.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78RLZO0LFHYWLYoDhVZqBhKImJkdEVA1SmfrgeYq-S1mLb7Fa9EMJIpXUxBrQRxG9C0NcaGWyKT9kF5FYhwUwGO5K2JCFXQQu4RGZqJh6Qd7SwJXgmLxew2dekUCubErjSxKtJU20tZRJ3Wc10RmZubpwk88KTSqpeSNtea3kGQtuflQxqHrzyCLYmfK9/s320/IMG_20230627_121148803.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lion's Gate Bridge</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdAvcwRG_JLQsNecABOWRtaudK1TBaKm6UkWNoEE9CbdogTStxli5IVhdF1CfOLBD40Z1nHK0yQTXZF8daOD8a_NsnlhaE_1xZ2vwn6y81gfl_2TmUB1fRgGmaCSuUYKaYIxI94aZCJSsxY0jBBw-yRr_hPkh1KoEUg0zE6yM3lhONFEX_0rRxLeIC6iK/s4608/IMG_20230627_122929292.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdAvcwRG_JLQsNecABOWRtaudK1TBaKm6UkWNoEE9CbdogTStxli5IVhdF1CfOLBD40Z1nHK0yQTXZF8daOD8a_NsnlhaE_1xZ2vwn6y81gfl_2TmUB1fRgGmaCSuUYKaYIxI94aZCJSsxY0jBBw-yRr_hPkh1KoEUg0zE6yM3lhONFEX_0rRxLeIC6iK/s320/IMG_20230627_122929292.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Phone shot of great blue heron and Canada geese</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1OD4J-EgLXsqyx5s6U1U7Ewkuqzb225mI66meA9fMfHL8igACiR7o0INRTE5yOmeiNK9n57-voA9qwswg9carFXtTRhiUFOD_hw4YwhLh3-vgcpqLDKsatuO0XrJk3m3gK3t2jqnxAdXxGD6HYAbVO-Y95aq3ZxNaP1cmPpkPVj-ZXzmS_ch_1K0rhXJ/s4608/IMG_20230627_143631111.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1OD4J-EgLXsqyx5s6U1U7Ewkuqzb225mI66meA9fMfHL8igACiR7o0INRTE5yOmeiNK9n57-voA9qwswg9carFXtTRhiUFOD_hw4YwhLh3-vgcpqLDKsatuO0XrJk3m3gK3t2jqnxAdXxGD6HYAbVO-Y95aq3ZxNaP1cmPpkPVj-ZXzmS_ch_1K0rhXJ/s320/IMG_20230627_143631111.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Beaver lake</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbH-zLLNEjy66frFpoi8rc3TWDFGuhuva3hjJGjBAz4QXor5aOYrL_mCHx8zgJCZlEFDsXvNLcfFamOMLzu-eOQxEHZZ21uGiRPk1RwLUIXCuNehmX1hA7ywRJMVBtGZuyVLr5I3Y-rNT_pPEWpoOELi7oGstHwsyoKiHmxTEHHRqzdxlwMM54MY4NlFTk/s4608/IMG_20230627_134157990.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbH-zLLNEjy66frFpoi8rc3TWDFGuhuva3hjJGjBAz4QXor5aOYrL_mCHx8zgJCZlEFDsXvNLcfFamOMLzu-eOQxEHZZ21uGiRPk1RwLUIXCuNehmX1hA7ywRJMVBtGZuyVLr5I3Y-rNT_pPEWpoOELi7oGstHwsyoKiHmxTEHHRqzdxlwMM54MY4NlFTk/s320/IMG_20230627_134157990.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stanley Park, we only managed a small part of it.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Regular blog readers will know I love lists, so here are a few to keep you amused:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I managed 15 lifers.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I added 21 species to the North American list which now stands at 81.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The trip list ended up with 34 species.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Managed to add 26 to the 2023 list but happy to keep them separate. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Since coming home to a re-opened WOW I have added <b>common sandpiper. </b> It was badly hit by bird flu with the black-headed gulls being worst hit. We did not pick up any Mediterranean gulls at all and fear they may have been hit as well. They were nesting in the corner of the small platform surrounded by 150 gull pairs and a handful of terns. Currently there is no sign of them and there are very few black-headed gull chicks around the reserve, normally the place is coming down with them. There were however three <b>sandwich terns </b>and ten <b>arctic terns</b> on the reserve as well as around 200 <b>black-tailed godwits. </b> A late addition this week was a flyover <b>female kestrel</b> which headed north towards Carnmoney Hill. As it passed over all the terns went up and I was lucky enough to pick it up </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Not sure when the next (more local) blog will be, but we are off on our travels again - only as far as Bolton this time. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">2<b style="color: #2b00fe;">023 </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">145: Manx shearwater</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">146: Reed warbler</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">147: Cetti's warbler</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">148: Osprey</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">149: Stock dove</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">150: Little tern</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>151: Common sandpiper </b></span><b style="color: #2b00fe;">(USA/Canada: 26 = 177 for the year)</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">NDCP</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">66: Manx shearwater</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Belfast RSPB</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">83: Kittiwake</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">84: Common sandpiper</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">85: Kestrel</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;" /></span><div><br /></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-56206588803103273042023-07-07T11:18:00.003-07:002023-07-07T11:18:52.430-07:00Alaska and the inside passage<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I told you it involved passports! Not only that but on the way down we stopped off at the <b>little tern</b> colony at Baltray and put up the 150 for the year. The terns nest inside a protective fence and the colony has a warden to try and prevent disturbance. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieISW1zCCBRS0p99K0LDit0_qBKpcHmOqzTdIkwvcSWJ9NIbTRgpOfwWCa1ij8Dra3iD1z7WK9Ah6pHKDGAV6IpeLRwFKxmbdsdpRZ1VaBn7SpV6EqMOIXsX_AsX1g1vYw2SQaJTle4JYwabrXs5Bs7aPiPHJmnwErmwFwJOcWzb7P8hLVsiDwGKDgenqY/s1600/IMG_20230616_151444691.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieISW1zCCBRS0p99K0LDit0_qBKpcHmOqzTdIkwvcSWJ9NIbTRgpOfwWCa1ij8Dra3iD1z7WK9Ah6pHKDGAV6IpeLRwFKxmbdsdpRZ1VaBn7SpV6EqMOIXsX_AsX1g1vYw2SQaJTle4JYwabrXs5Bs7aPiPHJmnwErmwFwJOcWzb7P8hLVsiDwGKDgenqY/s320/IMG_20230616_151444691.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Best I could do!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Then it was Dublin airport, a flight to Vancouver and a cruise ship north via the inside passage. Unfortunately I could not salvage anything from the corrupted SD card so most of the better bird photos have gone as have views of two glaciers where I used the 200mm lens to get better landscape shots. What follows is more of a travelogue with scenic views and a quick roundup of birds spotted. If you see this symbol 😞 it means I lost photos of this bird. If the bird is in <span style="color: red;">red</span> it's a lifer</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Vancouver kick started the bird list and scenic views. The default gull is the <b><span style="color: red;">glaucous-winged gull </span>😞 </b>which seemed to be everywhere. There were also <b>double-crested cormorants, <span style="color: red;">pelagic cormorants</span>, great blue heron, Canada geese, barn swallow, <span style="color: red;">north-western crow 😞 and a western gull. </span></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9eoYqxI6tF9-pJ9_sh2rf8ipvbmadSxe2vqecoX-ax7ZikF7mCpvpbra8HHjf0oaY1EXktZUNklbNuyZzbnFFYObfJ4wWXvJIMMFa288a3tkB9DSaw7M8UYRfww6YxiOQkCx-qYVE27ow8wbgtlPa1LBlOOJ9_sBBTFkNzTN36OtpWintzdOnxhfrIYB/s1600/IMG_20230617_145507393.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9eoYqxI6tF9-pJ9_sh2rf8ipvbmadSxe2vqecoX-ax7ZikF7mCpvpbra8HHjf0oaY1EXktZUNklbNuyZzbnFFYObfJ4wWXvJIMMFa288a3tkB9DSaw7M8UYRfww6YxiOQkCx-qYVE27ow8wbgtlPa1LBlOOJ9_sBBTFkNzTN36OtpWintzdOnxhfrIYB/s320/IMG_20230617_145507393.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Downtown Vancouver</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQtmtlFrNzNFIJF2ddaD7R-hpNw7jdsXBduufRnOK0Iosi_B14k5I5EwbadwDa4cemuM95EQCppTd9ZjhnsHmr8-QKZdofGGPvKQBT36y5beN14OD4rgeXHvC_ji7TCFDI_Htw1X62Eja_l-yc8eai6yKkCQIV2P2-pBJ9MKgC3X9S4R2D0h0cHKKtmkU/s1600/IMG_20230618_080424214.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQtmtlFrNzNFIJF2ddaD7R-hpNw7jdsXBduufRnOK0Iosi_B14k5I5EwbadwDa4cemuM95EQCppTd9ZjhnsHmr8-QKZdofGGPvKQBT36y5beN14OD4rgeXHvC_ji7TCFDI_Htw1X62Eja_l-yc8eai6yKkCQIV2P2-pBJ9MKgC3X9S4R2D0h0cHKKtmkU/s320/IMG_20230618_080424214.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Canada Wharf and our cruise liner</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The first day was an "at sea" day which didn't add much to the list although we did have our first views of <b>hump-backed whales</b> behind the ship. S<b>ooty shearwaters</b> were seen - 40/50 at a time and then they disappeared and there was nothing for the next hour. The second day saw us with land on each side and an approach to Icy Strait Point and Hoonah where our on-shore excursion was a bird watching trip courtesy of Icy Strait Bird Tours. This was led by Hannah who is not your typical birding guide as you can see from the photographs below. Yes that is a mean looking gun rather than binoculars but when you are in bear country you go with the flow. Hannah was so good at scaring bears off we only saw one and it disappeared quickly. However she was good at finding birds and we had superb views of <b>bald eagles</b>. She was also good with using my phone on the telescope and while I snapped away she took a few shots through the scope. Thank goodness she did as these are the only bald eagle shots I now have, all mine were on the SD card. We saw <b>glaucous-winged gulls, </b> <b>bald eagle, north-west crow, raven😞, American robin, <span style="color: red;">dark-eyed junco</span>, <span style="color: red;">sharp-shinned hawk</span>, barn swallow and <span>tree swallow</span></b> to our list. Hannah was also identifying bird song in the area but these were frustratingly hard to see. We were in thick forest and birds were hard to pin down, didn't sit around and were very happy to shoot across roads and tracks and disappear into the coniferous forest. I decided that Hannah saying that's a hermit thrush singing was not evidence enough for it to go on my list - I had to see it!! Consequently there were quite a few birds didn't make it. One that did make it was the <b><span style="color: red;">rufous humming bird</span> </b>at a humming bird feeder in a glade where we parked the bus. Needless to say the photos were on the SD card😞. We had an excellent three hour tour and four sightings of bald eagles including two soaring birds. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIsPHumZwvf68G_Q_wM05qkW98fUNF15NFAXBnKXq4CmHv0g_qengcX0rUeJ8m3e2U5v9EQhPhPdnWSDJLp150Fjk4ysPXuO0VzeH0XbnhO_ltOhvUVliUb9txEJ6ht3hQRm7hlf7Jld2T1md9b4w0ZgKQkRvcGBX3XAFBlNlsQoYs5PRK_Ct-Xv55VeZ/s4608/IMG_20230620_071021290.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIsPHumZwvf68G_Q_wM05qkW98fUNF15NFAXBnKXq4CmHv0g_qengcX0rUeJ8m3e2U5v9EQhPhPdnWSDJLp150Fjk4ysPXuO0VzeH0XbnhO_ltOhvUVliUb9txEJ6ht3hQRm7hlf7Jld2T1md9b4w0ZgKQkRvcGBX3XAFBlNlsQoYs5PRK_Ct-Xv55VeZ/s320/IMG_20230620_071021290.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Icy Strait Point</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vLX08stmqamYVf7fd_rZca5Lv_eBceAFQPvBtIgjlIdThqITmc4eLP7Y5DrzUbY_rdC8jOt7dWPqU9O4MMwdFwy3y1Fsgn-PwAf3rGNi7MGWgAyW2BdZqfzoJsUVbxiTlDg--O0RNJIy6muH6DDMfpHNNIaVj2SZIz-PbeZPDU5h7yJI4N0RWuWHZ5TC/s4608/IMG_20230620_130214731.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4vLX08stmqamYVf7fd_rZca5Lv_eBceAFQPvBtIgjlIdThqITmc4eLP7Y5DrzUbY_rdC8jOt7dWPqU9O4MMwdFwy3y1Fsgn-PwAf3rGNi7MGWgAyW2BdZqfzoJsUVbxiTlDg--O0RNJIy6muH6DDMfpHNNIaVj2SZIz-PbeZPDU5h7yJI4N0RWuWHZ5TC/s320/IMG_20230620_130214731.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of three visiting ships</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjb8b-QxbdV4OOj0Nxj_2xvE2GdzoDict4roU90IszA4ZmhCGPYiTmEEck1lbCK0Y5ib9csuceSXf9Rnp68tm27S0d1wb4n7IDzFDoxG7bDLDcwtTXuZ_L7QNcn92q_UmPGiXaxd1Mh2t1j5SrrE5MekZ14XaTmWvwyjuiPK-G7i0rOk8FqCP6OMxgxgGk/s4608/IMG_20230620_153136429.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjb8b-QxbdV4OOj0Nxj_2xvE2GdzoDict4roU90IszA4ZmhCGPYiTmEEck1lbCK0Y5ib9csuceSXf9Rnp68tm27S0d1wb4n7IDzFDoxG7bDLDcwtTXuZ_L7QNcn92q_UmPGiXaxd1Mh2t1j5SrrE5MekZ14XaTmWvwyjuiPK-G7i0rOk8FqCP6OMxgxgGk/s320/IMG_20230620_153136429.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah with personal protection weapon</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOcNz_xnxsep7bejsgrX-P1CRCqP1HM4okdtNlWL6u7Rmqf-4Gzshxeek-ACUI-xSMJ7eprtA8433VxPZzsXFLnVjViN2Hz3tAhf6g06veT8KNIsnR7OUe25b4ddewkWwmZNTHYO17kfm49Ye_9AIAHWFNkNOUTkX_Wgu_0W3Sh5Txq_gm6lm-mOTmFZ7/s4608/IMG_20230620_134052400.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOcNz_xnxsep7bejsgrX-P1CRCqP1HM4okdtNlWL6u7Rmqf-4Gzshxeek-ACUI-xSMJ7eprtA8433VxPZzsXFLnVjViN2Hz3tAhf6g06veT8KNIsnR7OUe25b4ddewkWwmZNTHYO17kfm49Ye_9AIAHWFNkNOUTkX_Wgu_0W3Sh5Txq_gm6lm-mOTmFZ7/s320/IMG_20230620_134052400.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reason??</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcLDU4MYxs2i-HcxrzVV_AZ441eXfh63aOHv63pm5A4KIRaG2QYHxRtGyTTgrvkRmDPQQTBq_7MJfIt1SzD2Q3-r-wAJdQyQQTrKk-WTrgbbxTp_VahNiW5Q_vbzmm-WOc2v78gS3IVVaj3Htoy0EvjDAZiPU36tHnCIuI04TpnI_FxtFjOzFGn_xAXPL/s4608/IMG_20230620_161811520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcLDU4MYxs2i-HcxrzVV_AZ441eXfh63aOHv63pm5A4KIRaG2QYHxRtGyTTgrvkRmDPQQTBq_7MJfIt1SzD2Q3-r-wAJdQyQQTrKk-WTrgbbxTp_VahNiW5Q_vbzmm-WOc2v78gS3IVVaj3Htoy0EvjDAZiPU36tHnCIuI04TpnI_FxtFjOzFGn_xAXPL/s320/IMG_20230620_161811520.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thankyou Hannah</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIkjQ5Q5OzhjTuIEes63NjcEkww3UBaw8uyWwtshSaLADrRrYTLJyvc_Wde7TAbGFPDa4kPKbAyJkOPDJWbej8zSirG7weHma0rgrWn1XODNbNjdt_R-w2fhqbfdwxWGHLUPhSjB_j-RuVvhX8DDTs7hsxvFCOc8kJa-VHzKZ84pk4bTqSTK4JJZ5jpZIu/s4608/IMG_20230620_173923580.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIkjQ5Q5OzhjTuIEes63NjcEkww3UBaw8uyWwtshSaLADrRrYTLJyvc_Wde7TAbGFPDa4kPKbAyJkOPDJWbej8zSirG7weHma0rgrWn1XODNbNjdt_R-w2fhqbfdwxWGHLUPhSjB_j-RuVvhX8DDTs7hsxvFCOc8kJa-VHzKZ84pk4bTqSTK4JJZ5jpZIu/s320/IMG_20230620_173923580.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our bus and guide</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSc-0uIr4Lkzo5meCtiM6OVF1LcIbE_j_TUXZUuAgIlXUAPAe1DH0k0EOhBVdnheDl-fdHwPmjYAw7VDeRjDoydfPMhwtO4bKX7oibgK1aGRMmB27igFrRJTI5s4z9ny_TLnbxe7ljsFb2mkWiCOnr2uljFb8QB881VYB2km9VFXiWqIIpezC0cWMV22nQ/s4608/IMG_20230620_192227561.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSc-0uIr4Lkzo5meCtiM6OVF1LcIbE_j_TUXZUuAgIlXUAPAe1DH0k0EOhBVdnheDl-fdHwPmjYAw7VDeRjDoydfPMhwtO4bKX7oibgK1aGRMmB27igFrRJTI5s4z9ny_TLnbxe7ljsFb2mkWiCOnr2uljFb8QB881VYB2km9VFXiWqIIpezC0cWMV22nQ/s320/IMG_20230620_192227561.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical view where birds disappeared into</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">There were two liners in port that day, where 4000 visitors piled into a settlement of 600 people, despite this we had 6 people on our tour and did not see a lot of others until we were back nearer the ship. A good day with 10 species and 3 lifers.</span><p></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The next day was an "at sea" day but included a view of the Hubbard glacier from the ship. Then we sailed for Juneau the state capital and a bus trip to the Meldenhall Glacier and Nuggett Falls followed by a salmon bake.<b> </b>More<b> bald eagles, north-west crows, dark coloured junco, glaucous-winged gulls, barn and tree swallows</b> but also saw <b>arctic terns</b> sitting on an iceberg which had broken off from the glacier and added a couple of lifers in <b><span style="color: red;">American pipit and mew gull.</span></b> We also spotted a <b>belted kingfisher</b> perched on a pier as we drove back into Juneau. The highlight however was seeing <b><span style="color: red;">pigeon guillemots</span></b> swimming and diving around the ship and giving nice close views. 😞They are the American equivalent of our black guillemot and are almost identical but not quite. From the ship we were able to watch two <b>bald eagles</b> soaring round the chair lift high above the town 😞.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwVBeq_zRw3g55cDbhwP1Plxa5hke8fJni9sVeXhJuUMe8pUa3RQ_7E79IP2Qg9fuFm9UbUKHH3retiVRn6izGMFQCItPU-7Cmniq5R44v7ocHpOSENJtPtuuxUz9SUmeE03M-L4XcG_EDj39bXFRWnBKWFQtEx7zO986tchwzd45JQ0A0d2Zhk5CUlYU/s4608/IMG_20230622_121145991.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwVBeq_zRw3g55cDbhwP1Plxa5hke8fJni9sVeXhJuUMe8pUa3RQ_7E79IP2Qg9fuFm9UbUKHH3retiVRn6izGMFQCItPU-7Cmniq5R44v7ocHpOSENJtPtuuxUz9SUmeE03M-L4XcG_EDj39bXFRWnBKWFQtEx7zO986tchwzd45JQ0A0d2Zhk5CUlYU/s320/IMG_20230622_121145991.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuggett Falls</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGYHwmSXxNiVyJfJy_pzQ7I3gqxQCOkr5JzOGWnt5iew2ZTCLEQfL5Dps1SlTUeedTZvnvTrw6kc8_-obzM2eoXbb6lglXmoYNbdDSKA_W0ckabWjguikpCyPXfeuF-jaf4J-oA3iZ9G1cTVsksGVKnYuKb4UY1qjwKUsW_du89_YoRiPEPcfo6IG3xiK/s4608/IMG_20230622_150741728.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrGYHwmSXxNiVyJfJy_pzQ7I3gqxQCOkr5JzOGWnt5iew2ZTCLEQfL5Dps1SlTUeedTZvnvTrw6kc8_-obzM2eoXbb6lglXmoYNbdDSKA_W0ckabWjguikpCyPXfeuF-jaf4J-oA3iZ9G1cTVsksGVKnYuKb4UY1qjwKUsW_du89_YoRiPEPcfo6IG3xiK/s320/IMG_20230622_150741728.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">USA and Alaska flag</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigKfS9IHYeLT4QFVFw6Kyg3gzz_JWXR8mYnnhfRfXgvbNf963g5qirtIMlKQlXS3JAF7aT6gmWoWifbiw9qCr9NlRh7YYhNmZmvX2R4IBWUzj4y8smJpK2cd566dDs65SJpyUX3ZzpTYTq9kbtOhuXN1iL0yJlMzKs_TwC9c3WdrXYgSCaDXf0bDLEO3GS/s4608/IMG_20230622_145834667.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigKfS9IHYeLT4QFVFw6Kyg3gzz_JWXR8mYnnhfRfXgvbNf963g5qirtIMlKQlXS3JAF7aT6gmWoWifbiw9qCr9NlRh7YYhNmZmvX2R4IBWUzj4y8smJpK2cd566dDs65SJpyUX3ZzpTYTq9kbtOhuXN1iL0yJlMzKs_TwC9c3WdrXYgSCaDXf0bDLEO3GS/s320/IMG_20230622_145834667.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold Creek waterfall</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAZVHfyCCkAkuN00OT5XBIwIR4Jg7w9ydcDyU1clLbsmN2UfOeGsLkbuCOIidtRNNVE9JUELOXo16HFjlzVJrb4ifJ0fnnnN7pmlzHFrODtzULH_Hi-RawlUtFdKGuRQImkGzlyOeHF1K73-YJXFYjbfffpklHf-UXcfjXCfU9XApRPvt-pzIoDN9QHCy/s4608/IMG_20230622_120009810.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAZVHfyCCkAkuN00OT5XBIwIR4Jg7w9ydcDyU1clLbsmN2UfOeGsLkbuCOIidtRNNVE9JUELOXo16HFjlzVJrb4ifJ0fnnnN7pmlzHFrODtzULH_Hi-RawlUtFdKGuRQImkGzlyOeHF1K73-YJXFYjbfffpklHf-UXcfjXCfU9XApRPvt-pzIoDN9QHCy/s320/IMG_20230622_120009810.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to the waterfall through typical habitat where birds can disappear easily</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqwG39BJJHnS-DmFDi3eLMUmuAQGPN2vOkN6f-SHeM7AUnOgc8HZsDAfzWl32TEbK2xbQT-JtZJ1cPrmct9KNy10XMCy75DLRxgudVbphoV3JHDDXzuIqidjNnmGaPFgeDShhkpR-y9AHBJs2GDup0hTIbAzO_rEnYaVMceYC07XMY24ytkXUTNYidhYi/s2576/20230622_123307.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqwG39BJJHnS-DmFDi3eLMUmuAQGPN2vOkN6f-SHeM7AUnOgc8HZsDAfzWl32TEbK2xbQT-JtZJ1cPrmct9KNy10XMCy75DLRxgudVbphoV3JHDDXzuIqidjNnmGaPFgeDShhkpR-y9AHBJs2GDup0hTIbAzO_rEnYaVMceYC07XMY24ytkXUTNYidhYi/s320/20230622_123307.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nuggett Falls - the glacier is tucked in behind</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Next day we headed for Ketchikan and spotted <b>common guillemot and a red-throated diver </b>on the way in. We had another tour on a small boat to a sea boil*. This trip again gave good views of a <b>bald eagle nest, sea lions and hump-backed whales </b>as well as <b>Bonaparte's gulls. </b>The eagle was very well trained and dived for fish thrown from the boat once! Second and third efforts it looked at us imperiously as if to say I am not your trained eagle! I didn't get shots of this which was gutting at the time but on reflection I would have lost them anyway. I did lose the whale shots.😞</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88XgxDWLMFs-0Xie8TMc5qoujAMNhwzq5yyo-DU5AJ5WZ0sh0cSEr7EcEAEOtHMNq-gdIQamxtHhX-filW9DN-cpUQx35ahQnFEhnkNNoOfTXmMbuf9rOPKJ8HdDPUQl3FkpBh32chxWL8yZHs6dWb9wpol2mKno5p2WdkJLZerjbBGHHbsjBWF7Fv7gV/s4608/IMG_20230623_143515913.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88XgxDWLMFs-0Xie8TMc5qoujAMNhwzq5yyo-DU5AJ5WZ0sh0cSEr7EcEAEOtHMNq-gdIQamxtHhX-filW9DN-cpUQx35ahQnFEhnkNNoOfTXmMbuf9rOPKJ8HdDPUQl3FkpBh32chxWL8yZHs6dWb9wpol2mKno5p2WdkJLZerjbBGHHbsjBWF7Fv7gV/s320/IMG_20230623_143515913.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting totem pole</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCVuXk-LzOJovS4wdq49n8DHvC-_58OBLSBBOY0AZWibtvqVREpqJmjxzBT2xBHRyStBVfL8oAPTDTTQ3I4j55ddDN660zLUdR-X2_eEk08_VcaHHylm9IUZfpx4IApXGYQLxKvHPZGZmmniBTYJFhk2dtv5Ci4V-3WWeVEM3zw32sXq1177EEMRxCfTS/s4608/IMG_20230623_163532992.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCVuXk-LzOJovS4wdq49n8DHvC-_58OBLSBBOY0AZWibtvqVREpqJmjxzBT2xBHRyStBVfL8oAPTDTTQ3I4j55ddDN660zLUdR-X2_eEk08_VcaHHylm9IUZfpx4IApXGYQLxKvHPZGZmmniBTYJFhk2dtv5Ci4V-3WWeVEM3zw32sXq1177EEMRxCfTS/s320/IMG_20230623_163532992.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our vessel</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDBfpZZdsGC84bnortaPr-QwdHLP8GFPFLyzOneApg18MmGEoCfp6GsvPNqfUamZGApwFJdNdSz9uVAzmg7XgIzz9-ssGplS_QiuJPtsKsMmch0bWHgfE4qA5Rg1hWWvFlB2ZT_Bw9UsvVyfdP5vmLE-CyPy4-eIMY1J-6aNZ8AvgVMR3D1ukXXtw647l/s4608/IMG_20230623_171507082.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDBfpZZdsGC84bnortaPr-QwdHLP8GFPFLyzOneApg18MmGEoCfp6GsvPNqfUamZGApwFJdNdSz9uVAzmg7XgIzz9-ssGplS_QiuJPtsKsMmch0bWHgfE4qA5Rg1hWWvFlB2ZT_Bw9UsvVyfdP5vmLE-CyPy4-eIMY1J-6aNZ8AvgVMR3D1ukXXtw647l/s320/IMG_20230623_171507082.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea boil *</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMWxtVMJPNn5_sOmpWd3Fb55jjCQQbc6bzZMGv4n-URZ-lUOFQ6FkasVsTqWd3vS3o68P-J3WS4MtQrCtEoOO88Erck6SJqq4naav_uVhCh7Gilv32QPhUOgmTkOJUsy73q7cgl3XLmjILpgnZZSioC4HGx3XVw4mV3VlUJg4YHD3F4kr7t5yveoRFN-1/s4608/IMG_20230623_174630449.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDMWxtVMJPNn5_sOmpWd3Fb55jjCQQbc6bzZMGv4n-URZ-lUOFQ6FkasVsTqWd3vS3o68P-J3WS4MtQrCtEoOO88Erck6SJqq4naav_uVhCh7Gilv32QPhUOgmTkOJUsy73q7cgl3XLmjILpgnZZSioC4HGx3XVw4mV3VlUJg4YHD3F4kr7t5yveoRFN-1/s320/IMG_20230623_174630449.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical view</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>*A sea boil is a large pot boiled on a stove, drained and dumped on newspaper on a table. It contained crab claws, shrimp, mussels, clams, reindeer sausage, sweetcorn, and two varieties of potatoes. Eating implements are provided and six of us got stuck in. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another "at sea" followed with <b>hump-backed whales, sooty shearwaters, glaucous-winged gulls and guillemot </b>and then it was back to Vancouver and voyage over. I'll do a separate post for our three days in Vancouver. In the meantime I'll pass on a lesson I have learned: </div><div><b><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;">Download your photos every evening and re-format your SD card</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">There is no point in putting up the lists, they will be updated later.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-59866016754513930952023-07-02T08:40:00.001-07:002023-07-02T08:40:17.044-07:00Trip to England<p><span style="font-size: large;">We did a flying visit to England to touch base with the family. The kids were at school so we were able to do a couple of visits to local beauty spots. First we did Leighton Moss RSPB , then Pennington Flash. We also had a family visit to Castlefield Viaduct in the centre of Manchester. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Leighton Moss RSPB reserve is split into two parts. The main reserve is a series of ponds, lakes and reedbeds. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6enWnMBZ8UCMNGXNTDZJTKkqeHB9qSAgmr3k1_B3pSiWNrehkiB9RKCcBUBTBhrmoF3Z8qW3-WSmLhaKdR4iO-4h9PmiaL4OFEXUQJDo0xCtwVHMQSySCTCpUIYuK9P_5_NniDNxFVOL3yBZ1hiRw4KcDwzmu3nujc6D-UkZyujyHviGsCgX8l90JissL/s1600/IMG_20230609_114033499.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6enWnMBZ8UCMNGXNTDZJTKkqeHB9qSAgmr3k1_B3pSiWNrehkiB9RKCcBUBTBhrmoF3Z8qW3-WSmLhaKdR4iO-4h9PmiaL4OFEXUQJDo0xCtwVHMQSySCTCpUIYuK9P_5_NniDNxFVOL3yBZ1hiRw4KcDwzmu3nujc6D-UkZyujyHviGsCgX8l90JissL/s320/IMG_20230609_114033499.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmulqCGzXNOLiSJ3dt7hPjSyiJBGRhnE_6yjr4VTtbJC9ALdrSkOZLb98vrjl5zhmXsCmuTMJMiBQDE1eCloo4orqHosJWE97fALqx6JbHwJbPG8aSnwg5H7lF8WW2xMN6mTWDbEtkxEcf9oka8ZhPjJ59n9E97p9jhb5NuPwJhJ9mpYPwNQoeLKKMAHr/s1600/IMG_20230609_132034366.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmulqCGzXNOLiSJ3dt7hPjSyiJBGRhnE_6yjr4VTtbJC9ALdrSkOZLb98vrjl5zhmXsCmuTMJMiBQDE1eCloo4orqHosJWE97fALqx6JbHwJbPG8aSnwg5H7lF8WW2xMN6mTWDbEtkxEcf9oka8ZhPjJ59n9E97p9jhb5NuPwJhJ9mpYPwNQoeLKKMAHr/s320/IMG_20230609_132034366.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: large;">We managed to dip out on the bitterns. One flew into the little island in the second photo as we arrived in the hide. It flew out 15 minutes later as I was checking my phone!! We did however see a wide variety of birds including <b>osprey, reed warbler, cettis warbler </b>and several views of <b>marsh harrier</b> including one lifting a <b>coot</b> chick. The second part of the reserve is about a mile away and is an inlet of Morecambe Bay and tidal. It has a breeding <b>black-headed gull</b> colony (which had been hit by avian flu but remained open?), <b>black-tailed godwits, greenshank, avocets, 9 little egrets and a poorly Mediterranean gull. </b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5H3u2oR6k58bNTbvuJV_JI_6N8QI5Gj_kNSrFUxe2kIneZvBdW9bgHgXoDSkuGPWNslFlQ45W5ePTU-AT7x6pB1YeArjkakqa-aqDeA_ZWX0KBiCI8efqzjTZ7FE-2FeoYsEXCyLLyxOKREr93FTh0Neo6c9PU71IySTbwbMGMouU9JNwsxagr-IJZnR/s1600/IMG_20230609_161958248.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu5H3u2oR6k58bNTbvuJV_JI_6N8QI5Gj_kNSrFUxe2kIneZvBdW9bgHgXoDSkuGPWNslFlQ45W5ePTU-AT7x6pB1YeArjkakqa-aqDeA_ZWX0KBiCI8efqzjTZ7FE-2FeoYsEXCyLLyxOKREr93FTh0Neo6c9PU71IySTbwbMGMouU9JNwsxagr-IJZnR/s320/IMG_20230609_161958248.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUPMiGluiHz3AEhIQV2OH9fiUAqmC-s1Kii_qcnHprnzv5_ua3AZSA_d37PQ7id45qGB0XUa0nMjSzZ5VpzBVyrqpmBjAEKLyFWOjqdf_rM2B61rAh9kGqoNVJBcBPFbx8rxsBcnwGtUTM_EjtU9xmA_Sbc6yexCvlvN0uiJ5E8FM9icYclYWg0T9OFpz/s1600/IMG_20230609_162006807.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUPMiGluiHz3AEhIQV2OH9fiUAqmC-s1Kii_qcnHprnzv5_ua3AZSA_d37PQ7id45qGB0XUa0nMjSzZ5VpzBVyrqpmBjAEKLyFWOjqdf_rM2B61rAh9kGqoNVJBcBPFbx8rxsBcnwGtUTM_EjtU9xmA_Sbc6yexCvlvN0uiJ5E8FM9icYclYWg0T9OFpz/s320/IMG_20230609_162006807.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: large;">Pennington Flash was very quiet but did add <b>stock dove</b> to the list while Castlefield Viaduct offered <b>feral pigeons and a magpie. </b>Its claim to fame is not birds but the transformation of a redundant Victorian railway viaduct into a garden in the sky. Half of it has been transformed with planting and half remains as it was. If you happen to be in Manchester city centre it is worth a visit. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcT031fbCapEdzv6wTsyTnWK3Ci25uYS6A_O9gFZw16H6Fzt1itDd2OZMf9fDhLJKw0u8wWJZo5Zd56DhbQBZB0fg2_fODG0U6OnKuuPEjD_i6n_9p2a_jL08Q3s4AR8vDRiYSrf7jn5ju7Dh5Q1F5vw24tUAUmVGb9b56E2W7Td4hVgw-vLuwYkir3240/s1600/IMG_20230610_121603327.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcT031fbCapEdzv6wTsyTnWK3Ci25uYS6A_O9gFZw16H6Fzt1itDd2OZMf9fDhLJKw0u8wWJZo5Zd56DhbQBZB0fg2_fODG0U6OnKuuPEjD_i6n_9p2a_jL08Q3s4AR8vDRiYSrf7jn5ju7Dh5Q1F5vw24tUAUmVGb9b56E2W7Td4hVgw-vLuwYkir3240/s320/IMG_20230610_121603327.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is how it started</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXL-gCHXtBLc-NyZJej8Ebs3zu5bvK2K-Lhrjv3zepptxgrTLQi-nsX2WrUaIX6Llwx5eFf3NKTkgoBp3wkRpa_-FfND58j3hHp1FEgjq9HEW-eWwcDFe1h_35RE6QokmwzsbKfrbwb4mekDJ7Fhj2p6AxV93BIdyLTq7FBJR5J6OFeodtaATTA31WkYe/s1600/IMG_20230610_123651813.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXL-gCHXtBLc-NyZJej8Ebs3zu5bvK2K-Lhrjv3zepptxgrTLQi-nsX2WrUaIX6Llwx5eFf3NKTkgoBp3wkRpa_-FfND58j3hHp1FEgjq9HEW-eWwcDFe1h_35RE6QokmwzsbKfrbwb4mekDJ7Fhj2p6AxV93BIdyLTq7FBJR5J6OFeodtaATTA31WkYe/s320/IMG_20230610_123651813.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pleasant walk in the city</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXw1PDCAIdYThuekidtHwr7Mbx7h00-9ifjNUkOGUfLka0pM_93dkRCmH5M4ChXt2J-UZF65Zw11EdOWpjESmpLAPx5p4mjOhwQoP4RgzJTLOtx1_8rLgxStS-19ibRN8Ff8g-pfCB6s8k7OEgBtno0fbUCD95AW2itvzIE0enVxDPponLLiw0fOuDuY6/s1600/IMG_20230610_124001606.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXw1PDCAIdYThuekidtHwr7Mbx7h00-9ifjNUkOGUfLka0pM_93dkRCmH5M4ChXt2J-UZF65Zw11EdOWpjESmpLAPx5p4mjOhwQoP4RgzJTLOtx1_8rLgxStS-19ibRN8Ff8g-pfCB6s8k7OEgBtno0fbUCD95AW2itvzIE0enVxDPponLLiw0fOuDuY6/s320/IMG_20230610_124001606.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hopefully trees will take over</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The next post involves the passports and although it starts in Eire it does go elsewhere. One snag was the failure of the SD card on the penultimate day of the holiday and the loss of all the good bird photos with the decent camera and the 200mm lens. If you have any ideas as to how to extract images from a corrupted SD card please let me know. I am hopeful I can get some of them back. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>PS Apparently WOW has re-opened </b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>145: Manx shearwater</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>146: Reed warbler</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>147: Cetti's warbler</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>148: Osprey</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>66: Manx shearwater</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>Belfast RSPB</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>83: Kittiwake</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-79284154860500110752023-06-15T14:31:00.001-07:002023-07-02T08:31:31.365-07:00Rathlin and the Gobbins<p> As promised, here is an update from two trips Rathlin Island and the Gobbins by boat. We spent three days on Rathlin and did three walks - Craigmacagan, West light to the harbour and Roonivoolin/Rue Point. Weather was ideal and views were superb. Totalled 63 species in three days including <b>cuckoo and sparrowhawk </b>- both firsts for Rathlin -<b> corncrake, puffin, great skua and wheatear. </b>I had a look back at previous Rathlin visits and noticed a few changes over the years since my first visit in 1981.</p><p>Lapwings used to be regular in good numbers, but seem to have gone</p><p>Spotted flycatcher around the church is a memory</p><p>Chough have vanished</p><p>Swifts no longer come over to feed</p><p>Haven't seen kestrel for some time, but then haven't seen them anywhere else either.*</p><p>Goldfinch now regular</p><p>Tits are hard to see/find</p><p>Corncrake has returned</p><p>Great skua now established</p><p>Buzzards do not seem to be as widespread as they once were</p><p>It is still a magical place to visit so here are a few scenes to savour and whet your appetite for a visit. Best to book the ferry ahead of time, the days of turning up and getting across are like choughs and flycatchers - long gone</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRlgp11-bkGWLdFln2sJoocSGLcPWP1XvzgjkThMi_pkIk_-xhSMgvWQPcealdghE05roGhYNEguQKG0gxdvDU6uQ7CZNmSqXy4iicfWrp-A78NvE1RY2FvT9LpN02laE71pjBRqUfgj-JXkw0EKDfEG6iAu4zs23iX4elQdx0wIE9xR8vzoNrA8KpQ/s5184/IMG_1718.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRlgp11-bkGWLdFln2sJoocSGLcPWP1XvzgjkThMi_pkIk_-xhSMgvWQPcealdghE05roGhYNEguQKG0gxdvDU6uQ7CZNmSqXy4iicfWrp-A78NvE1RY2FvT9LpN02laE71pjBRqUfgj-JXkw0EKDfEG6iAu4zs23iX4elQdx0wIE9xR8vzoNrA8KpQ/s320/IMG_1718.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fulmar nest</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgesM3sahwBT-M8yj8m-dGwTLRJJgSzmSEUhmQq-a5NClmgkYbnxlPjw9-vb1x-aJJU0VMl4f_jSZyYLpvbYFnfBHqH6UeeeSR2J2SZ3zC-kdIOaN5FlTNJaaB7qfM9mjAdwextShUVP1jcoux0pN2l_rEfgYPfYkGLKjIb5t-hlaxd6vvSoaV_cgtCQ/s5184/IMG_1721.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgesM3sahwBT-M8yj8m-dGwTLRJJgSzmSEUhmQq-a5NClmgkYbnxlPjw9-vb1x-aJJU0VMl4f_jSZyYLpvbYFnfBHqH6UeeeSR2J2SZ3zC-kdIOaN5FlTNJaaB7qfM9mjAdwextShUVP1jcoux0pN2l_rEfgYPfYkGLKjIb5t-hlaxd6vvSoaV_cgtCQ/s320/IMG_1721.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West light</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VyaZsjs3D9t_Qy422wv83aarzpnoC27NQn-AMYPTf4RC_0gLUFrQg8FuqdpZrURiZVxJzRXVMhUZ8rAsPua8DvhIpO4RtrdNq4iQYELy8DFjku3G9mYGfq5WefSKWjw70Tkh0JAQxTFZTnlLT_GTqwcM_AVIXxNbDeXcqIm2twa91xKRQ57EDe5qDA/s5184/IMG_1739.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VyaZsjs3D9t_Qy422wv83aarzpnoC27NQn-AMYPTf4RC_0gLUFrQg8FuqdpZrURiZVxJzRXVMhUZ8rAsPua8DvhIpO4RtrdNq4iQYELy8DFjku3G9mYGfq5WefSKWjw70Tkh0JAQxTFZTnlLT_GTqwcM_AVIXxNbDeXcqIm2twa91xKRQ57EDe5qDA/s320/IMG_1739.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mill Bay seals</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQoKmnf7_Kc2B4zY2CNEGKlPTeqz97DdcErwphxA48FyD_yqX8oP-Gz-ZHNSww6kY2BwPCT68QHuVIW4yraj3iK21D1gdGsQ4bPB3_K6IwdUvEKaN_RUHQvoATLhgI37WwT49vFRPOzhUWYtWt0I3KWoYPZysBnIWmedGV7iHcXXoODDeGG3NREu33YQ/s5184/IMG_1750.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQoKmnf7_Kc2B4zY2CNEGKlPTeqz97DdcErwphxA48FyD_yqX8oP-Gz-ZHNSww6kY2BwPCT68QHuVIW4yraj3iK21D1gdGsQ4bPB3_K6IwdUvEKaN_RUHQvoATLhgI37WwT49vFRPOzhUWYtWt0I3KWoYPZysBnIWmedGV7iHcXXoODDeGG3NREu33YQ/s320/IMG_1750.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mill Bay</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcK6COcL_yVKdOscPiQ9MEJDnmK21SO5KnWz06uD02WwKpp8XAcP3bTmIz0pwnLA5Lg90DLFmWpe9YIyP7oBeeZWxEQ0OJj_4E4epDX2hL0nl5c8C-KYt8-VOF81CWv9-pZTTmgiGtHpGNuAXwljbI2VHyhXAdSNEoslr46YQMw5fwpnSBjyvLmxT7WQ/s5184/IMG_1777.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcK6COcL_yVKdOscPiQ9MEJDnmK21SO5KnWz06uD02WwKpp8XAcP3bTmIz0pwnLA5Lg90DLFmWpe9YIyP7oBeeZWxEQ0OJj_4E4epDX2hL0nl5c8C-KYt8-VOF81CWv9-pZTTmgiGtHpGNuAXwljbI2VHyhXAdSNEoslr46YQMw5fwpnSBjyvLmxT7WQ/s320/IMG_1777.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roonivoolin cliff walk</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzbJ6iL68Gs0f1xJE84JOwE3F8HSxFlbQcBS9Dn9uCjBmuNICwzQjSOENrQnUhJz2d3L-UJTx4RGk6PX5rhvGl9SoHh8YjCaWpgKxyG0-A1tze5yYftxo2uMwPxakb0Tw2tlg3X8s8JxYARYlr6oepcZbN3VMQRF3l68AxP2gadvHrQ_6x48vfrz29Q/s5184/IMG_1789.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzbJ6iL68Gs0f1xJE84JOwE3F8HSxFlbQcBS9Dn9uCjBmuNICwzQjSOENrQnUhJz2d3L-UJTx4RGk6PX5rhvGl9SoHh8YjCaWpgKxyG0-A1tze5yYftxo2uMwPxakb0Tw2tlg3X8s8JxYARYlr6oepcZbN3VMQRF3l68AxP2gadvHrQ_6x48vfrz29Q/s320/IMG_1789.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rue Point common gull</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxr3b2PKKjd6I753GOBOM9d5_jmqc3iEcQ41tXw3VG_AeKiTI9hdplvK_68henMG6HPzO3tSbkX-1uvJx8avlND2LHma7u0amPEca9otPCZ0WvfN6BhmU7VjosMtcDOsz4fV-lxn1QOta4XyRbGdAIRWKvv32dokPrH13m1oOD0gJSFilAwBYAiLeFQ/s5184/IMG_1792.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxr3b2PKKjd6I753GOBOM9d5_jmqc3iEcQ41tXw3VG_AeKiTI9hdplvK_68henMG6HPzO3tSbkX-1uvJx8avlND2LHma7u0amPEca9otPCZ0WvfN6BhmU7VjosMtcDOsz4fV-lxn1QOta4XyRbGdAIRWKvv32dokPrH13m1oOD0gJSFilAwBYAiLeFQ/s320/IMG_1792.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rue Point</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQRI8_pF24X545lzo10uNGYe4NDqHllwA6qeBga7-cDdM6K_gZYMBZJKeX8RbqimtBKohu2IngJyHNzxZPSHnQYgbqTaAMoNPF-d3BlXZ5BO0oC2kdbggDsXeNJV2mx87nb3d8typs_pZNQkUG2xnxqayPEFJScU7irjDYtwGXLqU2Ot4aAjLBd7uNw/s1600/IMG_20230530_151455050.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlQRI8_pF24X545lzo10uNGYe4NDqHllwA6qeBga7-cDdM6K_gZYMBZJKeX8RbqimtBKohu2IngJyHNzxZPSHnQYgbqTaAMoNPF-d3BlXZ5BO0oC2kdbggDsXeNJV2mx87nb3d8typs_pZNQkUG2xnxqayPEFJScU7irjDYtwGXLqU2Ot4aAjLBd7uNw/s320/IMG_20230530_151455050.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church Bay</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDVhUm4gtVeWeTDMgI4l7DZ4xMp-wMZZX1wdjCLzwNyoZueVbvFqBydU08kMwQhCnZ_i_njICnsYjRcFMDkkl6caFGKlPj6v8jNBjbpns9QA0ZkQoMax170zlHegHJWij6MVOpOO3onL0jVQM7KLJJOJ2BhI11EchHzLZaG-WA4NpkraIYtUgfUwFMg/s1600/IMG_20230531_124506077.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDVhUm4gtVeWeTDMgI4l7DZ4xMp-wMZZX1wdjCLzwNyoZueVbvFqBydU08kMwQhCnZ_i_njICnsYjRcFMDkkl6caFGKlPj6v8jNBjbpns9QA0ZkQoMax170zlHegHJWij6MVOpOO3onL0jVQM7KLJJOJ2BhI11EchHzLZaG-WA4NpkraIYtUgfUwFMg/s320/IMG_20230531_124506077.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rue Point</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP22j9KOaNo_k4Y63EEW-itzlyXLp1cDbKkPIgBEs-jwgHMKQgzus4lrGpW4ZzTyc4CxpVpgaFbkOXt_HiHnnZLgsKWIUswv55PWo2S3IJkF6eMK-mtDGckDZg4Myi6UYvuEc1RXFIFlIcX6TnmXKV1UCj6T0dKUEbnbM92uXcf_Wrl3Lm3dyu0gZFdw/s5184/IMG_1764.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP22j9KOaNo_k4Y63EEW-itzlyXLp1cDbKkPIgBEs-jwgHMKQgzus4lrGpW4ZzTyc4CxpVpgaFbkOXt_HiHnnZLgsKWIUswv55PWo2S3IJkF6eMK-mtDGckDZg4Myi6UYvuEc1RXFIFlIcX6TnmXKV1UCj6T0dKUEbnbM92uXcf_Wrl3Lm3dyu0gZFdw/s320/IMG_1764.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ally Lough</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The weather held for the Gobbins trip from Bangor, courtesy of Jim Wells. We had all the usual suspects including <b>peregrine falcon.</b> My shots are mostly scenic, but I have put a link to the Facebook site J Birds - Birding by Boat where the good photographers have posted their usual range of stunning images. Look for Albert Boyle, Paul Hilton and Stephen Gorman in particular.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">* We saw a <b>kestrel</b> at the Gobbins, first I have seen in Northern Ireland this year, there is a photo on Paul's JBirds post</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/jbirds/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/jbirds/</a><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6ALamjMGLgHHk4gLb9yIhwLF1JSjehOcsUqx-n1bXjSj_kC-Oo9JsUKhpBdMv9sn7iqFS00IaKTIN9qiXHkoSv--4T62Wsyt-ZkmW57f1EbcUYUsNn8eyyORMpkoe_7JLkgnQZGn7JFvbYQ5c4vwaokr4hawADPrw7gqC4TYgIzY6Ft53nLAP3Kr5g/s5184/IMG_1925.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5184" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6ALamjMGLgHHk4gLb9yIhwLF1JSjehOcsUqx-n1bXjSj_kC-Oo9JsUKhpBdMv9sn7iqFS00IaKTIN9qiXHkoSv--4T62Wsyt-ZkmW57f1EbcUYUsNn8eyyORMpkoe_7JLkgnQZGn7JFvbYQ5c4vwaokr4hawADPrw7gqC4TYgIzY6Ft53nLAP3Kr5g/s320/IMG_1925.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackhead</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ST-zO4eUndtawfUEvihs5i1Q-RDbuVJYOjAwyNpO9h3rteuGZWCUOGJkLcpDSuhrEvv6-gVumSLjfM1flYaDxXTvRjY8Dh-UHdjgA68o4fWkE6O6WpYmFbuhJAsVnJG-p2wyA3u10i8B-ebJN-EZmDErm2oge_n1LcTMvAC05wnYDua-kQMUYvcrTA/s5184/IMG_1913.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ST-zO4eUndtawfUEvihs5i1Q-RDbuVJYOjAwyNpO9h3rteuGZWCUOGJkLcpDSuhrEvv6-gVumSLjfM1flYaDxXTvRjY8Dh-UHdjgA68o4fWkE6O6WpYmFbuhJAsVnJG-p2wyA3u10i8B-ebJN-EZmDErm2oge_n1LcTMvAC05wnYDua-kQMUYvcrTA/s320/IMG_1913.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fulmar</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmUrtBjIGEE0CMYM9HJXdMVU23JfWQdQBUnu1eD0qwIvWOghoAcUUCQLBHDJffBglNRn4W_udEIqZ4mSd9ln0esBW9XCiX9yGZQgv7q2drQj0NT4eh06pNjDm4YvR4HPh6EnHEN231k-oP3t2dClX0UOo_gdOOVZrzlI9i146gpgGb1zR8_FXlUZ4lQ/s5184/IMG_1851.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbmUrtBjIGEE0CMYM9HJXdMVU23JfWQdQBUnu1eD0qwIvWOghoAcUUCQLBHDJffBglNRn4W_udEIqZ4mSd9ln0esBW9XCiX9yGZQgv7q2drQj0NT4eh06pNjDm4YvR4HPh6EnHEN231k-oP3t2dClX0UOo_gdOOVZrzlI9i146gpgGb1zR8_FXlUZ4lQ/s320/IMG_1851.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guillemot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FMDtNKA8oH1IcuMML9kfcO5BBlE_-gnNn9h7ToHkquDhS8XBWBLZYeprK-BHdIpIiDo7zKanVQOghNRdI_cOPU_-RfZKEUIeJGqrX6U9giNbvBLXfeZ803kTrL2bki1e9d4x6B8oyCvuvYIhk0RY4f1bX137xs4di690DPc6_lhrI5eShCFj-uuR0Q/s5184/IMG_1880.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FMDtNKA8oH1IcuMML9kfcO5BBlE_-gnNn9h7ToHkquDhS8XBWBLZYeprK-BHdIpIiDo7zKanVQOghNRdI_cOPU_-RfZKEUIeJGqrX6U9giNbvBLXfeZ803kTrL2bki1e9d4x6B8oyCvuvYIhk0RY4f1bX137xs4di690DPc6_lhrI5eShCFj-uuR0Q/s320/IMG_1880.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auks and kittiwakes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFVp-RK6PzKiFuI-kSH12tkuDkW0iwaLJ8JYEBA-7I2YMmRkUo-Bk8RzVoyQZk7oWQRFRfHlMdDN67EBNWvyinbOfWrB4RHse8fKS8Nv2-XyunugQUZjchUJSgSDV9lzGR3lJqVK-_CHqmFBI3_ZRKsgIsEx-81_rZNeUvKewJ-6KObHYw4n8t2UDHg/s5184/IMG_1908.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFVp-RK6PzKiFuI-kSH12tkuDkW0iwaLJ8JYEBA-7I2YMmRkUo-Bk8RzVoyQZk7oWQRFRfHlMdDN67EBNWvyinbOfWrB4RHse8fKS8Nv2-XyunugQUZjchUJSgSDV9lzGR3lJqVK-_CHqmFBI3_ZRKsgIsEx-81_rZNeUvKewJ-6KObHYw4n8t2UDHg/s320/IMG_1908.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Razorbill</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNi0g4-tOTdmxBLNhrv5yUqOqyYYIY6AHqA2LAejZxrxys9ud4fRCIY0do-euMDWp2qRA5CpFPbcr6T-EIJQDqJwtfQ8N2kWFkYVA9UFTHOauU_QRcPrwtN56_2s-AiH-qUUOchck2LX-c6Ci89csKzpdxQzqD2NWdI7qxJKkzvMg1MS4FKZmmksJQA/s5184/IMG_1887.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNi0g4-tOTdmxBLNhrv5yUqOqyYYIY6AHqA2LAejZxrxys9ud4fRCIY0do-euMDWp2qRA5CpFPbcr6T-EIJQDqJwtfQ8N2kWFkYVA9UFTHOauU_QRcPrwtN56_2s-AiH-qUUOchck2LX-c6Ci89csKzpdxQzqD2NWdI7qxJKkzvMg1MS4FKZmmksJQA/s320/IMG_1887.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shags</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHT11Jcidynq2Fnc8mPME2Gwp2oxQIDGb2fVDZRYlDDGx2YJENu5oFwgwsjgJA22VjIyQshduCB1gK6Jg3cn1CrVow4SDL-bWLPNruUF4RZSkqet6sANRUbXmoT7HZPh6TON-LqHZcac_TbG-ZIsZkHi8ifaYWYOykB7DXQ5-Zh59w943xx3HcfLEBIQ/s5184/IMG_1891.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHT11Jcidynq2Fnc8mPME2Gwp2oxQIDGb2fVDZRYlDDGx2YJENu5oFwgwsjgJA22VjIyQshduCB1gK6Jg3cn1CrVow4SDL-bWLPNruUF4RZSkqet6sANRUbXmoT7HZPh6TON-LqHZcac_TbG-ZIsZkHi8ifaYWYOykB7DXQ5-Zh59w943xx3HcfLEBIQ/s320/IMG_1891.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Muck Island</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I also managed to add <b>Manx shearwater</b> to the 2023 list and the North Down patch. Setting sun, warm evening, mill pond sea, coastal path and spotted six shearwater about 400m out - magic as the following pictures show.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAKZ-T7GLn-ZUxNd6_6_gQd1WqF6m70sFjdfe6IEoo3I1hsFgS200shPATyrt67kiF4zeEucA3LOwX7yQWEh23GgjO4rxmIcPqb4s0ymfDRvNM1dCCOUqX0U-KSw2F7x1FUGMarEFEG5mo9gTfMrqK-8udi5wRz63bdCuKm3LHMAMAbbSoCkcB2PJ5w/s5184/IMG_1970.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAKZ-T7GLn-ZUxNd6_6_gQd1WqF6m70sFjdfe6IEoo3I1hsFgS200shPATyrt67kiF4zeEucA3LOwX7yQWEh23GgjO4rxmIcPqb4s0ymfDRvNM1dCCOUqX0U-KSw2F7x1FUGMarEFEG5mo9gTfMrqK-8udi5wRz63bdCuKm3LHMAMAbbSoCkcB2PJ5w/s320/IMG_1970.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixr5wcL4N8ZcgAPetw1NgqHB6Xr-wsvFUwFNqtT4NbwA3DrKh6sctfQXWzRNlguQyUsNgsPBb3I2AJinR9W8aEbucQGSHCQZuAdbVZkGWyWiMfy2nC6KP-4JQVRVK_XrKin0xpUqYZ32Ncsbln1cSJc2Nf5k96bpWTKvN-5IfCZlEhlpgw6n3miNPHxw/s5184/IMG_1985.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixr5wcL4N8ZcgAPetw1NgqHB6Xr-wsvFUwFNqtT4NbwA3DrKh6sctfQXWzRNlguQyUsNgsPBb3I2AJinR9W8aEbucQGSHCQZuAdbVZkGWyWiMfy2nC6KP-4JQVRVK_XrKin0xpUqYZ32Ncsbln1cSJc2Nf5k96bpWTKvN-5IfCZlEhlpgw6n3miNPHxw/s320/IMG_1985.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VblWLJidHdP6YPs9vXbpslVgynWTc2TzDscJ_LxCRcrGJLkKJK3V8-Rfz_VnWsiTCwG31VOckaNZjTW07DPoOuYSkvw1utGcNHVQU3DtM31m47lpfRFEZEqIEp3jPPw4Fv_eab4jCUmphlUDZ9jH1bELUK8qJTHKaME0uAYYYNq8uvI_HykKDINfQA/s5184/IMG_1986.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VblWLJidHdP6YPs9vXbpslVgynWTc2TzDscJ_LxCRcrGJLkKJK3V8-Rfz_VnWsiTCwG31VOckaNZjTW07DPoOuYSkvw1utGcNHVQU3DtM31m47lpfRFEZEqIEp3jPPw4Fv_eab4jCUmphlUDZ9jH1bELUK8qJTHKaME0uAYYYNq8uvI_HykKDINfQA/s320/IMG_1986.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>145: Manx shearwater</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>66: Manx shearwater</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>WOW</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>83: Kittiwake</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-80831788522698636182023-06-04T05:57:00.001-07:002023-06-06T14:07:42.003-07:00It's been a while!<p>Suddenly realised it has been well over a month since the last blog. Had no idea the year was galloping on. We're off on our travels again so thought it was a good idea to do a round up of what has happened since April. It's a bit long, so grab a coffee!</p><p>Firstly the garden and coastal path have added a few expected additions including a <b>bullfinch</b> in the garden - the first this year! I have also added <b>swallow, common tern, meadow pipit, greenfinch, swift, linnet and house martin. </b></p><p>WOW has also added a few expected birds - <b>swift, house martin, swallow, common tern, arctic tern, wren, ruff and an unexpected kittiwake. </b>The <b>common tern </b>numbers have reached 220 and there are <b>1000+ black-headed gulls</b> and at least 5 pairs of <b>Mediterranean gulls.</b> Waders are scarce and while there are still 5 duck species numbers are greatly reduced. Unfortunately bird flu has appeared again mainly among the black-headed gulls and as I write this the reserve has been closed. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2JX1DBA20z_V1EZtQUuOkUvqzky7GExieMzQl4h77F5laEfi_xObA3ujXgopSgYWAjX_rzQvDWUf407uxhbnJSadmyQm10qL2prPEjEYW-Krd-Mx1E6M4jVDUEOqsmWGFFm1YoYnr2S9vrgLb2gMtsDeYC3FRc2iz_15Wzw_gSCb1waiQ-Ja4G_G6w/s3072/SNV30041.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2JX1DBA20z_V1EZtQUuOkUvqzky7GExieMzQl4h77F5laEfi_xObA3ujXgopSgYWAjX_rzQvDWUf407uxhbnJSadmyQm10qL2prPEjEYW-Krd-Mx1E6M4jVDUEOqsmWGFFm1YoYnr2S9vrgLb2gMtsDeYC3FRc2iz_15Wzw_gSCb1waiQ-Ja4G_G6w/s320/SNV30041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gadwall<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PUENGOJxFA8W4Oa0e1NS2y0WZeOdc9mbxA-gM8FYKFETf4GZThuM0fJs84-kRYTG0cBHWcpjwaYm9qu_atfzEDKgMUhjMacOwW9ePYATOYbgCm0w-vpwsX9MF50Nf0QhVo6mUst5YuH12TjbuF559ZjcKmUTPWSPsnKryAWXwQE65tm5PlcVdENfPA/s3072/SNV30032.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PUENGOJxFA8W4Oa0e1NS2y0WZeOdc9mbxA-gM8FYKFETf4GZThuM0fJs84-kRYTG0cBHWcpjwaYm9qu_atfzEDKgMUhjMacOwW9ePYATOYbgCm0w-vpwsX9MF50Nf0QhVo6mUst5YuH12TjbuF559ZjcKmUTPWSPsnKryAWXwQE65tm5PlcVdENfPA/s320/SNV30032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelduck</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNHW65iOGCWph4ziJJrc1t3GvW-YNqVYgP4x34n2DsoUqlKq9mBGes6S1FWDNTQADnOOx2LGA30DFIn6AFtetH-8s5042ydsj8qdIZJuS_7oJCD5bpRxzGpr2veVIzjjxpRFqsN3qu4sFL4dr7jwnAyFIrfvBsZo618f3wv3U_9sG-G--txuZCD72Eg/s3072/SNV30002.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNHW65iOGCWph4ziJJrc1t3GvW-YNqVYgP4x34n2DsoUqlKq9mBGes6S1FWDNTQADnOOx2LGA30DFIn6AFtetH-8s5042ydsj8qdIZJuS_7oJCD5bpRxzGpr2veVIzjjxpRFqsN3qu4sFL4dr7jwnAyFIrfvBsZo618f3wv3U_9sG-G--txuZCD72Eg/s320/SNV30002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoveler</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMY1x6xzOJ6EeJde7W9W1Qc0ZZ1idXPn4BPGiVz70lStpXnIOxF0QNXLEUoeqEmYe-7g2W829v00omIDvLKjoc_-VrAxph6C-SdZKKa_fdfZ5784z8-CL1h09-rrzSnnKcVrSygMSzlicJ-_Dn-8q8rMavfKNKBWN444_g29BOHQZp6d3aa-z7H7KnBg/s3072/SNV30073.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMY1x6xzOJ6EeJde7W9W1Qc0ZZ1idXPn4BPGiVz70lStpXnIOxF0QNXLEUoeqEmYe-7g2W829v00omIDvLKjoc_-VrAxph6C-SdZKKa_fdfZ5784z8-CL1h09-rrzSnnKcVrSygMSzlicJ-_Dn-8q8rMavfKNKBWN444_g29BOHQZp6d3aa-z7H7KnBg/s320/SNV30073.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New camera being installed</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFf-1svLIwJ1NNvPtMqt_F-Cq9M54fQ42wLLdJZyeBRfQSob3spGTWYC5Ez3duvAYE_rcaaaIOPAWdM-1tQ4q82PCBZouJ-zMCYv0HmW0Td9Tn7-THcyp3iW79c6I1T83vyYscFChQnhwtx0CMuxFLeXFC-4-hdVy8wV2H7NBCFSQRk9khgbvhsHqtUw/s3072/SNV30089.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFf-1svLIwJ1NNvPtMqt_F-Cq9M54fQ42wLLdJZyeBRfQSob3spGTWYC5Ez3duvAYE_rcaaaIOPAWdM-1tQ4q82PCBZouJ-zMCYv0HmW0Td9Tn7-THcyp3iW79c6I1T83vyYscFChQnhwtx0CMuxFLeXFC-4-hdVy8wV2H7NBCFSQRk9khgbvhsHqtUw/s320/SNV30089.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't stop or you will sink</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1vl0b4ITLEI5cFeI3t6RRUMX-h9bxx8XuLrlZFZ-jg7NmZbLClnIkLc-j6_pQsX0J-SY60Byleqgn0E3QGzcnKWe13IUD1Br_getjzvETEZbq8vv4X_kwYnz86oNHUzlf9VDxa4CHYcsQ3_PVaO-ThZ1ok3ZLkTJtWqi1K9rnIrrX7MEzrIBCBuPaw/s3072/SNV30094.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy1vl0b4ITLEI5cFeI3t6RRUMX-h9bxx8XuLrlZFZ-jg7NmZbLClnIkLc-j6_pQsX0J-SY60Byleqgn0E3QGzcnKWe13IUD1Br_getjzvETEZbq8vv4X_kwYnz86oNHUzlf9VDxa4CHYcsQ3_PVaO-ThZ1ok3ZLkTJtWqi1K9rnIrrX7MEzrIBCBuPaw/s320/SNV30094.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blizzard of gulls</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCIkTuIro237mCEGZfc3j8wYnYB1utRf-uq3ccCbuYTrOXoV7PtMm9YEZSuPQmCvcqupyiKAy2Q_AI3JZkixxgyRMSJqc23_UpFOPsCyqIYyjkaOunurwpUfYrYucumv6nOeawYPkm8z62rRhBBu9OZLcf-47RPiDDtDORoGUl4y3Fl7wxE8hFidPDg/s3072/SNV30084.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCIkTuIro237mCEGZfc3j8wYnYB1utRf-uq3ccCbuYTrOXoV7PtMm9YEZSuPQmCvcqupyiKAy2Q_AI3JZkixxgyRMSJqc23_UpFOPsCyqIYyjkaOunurwpUfYrYucumv6nOeawYPkm8z62rRhBBu9OZLcf-47RPiDDtDORoGUl4y3Fl7wxE8hFidPDg/s320/SNV30084.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls and common tern on nesting platform</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxj7T_Y5MDG-vDl0YsRzh6f5ldUhhIdUPxqqMkqJguVZFdr9MtuKQfCvipch5xGMg__QyZwOPC73F1A1--pY7s_eHgKJZTRKrtuFG7nI0Y2oDJF7SoXFVGlBnt1sNSCb-KYaq-21uCUcaG0SEvRxYyc5KcGjTrkzlS3zSwwqMqNc3UCPx2NmxWrR6EQ/s3072/SNV30069.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxj7T_Y5MDG-vDl0YsRzh6f5ldUhhIdUPxqqMkqJguVZFdr9MtuKQfCvipch5xGMg__QyZwOPC73F1A1--pY7s_eHgKJZTRKrtuFG7nI0Y2oDJF7SoXFVGlBnt1sNSCb-KYaq-21uCUcaG0SEvRxYyc5KcGjTrkzlS3zSwwqMqNc3UCPx2NmxWrR6EQ/s320/SNV30069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pair of tufties, <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFq6XG_2DV_eiXxxF6dYaP8S0_fcscFIDFj2ZFkABg29ontuebDrn9sRo56af_3Go6pO3ck_pLSqaqfBaDnwLmAAebEKJ-6512IyT89HZynvi720arC9_NTQU_Npt1-V6sTIRO6m7X7FrgCvOFlG1WB5wzTpGteDzuT9DVKnkyedcCsOrEvqOmlTfHQA/s4000/hoody%20thief.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFq6XG_2DV_eiXxxF6dYaP8S0_fcscFIDFj2ZFkABg29ontuebDrn9sRo56af_3Go6pO3ck_pLSqaqfBaDnwLmAAebEKJ-6512IyT89HZynvi720arC9_NTQU_Npt1-V6sTIRO6m7X7FrgCvOFlG1WB5wzTpGteDzuT9DVKnkyedcCsOrEvqOmlTfHQA/s320/hoody%20thief.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egg thief - story below</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUr9g58h8UwdTekCA0e5tpeNNgfQtcUDnmfbEUUje5gkXQqZYWGCKT0on9wjw2zjf7KFOjnpHq5VRvEdqFXsROjsNC9xO9FwCVoQyVVYcntbBSzpMDNgbEbo_O5wSSd96gDDTQK63mWrcTJMX-af0efEW4h2m1IS1fG3TD9lWvA3giqcG2K5MaLMDFA/s4608/IMG_20230601_103131849.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXUr9g58h8UwdTekCA0e5tpeNNgfQtcUDnmfbEUUje5gkXQqZYWGCKT0on9wjw2zjf7KFOjnpHq5VRvEdqFXsROjsNC9xO9FwCVoQyVVYcntbBSzpMDNgbEbo_O5wSSd96gDDTQK63mWrcTJMX-af0efEW4h2m1IS1fG3TD9lWvA3giqcG2K5MaLMDFA/s320/IMG_20230601_103131849.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New tern platform in place.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6a-6UxprrHlohy0aqjXmxhumFs7krE_nVA7-a2iCIvXu0lbJJiNKz-1KRowW51NpgYgKLb6S0Vrb2s8tsXnf8x-YX2Iz2_eNYaVGA0yr2-OT4uyx1e_iLNfQJx8-G602EgadrGcSdcX6Ar5nyMQGEFvgiTcdmffgyygGkG8G_l8eTO6iCn6Wp69xFw/s3072/SNV30086.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6a-6UxprrHlohy0aqjXmxhumFs7krE_nVA7-a2iCIvXu0lbJJiNKz-1KRowW51NpgYgKLb6S0Vrb2s8tsXnf8x-YX2Iz2_eNYaVGA0yr2-OT4uyx1e_iLNfQJx8-G602EgadrGcSdcX6Ar5nyMQGEFvgiTcdmffgyygGkG8G_l8eTO6iCn6Wp69xFw/s320/SNV30086.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terns taking to the temporary platform which was pulled out on Tuesday</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzNH6JDRt1XWegXE6gWH_a9n2_SvBs46BRe0vTYTLGH3owgMLJQL5uLsS_ofuIX2Fa2ke_7QfnJJoJTqqIQ63_J7q40r-tisD328RGcH0QayelgjyykBlqtqeSDeLH1MmAzqu0YzAF_ce1_hZ3VF3XW326TwLqJXW10TWBe6HI1IZ4wcojQHoUrmBcg/s3072/SNV30117.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzNH6JDRt1XWegXE6gWH_a9n2_SvBs46BRe0vTYTLGH3owgMLJQL5uLsS_ofuIX2Fa2ke_7QfnJJoJTqqIQ63_J7q40r-tisD328RGcH0QayelgjyykBlqtqeSDeLH1MmAzqu0YzAF_ce1_hZ3VF3XW326TwLqJXW10TWBe6HI1IZ4wcojQHoUrmBcg/s320/SNV30117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kittiwake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4dOLrIC1dYpbhf5hNb8bdYEW37sGxponPzZvxjj05Gh0dRekGp4PS6hvCwXmo11neZUA64Cgm9yhmXiBEYNAVltYff6SpMM8ioVpk1-qrrcX2V7pVSsWBlleAnCotRvE8wCppRqZe86wGC079Cgocx-Z8UHbvnUUiuCDXSN9i2IFbrBkzqhCpsIVPg/s3072/SNV30098.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4dOLrIC1dYpbhf5hNb8bdYEW37sGxponPzZvxjj05Gh0dRekGp4PS6hvCwXmo11neZUA64Cgm9yhmXiBEYNAVltYff6SpMM8ioVpk1-qrrcX2V7pVSsWBlleAnCotRvE8wCppRqZe86wGC079Cgocx-Z8UHbvnUUiuCDXSN9i2IFbrBkzqhCpsIVPg/s320/SNV30098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-headed gull chicks</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>The egg thief shot is from the back of John Fraser's camera. The two tufted ducks, came ashore and the female laid an egg. No nest, no fuss, then they ambled off and left it making no attempt to defend or brood it. The hooded crow was in very quickly to grab it and fly off. </div><div><br /><div><div>The 2023 list has slowly ticked up, boosted by a trip to the Antrim Hills and Rathlin. I added <b>swift, common and arctic tern </b>at WOW, a <b>cuckoo</b> in the Antrim Hills, <b>whitethroat</b> at Orlock, <b>sedge warbler</b> at Lough Beg and Rathlin added <b>corncrake, puffin, great skua, water rail and wheatear. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-y3up8Kw6lPWKzBJ9y1cGhWOm-sCb1PfTyI8cKz_XswE4g6LQPxhskE11CGqfc7-AR7ozfq5EhUOCPFuYe77LjQ_QXtXoi7BYJTz1d2l-9RxrEt_9c3eHa9_N61bNHkoS3XJ3TbSBhKIxJa7JB082KdiLkWBg4CV44G7Y4czVDmAQA4AlYyFbU7epw/s4608/IMG_20230513_132116100.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-y3up8Kw6lPWKzBJ9y1cGhWOm-sCb1PfTyI8cKz_XswE4g6LQPxhskE11CGqfc7-AR7ozfq5EhUOCPFuYe77LjQ_QXtXoi7BYJTz1d2l-9RxrEt_9c3eHa9_N61bNHkoS3XJ3TbSBhKIxJa7JB082KdiLkWBg4CV44G7Y4czVDmAQA4AlYyFbU7epw/s320/IMG_20230513_132116100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuckoo (phone shot)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHqbhegAso_pvn58gWcDFfK-oyyi3o9itqmspuQIRn4_mf_ayR-Ib05SIrm-dBN-NJzpD8wP8UUbUBRwtbSoLI4NE1MLdbqe1rqdOjIoOAOYkHaqZ6BZzqnMo7GQUnJaVDDCp2amK0CZUIFOv1HrxM63V8lVxi8zVq8wWytfwsvL-iEQ5p5ZT2kyCrw/s4608/IMG_20230529_211404081.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHqbhegAso_pvn58gWcDFfK-oyyi3o9itqmspuQIRn4_mf_ayR-Ib05SIrm-dBN-NJzpD8wP8UUbUBRwtbSoLI4NE1MLdbqe1rqdOjIoOAOYkHaqZ6BZzqnMo7GQUnJaVDDCp2amK0CZUIFOv1HrxM63V8lVxi8zVq8wWytfwsvL-iEQ5p5ZT2kyCrw/s320/IMG_20230529_211404081.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rathlin hawthorn</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwl8JDLcbcAYU16_A0YUkTpSQa-4cJfl_pCyl-dOIHXX2iTxFZ5JA5a42YVJqVmJk2M8tP0rt5j1Ws97GCuYSB9cWywJ3yVNQhunoh-Zt7tTZXLlp_rXg2NS1r3w71Ud1E7LxjolMpe9DbD1PUqFD4Znf-61vJ_SR7vyrePf0P5pUxKLpSu6z3j6rAjw/s4608/IMG_20230529_210545491.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwl8JDLcbcAYU16_A0YUkTpSQa-4cJfl_pCyl-dOIHXX2iTxFZ5JA5a42YVJqVmJk2M8tP0rt5j1Ws97GCuYSB9cWywJ3yVNQhunoh-Zt7tTZXLlp_rXg2NS1r3w71Ud1E7LxjolMpe9DbD1PUqFD4Znf-61vJ_SR7vyrePf0P5pUxKLpSu6z3j6rAjw/s320/IMG_20230529_210545491.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corncrake country</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I'll do another post with some nice landscapes from Rathlin and the Gobbins. Not so many bird shots as I don't have the good camera, then it's back to Bolton and a mega holiday involving passports. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>133: Swallow</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>134: Swift</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>135: Common tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>136: Whitethroat</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>137: Arctic tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>138: Cuckoo</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>139: Sedge warbler</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>140: Corncrake</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>141: Puffin</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>142: Great skua</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>143: Water rail</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>144: Wheatear</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #ff00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">NDCP</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>57: Sandwich tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>58: Swallow</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>59: Common tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>60: Meadow pipit</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>61: Greenfinch</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>62: Swift</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>63: Linnet</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>64: House martin</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>65: Bullfinch </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>WOW</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>75: Starling</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>76: Swift</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>77: House martin</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>78: Swallow</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>79:Common tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>80: Arctic tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>81: Wren</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>82: Ruff</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>83: Kittiwake</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><p><br /></p></div></div></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-82811534770483213632023-04-20T10:12:00.000-07:002023-04-20T10:12:07.287-07:00Spring at last (and migrants)<p><span style="font-size: medium;">I think we have finally left winter behind and are looking forward to the increasing temperatures and the flood of migrants heading our way. The coastal path added <b>lesser black-backed gull and sandwich tern,</b> while WOW pitched in with a <b>sandwich tern and a sand martin </b>or two. Comber turned up a <b>hoopoe</b> which had seriously overshot and took two visits to get a not very good photo. Another record shot I hear you say? Then it was off to England for family time and two walks round Elton Reservoir which is my go-to birding site when I am in Bolton. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I have a few from WOW over the past few weeks, nothing startling but some of interest to those who like bling.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKXoGnG-w-O2Cm14i4Vsiyn0S0DCgUXGp2NcbM7zaht9lKE5p7P4Fif8sZ4C6PvlwvbeFfzC0ArvSKr88iNFAE3kuJhlKc63wovS9gy0uWuPnbr6h0B4ex3Astxr7lreeqlcjU_aqtmmV6BAH8G3n6YxAI64auqrxA3YSNnv3kWcPkNO-2-sh85_T-Q/s3072/SNV30928.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKXoGnG-w-O2Cm14i4Vsiyn0S0DCgUXGp2NcbM7zaht9lKE5p7P4Fif8sZ4C6PvlwvbeFfzC0ArvSKr88iNFAE3kuJhlKc63wovS9gy0uWuPnbr6h0B4ex3Astxr7lreeqlcjU_aqtmmV6BAH8G3n6YxAI64auqrxA3YSNnv3kWcPkNO-2-sh85_T-Q/s320/SNV30928.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pintail</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSs6CYaxTzIQwksCgWpVzxxjiTWut9kCANvp3qmPv7ERLrSlZ4wSqNyniPtURfUqLMgB7j2hiIBmTmstZNWwz-dXomwUIJ31SgBIrrvwC_G7swAeCXRbcAKFFsPGkxZWS2580DDGvSonWoezbnADyFpvVFaXm39nkkxhVHbUlz5ZtWRte9K_4YC9K-A/s3072/SNV30932.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSs6CYaxTzIQwksCgWpVzxxjiTWut9kCANvp3qmPv7ERLrSlZ4wSqNyniPtURfUqLMgB7j2hiIBmTmstZNWwz-dXomwUIJ31SgBIrrvwC_G7swAeCXRbcAKFFsPGkxZWS2580DDGvSonWoezbnADyFpvVFaXm39nkkxhVHbUlz5ZtWRte9K_4YC9K-A/s320/SNV30932.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Black-tailed godwit just starting to colour up</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span> </span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52a2CFl57kjx2LZ_m-MdIFXB7zGXR2zqX2QPau3Sh2WfVvRMHYASntNxcCphDjhsppK60_MWrnn7qEx5jBHZ3vgWfT4ypC9JwcE_MJP_FYvqAUmej29x3Lquk8wpUXQPdZ6Gw0fOiosdo08RKUbFw-p6mOUbhP7uaEIubLbdHPplqgk16ctMsWoY7QQ/s3072/SNV30946.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52a2CFl57kjx2LZ_m-MdIFXB7zGXR2zqX2QPau3Sh2WfVvRMHYASntNxcCphDjhsppK60_MWrnn7qEx5jBHZ3vgWfT4ypC9JwcE_MJP_FYvqAUmej29x3Lquk8wpUXQPdZ6Gw0fOiosdo08RKUbFw-p6mOUbhP7uaEIubLbdHPplqgk16ctMsWoY7QQ/s320/SNV30946.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ringed black-headed gull <br />(Courtesy of John Fraser)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8UugEBseiL0f5Wn6Z7zyhNUabw3baS6Jb51QyTJT3UQnuMgClHB8Khgv34n80XACYZOuHOEWdfZSBxcXmaRfY0WUF2mk4587Fghr064Lovm-ZfPq3xG2OcHGeAMe_4Rbq4a4ElN6Xt7dDRlvx4-lyCZGRDXGaGlj3ega1ihZ4DhT9t-mjlGE-dr3Ew/s960/SNV30972.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8UugEBseiL0f5Wn6Z7zyhNUabw3baS6Jb51QyTJT3UQnuMgClHB8Khgv34n80XACYZOuHOEWdfZSBxcXmaRfY0WUF2mk4587Fghr064Lovm-ZfPq3xG2OcHGeAMe_4Rbq4a4ElN6Xt7dDRlvx4-lyCZGRDXGaGlj3ega1ihZ4DhT9t-mjlGE-dr3Ew/s320/SNV30972.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2LC3<br />(Courtesy of John Fraser)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeFfxwAfkns087HsrB5ogJVHySjlQDaaMYbmwQNyfJeKvShbhp42slEAc3cDC3d1uyyVTqRjlcABvv5y0_-TvYSJP9X0J4xb_PK5c11OQUIK4v3Z7rC70zdugafdYHjRRpP6prmPH8ExYW4xyV3hHbpg5gyWPwkVo4D4OUqQZKt9RyuSI1X2Ysoekrw/s3072/SNV30958.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeFfxwAfkns087HsrB5ogJVHySjlQDaaMYbmwQNyfJeKvShbhp42slEAc3cDC3d1uyyVTqRjlcABvv5y0_-TvYSJP9X0J4xb_PK5c11OQUIK4v3Z7rC70zdugafdYHjRRpP6prmPH8ExYW4xyV3hHbpg5gyWPwkVo4D4OUqQZKt9RyuSI1X2Ysoekrw/s320/SNV30958.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shoveler</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqDqjXPXLAbdlBw8zgQWKO78XZtPfbWXlRMyMXJwoIAXq0mnuuSEaPJjqQCfPqku86xS8QWhfxQOR6U8tmQZRpzll7Ph9yJ9Ca-RTFchPrkcKD2HxWrefbf7UEyQp7QGSkCG6_iln_HtjLsikRV0QViOqsD0g7LHcqthP79LwI65kAOkZWixqjdtd-Q/s3072/SNV30937.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqDqjXPXLAbdlBw8zgQWKO78XZtPfbWXlRMyMXJwoIAXq0mnuuSEaPJjqQCfPqku86xS8QWhfxQOR6U8tmQZRpzll7Ph9yJ9Ca-RTFchPrkcKD2HxWrefbf7UEyQp7QGSkCG6_iln_HtjLsikRV0QViOqsD0g7LHcqthP79LwI65kAOkZWixqjdtd-Q/s320/SNV30937.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Flotilla of tufties</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72OvCHv4hYUf6LVb62BW8r7tA_V6-k8Q5sP29x9vBCg8ovyHkHxQYfJ5tneaB30YqmXNu06r1GMmaQJ2SGMxyVwdqk0FLN_eKFJwpEfqgZoVu6_CIYeY3Nw-AIdMiIf1kWx-CcpskLmhlZjU0DqFHANHWvgJhWHUiMFNturWld1RUWz9t93xKi4g0Vg/s3072/SNV31016.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72OvCHv4hYUf6LVb62BW8r7tA_V6-k8Q5sP29x9vBCg8ovyHkHxQYfJ5tneaB30YqmXNu06r1GMmaQJ2SGMxyVwdqk0FLN_eKFJwpEfqgZoVu6_CIYeY3Nw-AIdMiIf1kWx-CcpskLmhlZjU0DqFHANHWvgJhWHUiMFNturWld1RUWz9t93xKi4g0Vg/s320/SNV31016.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ringed godwit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwv9i1MGywO4FONKTcdQwbV9pRjCapFcyYxCqNLi-fGADBt7GrtP7XIkoO9nD4aa7bSLbRviKjXlQBBlJEPSLCII3uAnEJzieuyKOSg2x2qi-dmcBGrm9YlEyLTAV-iUfJ_ZKrfDVY0XMQUXFvw0sG-xhOc282OY1I9GQ0iO-1TtPpiDFWyd3XwAm4A/s3072/SNV31019.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwwv9i1MGywO4FONKTcdQwbV9pRjCapFcyYxCqNLi-fGADBt7GrtP7XIkoO9nD4aa7bSLbRviKjXlQBBlJEPSLCII3uAnEJzieuyKOSg2x2qi-dmcBGrm9YlEyLTAV-iUfJ_ZKrfDVY0XMQUXFvw0sG-xhOc282OY1I9GQ0iO-1TtPpiDFWyd3XwAm4A/s320/SNV31019.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Well into breeding plumage</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqZuUhddbDs_N4CNObi3-TFChxffmCiFriRgz9a6Oyl6S5-tKtW0eW42AFx_Z0EcZXcjL2PZ9bgPJIdqLg9o-NqNMvDKixu8R91l-sXU1k-WGCP4IMgAkzbs2W62kFHbwgSafcg7bLUcgVr9KQQhhf_ea581qRxgsTBvo77WgzpBVG8zLxjGLgch9vw/s3072/SNV31036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqZuUhddbDs_N4CNObi3-TFChxffmCiFriRgz9a6Oyl6S5-tKtW0eW42AFx_Z0EcZXcjL2PZ9bgPJIdqLg9o-NqNMvDKixu8R91l-sXU1k-WGCP4IMgAkzbs2W62kFHbwgSafcg7bLUcgVr9KQQhhf_ea581qRxgsTBvo77WgzpBVG8zLxjGLgch9vw/s320/SNV31036.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pair of posing Mediterranean gulls</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The godwit was one of over 20 ringed at WOW in April 2021 and has been re-sighted here regularly. The young black-headed gull was ringed in S Scotland last year and this was the first re-sighting. Also finally got a <b>starling, willow warbler, blackcap and a grey plover. </b>I have seen grey plover at WOW before but not recently and it remains a not very common species at WOW. I have absolutely no idea how I got to April 20 without picking up starlings. Could have missed them earlier in the year but when I realised they hadn't been seen and starting looking they just weren't there. </span></div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The <b>hoopoe</b> pitched up in a cemetery in Comber and gave good views. Unfortunately it was harassed a bit by photographers and became a bit flighty. I went twice and stayed well away so the photographs are not the best, but hey, it ticked three boxes - County Down, Northern Ireland and 2023. Could have added it to a UK or British Isles list if I had them, but I don't.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUeBz9D3rBsL1HZEiKRG3YI3CnIilCKihHLlpupHhe44X5JkALXnWNpxhna8tgU_D4WGdk6tew8dLP45zR-SveIQIqtRu7Ui1A8vxfKuc5qFFxCZPq3TMiOd2-RxzA-glAe-tSjUJN4tOyNeeyb7-mVrBVrEqrcKAdfTgquXFD1dsAjscbsDMrRomjQ/s1152/SNV31004.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUeBz9D3rBsL1HZEiKRG3YI3CnIilCKihHLlpupHhe44X5JkALXnWNpxhna8tgU_D4WGdk6tew8dLP45zR-SveIQIqtRu7Ui1A8vxfKuc5qFFxCZPq3TMiOd2-RxzA-glAe-tSjUJN4tOyNeeyb7-mVrBVrEqrcKAdfTgquXFD1dsAjscbsDMrRomjQ/s320/SNV31004.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Initial view was distant</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9qqWKoeg3Z-2_YEPRPe3xOpNSEH-0dlRrVA9ciJaWfxIfQWmOh89aPjqhfSluCO0GnXGI1-KvtBmdkMD2cKCUH86WO1GWAm_D9qk1MOaDqHMoQIxjDus1tgnu64EIlTNSABFwXV0U44pNxLbUsxtg3QbfDXiIWWmHOw6hmoq2VAGexodS-DuJBdebg/s1344/SNV31005.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1344" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9qqWKoeg3Z-2_YEPRPe3xOpNSEH-0dlRrVA9ciJaWfxIfQWmOh89aPjqhfSluCO0GnXGI1-KvtBmdkMD2cKCUH86WO1GWAm_D9qk1MOaDqHMoQIxjDus1tgnu64EIlTNSABFwXV0U44pNxLbUsxtg3QbfDXiIWWmHOw6hmoq2VAGexodS-DuJBdebg/s320/SNV31005.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Closer but behind a bench</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEv6BBKHZyTVV8IpYhlQtmcDvTqoekouFHfq-7iX7scdBkH5dEGDkUI1tYBlr6wQwwJRg4w4mpmI2DYywuc1gup_FyemnPtvCiAwWaVPyOqeCKIc16rtqwuWB5AGG_BuQYK73692a0-_7MXiB-tG_ph88_HtKsEW8peKEfXWLxu871wfeucuSCnk99A/s1728/SNV31006.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEv6BBKHZyTVV8IpYhlQtmcDvTqoekouFHfq-7iX7scdBkH5dEGDkUI1tYBlr6wQwwJRg4w4mpmI2DYywuc1gup_FyemnPtvCiAwWaVPyOqeCKIc16rtqwuWB5AGG_BuQYK73692a0-_7MXiB-tG_ph88_HtKsEW8peKEfXWLxu871wfeucuSCnk99A/s320/SNV31006.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Walking away!<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCfQd_HbpSdZyY6vtEJpDtItIIXkZC4zKL0tnOl-lH6XoKhS6E1_sG8pcHxoVhxngRAdh7PIq1AzXhu25v0AP0XOd2YOM2_QIyQCFyDFBcN8lJ5gdkBgZorbTnCwSn2Y8kmmhe6a-yAl04v6Jq4AbPosd8sMN7TkgEjdAr_CF282zKwJVgGvKXbOVpQ/s960/SNV31007.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtCfQd_HbpSdZyY6vtEJpDtItIIXkZC4zKL0tnOl-lH6XoKhS6E1_sG8pcHxoVhxngRAdh7PIq1AzXhu25v0AP0XOd2YOM2_QIyQCFyDFBcN8lJ5gdkBgZorbTnCwSn2Y8kmmhe6a-yAl04v6Jq4AbPosd8sMN7TkgEjdAr_CF282zKwJVgGvKXbOVpQ/s320/SNV31007.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Closer in</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: left;">At this point the camera battery packed in - should have charged it but forgot. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I managed two walks round Elton reservoir - see first photo - during Easter week and both walks added spring migrants to the list. <b>Willow warbler and chiffchaff </b>were common and I finally added <b>house martin and swallow</b> - one of each. I also managed to see a <b>great spotted woodpecker</b> on the nut feeder at Elton and then heard one drumming in the area six days later. Elton has had a run of good birds recently but it's a matter of right time right place, and the alpine swift had moved on. The second photo shows the River Irwell just below Elton, the third photo shows "The dip" and on a warm misty morning I was listening to <b>song thrush, blackbird, robin, dunnock, chiffchaff, great tit, goldfinch and willow warbler </b>all topped off with a drumming <b>great spotted woodpecker</b> - magic!!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiat9SXqRThPclx6AnQHYszn2HoNW4mO4M2WVu9bVC756UzC-anzQXJ0erKUI96AmpPNG8_Jq_ZBUsF8AVHQDkhOqYREDVBVJ5UCeFND9E-DIz0LBFKjuld5VT2a1hWQtzxHIdLQWlE-b/s1600/IMG_1883.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxiat9SXqRThPclx6AnQHYszn2HoNW4mO4M2WVu9bVC756UzC-anzQXJ0erKUI96AmpPNG8_Jq_ZBUsF8AVHQDkhOqYREDVBVJ5UCeFND9E-DIz0LBFKjuld5VT2a1hWQtzxHIdLQWlE-b/s320/IMG_1883.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption">Elton Reservoir<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORVH2J4be5kw5JXUZU3EkpoFylWn-1iIKKWpAbrVEpQV2wkgmvOMKbwztX_r9WjLz0QthFAt-YMzQb4FY_wdcN3Nqp6pjpucRG3HcYu6hD-fbyxy6rWjXsihQWMLTwggB6CMkd6Jmx6k1caN_NTtHJ-XXw5d-kAas8zmJjgP0P_h6Cv9EctMPzLHLRA/s1600/IMG_20230415_074921211.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORVH2J4be5kw5JXUZU3EkpoFylWn-1iIKKWpAbrVEpQV2wkgmvOMKbwztX_r9WjLz0QthFAt-YMzQb4FY_wdcN3Nqp6pjpucRG3HcYu6hD-fbyxy6rWjXsihQWMLTwggB6CMkd6Jmx6k1caN_NTtHJ-XXw5d-kAas8zmJjgP0P_h6Cv9EctMPzLHLRA/s320/IMG_20230415_074921211.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">River Irwell</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3WKRNaFPHT4fKclyM72Eavblsk1yuZg27BWZ5WkeXtg6qBRWe-R2BrlmTaVSB__GsA2Kvn1GKsTuxkIMFgI2r555MFt2ZcbGAlw6GyuIGXTCsPZpyvnRUgUJRB61akRo_vRa_laa9tqjiBAGtmHDC3MqdFRPNNOpCF7VpEAkpCqxsqg2XhWRDq-UPQ/s1600/IMG_20230415_080706610.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB3WKRNaFPHT4fKclyM72Eavblsk1yuZg27BWZ5WkeXtg6qBRWe-R2BrlmTaVSB__GsA2Kvn1GKsTuxkIMFgI2r555MFt2ZcbGAlw6GyuIGXTCsPZpyvnRUgUJRB61akRo_vRa_laa9tqjiBAGtmHDC3MqdFRPNNOpCF7VpEAkpCqxsqg2XhWRDq-UPQ/s320/IMG_20230415_080706610.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Birdsong in the Dip</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>124: Glaucous gull</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>125: Fulmar (omitted from the Islay trip)</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>126: Sea eagle</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>127: Golden eagle</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>128: Hoopoe</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>129: Sand martin</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>130: Willow warbler</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>131: Great spotted woodpecker</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>132: House martin</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>133: Swallow</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #ff00fe;"><span style="font-size: medium;">NDCP</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>56: Lesser black-backed gull</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>57: Sandwich tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>WOW</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>70: Sand martin</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>71: Sandwich tern</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>72:Grey plover</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>73: Blackcap</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>74: Willow warbler </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b>75: Starling</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><br />derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-90388291668923600152023-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:002023-04-03T13:49:22.321-07:00Islay (Again)<p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">What keeps pulling me back to Islay? It takes me three hours to get there, and three hours to get back and I get 6 hours on the island. The boat is fast and generally comfortable although it can be a tad choppy occasionally. This trip had three hours of wet and windy weather before it cleared up and the raptors took to the air. That is the draw every winter, 35000 wintering geese and a raptorfest. This year I logged 50 species including <b>twite, barnacle geese, white-fronted geese, hen harrier, golden eagle, white-tailed eagle little egret and pintail.</b> The boat journey had <b>gannet, kittiwake, razorbill, guillemot, black guillemot and red-throated diver. </b>As usual I am depending on David Miller for good photographs or pointing you at the JBirds - Birding by Boat Facebook page where you can drool over the photographs taken by people who have a good camera and know how to use it. Gary Gray and Albert Boyle were on my boat and they snapped what I was watching. Check out the link and scroll down to find the photographs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/jbirds/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/groups/jbirds/</a></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Here are my photographs (Last three) and David's photographs (all the rest).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl6MLrDIzaxCQBZ3Q27zSRnuKox3oc4GFudgzshyVW5bipEio31bJl3Ge40GP-3yKIq80bFqDcVcnEXY1fyujLOEjvSRcRYYoFLxirtSW3Jd6UHxQkstQTnWL2EplayIMGUhfoA86dN0IzDEEt9mr7TsGmJB0JLbsQKZl668hbmeAYhYU1WzBBTCanA/s3200/P1200680.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSl6MLrDIzaxCQBZ3Q27zSRnuKox3oc4GFudgzshyVW5bipEio31bJl3Ge40GP-3yKIq80bFqDcVcnEXY1fyujLOEjvSRcRYYoFLxirtSW3Jd6UHxQkstQTnWL2EplayIMGUhfoA86dN0IzDEEt9mr7TsGmJB0JLbsQKZl668hbmeAYhYU1WzBBTCanA/s320/P1200680.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Note angle of horizon to the boat!!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxIOfxGMd_H6ouC_OYb6FMF6iE9SBmWjbLSaXskkIfVcJRT9OjvvKllDzFKui4P-Hi_sRYzLpGUFJ0aNOZyUHyBc_uuLPLIpkAM3z8Z_Czk1IMnJmVOOofIh2HCDZJcI4Bf5k0gpfFX0DI7U1lfcJGpdGZPass1fEfp1KNzuzKYEqv8AhZjvct39crA/s2700/P1200637.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2025" data-original-width="2700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxIOfxGMd_H6ouC_OYb6FMF6iE9SBmWjbLSaXskkIfVcJRT9OjvvKllDzFKui4P-Hi_sRYzLpGUFJ0aNOZyUHyBc_uuLPLIpkAM3z8Z_Czk1IMnJmVOOofIh2HCDZJcI4Bf5k0gpfFX0DI7U1lfcJGpdGZPass1fEfp1KNzuzKYEqv8AhZjvct39crA/s320/P1200637.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Barnacle geese</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLnFPkVqe-djPG7th0dV69lVP94B3eBwl1RR4KekpwDAJEiGT94YtX4zJEvXFZSkdGGO-0i256n3_bWFhkJU7J70znU-zawdaSkhIFvnwl6n7IUTYgJSATu6UP5VdfXn_bo6RJfOaYnyhDZKQk1eNdScuBixbtFgt9IeEjhIGSPWBoUdjeUWNZJ-zXQ/s2250/P1200635.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1687" data-original-width="2250" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLnFPkVqe-djPG7th0dV69lVP94B3eBwl1RR4KekpwDAJEiGT94YtX4zJEvXFZSkdGGO-0i256n3_bWFhkJU7J70znU-zawdaSkhIFvnwl6n7IUTYgJSATu6UP5VdfXn_bo6RJfOaYnyhDZKQk1eNdScuBixbtFgt9IeEjhIGSPWBoUdjeUWNZJ-zXQ/s320/P1200635.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">White-fronted goose</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTe_GKS4b67TPMJC_Ckk4MEcyzX5yTPexy9MddqoXQKc0muik9phedf-YJ6IZAt2NRR__qyvD50cK1yOa1uB9wmbJGseHEkNU9nmPeHfWYJcjJ8N9HeWUMC06HxPmSHwMXkcUSu974KFvuEvHa5MckDe0e7xmWvf882yWKQUCqf0BJxhe34XSnVBBVg/s3200/P1200626.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTe_GKS4b67TPMJC_Ckk4MEcyzX5yTPexy9MddqoXQKc0muik9phedf-YJ6IZAt2NRR__qyvD50cK1yOa1uB9wmbJGseHEkNU9nmPeHfWYJcjJ8N9HeWUMC06HxPmSHwMXkcUSu974KFvuEvHa5MckDe0e7xmWvf882yWKQUCqf0BJxhe34XSnVBBVg/s320/P1200626.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">White-tailed eagle (juvenile)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnDhLfHu97soHmFhb64CMPpOh3GDU7lvUkJ1eWGs340GrCE-S7ISzphiGqAFeBXaAENzIZje9CSAKH-tVnUii7QsX6eIoxQniDN--sTTQx1-MqiXOyPBDMBx4nhDQn-IzHyM_z1WcLgQ1NfTAOZTIk7G1K3OyD2ukFn7_vaCifZhv8RyMl0it4GtBZw/s3200/P1200611.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnDhLfHu97soHmFhb64CMPpOh3GDU7lvUkJ1eWGs340GrCE-S7ISzphiGqAFeBXaAENzIZje9CSAKH-tVnUii7QsX6eIoxQniDN--sTTQx1-MqiXOyPBDMBx4nhDQn-IzHyM_z1WcLgQ1NfTAOZTIk7G1K3OyD2ukFn7_vaCifZhv8RyMl0it4GtBZw/s320/P1200611.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Loch Gruinart reserve</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_gChjvrGoR5s3vVBKaJdgZ5omKJCGrzgB5gTn0TdSaNWEsa0usxp-MYlgdLiQKlWhzlvazhOixJzhrpwJRF0mVm2-nHeXta3lajb_4t8YHxBZujofRlAKbC3BY4HYqR2L7x3pI6gviRzX5Z-ZudSS-v8b3ab3MsST55mJG-hSpDRPXQSwPh5PjhIyg/s1600/IMG_20230318_163605630.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_gChjvrGoR5s3vVBKaJdgZ5omKJCGrzgB5gTn0TdSaNWEsa0usxp-MYlgdLiQKlWhzlvazhOixJzhrpwJRF0mVm2-nHeXta3lajb_4t8YHxBZujofRlAKbC3BY4HYqR2L7x3pI6gviRzX5Z-ZudSS-v8b3ab3MsST55mJG-hSpDRPXQSwPh5PjhIyg/s320/IMG_20230318_163605630.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Port Ellen</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpj387IOcEqRhMuNJ2G-Rn5K705B4PNFB4r3EGwz4GXpf1p3yxVcBSqgi-Q-DHy7jQ-Se0AZ2Mb6lWyG6l2NfD_EjT_BPIngn-LVOsD5YU1cLFnNFFfmADk_5ma9D93rrwG7Cl4_42Uhd1Xo9AW2ciSU-d4I3qLUB6TIZIDrDnVAYiFTeqFXZsMyObg/s1600/IMG_20230318_124004829.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpj387IOcEqRhMuNJ2G-Rn5K705B4PNFB4r3EGwz4GXpf1p3yxVcBSqgi-Q-DHy7jQ-Se0AZ2Mb6lWyG6l2NfD_EjT_BPIngn-LVOsD5YU1cLFnNFFfmADk_5ma9D93rrwG7Cl4_42Uhd1Xo9AW2ciSU-d4I3qLUB6TIZIDrDnVAYiFTeqFXZsMyObg/s320/IMG_20230318_124004829.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Ardnave Point</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwreZhGmktb2Jyak9QjZQHVKKAMS0xaKTxoKawdUwoSfegmg5Z-KE_GiYZAUPe1MMyfrXbKxWQmJcsQouNjNB1A2dk9WLo22VKCkifuYppUQq1RrUwtuj04jPYR88mvx1jYnVI1_g3RrH4Vypaw2eNCpfuSWyS6_JgOPdcq9d9rmxwjUlGIfzTRMd_fg/s1600/IMG_20230318_121611054.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwreZhGmktb2Jyak9QjZQHVKKAMS0xaKTxoKawdUwoSfegmg5Z-KE_GiYZAUPe1MMyfrXbKxWQmJcsQouNjNB1A2dk9WLo22VKCkifuYppUQq1RrUwtuj04jPYR88mvx1jYnVI1_g3RrH4Vypaw2eNCpfuSWyS6_JgOPdcq9d9rmxwjUlGIfzTRMd_fg/s320/IMG_20230318_121611054.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Rain, what rain?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">The trip added the following to the 2023 list, but obviously left the two local patches as they were! Will I go back to Islay for yet another visit? Of course I will, we didn't get the chough. 😞</span><p></p></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>2023</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>125: Golden eagle</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><b>126: White-tailed eagle</b></span></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-38404285360995547352023-03-24T15:03:00.000-07:002023-03-24T15:03:06.422-07:00Winter hangs on <p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;">Despite the date of late March winter is still with us as we have had a bit of snow and cold temperatures for Northern Ireland in March. The patch lists are ticking over with a few winter birds still around and some residents which have been missed so far. The local patch added a flyover <b>raven</b> and an offshore <b>guillemot</b> - both expected on the patch at some stage in the year. WOW keeps turning up a few species which I hadn't managed so far - <b>grey wagtail, little egret, kingfisher, pintail</b> and the first genuine migrant in the shape of a <b>Mediterranean gull.</b> There are now six knocking around so we hope that breeding will occur again this year. There are still winter ducks and waders but they will gradually move on as the <b>black-headed gulls</b> move in to nest. We had around 600+ gulls this week starting the mating/nesting rituals and staking their claim on the two islands. We are rapidly reaching the stage of trying to see what is NOT a black-headed gull. One of the Mediterranean gulls was ringed and it turned out to be a Dutch bird ringed in 2015. It was seen twice in England in 2015 and earlier this year in Munster and it suddenly pops up in WOW and is looking like it might stay and breed. We have also had re-sightings of three <b>black-tailed-godwits</b> ringed at WOW two years ago. We were all terribly excited!!</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSShubPBh_PeiswO0QAEnTOUDC7PRAi3JwnBAvIukT3aQ4qUqi7WSPz_IekebWPQkdNPZQ_M9LiYMenp5_LZyrjPXA4sLZ6RgviKXK9wdkef_PLctjw7J-nVnmmjlv6JKDY4Ae7NkJ7kwogHkQSO8LO7iYPMFwnBG9oW3ypmiv4HL-EtRXJZBUCH_M-Q/s1920/SNV30898.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSShubPBh_PeiswO0QAEnTOUDC7PRAi3JwnBAvIukT3aQ4qUqi7WSPz_IekebWPQkdNPZQ_M9LiYMenp5_LZyrjPXA4sLZ6RgviKXK9wdkef_PLctjw7J-nVnmmjlv6JKDY4Ae7NkJ7kwogHkQSO8LO7iYPMFwnBG9oW3ypmiv4HL-EtRXJZBUCH_M-Q/s320/SNV30898.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">First Med gull spotted on March 9th</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCmJ7lAZcBYSBef8Sl0x1e1f5EoybPpTzMMRSNkpWU07qqa9_iNG-MLUM59AJV2OYvRpXcxl7EuB3q2GyuhFA3prR_9inJmtkTbxbVjl3IZtP_1NcrOYA8HsR5KxzKc5RnsayJ8xDVCGo7yEzLoIi6Zrv9qV3yFsxgMKnzYqJcx6kXgybiDs2T1E6Ow/s3072/SNV30908.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCCmJ7lAZcBYSBef8Sl0x1e1f5EoybPpTzMMRSNkpWU07qqa9_iNG-MLUM59AJV2OYvRpXcxl7EuB3q2GyuhFA3prR_9inJmtkTbxbVjl3IZtP_1NcrOYA8HsR5KxzKc5RnsayJ8xDVCGo7yEzLoIi6Zrv9qV3yFsxgMKnzYqJcx6kXgybiDs2T1E6Ow/s320/SNV30908.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dutch Med gull</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBY9TtQj5kjyDVRz7Ic_mPHtXeS4fqbFc5YAHhl6DW7gZpZ-vmfstRqE0et629nztfKihx0jlAC7txwGgrXhJnK1CjChsip8-IYcG385n7EUsyqU2FV907iEsF4r4xQY9TdPWe0eTxgLzHyRoxmdkpsUZfwrxmwppMmDifmG_etAQEnHSOdkLCYtJVQ/s3072/SNV30919.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBY9TtQj5kjyDVRz7Ic_mPHtXeS4fqbFc5YAHhl6DW7gZpZ-vmfstRqE0et629nztfKihx0jlAC7txwGgrXhJnK1CjChsip8-IYcG385n7EUsyqU2FV907iEsF4r4xQY9TdPWe0eTxgLzHyRoxmdkpsUZfwrxmwppMmDifmG_etAQEnHSOdkLCYtJVQ/s320/SNV30919.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">With a friend<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">There were of course a wide variety of other birds present. so here is a selection. <br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfSNduMIR3uXjM_2YXmbjDu4kUmqKNaZHnI9hSceuCnuAFTYTFGC9uVRxuvEezXmp9JHLUjcg-x2TZG7YmZq3gsXeYuyp96zZStUyA1_YKeQs2seQnXHY0C0QQzKE-gev5fZ4WInmzbsKV16HTNrMR9I97zTM1EI50aCVXNT-EIYR140_s9oQGxKkWA/s3072/SNV30849.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfSNduMIR3uXjM_2YXmbjDu4kUmqKNaZHnI9hSceuCnuAFTYTFGC9uVRxuvEezXmp9JHLUjcg-x2TZG7YmZq3gsXeYuyp96zZStUyA1_YKeQs2seQnXHY0C0QQzKE-gev5fZ4WInmzbsKV16HTNrMR9I97zTM1EI50aCVXNT-EIYR140_s9oQGxKkWA/s320/SNV30849.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grey wagtail</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltF4K59MeqIDa3YvC5L80KBT1sbf4Hqe0eVn9Qvvfzq5Hk5Ueh2wFlQUp71JFgaNZNj3TaZKcf-NhfHbAE2s5sPRo_vE2WenQ5W6ss12bN7tFgaeD5pOJgeOArTGKub-HBCpms42bkJM9_JeqmUU2KJoUBa6ZjVjx5g-r7k-9rD0-XNhaFkoML7OZ3w/s3072/SNV30853.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltF4K59MeqIDa3YvC5L80KBT1sbf4Hqe0eVn9Qvvfzq5Hk5Ueh2wFlQUp71JFgaNZNj3TaZKcf-NhfHbAE2s5sPRo_vE2WenQ5W6ss12bN7tFgaeD5pOJgeOArTGKub-HBCpms42bkJM9_JeqmUU2KJoUBa6ZjVjx5g-r7k-9rD0-XNhaFkoML7OZ3w/s320/SNV30853.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-btrgLYA_zXAQL3bQqYqxUXMX2NMTQepLKB9sboFkyNa5cIrIU6U6hlXuCVKxemR3_b4Gld4YvzbpA-pb-Jg2h8frsZxGRHPPWV1j4aylDlgnhSwmC_JiJm30K8vfa_lsh4BxQRrnRgsw7vxPqERxbx6QT56afG73ME337Qqq17zn0wdRx9TMR6RVEg/s3072/SNV30855.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-btrgLYA_zXAQL3bQqYqxUXMX2NMTQepLKB9sboFkyNa5cIrIU6U6hlXuCVKxemR3_b4Gld4YvzbpA-pb-Jg2h8frsZxGRHPPWV1j4aylDlgnhSwmC_JiJm30K8vfa_lsh4BxQRrnRgsw7vxPqERxbx6QT56afG73ME337Qqq17zn0wdRx9TMR6RVEg/s320/SNV30855.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coot</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOpQr_jD-MwDZAF62hXcdtAtOUGgoFZRrB8AL8Cpo7UDMHc_qpWMCm6Fj01If84FopAWIZt-HtpcDh7QaKOTOMQl3lRpbkc_OOP-EgbGP7VGElwdw0cNpVaDg6pwXnUJ1EK_pqepO8W9pmGmLg0fjAoi4oiLkSIdnjNysQ2CBZTQBb_kPJVb_Pot9Hg/s3072/SNV30858.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHOpQr_jD-MwDZAF62hXcdtAtOUGgoFZRrB8AL8Cpo7UDMHc_qpWMCm6Fj01If84FopAWIZt-HtpcDh7QaKOTOMQl3lRpbkc_OOP-EgbGP7VGElwdw0cNpVaDg6pwXnUJ1EK_pqepO8W9pmGmLg0fjAoi4oiLkSIdnjNysQ2CBZTQBb_kPJVb_Pot9Hg/s320/SNV30858.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Godwit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-large;">Elsewhere I had a trip up to Lough Neagh </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">and finally connected with the <b>male smew</b></span><b style="font-size: x-large;"> </b><span style="font-size: x-large;">at Gawley's Gate. I trust you are not expecting a stunning photograph. It was a long way away and I have attached a "record shot" which is a photographers way of saying, "Here is a rubbish shot of a bird to prove that I saw it" </span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SvVi9JqVoy_LBPqDpQTjSUShCml0OqpxI1rv-ZjYSt3BpLLKkgj9NN8Ma1ckielOg3-OK_XJ8vCl2W92Ndu3mAmJptuMo8ZD7QwT7t3j_kwEyZweTnd6vwyMG2Vxn2wHwTL0U2vyLcN-aiRlmqpEYSbr5BJPTHFMpphRp0pP20et3LhB7oauikmy3w/s3072/SNV30818.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SvVi9JqVoy_LBPqDpQTjSUShCml0OqpxI1rv-ZjYSt3BpLLKkgj9NN8Ma1ckielOg3-OK_XJ8vCl2W92Ndu3mAmJptuMo8ZD7QwT7t3j_kwEyZweTnd6vwyMG2Vxn2wHwTL0U2vyLcN-aiRlmqpEYSbr5BJPTHFMpphRp0pP20et3LhB7oauikmy3w/s320/SNV30818.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is a small white dot below the second post, that is the smew.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGRBTDDB1o5l1zWWfBXBx-7upZ59GXGSmTZALG9tAK9gbTV0n7NkfQPgGv-RmqRhUUdDvVOy4MeR5d1koJXqXH6yekSj4jjVFfaystXjkKIk0Me1V4-OWTzB3rusqU8CTjL1iH7srQR0ZxaPQ3cvogs6iQL5zy-B7xr7Q6fgqKXI6ArwHox4yxoR6iw/s384/SNV30828.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="384" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGRBTDDB1o5l1zWWfBXBx-7upZ59GXGSmTZALG9tAK9gbTV0n7NkfQPgGv-RmqRhUUdDvVOy4MeR5d1koJXqXH6yekSj4jjVFfaystXjkKIk0Me1V4-OWTzB3rusqU8CTjL1iH7srQR0ZxaPQ3cvogs6iQL5zy-B7xr7Q6fgqKXI6ArwHox4yxoR6iw/s320/SNV30828.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">A very pixelated zoom shot of said smew. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">As usual there are better shots on NI birds when it was a lot closer to the shore. In my defence it drifts offshore if there are swimmers around, and there were! We popped down to Reedy Flats and connected with the <b>greylag</b> <b>geese </b>flock which also had <b>6 Greenland white-fronted geese and two barnacles. </b>No need to go to Islay then. (Spoiler alert!!)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2DZSkxiqz3BR_aPRXdE21m56UJYpAlTQ-l35yu9gYkpZmm9AYyBLVEzfFsKXEMR1_Or6jn2Kkd1pMz4tgVlPftbENFldU3BZSHmPNeOxMOygNthc_nL1FYwxCu9I8aEshsD-uvv6QTXsbL3qXPlIlQrVHBvLMXgp5tLfdmK--SipHCDZElJt0vvwTw/s4032/20230310_101953.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2DZSkxiqz3BR_aPRXdE21m56UJYpAlTQ-l35yu9gYkpZmm9AYyBLVEzfFsKXEMR1_Or6jn2Kkd1pMz4tgVlPftbENFldU3BZSHmPNeOxMOygNthc_nL1FYwxCu9I8aEshsD-uvv6QTXsbL3qXPlIlQrVHBvLMXgp5tLfdmK--SipHCDZElJt0vvwTw/s320/20230310_101953.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twite (Ivor Greer)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">A trip to Bushmills added <b>kittiwake and glaucous gull </b>along the coastal path between Portrush and Portstewart to the year list and a nice view of a twite at Magheracross viewpoint. Ivor thought it was worth a phone shot through the windscreen, I told him he was wasting his time, but he wasn't!! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">I also felt obliged to visit the Ward Park waxwings which have been around for over a month, not a tick of any description - just a lovely bird or three. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAd5tgeJaXORcSUznIcjPwvK3hcfT0hynA2CiKN1dDXMpkcSh4psi8FTydCFZThK5aFvu8TE78xU8Yy_OU3-vycA8ltbnRm8H4l8KyQTde53k4BLwiGNN46lDLydQZBbHUTUL7OEHJRs8p6OBTD-V17covxYfl0QR-f6BC4bJXJzYxLLuUk5J0zwsVQ/s1536/SNV30890.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOAd5tgeJaXORcSUznIcjPwvK3hcfT0hynA2CiKN1dDXMpkcSh4psi8FTydCFZThK5aFvu8TE78xU8Yy_OU3-vycA8ltbnRm8H4l8KyQTde53k4BLwiGNN46lDLydQZBbHUTUL7OEHJRs8p6OBTD-V17covxYfl0QR-f6BC4bJXJzYxLLuUk5J0zwsVQ/s320/SNV30890.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94uj5d_KpMsplzTIKyJGe7poniPGulQmrrOP0ctobyuWYtRDHPIlT1-q03XJZxDoA8bR2AH2EK-Xnd6BRwu16tb2TlrEgcsVVOZxbt1O3en9rMtQ7-xXx3h_WXhh_MfKybVKA2GVrXz3YYVU3BobOOHtYvdnC1v1qzA1LnlELCzHBqa6W9bjocYxi1w/s3072/SNV30829.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94uj5d_KpMsplzTIKyJGe7poniPGulQmrrOP0ctobyuWYtRDHPIlT1-q03XJZxDoA8bR2AH2EK-Xnd6BRwu16tb2TlrEgcsVVOZxbt1O3en9rMtQ7-xXx3h_WXhh_MfKybVKA2GVrXz3YYVU3BobOOHtYvdnC1v1qzA1LnlELCzHBqa6W9bjocYxi1w/s320/SNV30829.JPG" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #3d85c6; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">2023</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>118: Nuthatch</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>119: Smew</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>120: Greenland white-fronted goose</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>121: Barnacle goose</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>122: Mediterranean gull</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>123: Kittiwake</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>124: Glaucous gull</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>54: Raven</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>55: Guillemot</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>WOW</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>65: Grey wagtail</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>66: Pintail</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>67: Kingfisher</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>68: Little egret</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: large;"><b>69: Mediterranean gull</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Comic Neue;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-68699337359773026162023-03-12T15:13:00.002-07:002023-03-12T15:13:49.542-07:00Irish garden bird survey<p><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Discrete post to update the Irish bird survey which runs for 13 weeks from December and finished last week. It's not as intensive as you think as you simply note the maximum number of each species observed in the garden in each week. I usually give it a 30 minute blast early in the week and then every time I am in range I have a look to see if I can add a new bird or update a total. The main differences from last year were as follows:</span></div><p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>Goldfinch</b> numbers were well down, this year I never had more than 4</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>Linnets</b> vanished after the first two weeks. Last year they were there every week. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Bullfinch, siskin, redpoll and bullfinch were completely absent.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">I had a <b>song thrush</b> in and out this year. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Two <b>hooded crows</b> were regular visitors.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Five <b>house sparrows</b> dropped in once. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Certainly 3 <b>blackcaps</b> - a male and 2 females on one occasion. </span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">The regular visitors (maximum in brackets) were as follows - <b>Blackbird (9), magpie (2), woodpigeon (5), starlings (8), chaffinch (4), dunnock (3), robin (2), jackdaws (5), rooks (2). I also had all four tit species, a jay, a sparrowhawk, a redwing, a fieldfare, a wren, a goldcrest</b> and one morning walked in and saw a <b>heron</b> standing by the pond looking for frogs no doubt.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">I actually quite like doing this exercise as there is always something to look for when you glance down the garden or sit with a coffee to see what is happening. I have attached a few pictures to brighten the blog up, some old and some new. This week we returned form England to a sea of yellow as the daffodils and tete-e-tete are all in bloom and we still have crocuses and snowdrops. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCKwFLitVq1TGb9FHo88nIqZC8zk-hE5W3jWK3pmGkuJddXXYFGi4oUcG-iPolrcsOjLiFSL3ORp_TSB7aF9ASbszsRpRDxqiJwsJWhZYbv3sE0zEutzMUicHC_FpnfTQH-G583sHgyOqKqkGEWTBhh-1R9SsLemi1wLFnEXCpospxs_pEoosGxswPg/s4608/IMG_20230227_171401491.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCKwFLitVq1TGb9FHo88nIqZC8zk-hE5W3jWK3pmGkuJddXXYFGi4oUcG-iPolrcsOjLiFSL3ORp_TSB7aF9ASbszsRpRDxqiJwsJWhZYbv3sE0zEutzMUicHC_FpnfTQH-G583sHgyOqKqkGEWTBhh-1R9SsLemi1wLFnEXCpospxs_pEoosGxswPg/s320/IMG_20230227_171401491.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camelia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIEJeQ2Ul9rur71XrQcyE-L61NDMRrltBvbgsX12jyWuFdPxYY6Op8631v9mPUp-Qz8xUeCfWc4T0wf2M3j886FPvTJVDp8mXkruXKmgxMQ8x2d_jnFmVZhq-WfhhDOp7lxbxbpGXyWefo6hdZzGyZzIktLSpxlM1VHdUS0-9fiTgqN1vByR0VBzVdQ/s4608/IMG_20230227_171351736.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIEJeQ2Ul9rur71XrQcyE-L61NDMRrltBvbgsX12jyWuFdPxYY6Op8631v9mPUp-Qz8xUeCfWc4T0wf2M3j886FPvTJVDp8mXkruXKmgxMQ8x2d_jnFmVZhq-WfhhDOp7lxbxbpGXyWefo6hdZzGyZzIktLSpxlM1VHdUS0-9fiTgqN1vByR0VBzVdQ/s320/IMG_20230227_171351736.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Past their best snowdrops</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qN7Cz1-R1OTF6BfiqLIE3CRXu5hnR-WKN-Je_n5PnvxJusLXhDKRp1nnECCBK1N6aNKNARegxDT_cKDcu1IezuDHWSS2JqUBtVohez_PnqcKhW-32yMSUKo1M3lfwp1bLuOQ3d2OJXw2DWyk3yxgOp5Nlftl7jfYfE0Go0ng4lMEtzDKc-dXNDm0_g/s4608/IMG_20230227_171333881.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qN7Cz1-R1OTF6BfiqLIE3CRXu5hnR-WKN-Je_n5PnvxJusLXhDKRp1nnECCBK1N6aNKNARegxDT_cKDcu1IezuDHWSS2JqUBtVohez_PnqcKhW-32yMSUKo1M3lfwp1bLuOQ3d2OJXw2DWyk3yxgOp5Nlftl7jfYfE0Go0ng4lMEtzDKc-dXNDm0_g/s320/IMG_20230227_171333881.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crocuses and tete-a-tete</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUfbIVHosiFq7BKgsulItIaGrAfzHaG2lpPudb_xBzkXU6zC6S_Mqr8v_XjepRsijBKBejMEILLd05_eBNaVTdEglW14FeDnxgLEEwTjhhVSr9oFFvYAcWDaZmnRrkDjEW5VMI9z5xAHvOY6GQBGDJWID8FLdfa9qk9bQ0nyduIoieT8A6tUxdGGo_g/s4608/IMG_20230227_171228404.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUfbIVHosiFq7BKgsulItIaGrAfzHaG2lpPudb_xBzkXU6zC6S_Mqr8v_XjepRsijBKBejMEILLd05_eBNaVTdEglW14FeDnxgLEEwTjhhVSr9oFFvYAcWDaZmnRrkDjEW5VMI9z5xAHvOY6GQBGDJWID8FLdfa9qk9bQ0nyduIoieT8A6tUxdGGo_g/s320/IMG_20230227_171228404.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tete-a-tete crocuses and daffodils</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxbBrV52H99TXzvbcuce5YaXNGFgnM89AiMFo4kL0bgaCBovxGSikmbgHhN33GELeUnVqSxtCa2Yd29zVp80kJTRwQJ5mR9bCroMlfqBl5iTOGyCHyB0c2qwAYPRXmaTprhDFcQSQpYfSJgCf3FrXxsJ687RJ7-4nIRmMJ-ydmW8pp82YXkMAN18a1Q/s4608/IMG_20230227_171202297.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkxbBrV52H99TXzvbcuce5YaXNGFgnM89AiMFo4kL0bgaCBovxGSikmbgHhN33GELeUnVqSxtCa2Yd29zVp80kJTRwQJ5mR9bCroMlfqBl5iTOGyCHyB0c2qwAYPRXmaTprhDFcQSQpYfSJgCf3FrXxsJ687RJ7-4nIRmMJ-ydmW8pp82YXkMAN18a1Q/s320/IMG_20230227_171202297.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Christmas" rhododendron</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BgnyFikFkq4R0l6VLHsRoIW9S0FEvS3xE5C0HIYZn0o3Y-KbnaF5WaIlVzQK2QGxA0jYoADV_9RFjyb4Q-ESWwRHwwxWe6Vde0oNrAVECdO7FBHFhRBjqoOITqMCoD3VhWpKp4bbbZ73iEvaQUVjQR40uoUGvU3E0qZnJnMQ3j9SCgp-1G-NaKERgw/s3072/SNV30710.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BgnyFikFkq4R0l6VLHsRoIW9S0FEvS3xE5C0HIYZn0o3Y-KbnaF5WaIlVzQK2QGxA0jYoADV_9RFjyb4Q-ESWwRHwwxWe6Vde0oNrAVECdO7FBHFhRBjqoOITqMCoD3VhWpKp4bbbZ73iEvaQUVjQR40uoUGvU3E0qZnJnMQ3j9SCgp-1G-NaKERgw/s320/SNV30710.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackbird and crocus</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODn_IDpktEGoie0KoyUE5FtWtSj7Dq6n6o0WZo1AbS4K7wnvOaKZqS1Abm_CDM8t5oxLI8k5XEZ9GHwIMojnrAXNoJGGdsj_DJQhFbknq2tmNMACMKxZ9QrKsv7ws49yCRy0wwc5xdxICKljhQr35LLWLMb0w_Xc5BiV8pocxFECKCeNjYURwoHSkVg/s3072/SNV30565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODn_IDpktEGoie0KoyUE5FtWtSj7Dq6n6o0WZo1AbS4K7wnvOaKZqS1Abm_CDM8t5oxLI8k5XEZ9GHwIMojnrAXNoJGGdsj_DJQhFbknq2tmNMACMKxZ9QrKsv7ws49yCRy0wwc5xdxICKljhQr35LLWLMb0w_Xc5BiV8pocxFECKCeNjYURwoHSkVg/s320/SNV30565.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackcap</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOMGjAwVUSxr3U_hVbtPs-Opnmwg6Hyxnoahna-t4gsjT_sHth-wa6jY-4O1JYc-eCpx5aBQiKWTwZ3DgwiThfVCT-7eu8q51KMEy19xmRPruuQrcF8y-Z7JG8kikqhepB6hjiMcDbTZC_Wpa1fOFtQBe5kehWN5iyXwCLPcXgGItB5Evr0I0A0pR5Q/s3072/SNV30561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOMGjAwVUSxr3U_hVbtPs-Opnmwg6Hyxnoahna-t4gsjT_sHth-wa6jY-4O1JYc-eCpx5aBQiKWTwZ3DgwiThfVCT-7eu8q51KMEy19xmRPruuQrcF8y-Z7JG8kikqhepB6hjiMcDbTZC_Wpa1fOFtQBe5kehWN5iyXwCLPcXgGItB5Evr0I0A0pR5Q/s320/SNV30561.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldfinch</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQUyfWGGNv0dtTkfs4zy_jHG89-EvmvtaHuSXcIvd-oblLb2dek7CEu-QPsUOH2_cHCOa87ShM-UmJAZ6IqL52VG1o-QgB6D9OtQp48E7-A0UYvNKR69xZPCKO6pFqGmGuRS_pmldAfWjHZ1_N6eZ_jBBAlLG50tpbsCbUr36bcXjME5xYm-X-7xEXw/s3072/SNV30557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQUyfWGGNv0dtTkfs4zy_jHG89-EvmvtaHuSXcIvd-oblLb2dek7CEu-QPsUOH2_cHCOa87ShM-UmJAZ6IqL52VG1o-QgB6D9OtQp48E7-A0UYvNKR69xZPCKO6pFqGmGuRS_pmldAfWjHZ1_N6eZ_jBBAlLG50tpbsCbUr36bcXjME5xYm-X-7xEXw/s320/SNV30557.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Song thrush</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11TeVwx661EwrsXWCvQwAGxguUIa8zv8yWunNAGeApxp9jy2BbhswQKUq6rbrAFjHQuPMUknom5SJS-Y53mqPqLazbQBsXxKl3oATDIrhF0CMGq7-PZIQYhVHUbTE23lPzqRdbt0Yokp1UvButzb3ut3SIlaFE1bUJrXPdysW0DueP3Vcph42d7AusA/s3072/SNV30546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11TeVwx661EwrsXWCvQwAGxguUIa8zv8yWunNAGeApxp9jy2BbhswQKUq6rbrAFjHQuPMUknom5SJS-Y53mqPqLazbQBsXxKl3oATDIrhF0CMGq7-PZIQYhVHUbTE23lPzqRdbt0Yokp1UvButzb3ut3SIlaFE1bUJrXPdysW0DueP3Vcph42d7AusA/s320/SNV30546.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooded crow</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UW7sFtRJStoJe6CNyDpBOOyXyGuAeU4lsjALHutZ8is5xVNE8qhIVTK7e3noYLwul7mj8MqHlCI_ttfDpJZOPicMwlbIODTaUaqK9i7kARyz5eeCS83moW5TVPssNkMmxnxT0aMxh95c8mu2D9ITxxmeEwAccNT5gyckhlfvrVKpOigUYUN1gVSTNQ/s3072/SNV30535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UW7sFtRJStoJe6CNyDpBOOyXyGuAeU4lsjALHutZ8is5xVNE8qhIVTK7e3noYLwul7mj8MqHlCI_ttfDpJZOPicMwlbIODTaUaqK9i7kARyz5eeCS83moW5TVPssNkMmxnxT0aMxh95c8mu2D9ITxxmeEwAccNT5gyckhlfvrVKpOigUYUN1gVSTNQ/s320/SNV30535.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaffinch</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFOBtluidMRks3kBYJls9PBFTsoql-JCpIXS3EoKO4IFR0wghVNv7pMX1R0K6BJe1PpSqip5ewaDzTJWoxb7tHDUOa0msqzrg3kBv_4T7GpLJKCBtXsaR7Cm7YCFpgw5IxoMJxJigDf6aXMTgzI3dFhYecNytCZ5uiBSgc-eW8kdQxa-df1uokZEjjg/s3072/SNV30529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFOBtluidMRks3kBYJls9PBFTsoql-JCpIXS3EoKO4IFR0wghVNv7pMX1R0K6BJe1PpSqip5ewaDzTJWoxb7tHDUOa0msqzrg3kBv_4T7GpLJKCBtXsaR7Cm7YCFpgw5IxoMJxJigDf6aXMTgzI3dFhYecNytCZ5uiBSgc-eW8kdQxa-df1uokZEjjg/s320/SNV30529.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dunnock</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-80312819382576194722023-02-26T13:26:00.001-08:002023-02-26T13:26:24.396-08:00A trip to England<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">Essential child care gave the opportunity for a long weekend in Northumberland and our now traditional dawn to dusk birdathon. Then on via the scenic route to Bolton and we were able to squeeze a bit of birding in between playgrounds, Burger king and Minecraft.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><b>Red kites</b> over the road at Gatehouse of Fleet was a good start on the way across. A trip to St Mary's Island at high tide gave <b>purple sandpiper, grey plover and sanderling. </b>Saturday dawned bright and sunny but the forecast rain and cloud arrived around 11.00 and made for a damp cold finish to the day. With my pal David - he of the good camera and the rustic bunting in his garden - we followed our traditional route starting at Linton Lane and going via QE2 Country Park to Woodhorn, Lynemouth, Snab Point, Cresswell and Cresswell Pond. Linton Lane had <b>two marsh harriers </b>and very good views of <b>grey partridge</b> sitting under a hedge. We usually see them disappearing quickly into cover. The highlight at Cresswell was an early <b>avocet</b>. Apparently they usually arrive late March. We have never seen one on our February visits before. We also had a good selection of ducks and waders including 2 <b>ruff</b> and 6 <b>snipe</b> out in the open as well as large flocks of<b> pink-footed geese. </b> We then went via Widdrington (<b>red-legged partridge</b>) to the Druridge Bay Country Park for lunch (and bird feeders) before checking the sea for <b>red-throated divers and common scoter. </b>Then north to Hadston Scarrs, Hauxley and Amble. We spent 15/20 minutes ambling round Amble harbour as we realised we had not yet seen a pied wagtail. In rain and gathering gloom we gave up, walked back to the car and there was a <b>pied wagtail </b>on the footpath beside the car!! Other highlights included at least 6 <b>albino pheasants,</b> in fact there were pheasants everywhere. We reckoned they must have all been newly released. I also added a <b>kestrel </b>to the year list - it is at least 6 months since I saw one at home as well as <b>Canada goose </b>which always needs a trip to England.<b> </b>We ended up with 70 species which is what we hope for before we set out. Bearing in mind the deteriorating weather we were happy enough. All in all a good day with cracking views, good birds and good company. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">The attached photographs are mainly David's, I have noted the ones I took in case it isn't patently obvious. I ended up phone scoping the waxwing as I omitted to lift the camera - apologies for the dodgy shots. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfru8FzUop5kUG3pnzMIO8K_y1WbP1DPSJdatKq1rw9kHAsaFXUMk7TbczaoBb9oa57FDHlj9CpRRyx89G90zMf2IrFVOePkVeEA8ffbdwpbWvG70qsbmrA3AawQcbxjvb_VZ8ZnQ8CpSTdjOeg-uxJmIk3purNYKPvNWWGOY-3uaYi-vHsQzrFvcAvA/s1600/IMG_20230217_121003676.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfru8FzUop5kUG3pnzMIO8K_y1WbP1DPSJdatKq1rw9kHAsaFXUMk7TbczaoBb9oa57FDHlj9CpRRyx89G90zMf2IrFVOePkVeEA8ffbdwpbWvG70qsbmrA3AawQcbxjvb_VZ8ZnQ8CpSTdjOeg-uxJmIk3purNYKPvNWWGOY-3uaYi-vHsQzrFvcAvA/s320/IMG_20230217_121003676.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">St Mary's Island (Derek)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFyG_mGrhSEjRK9ERWJWKQhCEykntnolHFO0QEsGSu8ZWbd-2VA3JwUhRLlgxOGS00ByFbHbvMX6BRdRe-d0ZtPY5ozWXxWiuon00OHOmcdNHn-Ni9HFUcL5AC8lKipZjqGvJHg3E4wtg-j1Y0iLfkYSZl27tpz0LGxvqpe5HihV9uaCM_XSwYWhzHw/s3200/P1200177.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXFyG_mGrhSEjRK9ERWJWKQhCEykntnolHFO0QEsGSu8ZWbd-2VA3JwUhRLlgxOGS00ByFbHbvMX6BRdRe-d0ZtPY5ozWXxWiuon00OHOmcdNHn-Ni9HFUcL5AC8lKipZjqGvJHg3E4wtg-j1Y0iLfkYSZl27tpz0LGxvqpe5HihV9uaCM_XSwYWhzHw/s320/P1200177.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Pink-footed geese</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVeNwWKADRLKHgo_Gi0097EBeEtF5oiIjX5xVmGZUXhEZKp2gcbBYF8VjQ12s3tUuW4uJl4nzE7LcCiiC0Mtu26_bliwMKgsEjJe5h3MMZtXBqA1SgqltX7L5k8NGedOE8ddaQacFpIqBSSGdqwAN7GpAEvRvzouabWwA4Vi1Sgy1qNk0i4lXunG7Wg/s3200/P1200183.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgVeNwWKADRLKHgo_Gi0097EBeEtF5oiIjX5xVmGZUXhEZKp2gcbBYF8VjQ12s3tUuW4uJl4nzE7LcCiiC0Mtu26_bliwMKgsEjJe5h3MMZtXBqA1SgqltX7L5k8NGedOE8ddaQacFpIqBSSGdqwAN7GpAEvRvzouabWwA4Vi1Sgy1qNk0i4lXunG7Wg/s320/P1200183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Cresswell Pond</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4ZCMXYojN4Sg5n2S3bYwS5MQkY7GkJX8RTIajzqCaYkFRECNfFYVsswrqa3kPEdRPV10vHEuHb4fvQ6mn32efN6_oB1Xhep7p4poAthuiZMBzksZHtYzvaIbhCY3HUbW4Wh3dV7UsPFwOTGWdNxEI1cSDGpEpk9hs89KoJV-7o_5AkyDqTj7-Sa-tA/s2850/P1200191.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2136" data-original-width="2850" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4ZCMXYojN4Sg5n2S3bYwS5MQkY7GkJX8RTIajzqCaYkFRECNfFYVsswrqa3kPEdRPV10vHEuHb4fvQ6mn32efN6_oB1Xhep7p4poAthuiZMBzksZHtYzvaIbhCY3HUbW4Wh3dV7UsPFwOTGWdNxEI1cSDGpEpk9hs89KoJV-7o_5AkyDqTj7-Sa-tA/s320/P1200191.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Mixed waders</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeSOp6z68bsjKV1K_hoa8vQsXd-y4AaE7UxGCeNMzpw2t1sbyiE-QnCSFGrHd4CWyudiLSuZlhr3Su4jhbqau232EGjkeqcEcG5jgO4g1YACukNLLHvHyONWfZSy7-ss4Gf1ssKwkS7eOh30wLozlJzYntta8ztCnIF9E40FWBJjgNju062aEA4mPOg/s3600/P1200206.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeSOp6z68bsjKV1K_hoa8vQsXd-y4AaE7UxGCeNMzpw2t1sbyiE-QnCSFGrHd4CWyudiLSuZlhr3Su4jhbqau232EGjkeqcEcG5jgO4g1YACukNLLHvHyONWfZSy7-ss4Gf1ssKwkS7eOh30wLozlJzYntta8ztCnIF9E40FWBJjgNju062aEA4mPOg/s320/P1200206.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Avocet</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJM-pjdbXgcI19J2VEAN1KvnKyaO1lmyWXrZH8BCZiIGg516xZyfbuDjgZMy6l_6bfO5iexvanYwFvhf17R4liPCRjxlouenZ7SkNDUIFzBVpbqRDlRt060Q2rPcoCoIxWKVEHMX0e5OrOe7K8oEC9Nu4_01qr167Q65Ac5GvNQiwGQHyHXBxz5kxO_Q/s3000/P1200208.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="3000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJM-pjdbXgcI19J2VEAN1KvnKyaO1lmyWXrZH8BCZiIGg516xZyfbuDjgZMy6l_6bfO5iexvanYwFvhf17R4liPCRjxlouenZ7SkNDUIFzBVpbqRDlRt060Q2rPcoCoIxWKVEHMX0e5OrOe7K8oEC9Nu4_01qr167Q65Ac5GvNQiwGQHyHXBxz5kxO_Q/s320/P1200208.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Snipe</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAGWA0RCQQw8nUB6UrHJ7u95OSER7joA7EuVHSvFR1SLh3_zJ8R44ARuWuns09p4W86qjMoXuTLxfyh3edNGkeICB8EG9gV7tZ1Gwoy-geGB2c3KjV0LTkZksGSWtoDSp6TS7YeXMR8HpgM4uDY9ux7aASZul0Cx4XVUJ-WNosnp6RGXjpMVy33_2VA/s3072/SNV30729.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAGWA0RCQQw8nUB6UrHJ7u95OSER7joA7EuVHSvFR1SLh3_zJ8R44ARuWuns09p4W86qjMoXuTLxfyh3edNGkeICB8EG9gV7tZ1Gwoy-geGB2c3KjV0LTkZksGSWtoDSp6TS7YeXMR8HpgM4uDY9ux7aASZul0Cx4XVUJ-WNosnp6RGXjpMVy33_2VA/s320/SNV30729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Lapwing (Derek)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Rowf9lIDGlr4URtmCU8BoB_mugMw9_2etPoTl_YwwPX5dXSKzaA4N_3fjW4R5U3rkizJXPlhcC5QSD33zVtG2N1zXr0l4zzUKAfFwGis4S8hTh7wQ1Odgzh_LHoWXJ2nf9APLpUelv5sXNciQqvvGbMpTnJDkXEg3QXzCi1PJ-M9gPeScC_dgcMl9g/s3072/SNV30743.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Rowf9lIDGlr4URtmCU8BoB_mugMw9_2etPoTl_YwwPX5dXSKzaA4N_3fjW4R5U3rkizJXPlhcC5QSD33zVtG2N1zXr0l4zzUKAfFwGis4S8hTh7wQ1Odgzh_LHoWXJ2nf9APLpUelv5sXNciQqvvGbMpTnJDkXEg3QXzCi1PJ-M9gPeScC_dgcMl9g/s320/SNV30743.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Derek's snipe!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLg11k1jiQO0OuCkNGBSIa0c0o63csuVtRyritzx7lQzowe-Ra8OqN7QbV4IAe_oeaQxvzwXdDbuNNlGVhQp8k61bouiSz5KxmU-kotxvxUGJDf5WvvaWHsGK2RymvulB5OGdInFDgvy9IoW_4IZegFvVIDKaU4LWqwPhObJn-VuZgsAL9XCcgfw1CnQ/s3072/SNV30749.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLg11k1jiQO0OuCkNGBSIa0c0o63csuVtRyritzx7lQzowe-Ra8OqN7QbV4IAe_oeaQxvzwXdDbuNNlGVhQp8k61bouiSz5KxmU-kotxvxUGJDf5WvvaWHsGK2RymvulB5OGdInFDgvy9IoW_4IZegFvVIDKaU4LWqwPhObJn-VuZgsAL9XCcgfw1CnQ/s320/SNV30749.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Derek's avocet, dunlin & curlew</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SJKqcjvEuVt0RFhhcajGAp0rdNfWihUhM20bvxFvAbiimuOZDsta9biFHJUMy4RhI1S_0VXyeGvJQIlUsJuuAmhj7PEjmqY2vIEvcWOLGgLou6ifeTHNqO_f90bBCHqFaW5XOnIR3YWIjsvxnqLAnn4u5FGyp-REq8Hz-UAHdgZXCcfevbI8CCmGYw/s2000/P1200120.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SJKqcjvEuVt0RFhhcajGAp0rdNfWihUhM20bvxFvAbiimuOZDsta9biFHJUMy4RhI1S_0VXyeGvJQIlUsJuuAmhj7PEjmqY2vIEvcWOLGgLou6ifeTHNqO_f90bBCHqFaW5XOnIR3YWIjsvxnqLAnn4u5FGyp-REq8Hz-UAHdgZXCcfevbI8CCmGYw/s320/P1200120.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Grey partridge</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbULHlGCckDKB-ZIHCLdl_BlfzFxfl8uimb_cm7AvA_ONsrBwCu4JmRe_GmnZZVVaXFXbGjeevx5MeCmKp4KXkJn8v0ijThs6tSKIn-3qe70fr9FveasMlB6LzuRB4n5r1pqbY12SLA5qJJ507deySYYhwOQVPr67zILZv2mW1m48DFkVlL5E3hMBsw/s3000/P1200149.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbULHlGCckDKB-ZIHCLdl_BlfzFxfl8uimb_cm7AvA_ONsrBwCu4JmRe_GmnZZVVaXFXbGjeevx5MeCmKp4KXkJn8v0ijThs6tSKIn-3qe70fr9FveasMlB6LzuRB4n5r1pqbY12SLA5qJJ507deySYYhwOQVPr67zILZv2mW1m48DFkVlL5E3hMBsw/s320/P1200149.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Long-tailed tit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">The scenic route to Bolton goes via Langdon Beck and a <b>black grouse </b>lekking area so it became 115 for the year. Bolton added <b>nuthatch</b> on the feeder, <b>tawny owl</b> calling around the house and a single <b>waxwing</b> 5 minutes from the house. Known locally as the Bolton one (or Bolton Wanderer) it has been around for about 10 days and has two berried trees all to itself in a housing estate so it might be around for a while. I took the grand-children to see it and they were mildly impressed by its cool Mohican.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">The new dormer gives a good view of the garden and the feeders. I have tried several times to put a wee arrow to show where the feeders are but Blogger has defeated me. If any readers know how to do this please let me know. The feeders are hanging above the wee green bush just to the left of the poplar tree at the end of the fence. The nuthatch uses the tree to approach the feeders and I have seen woodpecker, jay and treecreeper on the tree as well. This time I managed a few shots of birds at the feeder. The tawnies call from the wood behind, heard but never seen. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGtRthDBp3KPax7npgiNGXU_acll0SiXdoVzusRm69O85WoAzHVQuIHWQW-1H86pE7FZtohPy9LcdQ_jb71TH4BapFOrGwqAbGFqL1LakxuqQpJqttwxMP6yNvQDivJP-EC2NvFeXgtp8hO_YHNLEYWtcnP9MdkX6QTblj4sgla9yS-r5Fe5C_IZkug/s3072/SNV30802.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGtRthDBp3KPax7npgiNGXU_acll0SiXdoVzusRm69O85WoAzHVQuIHWQW-1H86pE7FZtohPy9LcdQ_jb71TH4BapFOrGwqAbGFqL1LakxuqQpJqttwxMP6yNvQDivJP-EC2NvFeXgtp8hO_YHNLEYWtcnP9MdkX6QTblj4sgla9yS-r5Fe5C_IZkug/s320/SNV30802.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Overview</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tENLwo7ze0hA3JYWlUgl4cxv_6oJeVtlU8bXn8iTah_2oTw5v6Vx6Zbh37rkxYKKu8X1_x2tMnuWoCg-T2Dk-0nQeBVBw6mSMwHyGjA8-fMGjvpo1hbaZGb8X8h7_5w35vwbLQxhmqsCwFfi8Hnj3FD3oUfmm7SoqopUB8iu5DYXMcd7V8uoNch-tg/s3072/SNV30784.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tENLwo7ze0hA3JYWlUgl4cxv_6oJeVtlU8bXn8iTah_2oTw5v6Vx6Zbh37rkxYKKu8X1_x2tMnuWoCg-T2Dk-0nQeBVBw6mSMwHyGjA8-fMGjvpo1hbaZGb8X8h7_5w35vwbLQxhmqsCwFfi8Hnj3FD3oUfmm7SoqopUB8iu5DYXMcd7V8uoNch-tg/s320/SNV30784.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Collared dove at the niger feeder</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCiAwhjC88SuSC-ok7V3EnjS06I5R6AViz69FwepNUNN94aADkQprHhLnjq7cYDo395a09I4vPkvsI14-jgRNWf6lHzYzOqVJMEYdde55fTggAH_qocxxRlfR3HGdtanLDD4HBwqPC1rWsgtEEMqM22XAb3iPg9-Wa_L_CWPSjSLR0PPDsmJbzqRC4Q/s3072/SNV30787.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKCiAwhjC88SuSC-ok7V3EnjS06I5R6AViz69FwepNUNN94aADkQprHhLnjq7cYDo395a09I4vPkvsI14-jgRNWf6lHzYzOqVJMEYdde55fTggAH_qocxxRlfR3HGdtanLDD4HBwqPC1rWsgtEEMqM22XAb3iPg9-Wa_L_CWPSjSLR0PPDsmJbzqRC4Q/s320/SNV30787.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Magpie</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWB6K9wjOBfs-656gfI1xUyltvuEocLzHBvN6X1Snp430LZ4dPm7aJtmpBpFUlVDi_dlIAJsyQ0poqHkMif3zvgaEzQXNGlI7EYldlQ_rUPcOvDbJUTTbo0RLlDwl_K-4zN_kC7qMTpxP_FFYaFE8eGE8qYbZFGD3DwHjIiLmzAJRt_YwP9gV2EWXJQ/s3072/SNV30792.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWB6K9wjOBfs-656gfI1xUyltvuEocLzHBvN6X1Snp430LZ4dPm7aJtmpBpFUlVDi_dlIAJsyQ0poqHkMif3zvgaEzQXNGlI7EYldlQ_rUPcOvDbJUTTbo0RLlDwl_K-4zN_kC7qMTpxP_FFYaFE8eGE8qYbZFGD3DwHjIiLmzAJRt_YwP9gV2EWXJQ/s320/SNV30792.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">A very fast nuthatch flying right!!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzj_PqEzdhiSdOPOraa_Ls39No7d9lUBGMGVkMqMBLMxRkigOUwfll0Yq0l6Z5v62uCjEm6e6GOoHSb1Xs8kFzFUcJRRr8rR-w9OZwBMjTEEqXlbj8MREpogjpGpajAyKdw7tHlKEL0JJlMlq3knfl1eHH-g9g1ZQMxCcI28XR3E0s_YIP0jLQ76mBQ/s1728/SNV30800.JPG" style="background-color: white; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhzj_PqEzdhiSdOPOraa_Ls39No7d9lUBGMGVkMqMBLMxRkigOUwfll0Yq0l6Z5v62uCjEm6e6GOoHSb1Xs8kFzFUcJRRr8rR-w9OZwBMjTEEqXlbj8MREpogjpGpajAyKdw7tHlKEL0JJlMlq3knfl1eHH-g9g1ZQMxCcI28XR3E0s_YIP0jLQ76mBQ/s320/SNV30800.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Great tit</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white;"><br /><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;">A few Bolton wanderer shots to close and then it is back to WOW and the coastal path for 6 weeks.</span></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAm8H9c1fftpR_A0d3v4EUcwMG22pdfXBDeBnMZyTzjlX24MgJUxm7E_ALBUkXkglyfGNAdDdK1692ma0IiTKCHSx9QpPsdcJfkPvQcFaTVLz2bTrv9Fv07AKAXLZYU-ywyaJJCdH7h1whClz3wdY44QucXEoF6LqpwTuUYW0u2faMcGnsRnF27ylTg/s3148/IMG_20230222_123826700~2.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2156" data-original-width="3148" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAm8H9c1fftpR_A0d3v4EUcwMG22pdfXBDeBnMZyTzjlX24MgJUxm7E_ALBUkXkglyfGNAdDdK1692ma0IiTKCHSx9QpPsdcJfkPvQcFaTVLz2bTrv9Fv07AKAXLZYU-ywyaJJCdH7h1whClz3wdY44QucXEoF6LqpwTuUYW0u2faMcGnsRnF27ylTg/s320/IMG_20230222_123826700~2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPNLhO1xYqSeEzznYwJQ12SVaYYOgOAthcVwVo7mVvO_uSYiiKNNP0_AkeU7BjZU43hrsOJ4qpAfpaLbNY1TykVrvekKQW_bhum_6AsJhW_fDXDHb3zVs6rKknvEoT1Cfr_VA1a2WOO1MnuW8VeG8_ZM53eGzI7MoyhqfTwSfTRXTqUJazTYPZATkpQ/s2724/IMG_20230222_123917562.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2724" data-original-width="2143" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPNLhO1xYqSeEzznYwJQ12SVaYYOgOAthcVwVo7mVvO_uSYiiKNNP0_AkeU7BjZU43hrsOJ4qpAfpaLbNY1TykVrvekKQW_bhum_6AsJhW_fDXDHb3zVs6rKknvEoT1Cfr_VA1a2WOO1MnuW8VeG8_ZM53eGzI7MoyhqfTwSfTRXTqUJazTYPZATkpQ/s320/IMG_20230222_123917562.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdJUAWIb58g-HF1dXQGyhuKIsHrNGgcZG--UZUDsv65kmJKuiuukZHZKNVf7vrHkjPp2NzRM0nVnksm95wMtztsbrnBiI3JX7Pq2o_dKoCVMRf8KJDy2nyazj5Z--T5GujDwxjD0gcb6yl5UXwtXeRobZmYXLwLB3MwGjy5Yu__nOxPyqTGlGJdjwJw/s2958/IMG_20230222_123919499.jpg" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="2958" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdJUAWIb58g-HF1dXQGyhuKIsHrNGgcZG--UZUDsv65kmJKuiuukZHZKNVf7vrHkjPp2NzRM0nVnksm95wMtztsbrnBiI3JX7Pq2o_dKoCVMRf8KJDy2nyazj5Z--T5GujDwxjD0gcb6yl5UXwtXeRobZmYXLwLB3MwGjy5Yu__nOxPyqTGlGJdjwJw/s320/IMG_20230222_123919499.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">2023</span></b><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">102: Wren - should have been added on January 17th!</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">103: Red kite</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">104: Grey plover</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">105: Sanderling</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">106: Pink-footed goose</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">107: Canada goose</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">108: Marsh harrier</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">109: Kestrel</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">110: Red-legged partridge</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">111: Grey partridge</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">112: Pheasant</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">113: Avocet</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">114: Ruff</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">115: Black grouse</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">116: Waxwing</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">117: Tawny owl</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;">118: Nuthatch</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b></div><div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe;">NDCP</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe;">53: Grey heron</span></b></div></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe;">WOW</span></b></div><div><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #ff00fe;">64: Cormorant</span></b></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Comic Neue; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-28853757155462859352023-02-15T14:47:00.003-08:002023-02-15T14:47:27.267-08:00Half term report<p><span style="font-size: large;">Off to England next week so decided to do an update of the two patches before I go. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">WOW has been ticking over steadily and this was the first week I did not find a new species for the year. I finally got a <b>cormorant</b> and am still missing starling! This year we are getting lots of <b>snipe</b> with a high count of 36. There have also been up to 200 <b>lapwing</b>. The reserve has settled into a late winter pattern and in a couple of weeks we will see the <b>black-headed gulls </b>staking their claim to nest sites. We already have a bit of birdsong and the <b>shelduck</b> are displaying - spring is rolling in. Here's a few photos.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5vO_q62HvPC7oUXItMXh6TgYwXZJJuDCs1I7BwruAEm70cD30ZBS5hjt8TR_aXa4soTWzcT9M4GhmIRunPLi0JKYcoFcrCvYWDdAdLY7o1eEwzzsoxkohBHfXSdOkI-LBEAJxZCj5R1GMBQURcgP_XzR4S3IHX0porQa6dxCetmQwKonw3weQCFIPw/s3072/SNV30674.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5vO_q62HvPC7oUXItMXh6TgYwXZJJuDCs1I7BwruAEm70cD30ZBS5hjt8TR_aXa4soTWzcT9M4GhmIRunPLi0JKYcoFcrCvYWDdAdLY7o1eEwzzsoxkohBHfXSdOkI-LBEAJxZCj5R1GMBQURcgP_XzR4S3IHX0porQa6dxCetmQwKonw3weQCFIPw/s320/SNV30674.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shelduck with feeding buzzard behind</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6Fir6TMDMZYQjElS3YB79YvQXspzVYQHNyCmZO2KpswkPBL7WkjSJ5N10dSYDQ26H1UD3wpZhM7ssVMOys728n1277-_0QXjUlFR2ocBKi9n1Z7taSAvGujPrFPvBlG7lhtisnjZsmbrm_ljN8nwkkSQnwvX5wYeDC5Yel5XWqWDL7IulAl9_RN8ag/s3072/SNV30677.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6Fir6TMDMZYQjElS3YB79YvQXspzVYQHNyCmZO2KpswkPBL7WkjSJ5N10dSYDQ26H1UD3wpZhM7ssVMOys728n1277-_0QXjUlFR2ocBKi9n1Z7taSAvGujPrFPvBlG7lhtisnjZsmbrm_ljN8nwkkSQnwvX5wYeDC5Yel5XWqWDL7IulAl9_RN8ag/s320/SNV30677.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Snipe</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrcOChhu0UR1Em-LNJVjSy0Kia2LxnsHWDKJgdjVc1ZabwGP1BlMZNcl931_9uc_O-fYNfwxtNdee0NiSgvHP509mjtQ12d1jB9dvJtXSjegMxbUPo67XfTPYdcou8TafJig333of_pS76kGyYNsoE2uCbZyAndMJLHqUogc5Ywc4Gi4etRWGOzRJMA/s320/SNV30679.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Curlew with snipe up behind</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrcOChhu0UR1Em-LNJVjSy0Kia2LxnsHWDKJgdjVc1ZabwGP1BlMZNcl931_9uc_O-fYNfwxtNdee0NiSgvHP509mjtQ12d1jB9dvJtXSjegMxbUPo67XfTPYdcou8TafJig333of_pS76kGyYNsoE2uCbZyAndMJLHqUogc5Ywc4Gi4etRWGOzRJMA/s3072/SNV30679.JPG"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDncoa0f8Rzhpsn3djgnJpgj4ORq04lixFmRDFNGw7nlfROPNQHVqEUalbe8qMGWEbSr_UjFTxqJEF1DCztASBgZ_ohCXNfLHqFCUXLK_NWvV6AN_67bdaYC9_TGeTCCR1CbD4iC0sapNyt8qJIxiiErJFbiOeaG578tkdzwDzqQ5j2NMd5NuduL6qiA/s3072/SNV30685.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDncoa0f8Rzhpsn3djgnJpgj4ORq04lixFmRDFNGw7nlfROPNQHVqEUalbe8qMGWEbSr_UjFTxqJEF1DCztASBgZ_ohCXNfLHqFCUXLK_NWvV6AN_67bdaYC9_TGeTCCR1CbD4iC0sapNyt8qJIxiiErJFbiOeaG578tkdzwDzqQ5j2NMd5NuduL6qiA/s320/SNV30685.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Coot and moorhen id challenge</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49nMSIjfX-OeJiZH4HaY2XAY0ABRVG4mSbvZWhXqZS7WaByUuhbh1Q_W8Sgke5ACd9j_HWIl-NrNY2biWWR5pRmBhXLkGL0zf5HcmatpbRmFqdvj3kKlsWWbGYApqAQWFYnBGipdwp3ruBs9CNIoqKGT5zW_SCNpFJgIV5PXQPjpllm3uBGz52_CgnA/s3072/SNV30689.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49nMSIjfX-OeJiZH4HaY2XAY0ABRVG4mSbvZWhXqZS7WaByUuhbh1Q_W8Sgke5ACd9j_HWIl-NrNY2biWWR5pRmBhXLkGL0zf5HcmatpbRmFqdvj3kKlsWWbGYApqAQWFYnBGipdwp3ruBs9CNIoqKGT5zW_SCNpFJgIV5PXQPjpllm3uBGz52_CgnA/s320/SNV30689.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mallard</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuz6YgHimjiJdkyFYH2I9hAHGrQ14wtWyeV1nVaSCkmMzI04j0mZs4dX7GZHOt0od3MjxCJ9H9qYCpxIHIetghRoL0AMT3ljZIvSGmgp8R-y9MwAdyM99xdq2L_7n_LIA_8YoPIf2jXwexbjhOW3js5hy1HlOByEMwzRXRmdf6gDIxribqUImqCnauA/s3072/SNV30692.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuz6YgHimjiJdkyFYH2I9hAHGrQ14wtWyeV1nVaSCkmMzI04j0mZs4dX7GZHOt0od3MjxCJ9H9qYCpxIHIetghRoL0AMT3ljZIvSGmgp8R-y9MwAdyM99xdq2L_7n_LIA_8YoPIf2jXwexbjhOW3js5hy1HlOByEMwzRXRmdf6gDIxribqUImqCnauA/s320/SNV30692.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Shoveler</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw87GqE7wDe4BDYcjQH8I6v8QNchaxgOFIA3JDvmcApdEFubw0qAABi0GYp16Iu7ebeh2n7f-XqwSf86DUrkbNYXzkO2tO02Vjd06sNTQ74Uhz0XjpjRBHy-asRaQjsmlRFmkwfNIYMx2vUkp8RG6B4aN8Dshu-MAL2SvxGNfohFi_sK-6Z54Fbl57Pg/s3072/SNV30702.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw87GqE7wDe4BDYcjQH8I6v8QNchaxgOFIA3JDvmcApdEFubw0qAABi0GYp16Iu7ebeh2n7f-XqwSf86DUrkbNYXzkO2tO02Vjd06sNTQ74Uhz0XjpjRBHy-asRaQjsmlRFmkwfNIYMx2vUkp8RG6B4aN8Dshu-MAL2SvxGNfohFi_sK-6Z54Fbl57Pg/s320/SNV30702.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: large;">The North Down patch has seen a few expected species finally on the list - <b>heron, goldcrest, mallard, grey wagtail, house sparrow</b> and finally a <b>jay.</b> I didn't see one last year and one popped into the garden briefly last week. The Irish garden bird survey is nearing its end so that means winter is almost over. I'll post a summary next time but here's a few pictures to be going on with.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF48HVrpjBetR5MmmuEDCLEtUDPut05ZhNpPgJdd7c2VxeIqUlatynCMljiUQXXl1iHxtLwYnOh1pItP7dzMyUnSi91_qZofbfrMHKAYSBMR6a9mAHQ17VBBzzAIFszzSB8E6Fq39_TuKf-9N_PNjcoqPX-IHexyNfFyb-IOmqV_PszPXVX_sgdP4EHQ/s3072/SNV30660.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF48HVrpjBetR5MmmuEDCLEtUDPut05ZhNpPgJdd7c2VxeIqUlatynCMljiUQXXl1iHxtLwYnOh1pItP7dzMyUnSi91_qZofbfrMHKAYSBMR6a9mAHQ17VBBzzAIFszzSB8E6Fq39_TuKf-9N_PNjcoqPX-IHexyNfFyb-IOmqV_PszPXVX_sgdP4EHQ/s320/SNV30660.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackcap(M)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6bxVIFd1TlD9ch_np9V6qQIc56-IlUccG8rZsP1qoST7b9A0259aWCi19Rcp5Pql3prC2Al7jveE12Rb46wofvksqgDb_Hs8o-CJEjiqv4mplh9HccTxlM2XLFNx4j4KkbjqgbPBUkeb24P6eConqkF6UnygrqnwLPogx28QQI4MyaMZsvwvC4wqdA/s3072/SNV30667.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6bxVIFd1TlD9ch_np9V6qQIc56-IlUccG8rZsP1qoST7b9A0259aWCi19Rcp5Pql3prC2Al7jveE12Rb46wofvksqgDb_Hs8o-CJEjiqv4mplh9HccTxlM2XLFNx4j4KkbjqgbPBUkeb24P6eConqkF6UnygrqnwLPogx28QQI4MyaMZsvwvC4wqdA/s320/SNV30667.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackcap (F)</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghheU160yNAnUJ2W0-c-UIxcRiMs3ziQHG8AuJpwkxkyVetyNaW4YA5bBhgThvbTc4Uu_E5vH_EeX4rbudA-qQtUdylJkNknH4nOFTFGtwQOqSHdUZFNVlxWIrJvuDnaYdJq1XOxF5qCXs1p4cD3Rt4f66BaF5PyM-Zi9kumOehKj-fyICNINpVNk1aw/s3072/SNV30665.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghheU160yNAnUJ2W0-c-UIxcRiMs3ziQHG8AuJpwkxkyVetyNaW4YA5bBhgThvbTc4Uu_E5vH_EeX4rbudA-qQtUdylJkNknH4nOFTFGtwQOqSHdUZFNVlxWIrJvuDnaYdJq1XOxF5qCXs1p4cD3Rt4f66BaF5PyM-Zi9kumOehKj-fyICNINpVNk1aw/s320/SNV30665.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Blackbird, there have been as many as nine.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">Elsewhere we have had a few grand days out which usually involve a drive, picnic or lunch, nice walk, coffee and home via a takeaway meal. These are often themed round available birds and recently have included Newcastle (common scoter, black redstart, great northern diver), Randalstown (goosander, treecreeper) and Reedy Flats in County Armagh (golden plover, hen harrier). </span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZZ7TT2a8tpSFSOP5C9Uy318rk2owTp1zrWUCKsdJffAe6kZOUZU389CqVyuk-mm4gJqx4pyokkgbM-heUP_CIrYPlWo2BV5YyXGiLOH2bajGDsCJGoWXr9yGXvsgicTzl_QxMBZiaDT59Ddq1Fl_Lvv41wArbaDjLd49jxXo7UrLCitsB37OZc8LbQ/s4608/IMG_20230211_141909234.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCZZ7TT2a8tpSFSOP5C9Uy318rk2owTp1zrWUCKsdJffAe6kZOUZU389CqVyuk-mm4gJqx4pyokkgbM-heUP_CIrYPlWo2BV5YyXGiLOH2bajGDsCJGoWXr9yGXvsgicTzl_QxMBZiaDT59Ddq1Fl_Lvv41wArbaDjLd49jxXo7UrLCitsB37OZc8LbQ/s320/IMG_20230211_141909234.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Phone shot of a goosander on the River Maine</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Hopefully we will get a few goodies in Northumberland and Lancashire and Richard's garden might turn up a woodpecker and a nuthatch. Watch this space.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">2023</span></b><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="background-color: white;">92: Razorbill<br />93: Peregrine</span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><br /><b>94: Common scoter<br />95:Black redstart<br />96: Great northern diver<br />97: Jay<br />98: Golden plover<br />99: Hen harrier<br />100: Goosander<br />101: Treecreeper</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">NDCP</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">46: Razorbill</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">47: Goldcrest</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">48: Sparrowhawk</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">49: House sparrow</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">50: Mallard</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">51: Jay</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">52: Grey wagtail</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">53: Grey heron</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;"><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">WOW</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">60: Red-breasted merganser</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">61: Great-crested grebe</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">62: Black guillemot</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">63: Peregrine</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-size: medium;"><b style="background-color: white;">64: Cormorant</b></span></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><br /></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-78409678042227619172023-01-21T14:49:00.001-08:002023-01-21T14:49:55.378-08:00Spring migrants<p>I have enough photos and enough birding to justify another post. It is coming in two parts, what is happening at WOW and what is happening in the garden and along the coastal path. First what about the title?? Well it is January 21 and I have seen four birds I would normally be looking for in March or maybe April:</p><p>January 2 a <b>sandwich tern</b> in Killyleagh</p><p>January 9 a <b>gannet</b> at Carnalea</p><div style="text-align: left;">January 17 a <b>chiffchaff </b>in Strickland's Glen</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">January 21 a l<b>esser black-backed gull</b> at Carnalea</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It seems that climate change is giving species a chance to hang around over winter. Add to this the success of little egrets and increasing sightings of glossy ibis and great white egrets, plus the loss of ring ouzel and Bewick swans and the lower counts of overwintering northern ducks like goldeneye and pochard and I think we have the evidence from nature that things are changing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's move on to WOW. I have added quite a few birds to this year's list. Millet has encouraged birds to come closer to the windows and the feeders have added small passerines. The summary at the end gives an update on where we are, including the fine second winter Iceland gull which turned up this week. It was one of 11 new birds for 2023 including <b>robin, dunnock and mute swan!!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6QcDREn2pNwvbgOlPTJePItaD97WrDe-VYo9_XQLUBEnnQS3ni6l9BACjejMTu2kIQXhOZhQE8uAUqMCk4YnXv267Sd6L89TM1V5gCq_kOqUQyTklKjOx5nEd49FP3KYd-XCjh9CFTPcvgrRR6605APQEGqNusWbvURKIP3LoCNbBpX4PN-S8iSV_g/s3072/SNV30485.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6QcDREn2pNwvbgOlPTJePItaD97WrDe-VYo9_XQLUBEnnQS3ni6l9BACjejMTu2kIQXhOZhQE8uAUqMCk4YnXv267Sd6L89TM1V5gCq_kOqUQyTklKjOx5nEd49FP3KYd-XCjh9CFTPcvgrRR6605APQEGqNusWbvURKIP3LoCNbBpX4PN-S8iSV_g/s320/SNV30485.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roosting curlew</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0JEk8SXAj7q0H4Q9ZdE_mx-dEdeE1rMs3acqzDTt8YWz3ptxVpWhEXnAR0ZsZTpc6Hk5UqCZfLA6LCbEEs_UoT_kvWqKyeroQEgarlIR6WhQ7MpJ59_B1ddMQdxY9uChdFJ67-Wwz7SEYFVnDDvMqlLCT5atvZHzhq9ydtkk73Tbq7XKCHjZW-iSOA/s3072/SNV30487.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0JEk8SXAj7q0H4Q9ZdE_mx-dEdeE1rMs3acqzDTt8YWz3ptxVpWhEXnAR0ZsZTpc6Hk5UqCZfLA6LCbEEs_UoT_kvWqKyeroQEgarlIR6WhQ7MpJ59_B1ddMQdxY9uChdFJ67-Wwz7SEYFVnDDvMqlLCT5atvZHzhq9ydtkk73Tbq7XKCHjZW-iSOA/s320/SNV30487.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HqPmY3a5aNxY3rbs8meFaxq4-HceM5vzSx2Yri8Hqqm_DuWWVLgcPdt93BeXL1olsZSEIZVcHUrcJ82MlPYGjUijDdkiQZLNnUJ3ndnP-V10z2XS9kCx3dgK4pA15nMkk2FPo96DroItFBH0kjeBgEX0P6j5LzQuphabL31quN-VujQA3UdrWKpgFg/s3072/SNV30507.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HqPmY3a5aNxY3rbs8meFaxq4-HceM5vzSx2Yri8Hqqm_DuWWVLgcPdt93BeXL1olsZSEIZVcHUrcJ82MlPYGjUijDdkiQZLNnUJ3ndnP-V10z2XS9kCx3dgK4pA15nMkk2FPo96DroItFBH0kjeBgEX0P6j5LzQuphabL31quN-VujQA3UdrWKpgFg/s320/SNV30507.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wigeon</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpueFY6QD5dj_bZGby1q-sljUX0myEoEHRQUsmw_p6ozz0iY_bGgV10odG8OXTN-TKPi5TRh8UC4-ylmI2Ee7kXppOCk1G0yAQQYT3wzyhBL_p0J8UBEv4NVjv-rmeQKJ6qDPEbtCZAdYMGOgK49DKqmwRRXWYsUTVQJGMOHAe5Ybn4GX6c60oWlz2fw/s3072/SNV30498.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpueFY6QD5dj_bZGby1q-sljUX0myEoEHRQUsmw_p6ozz0iY_bGgV10odG8OXTN-TKPi5TRh8UC4-ylmI2Ee7kXppOCk1G0yAQQYT3wzyhBL_p0J8UBEv4NVjv-rmeQKJ6qDPEbtCZAdYMGOgK49DKqmwRRXWYsUTVQJGMOHAe5Ybn4GX6c60oWlz2fw/s320/SNV30498.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-tailed godwit</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4MZvmOCbXbnsDV6lJZ-71rWfzP2MVbrLuCXcOZfmDTcw3TLgWuJ-CVQA6GlgrdQlsJjDBdH_7lKhih1ziJYeokaCSV4zEjz4cf_NPLR3qlVCILSoA3Geg_iQcl6JIBonIcTZExq9k56VSI-vjQcBeItnF5MlyBf2Hll2D0F9YJ_mg7L21OLT15npwA/s3072/SNV30494.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4MZvmOCbXbnsDV6lJZ-71rWfzP2MVbrLuCXcOZfmDTcw3TLgWuJ-CVQA6GlgrdQlsJjDBdH_7lKhih1ziJYeokaCSV4zEjz4cf_NPLR3qlVCILSoA3Geg_iQcl6JIBonIcTZExq9k56VSI-vjQcBeItnF5MlyBf2Hll2D0F9YJ_mg7L21OLT15npwA/s320/SNV30494.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teal (F)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnhml3E9Z2eHUY0whmeuesQOaTP1L8EXfdpxKG4ifE97eEMJv28Szsr-w4Z1hnGZmiVrvGAFMvb-ohc4w-ScihCGBIq3IfH_M2ft_qGaDtruEATqnvc650rj5PD9PG7ehjdzQFdy17C0GqYH1mO04UMp-TqsLf6Aynqgx53tibQy_32V26vnh7GGifg/s3072/SNV30492.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnhml3E9Z2eHUY0whmeuesQOaTP1L8EXfdpxKG4ifE97eEMJv28Szsr-w4Z1hnGZmiVrvGAFMvb-ohc4w-ScihCGBIq3IfH_M2ft_qGaDtruEATqnvc650rj5PD9PG7ehjdzQFdy17C0GqYH1mO04UMp-TqsLf6Aynqgx53tibQy_32V26vnh7GGifg/s320/SNV30492.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teal (M)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfdPgOqto85KBtID9EYIOr4kSZPaWej4evctL06oXku9tqkN3T-E-JOUDxt78PZQjDQ2AK0tpBKDVHK_XJYsu9vxQoOfm0qRfAmfAsoiOs99NdDVeOiOsLyiz_k5DcH072bp9OsbRqKFFOietM_26apRIgetyE0hbxuZ6koiYXiwqNVHpOdQ8_-iPyg/s3072/SNV30635.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfdPgOqto85KBtID9EYIOr4kSZPaWej4evctL06oXku9tqkN3T-E-JOUDxt78PZQjDQ2AK0tpBKDVHK_XJYsu9vxQoOfm0qRfAmfAsoiOs99NdDVeOiOsLyiz_k5DcH072bp9OsbRqKFFOietM_26apRIgetyE0hbxuZ6koiYXiwqNVHpOdQ8_-iPyg/s320/SNV30635.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large white duck?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx90SpunTpFV6J_oLs6-_iMFpwQE2rFgo0W1uA-lod1LksxsI13ollAaw8qFZS7stnj9tdQQozQzKeYgir_JIl63JjJzvUmzTJJKEG50-1CSSp_TSNcO0uoSe21_rEqmzEGcCncVGVP4XN4REM8tUu2Zo0j5oOPNFBx8bnoQi6m_9h_C5MdYNiMRpBSg/s3072/SNV30645.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx90SpunTpFV6J_oLs6-_iMFpwQE2rFgo0W1uA-lod1LksxsI13ollAaw8qFZS7stnj9tdQQozQzKeYgir_JIl63JjJzvUmzTJJKEG50-1CSSp_TSNcO0uoSe21_rEqmzEGcCncVGVP4XN4REM8tUu2Zo0j5oOPNFBx8bnoQi6m_9h_C5MdYNiMRpBSg/s320/SNV30645.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiding with the shelduck</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhzLX0t-uceRJOhi2V43Y9zrrCK_S7ydmdDF4zsNUx7bxGrVSbVwPZMRw3Qgb_VjyuJ9qpPN3ZCF7FIV4qX6SIWC4LKFJVRIf6QzJyFK0fFkqcnvfjc-5MP6hlsMmtatzEsBV4MM3PWLDTkuDnfRDSdG6LPSGbQ2RpnvYjMphv2n600SS8aDmUQ2dNw/s1728/SNV30651.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1728" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhzLX0t-uceRJOhi2V43Y9zrrCK_S7ydmdDF4zsNUx7bxGrVSbVwPZMRw3Qgb_VjyuJ9qpPN3ZCF7FIV4qX6SIWC4LKFJVRIf6QzJyFK0fFkqcnvfjc-5MP6hlsMmtatzEsBV4MM3PWLDTkuDnfRDSdG6LPSGbQ2RpnvYjMphv2n600SS8aDmUQ2dNw/s320/SNV30651.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With herring gulls, must be an Iceland gull. 😎</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The coastal path has been walked (or limped) quite a few times and the garden has been well watched to see what garden birds can go on the Irish Birding garden bird survey. Again the summary at the end shows where we are and a few photographs give a flavour of what I have been seeing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SA8kVS7vNfgci1twZhlWIwAGhQ1BAlVzVSrMqcCfCklxXt0pA7psFTZRWQpmhulGjMhNhVWkUt4Q9BpyCeTHE3kFbWizXCiymKql-CT8HjTURZGT4za-ZkCisedV5j52SREmjyDf8M4qbQ_9DcbVKvhns5xBpahlMsHz5ZGYju66X7lqOm0JHr6Mrw/s3072/SNV30535.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5SA8kVS7vNfgci1twZhlWIwAGhQ1BAlVzVSrMqcCfCklxXt0pA7psFTZRWQpmhulGjMhNhVWkUt4Q9BpyCeTHE3kFbWizXCiymKql-CT8HjTURZGT4za-ZkCisedV5j52SREmjyDf8M4qbQ_9DcbVKvhns5xBpahlMsHz5ZGYju66X7lqOm0JHr6Mrw/s320/SNV30535.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four of these</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY_oElGy48XNrC-2QLzqN7Xpqx-HFKP2MOaZkEuzvY6PysmpZO2gHGg8wTlkTHV_GClNPjOAVf28ps5aZsCEuNjTpAaMV_lF9Vsi5AUlfJbatHpJcPokyn2YWjby7QncuCQAjcbWdSSKNegmuxkSqQVRjAuxLHnjHg0lnY3FxyAs9TTsLKWQdzedwTw/s3072/SNV30546.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY_oElGy48XNrC-2QLzqN7Xpqx-HFKP2MOaZkEuzvY6PysmpZO2gHGg8wTlkTHV_GClNPjOAVf28ps5aZsCEuNjTpAaMV_lF9Vsi5AUlfJbatHpJcPokyn2YWjby7QncuCQAjcbWdSSKNegmuxkSqQVRjAuxLHnjHg0lnY3FxyAs9TTsLKWQdzedwTw/s320/SNV30546.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two very wary hooded crows</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_HBAHQN-zuTquuc2DBXrtEuEOeuyuurMiYBD9giM28sG8UiVQSB46IA9u4_jyLM5xLtu-eYyvxyMElWwpSlqVqC8MLiBiKmaQOyptSl3olxlnqFEYx6zrQ9wWViKsQ6jH6q-T37Gmoe7sORlHYCq2yyHXTOHZJcPpbV0LN23Xcl2pMnOQusm2azcUw/s3072/SNV30557.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU_HBAHQN-zuTquuc2DBXrtEuEOeuyuurMiYBD9giM28sG8UiVQSB46IA9u4_jyLM5xLtu-eYyvxyMElWwpSlqVqC8MLiBiKmaQOyptSl3olxlnqFEYx6zrQ9wWViKsQ6jH6q-T37Gmoe7sORlHYCq2yyHXTOHZJcPpbV0LN23Xcl2pMnOQusm2azcUw/s320/SNV30557.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just one song thrush</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZQDA7sT8RU3Xvw7fLDlW5xlc0qEOrKGIjg39xaj0xbrH2hxshKWL5RsrIi0fPy1tIXUhzObOAl6GcaLfXkRgXvjO4IeSyZmRyS40tCHyFg--D3vbj2jHW2s_Ehet455S5J5GdFB3EoflWlMJiZJTVkLK-wRT4qe1-F39wT_1GwNHgeseXiq0Bd9YKw/s3072/SNV30561.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZQDA7sT8RU3Xvw7fLDlW5xlc0qEOrKGIjg39xaj0xbrH2hxshKWL5RsrIi0fPy1tIXUhzObOAl6GcaLfXkRgXvjO4IeSyZmRyS40tCHyFg--D3vbj2jHW2s_Ehet455S5J5GdFB3EoflWlMJiZJTVkLK-wRT4qe1-F39wT_1GwNHgeseXiq0Bd9YKw/s320/SNV30561.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only two goldfinch</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAH_SsbQ1v5j31LCEct-qxfZ-EmGbB-VjpO8A0DjGw8A1U5zXmUVzIUszyeERUBrOye07vO2gXvU9yAtSicF6exDn3Y_k1Czwm_hczlXqTsNK3cQ45c6WWIQqTI7wn1VSVARp1q1IvJnATivohW9IoxUTtn2Dt_VdRFGVrEprkwY422PSYBpg7GAOhA/s3072/SNV30585.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAH_SsbQ1v5j31LCEct-qxfZ-EmGbB-VjpO8A0DjGw8A1U5zXmUVzIUszyeERUBrOye07vO2gXvU9yAtSicF6exDn3Y_k1Czwm_hczlXqTsNK3cQ45c6WWIQqTI7wn1VSVARp1q1IvJnATivohW9IoxUTtn2Dt_VdRFGVrEprkwY422PSYBpg7GAOhA/s320/SNV30585.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fieldfare</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRJhQXDLHAty7qDhaYnzPwDekDqrQb7bWL17kyw_nu2Oz7k1kARF-bbHeWAkxpU6JNyxTGVdUZbZeG0Ssjt_edPundF_tXfjP1wHXZrB3eVMl9Vbm7-Kyip425v0_ZtXxJtiXAQHXwrSuaromtPmxx5dBgDO6A0S7ARRYCi6nHTg6DLtdVQ2LgTdZsg/s3072/SNV30612.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSRJhQXDLHAty7qDhaYnzPwDekDqrQb7bWL17kyw_nu2Oz7k1kARF-bbHeWAkxpU6JNyxTGVdUZbZeG0Ssjt_edPundF_tXfjP1wHXZrB3eVMl9Vbm7-Kyip425v0_ZtXxJtiXAQHXwrSuaromtPmxx5dBgDO6A0S7ARRYCi6nHTg6DLtdVQ2LgTdZsg/s320/SNV30612.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maximum of nine blackbirds</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0i8Q36FXt9Jo8bxKFORLDLBGBpVWufNcff7IOvjLidw-qd1x1cXi7EZjfEo4slBJfUjbVg1QxiBODflSnAIFPFTAFJURiMElQozc2jOFihtqacoFCcktDP3qDC2lFdUkx8DRPCmGDjgJMeSicN7rM0KKSGj34h93cab831u7YGcPZMaaPZIHXnqsIVA/s3072/SNV30565.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0i8Q36FXt9Jo8bxKFORLDLBGBpVWufNcff7IOvjLidw-qd1x1cXi7EZjfEo4slBJfUjbVg1QxiBODflSnAIFPFTAFJURiMElQozc2jOFihtqacoFCcktDP3qDC2lFdUkx8DRPCmGDjgJMeSicN7rM0KKSGj34h93cab831u7YGcPZMaaPZIHXnqsIVA/s320/SNV30565.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male blackcap - there is also a female.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b><br /></b></span><div><span>I think I am slightly ahead of last year as I was around the mid 80s in January. The two patch lists are on par and as per normal I am well over 50% of the target in the middle of January. </span>It just gets harder as the year rolls on!! Onwards and upwards as God willing I have a trip to England to look forward to.</div><div><br /><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>2023</b></span><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>80: Twite</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>81: Lesser black-backed gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>82: Gannet</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>83: Black guillemot</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>84: Purple sandpiper</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>85: Red-throated diver</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>86: Grey wagtail</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>87: Chiffchaff</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>88: Iceland gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>89: Goldcrest</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>90: Raven</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>91: Guillemot</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>NDCP</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>23: Coal tit </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>24: Gannet</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>25: Oystercatcher</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>26: Dunlin</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>27: Rock pipit</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>26: Ringed plover</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>29: Shag</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>30: Eider duck</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>31: Redshank</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>32: Common gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>33: Pied wagtail</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>34: Song thrush</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>35: Collared dove</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>36: Purple sandpiper</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>37: Black guillemot</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>38: Great black-backed gill</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>39: Red-throated diver</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>40: Great-crested grebe</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>41: Moorhen</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>42: Long-tailed tit</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>43: Wren</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>44: Chiffchaff</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>45: Lesser black-backed gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>WOW</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>38: Rook</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>39: Brent goose</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>40: Jackdaw</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>41: Rock pipit</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>42: Lesser black-backed gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>43: Dunlin</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>44: Meadow pipit</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>45: Common gull (all on January 12th)</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>46: Little grebe &</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>47: Pochard (on January 14)</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>48: Iceland gull</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>49: Goldcrest</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>50: Raven</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>51: Mistle thrush</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>52: Song thrush</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>53: Goldeneye</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>54: Eider</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>55: Guillemot</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>56: Mute swan</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>57: Grey heron</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>58: Dunnock</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff00fe;"><b>59: Robin (all on 19 January)</b></span></div></div></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5753825775577357478.post-24727742198536429392023-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:002023-01-08T11:31:37.938-08:002023 kicks off<p>Good start to the new birding year with the traditional "Round the Lough" trip from dawn to dusk. This year we started at the flood gates in Ards, went south to Portaferry, crossed to Strangford and then headed north until the light faded at Killyleagh. We tallied 72 species, dipped out on a few we should get and had a few birding highlights en route.</p><p>Dawn at the flood gates was spectacular on a clear cold morning with ice on the car park. The highlight there was a large <b>lapwing </b>flock. Other highlights included synchronised fishing from 25 or more <b>red-breasted mergansers</b> in Castleward Bay, <b>2 Slavonian grebes</b> in Greyabbey Bay south, 2 <b>carrion crows</b> at Strangford, a female <b>pochard and three whoopers </b>at the Quoile and a finch flock of 300+ near Killyleagh . This was largely made up of<b> linnets and goldfinch</b> but also contained, <b>tree sparrow, house sparrow, reed bunting, chaffinch and yellowhammer. </b>The icing on the cake was a <b>sandwich tern</b> at Killyleagh in fading light. There's a list at the end which is there for my records, but feel free to have a browse. </p><p>Th local patch - garden and coastal path - added <b>blackcap(</b>garden) and <b>kingfisher</b>(Long Hole) plus all the usual suspects to start the year. <b>Dunnock</b> was the first bird seen. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nasieJk0v6AGVhat9ftmNi9WPiHzj8We2zhdMWu7V4zynHPEP4zYghthEPsUwDqnB1WANRZxFDTmcop-TTcEsSVWp8BMDtTa8tSpRPuwKAhNMkY4v6UJgXQ88O5iE3C7YvlfBaLFdXIUg5KnWmeWB2Te2spwkdGgc4oPqbENE3X-k3v1JAS90_6tUQ/s4608/IMG_20230102_085204121.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nasieJk0v6AGVhat9ftmNi9WPiHzj8We2zhdMWu7V4zynHPEP4zYghthEPsUwDqnB1WANRZxFDTmcop-TTcEsSVWp8BMDtTa8tSpRPuwKAhNMkY4v6UJgXQ88O5iE3C7YvlfBaLFdXIUg5KnWmeWB2Te2spwkdGgc4oPqbENE3X-k3v1JAS90_6tUQ/s320/IMG_20230102_085204121.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lapwing at dawn</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEadI2-_I23ZRBHMauEqLTudGltyWL_9_60gaQyHPRq_W3Z9zfJRCQ683L7b5aPIWXMgV2Exx7j1EPHCUSxuCop2fSei4Phq6LxPfm52Paq7zXglS5OumiusWUPsyXrvzTU8Up-YVrlWPLP_5TDYXb1Ct8ka_Q4H3x1qwrqoVJxgDumTv0Ue-7hrQLzQ/s4608/IMG_20230102_082302969.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEadI2-_I23ZRBHMauEqLTudGltyWL_9_60gaQyHPRq_W3Z9zfJRCQ683L7b5aPIWXMgV2Exx7j1EPHCUSxuCop2fSei4Phq6LxPfm52Paq7zXglS5OumiusWUPsyXrvzTU8Up-YVrlWPLP_5TDYXb1Ct8ka_Q4H3x1qwrqoVJxgDumTv0Ue-7hrQLzQ/s320/IMG_20230102_082302969.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rising tide at the Flood Gates</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">David (rustic bunting) Miller managed some bird shots as well as a few nice scenes so here are a selection.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjupDLwW3o0UAekRBlt8iH1B6Jf__0OKD1bWDhe4AwS6p2v5v3hWVQ9NNoQ3_JTR7lveJg8-KpgN5gL_OW5V12K_flLBYNcirIsnZHz742xvX-DDoozyEInl6mP-2PWYdIhGNjMEULYbP96PsGVy2gF9P1PiUCOdmp6-AWuLmkTqmKPeiUl-mx0M3TA/s2700/P1190501.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2025" data-original-width="2700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDjupDLwW3o0UAekRBlt8iH1B6Jf__0OKD1bWDhe4AwS6p2v5v3hWVQ9NNoQ3_JTR7lveJg8-KpgN5gL_OW5V12K_flLBYNcirIsnZHz742xvX-DDoozyEInl6mP-2PWYdIhGNjMEULYbP96PsGVy2gF9P1PiUCOdmp6-AWuLmkTqmKPeiUl-mx0M3TA/s320/P1190501.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stonechat</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBH2Ie3NzBayvTTFXl4uIuymRvrox-LQbpEbBSeBCjNxUZQKvkmb24bWD1b2NwK1eVvyW4KaHohiXndbDoHE8qtQUCI8qGoZdcpdtC2q-L5mMoFYFJ1kHyd5fqquZBEKtq-N7y3_QfWZhulszpvLQ2TMl5-FydVrMKwE0H-033wEX9YIYiDbNazZIiQ/s1850/P1190524.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1233" data-original-width="1850" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBH2Ie3NzBayvTTFXl4uIuymRvrox-LQbpEbBSeBCjNxUZQKvkmb24bWD1b2NwK1eVvyW4KaHohiXndbDoHE8qtQUCI8qGoZdcpdtC2q-L5mMoFYFJ1kHyd5fqquZBEKtq-N7y3_QfWZhulszpvLQ2TMl5-FydVrMKwE0H-033wEX9YIYiDbNazZIiQ/s320/P1190524.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goldeneye</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aNvqIBCKeY9TOhIlC-vLQpbx00y4BWxP8yMUlHQoUfMQQj0Yi0sHN5g1m5M3h2tt49Nk8D89Vf4jBOPuNmcYYJvXuz_EpEW-PlW9Be-WR3KPAmqpsmezgWKnoHX95wRlQca_PHvTjy4lIVtvQoJXTYlnsxU0UlDgls9ydLwfAmogkesnznfJSEaymg/s1850/P1190533.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="1850" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aNvqIBCKeY9TOhIlC-vLQpbx00y4BWxP8yMUlHQoUfMQQj0Yi0sHN5g1m5M3h2tt49Nk8D89Vf4jBOPuNmcYYJvXuz_EpEW-PlW9Be-WR3KPAmqpsmezgWKnoHX95wRlQca_PHvTjy4lIVtvQoJXTYlnsxU0UlDgls9ydLwfAmogkesnznfJSEaymg/s320/P1190533.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redwing</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jQKSCDRNrfYNT7BjBrjv9OD2Dc426hQPUIeT7bXc2tdo697YTlzmquLsW1KFr-baWX4BPbUb_SA85eH4lYptpTRyUqKUluWVzQ2w2nvXGE7PH5PCTwfAtIoxwyDR5kjX-C_KfInYiotK0oRacYznePnvSH99kC2QIP3LDGKwzoqX3X_AfMR3oK5gYg/s1850/P1190538.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1387" data-original-width="1850" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jQKSCDRNrfYNT7BjBrjv9OD2Dc426hQPUIeT7bXc2tdo697YTlzmquLsW1KFr-baWX4BPbUb_SA85eH4lYptpTRyUqKUluWVzQ2w2nvXGE7PH5PCTwfAtIoxwyDR5kjX-C_KfInYiotK0oRacYznePnvSH99kC2QIP3LDGKwzoqX3X_AfMR3oK5gYg/s320/P1190538.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Song thrush</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlFm8vGs3l7eQjyhT75uvokUisvQPactnBswyMs-3j08abw-7kTQhvMW6vZ-J-XJDyBJmcr8yIH3Jy9HwSeM7w0VBCjm_Z7msagN19TUKuhkhpB0WZWDrWTvzVHhlhq0nZyaqAb-zumidQS0jI_qRHutFPr9eiTWdUsGNqM6-Ng_ZrR_SKUfzAvmUeA/s2700/P1190455.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2024" data-original-width="2700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlFm8vGs3l7eQjyhT75uvokUisvQPactnBswyMs-3j08abw-7kTQhvMW6vZ-J-XJDyBJmcr8yIH3Jy9HwSeM7w0VBCjm_Z7msagN19TUKuhkhpB0WZWDrWTvzVHhlhq0nZyaqAb-zumidQS0jI_qRHutFPr9eiTWdUsGNqM6-Ng_ZrR_SKUfzAvmUeA/s320/P1190455.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and shelduck</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFpJ0ciNWre7zCS8TlDclgbis5Y96K0l1q59Orav009MJTXXp1PBt6XDJn-zucVBa6Qm-5VHI8CiLlEaI6JbIV3bpcOymsS5v_jj7Zi71jDbcV9cF-WUXIsfS5ZWa4sGlXyhYGar06hGcDvYfodYz1HibPvBVZJyRhioUuMDi_h5eW2AQ-rGya28tjQ/s2400/P1190549.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFpJ0ciNWre7zCS8TlDclgbis5Y96K0l1q59Orav009MJTXXp1PBt6XDJn-zucVBa6Qm-5VHI8CiLlEaI6JbIV3bpcOymsS5v_jj7Zi71jDbcV9cF-WUXIsfS5ZWa4sGlXyhYGar06hGcDvYfodYz1HibPvBVZJyRhioUuMDi_h5eW2AQ-rGya28tjQ/s320/P1190549.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buzzard</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpXF4iEiIYvTkZfEiOiPqlAZS8RxJ53RiVnhU5upL33jNKWpB4n8534Vcjs7OFMWduc0jP2RJPwGdhtZ5_6s-Pw3yuEPM1rN7G2TvznADEYTiolKZu1QJNCu0XeDLLgOrsLlJVaDWGy-M58Xe-0oeVyTNyam122V4qRdrTgXAVRYtC4AZhZGb345pnw/s3072/SNV30474.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUpXF4iEiIYvTkZfEiOiPqlAZS8RxJ53RiVnhU5upL33jNKWpB4n8534Vcjs7OFMWduc0jP2RJPwGdhtZ5_6s-Pw3yuEPM1rN7G2TvznADEYTiolKZu1QJNCu0XeDLLgOrsLlJVaDWGy-M58Xe-0oeVyTNyam122V4qRdrTgXAVRYtC4AZhZGb345pnw/s320/SNV30474.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellowhammers</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXAqV2YT3NY2XNwmQ95VF-hFHPWELcgVFTzP1nxeOiFoVdHw0jLyyzDfEu5Xj35UwGn7UpAsQivka0zdDTS2QQPM8serBiesThowZpkYsslM_z0px3oTQBeKUESXYpmDghBpLbmMDvEL5CIkuaMv6nfI-WQSn-FHQuYxR7PF6L8cyv1IwRO8OHRanEg/s2304/SNV30482.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="2304" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXAqV2YT3NY2XNwmQ95VF-hFHPWELcgVFTzP1nxeOiFoVdHw0jLyyzDfEu5Xj35UwGn7UpAsQivka0zdDTS2QQPM8serBiesThowZpkYsslM_z0px3oTQBeKUESXYpmDghBpLbmMDvEL5CIkuaMv6nfI-WQSn-FHQuYxR7PF6L8cyv1IwRO8OHRanEg/s320/SNV30482.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yellowhammers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>WOW on Thursday added 4 to the 2023 list and got the patch off to a 38 start including <b>buzzard, sparrowhawk, snipe, knot and both godwits. </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>I also took a run up to the Waterworks in Belfast and finally managed to see two <b>ring-necked parakeets </b> which have drifted in over the winter. Not only a 2023 tick but a Northern Ireland first and a Co Antrim first as well. Flushed with success we went on to Whitehead for a spot of lunch and added <b>twite.</b></div><div><b><br /></b><p><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">2023: Great-crested grebe, little grebe, Slavonian grebe, cormorant, shag, grey heron, little egret, mute & whooper swan, greylag & brent geese, shelduck, mallard, pintail, teal, shoveler, gadwall, wigeon, tufted, eider, goldeneye, merganser, pochard, buzzard, moorhen, coot, oystercatcher, lapwing, ringed plover, knot, dunlin, turnstone, snipe, black-tailed godwit, curlew, redshank, greenshank, herring, common, black-headed & great black-backed gulls, sandwich tern, wood pigeon, collared dove, meadow & rock pipit, pied wagtail, dunnock, robin, stonechat, mistle & song thrush, blackbird, fieldfare, redwing, blue, coal & great tit, carrion & hooded crow, rook, jackdaw, magpie, starling, house & tree sparrow, chaffinch, goldfinch, bullfinch, linnet, reed bunting and yellowhammer. (72)</span></b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">73: kingfisher<br />74: blackcap</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">75 Sparrowhawk</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">76: long-tailed tit</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">77: greenfinch</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">78: bar-tailed godwit</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">79: Ring-necked parakeet</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">80: twite</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180;"><b>NDCP: dunnock, wood pigeon, magpie, herring gull, robin, blue & great tit, chaffinch, goldfinch, blackbird, fieldfare, redwing, jackdaw, rook, starling, hooded crow, blackcap, black-headed gull, turnstone, cormorant, kingfisher, brent goose, coal tit. (23)</b></span></div><p><span style="color: #800180;"><b>WOW: Oystercatcher, lapwing, black -tailed godwit, snipe, curlew, moorhen, coot, sparrowhawk, buzzard, mallard, wigeon, tufted, shelduck, teal, shoveler, woodpigeon, hooded crow, greylag, magpie, black-headed gull, herring gull, blackbird, pied wagtail, goldfinch, chaffinch, linnet, blue tit, redshank, great tit, long-tailed tit, greenfinch, great black-backed gull, gadwall, ringed plover, turnstone, knot, bar-tailed godwit, rook. (38)</b></span></p><p><br /></p></div>derekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07466403223830036406noreply@blogger.com0