Day trip to Cairnryan

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. 

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

Lunch stop at the Wig, scopes still primed for action

White Loch, Castle Kennedy

Broadstone Road viewing Loch Ryan

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 pick a bird of the day when we saw 6 raptors (4 red kites, 2 buzzards, 3 hen harriers, 2 peregrines, 2 sparrowhawks and a kestrel) and 6 geese. (brent, barnacle, white fronts, pinkfeet, Canada and greylag). However two golden plovers and two grey plovers 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 common scoters less than 50 m from the shore was a good spot as well. 

Back in the local patches there has not been anything to add to the WOW list. The ringed black-tailed godwit appeared again but the bird feeder in the garden came up trumps with a pair of siskins and a pair of redpolls on successive days. I genuinely can't remember the last 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. 

Greenfinch - never more than one

Siskin (M)

Linnet

Jackdaw

Siskin (F)

Redpoll (F)

Chaffinch & Redpoll (F)

2024

87: Purple sandpiper

88: Siskin

89: Fulmar

90: Gannet

91: Golden plover

92: Kestrel

93: Red kite

94: Scaup

95: Common Scoter

96: Peregrine falcon

97: Great northern diver

98: Grey plover

99: Pink-footed goose

100: Canada goose

101: Barnacle goose

102: White-fronted goose

103: Woodcock

104: Hen harrier

105: Lesser redpoll

WOW

55: Great black-backed gull

NDCP

40: Greenfinch

41: Siskin

42: Lesser Redpoll

 

Day trip to Cairnryan

Yes, you read the title correctly, this week I took the 0730 Stena to Cairnryan with ace birders Jim and David, birded the local area and returned on the 1530 ferry, all for £22 as a foot passenger. This came about thanks to three birders who have visited WOW a few times doing the same in reverse. Conversations ensued and I reckoned that we could do the same the other way, so we set it up for Wednesday and Val, Bob and Brian met us off the ferry and away we went. We stopped for a brief scan of Loch Ryan and then headed to Wig Bay on the west side. This is a favoured spot for sea ducks and we saw goldeneye, merganser, scoter, long-tailed duck, slavonian grebe and cormorant to add to the wigeon and eider we saw at the first stop. This was good as we experienced heavy driving rain which made using optics and keeping them dry a challenge. Next stop was to a sandy bay north of Stranraer where we added a selection of waders to the list including knot, ringed plover, bar-tailed godwit and dunlin. We also noted pochard, shelduck, mute swan, mallard, brent goose, red-throated diver and scaup. A warming cuppa at the Bunker and we headed off to West Freugh for the hen harrier and geese site picking up 10 whooper swans on a small lake along the road. We were hardly out of the car when we had sightings of both - a ring-tail harrier and 79 Greenland white-fronted geese. Conditions were dryer and we added buzzard and peregrine to the list and also noted that one of the geese had a collar on it. Subsequent reports told us that this goose was ringed in Wexford in 2017 and wintered on Islay last year. We also had a flock of 60+ pink-footed geese flying east. En route to the ferry we added a red kite to the list giving a group total of 53 and a personal total for me of 47 when you add in all the regular species like woodpigeon, collared dove, blackbird etc.

Four year firsts were a bonus and I did my Scottish list a power of good as well by adding nine birds to it. If I list them you have to promise not to laugh - pheasant, slavonian grebe, pink-footed goose, long-tailed duck, ringed plover, knot, dunlin, turnstone and bar-tailed godwit. I clearly haven't been to a beach with common waders and how I have missed pheasant I have no idea - probably saw it and didn't check it off.  The photographs give a flavour of the weather and the difficulty we had photographing birds. They are actually in colour, not black and white. Most of them are by my birding pal and ace photographer David, plus one of the collared goose from Brian. I didn't take that many.

Dawn over Belfast Lough - David

Ships that pass in the early dawn - David

Gannets, what gannets? - David

Scopes ready

Loch Ryan swans and waders

West Freugh - David

Greenland white-fronted geese - David

Y9R - Brian

2019
156: Slavonian grebe
157: Greenland white-fronted goose
158: Comon Scoter
159: Hen harrier

Bangor West
65: Wheatear

Belfast WOW
98: Stonechat