Autumn passage!

Apparently autumn waders are on the move. I am still hoping for a few late spring migrants like sedge warbler and cuckoo!! I did connect with a family of spotted flycatchers in the Antrim Hills having given up on them. The last time I saw one in Northern Ireland was in June 2013 along the Newry Canal so it was nice to see them again. WOW was wetter than it has been on July 9 and I came up with  arctic tern and common sandpiper. Unfortunately I had a camera malfunction so the photos were all on the phone and digiscoping was not good. The garden is not a lot different than it has been over lockdown and the coastal path has also been fairly quiet. Walks in local areas have also been quiet, birds are harder to see and apart from blackcaps there is very little singing. Autumn in the world of birds is indeed on the way as birds go quiet, hide and moult. Hopefuly WOW will open soon and we have half  a chance of some wader passage from the observation room. Oh to be back with the Thursday club again and arguing over biscuits.

July 9

Arctic tern

Arctic tern

Black guillemots in Bangor

2020

136: Peregrine falcon

137: Puffin

138: Kittiwake

139: Spotted flycatcher

140: Common sandpiper

Bangor West

66: House martin

67: Common tern

68: Manx shearwater

Belfast WOW
77: Manx shearwater

78: Peregrine falcon

79: Sandwich tern

80: Arctic tern

81: Common sandpiper

Winter looms

As you can no doubt tell from the lack of posting there has not been a lot happening. The clocks are back, the weather is decidedly wintry and the passage migrants have passed. Time in Bolton was largely bird free. Time in Croatia was delightful but also not very exciting birdwise. Mind you sitting in 23/24 degrees was a nice reward for house sparrows and collared dove - the default birds around Cavtat. The trip produced nice views of jays and two year ticks in yellow-legged gull and white wagtail, both of which were expected.

WOW has settled down into its winter colours of grey and white, the shelducks have returned and the coots have largely gone.The coastal path has eider in abundance and the black guillemots are in winter plumage. Every other gull is either herring or black-headed and the garden has not been producing huge numbers of visitors even though all the feeders are back up. Goldcrest was a nice exception and the bullfinch appeared again after an absence of about 8 weeks, other than that there is nothing startling. I have had a cat problem and so I am not getting wood pigeons, blackbirds ot collared doves on the grass. I had to cut back some wild areas where it was lurking and snaring unwary birds. One morning I watched it attack and snatch a magpie!! I couldn't believe how quick it was and how it took the magpie totally unawares. I am going to have to think carefully where the ground feeder goes. Enough of this rambling and enjoy a few photoes from WOW.

One ruff

Two ruff

Moorhen

Knots

Knot

Knot

The knot were over at the observation room side, normally they are on the far side so it was nice to get a close up. All we need now is for the curlew and bar-tails to be as obliging. I also took a trip to the wader high tide roost in Bangor. Saturday was excellent with nearly 300 birds (171 dunlin, 93 ringed plover, 11 turnstone, 4 purple sandpiper, 1 redshank, 3 oystercatchers, 2 black-headed gulls and a herring gull)  plus a calm sea and good light. I decided to go back on Sunday where there was an on-shore breeze, choppy waves, poorer light and less birds moving around more, c'est la vie!

Ringed plover, purple sand and dunlin

Ditto

Ringed plover & turnstone

Dunlin, turnstone and one ringed plover

Ringed plover, dunlin and a beautifully camouflaged purple sandpiper.

2019
154: Yellow-legged gull
155: White wagtail

Bangor West
65: Wheatear

Belfast WOW
98: Stonechat

Patch birding

Seemed easier to do a couple of posts as there was a lot to catch up on with so much time spent looking at the garden. So here is an update on both patches. WOW on Thursday produced 40 species and boosted the patch total by three - Mediterranean gull, jackdaw and little grebe. The good news is that the  five Mediterranean gulls are back and the black-headed gulls are flocking to the nesting islands again - we had 350+ as well as all the regulars. The new video camera is working well and hopefully will give good views of the nesting med gulls. The terns use the other island so we might get a lot of black-headed gulls on camera. There are three new roosting platforms in front of the observation room so hopefully we will get nice tern views in spring and summer.

Teal

"Tern" island  - all gulls - spot the med gull!

Med gull screenshot taken from the monitor in WOW. The camera is on the island

Breeding plumage creeping in to the head of the godwit

I like millet too

Bhg trying out the new roosting planks in front of the observation room.

 A walk along the coastal path from Bangor to Ballyholme added a rock pipit to the list as well as a diving shag and a wader roost.

Nearly missed it!

Up for 10 seconds, down for 90

Spot three waders at the Long Hole

The absolute patch gold highlight on Sunday afternoon in the garden was a pair of siskin, the first in two years. The male proved slightly more obliging and hung around long enough for a sprint upstairs to grab the digiscoping equipment,  sprint back to set it up and get a couple of shots before a starling spooked him. His mate meanwhile munched on sunflower hearts but never came to the front of the feeder.

Patch gold siskin

Good bird to practice id skills?

And a nice robin to finish

2018

111: Mediterranean gull

Bangor West
50: Goldcrest
51: Rock pipit 
52: Siskin

Belfast WOW
65: Mediterranean gull
66: Little grebe
67: Jackdaw

Catch up time

A round up of the last couple of weeks including more garden birds, and some of David's pictures from Northumberland. We'll start in Northumberland.

QE 2 Country Park - the barnacle goose!

QE 2 Country Park

QE 2 Country Park

Teal at Druridge Pools

Pink feet at Druridge

Waders at Hauxley - spot three

Purple sandpipers at Hauxley

Cresswelll at dusk

The rather small puppy dog from the east finally reached Bangor but it was not as bad as other places.  We avoided snow, but temperatures reached -3C one day, which meant I had to break the pond ice three times. The wind was easterly and bitter and despite an abundance of food the garden was pretty bird free. It is open to the east so I think they re-located to more sheltered areas. Over the week I managed a few photos and finally nailed the local house sparrows. A goldcrest finally passsed through but was too quick to get a shot.

Chaffinch

Woodpigeon

Robin

Coal tit

Blackbird

Dunnock

House sparrow (F)

House sparrow (M)

The happy couple

Goldfinch

Blackcap

Starling

The days start to stretch...........

First a few belated pictures from Round the Lough taken by my pal David. As you know he is a better photographer than I am and has a better camera, enjoy!!

Pied wagtail, stonechat & meadow pipit feeding on seaweed thrown up onto the road

Redshank and 3 greenshanks feeding in a field at high tide!!

Linnets in stubble (if you can see them)

Knot over the lough

Knot banked over

Late roosting egret at Castle Espie

Anyway on we go to last week and it is still light by 5.00 and the RSPB garden birdwatch is kicking in. I help round the local schools with the Big Schools Birdwatch and was at Bangor Central this year. No glaucous gull this year (http://bangorwestndcp.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/ )  but lots of crows and gulls coming to fat balls and bread. At one stage we had black-headed gull, herring gull, wood pigeon, magpie, hooded crow, carrion crow, rook and jackdaw down at the same time. A good opportunity to educate the children about black birds as opposed to blackbirds, which can be confusing to Primary 3. Also confusing is the black-headed gull which doesn't have a black head - why not is the question? I refused to go down the line of enquiry that the head isn't actually black in summer but chocolate brown, we keep that for summer visits to WOW. The highlights were a goldcrest which gave amazing views to one P4 class as it acrobatically worked its way round an alder tree in the eco garden no more than 6 feet above their heads, and 4 long-tailed tits which entertained a P 6 class as they moved through a line of bushes. The attached photos show the odd bird and no pupils - not allowed!!

Compare black-headed gull.......

..... with herring gull

Note ice cream cone bill on rook

Attract grey squirrel with bird seed!!

WOW on Thursday of this week delivered 46 species and seven more for the patch  - knot, great black-backed gull, greenfinch, linnet, wren, goldcrest and siskin. The latter two were 2018 ticks and the goldcrest was a first for the site in around 20 years of visiting!! We had a one legged godwit amongst the millet eaters and good closeups of quite a few birds.

Jake the godwit

Mallard

Dozy wigeon

Moorhen

Can you spot 5 species here?

 Anyway off on my travels again to Bolton, South Yorkshire and Northumberland where we hope to do a dawn to dusk round the Cresswell/Chevington/Hauxley area as per last year. Next post God willing will be mid February when it will almost be spring.

2018

85: Goldcrest
86: Siskin: 
   
Bangor West
48: Redwing

Belfast WOW
54: Knot
55: Great black-backed gull

56: Greenfinch

57: Linnet

58: Goldcrest

59: Wren

60: Siskin