Godwits with bling

 WOW has been really good over the past couple of weeks. As well as all the usual suspects we have had pintail, goldeneye, grey wagtail, Mediterranean gulls and ruff. We had 9 species of duck and 6 species of waders. There is also birdsong in the reserve and things are looking and sounding very springlike. We have had at least 4 different godwits with rings. The first two spotted had been ringed at WOW in April 2021 when the reserve was still closed due to lockdown. We re-sighted one of these plus two new ones. Hopefully we will find out their history in the fullness of time. 

Blue/black & triple orange

Colouring up nicely

Grey wagtail still around

Green/blue and triple orange

Two of these guys

Headless shoveler

I finally found a curlew on the coastal path on a very low tide and also managed a water pipit near Portavogie. A quick look for chiffchaffs at Oxford Island failed but did turn up some nice pochard and 40+ great crested grebes including some nifty head shaking and dancing. 

The garden is slowly emptying of birds and the feeders are not being topped up daily, more like weekly. The female siskin popped in today and the blackcap was there last week but has not been seen recently. Hopefully back to Germany fuelled up by expensive suet pellets, fat balls and kibbled peanuts. Today we had singing dunnock, wren and blackbird so things are on the move. 

2022

116: Water pipit

North Down

50: Curlew

Belfast RSBB

62: Mediterranean gull

Godwit at 60 cms

As the title suggests the godwits are right up at the window of WOW feeding on millet. There were 300+ last week most of them well into their orange breeding plumage. There are over 1000 black-headed gulls but wintering duck numbers are on the decline - we are having to search for teal and only found a dozen or so compared to a high count of 600+ in the autumn. The only star bird over the last three weeks was a carrion crow. 

We're on our way to Iceland

We will hoover millet

Look water and gulls

Spot the not gull

Elsewhere spring migrants are finally hitting the shore with gannet and sandwich tern at St John's Point, chiffchaff and house martin at Moira and then swallow, chiffchaff  willow warbler and reed warbler at WOW. The coastal path added lesser black-backed gull, raven, grey wagtail and sandwich tern. The raven flew overhead as I walked up the road from Bangor.

The other highlight was a guided walk of WOW, Kinnegar and Harbour meadows last Saturday which turned up 53 species with a nice mix of winter leavers and summer arrivals including the first swallow of the year.

Looking for a kingfisher

RSPB lunch

A very interesting pile of bricks

Willow scrub

There's a fox

I'll just raise a snipe or ten

Scenic bullrush

Spot the bird

2019
118: Grey wagtail
119: Gannet
120: Sandwich tern
121: Chiffchaff
12: ouse martin
123: Willow warbler
124: Swallow
125: Reed warbler
126: Jack snipe

Bangor West
51: Lesser black-backed gull
52: Raven
53: Grey wagtail
54: Sandwich tern

Belfast WOW
68: Carrion crow
69: Chiffchaff
70: Willow warbler
71: Swallow
72: Rock pipit
73: Rook
74: Reed warbler
75: Jack snipe