Back home

Before I update the local patches I have a final update on the last week in and around Bolton. I managed a visit to the feeders at Pennington Flash and added stock dove plus a nice great white egret. Moses gate CP had a Muscovy duck which may or may not be tickable, as well as three pairs of goosander  and Elton added a great spotted woodpecker and 5 ring-necked parakeets. I spent quite a bit of time watching feeders to try and add nuthatch and willow tit but dipped on both. It made me think about how I depend on a feeding station to add small birds quickly to a list. If the feeders at WOW are empty we are basically down 6 birds - 3 finches and 3 tits. I was aware that empty feeders at Leighton Moss, Cresswell and Druridge Bay cost me a few birds. If there are no feeders on a route, it is a bit more difficult to add the tits, finches and sparrows to a list never mind nuthatch and woodpecker. My local North Down patch would be much more difficult if I did not have garden feeders over the winter. Comments welcome on this topic.

Moses Gate CP  goosanders behind the swans

Muscovy duck

Parakeet at Elton

If the parakeets aren't there 6 finches would be feeding. They do intimidate smaller birds

While in the hide at Pennington Flash I bumped into Nigel from Backyard Aviary birds. He does a weekly YouTube video about his birding trips as he tries to get 280 birds in 2026. I quite like them and look forward to his weekly update. We had a good chat and I've added a link to his YouTube channel re his Manchester visit. 

UK’s Parrot Invasion! & the most colourful duck!

A return to WOW gave 28 species (no feeders!!) and I added starling and little egret to the list. The black-headed gulls are back in force -over 200 -  and the canes are up to try and prevent nesting on the smaller island. They don't work, but they do help to prevent predation from lesser black backs. We also noted two of our black-tailed godwits ringed in 2021.

Might put this in as an art installation for the Turner prize. 

Lime /green

Blue/yellow

I also added three species to the 2026 list this week. First a male siskin in David Miller's garden - got a tip off on that one. The photo below may or may not be the bird I saw! Next up I connected with the Portavogie black redstart at the second attempt and finally on a walk at Kearney I was watching pipits on the seaweed and trying to work out if the bird I was looking at was a rock pipit or a meadow when a water pipit landed beside it!! Totally unexpected but I had good views and decided I wasn't seeing things.  I had thought of heading for Portmore that day but Tanya wanted to go to Kearney, so right place right time. 😊

Carnalea siskin (DM)

Following a trip to Carnalea to add siskin to the list, four turned up on my feeders two days later!! I also had an amble along the coastal path and had 5 brent geese, a red-throated diver, 5 guillemots and one black guillemot plus 3 mallard on the pond at Stricklands.

Brent geese

and again

and again

I hadn't realised how beautifully camouflaged they are on a rocky coast. On grassy fields and sandy beaches they are obvious, not so here. 

2026 
108: Scaup
109: Muscovy duck
110: Great spotted woodpecker
111: Ring-necked parakeet
112: Stock dove

113: Siskin

114: Black redstart

115: Water pipit

NDCP patch
50: Rock pipit

51: Siskin

52: Mallard

53: Guillemot

Belfast RSPB patch
60: Ringed plover

61: Little egret

62: Starling

Better to be lucky than good

Before exciting dipper news, a quick update on the Bolton trip. I was able to get a trip round Elton Reservoir and came up with 29 species including Canada goose and ring-necked parakeet which are "English" ticks and a female kestrel which I should get at home. As most of you will know they are becoming increasingly rare and more difficult to get in Northern Ireland. It is nearly two years since I have seen one at home. 

The following day we were able to visit Pennington Flash which has an excellent bird feeding station and I had hopes of adding to the 2025 list. The Flash delivered with nuthatch, reed bunting, stock dove, willow tit, great spotted woodpecker and goosander. These are all regulars at the reserve, but not always seen in one visit. What was unexpected was not one but two great white egrets which gave excellent views from one of the hides. All in all a good hour's work, 37 species and a nice bowl of leek and potato soup in the café. 

Phone shot at Elton

Phone shot again

Pennington Flash great white egret and grey heron - another phone shot!

Finally got a trip to Burton Mere RSPB before heading home and added 32 species including Egyptian goose and yet another great white egret! 

Burton Mere great white egret

Black-tailed godwits

Burton Mere RSPB

Since our return, the North Down patch has added a soaring sparrowhawk and a singing greenfinch. WOW has also been quiet with nothing to get the pulse racing until this week when the Iceland gull finally had the decency to drop in on a Thursday morning and a whimbrel popped up on the grass bank at the back. As usual too far away for a good image so you are getting my usual "record shot" as well as a nice godwit and a view of the black headed gulls on the island starting in to their whole breeding routine. This week however the team put a stop to that with a deterrent scheme to try and stop the gulls nesting, so that the island is available for the later arriving terns. So far it seems to be working. 

Last week

This week

Nothing in the centre

Blackwit

Spot the Iceland gull

There it is!!

Definite lack of black on the primaries and tail.

A trip to Craigavon gave good views of a ring-necked duck along with 56 pochard all but three of them male!! No photos I'm afraid. The initial sighting was too far away and I didn't fancy lugging the scope round the one and a half mile walk for a closer view. You will have to make do with a nice scenic view of the northern balancing lake. 

I also managed a walk along the Divis trail as well, a walk I have been unable to do for quite some time. We had a sunny day, beautiful views over Belfast and two additions to the 2025 list - skylarks chasing and singing and 4 ravens doing what ravens do when the weather is good - chasing, rolling, playing and calling. As per usual I heard them before I saw them. 

Belfast from Divis viewpoint

The dipper then I hear you ask? After two years of dipping out (groan) with multiple visits to the Sixmilewater at Antrim, the Threemilewater at Mossley and five different spots in and around Bolton where I recorded Dippers in the past, I finally nailed one on the River Tonge ten minutes walk from base in Bolton in a spot I hadn't previously checked. I went back twice to try and get a photograph and it wasn't there!! Typical birding mantra - right place right time or as Gerry Murphy used to say on a Thursday morning at WOW, "Better to be lucky than good" 

NDCP

48: Kingfisher

49: Greenfinch

50: Sparrowhawk

WOW

69: Long-tailed tit

70: Iceland gull

71: Whimbrel

89: Kestrel

90: Canada goose

91: Ring-necked parakeet

92: Nuthatch

93: Stock dove

94: Reed bunting

95: Willow tit

96: Great white egret

97: Goosander

98: Great-spotted woodpecker

99: Dipper

100: Egyptian goose

101: Ring-necked duck

102: Iceland gull

103: Skylark

104: Raven

105: Whimbrel

Summer update

To quote the legendary Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, "All movement is accomplished in 6 stages, but the seventh brings return" In this case the blog is in three stages, starting with WOW which continues to produce the odd surprise amid a lot of new families. The biggest surprise was the feral barnacle goose I mentioned in the last blog, but there's always something to look for like the single knot which kept us guessing for a bit. Finally got a sandwich tern on the reserve, in fact there were 60+ which is a bit unusual. Also added Manx shearwater and meadow pipit to the NDCP list with a walk along the coastal path

Shelduck family

Shoveler starting to eclipse

Black-headed gull chicks

Tufty pair

Common tern

Knot

Med gull v black-headed gull

Good year for BHG chicks

The second stage is a twice postponed trip to the Gobbins and Muck Island, with all the expected gulls and auks. No stunning pictures, just nice scenes. Listwise I only added puffin and kittiwake, but I still managed 23 species and we found a peregrine nest with two chicks and not an adult in sight. Most odd and we are still searching for an explanation. A later boat trip did find an adult so all is well. 

Sandwich seeking herring gull

Breeding auks

Yes the weather was good.

The views were good as well

More guillemots

How did we get that shot?

Even closer!!

The third stage was the trip across to Bolton to catch up with he family and the chance to visit the odd bird reserve now that I am more mobile and pain free. We had a trip to Burton Mere again and an amble round Elton Reservoir. Burton Mere gave stunning views of a great white egret and added spotted redshank and reed warbler  to the list as well as singing Cetti's warbler, chiffchaffs and loads of avocets.  Elton was relatively quiet with only singing willow warblers but it was dry enough to walk round the north side without needing wellies and that was nice. The feeders had a willow tit along with the usual multitude of goldfinches. All in all a very pleasant morning with  the thermometer at 24 Celsius. 

Elton reservoir

Burton Mere

Great white egret

2024

139: Whitethroat

140: Kittiwake

141: Puffin

142: Spotted redshank

143:Reed warbler

144: Manx shearwater

NDCP

55: Meadow pipit

56: Manx shearwater

WOW

75: Sandwich tern

England and Covid

Just returned form a child-minding trip to England, where we contracted Covid after two years of avoiding the beast. This clearly limited birding as we had to self isolate in Bolton and also on our return home. We managed a couple of strolls around Elton  Reservoir  before we locked down, but were unable to do planned visits to Pennington Flash and Leighton Moss for mouth-watering goodies. The Bolton garden was well watched as it was pleasant enough to sit outside and watch the resident birds go about their business. I saw blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch, bullfinch, dunnock, wren, robin, blackbird, song thrush, blackcap, woodpigeon, house sparrow, collared dove, carrion crow, jackdaw, magpie, jay, black headed gull, lesser black backed gull, herring gull and great spotted woodpecker. There was some lovely bird song as well, a couple of timed I dozed off in the garden to the song of multiple blackbirds. 

The two walks at Elton early on gave swallow, little ringed plover common sandpiper and willow warbler for the list as well as blackcaps and chiffchaffs singing. On a cold blustery Friday a circuit produced no singing warblers, Six days later they were everywhere. I could have justified a solo early morning walk last weekend but unfortunately I was just too tired and washed out to make an early start. What I did get during a restless night was a calling tawny owl close to the house.

I'm going to use the absence of photos to try and add in a couple of videos from the trail cam as we now have hedgehogs back and  badger and fox passing through. If the videos do not load I will repost the links.

On a more positive note I was back at WOW for the first time in three weeks and we had a good number of birds including a few year firsts and patch firsts listed below. At least there are a few bird pictures.

Common sandpiper

Shelduck

Med gull being photo-bombed by black-headed gulls

2022

120: Swallow

121:Common sandpiper

122: Little ringed plover

123: Willow warbler

124: Tawny owl

125: Sand martin

126: Whimbrel

127: Common tern

North Down

52: Grey wagtail

Belfast RSPB

62: Mediterranean gull

63: Sand martin

64: Sandwich tern

65: Common tern

66: Common sandpiper

67: Whimbrel

Travel updates (and WOW)

 Just back from a jaunt round England starting in Bolton, and then visiting Northumberland and South Yorkshire. Before setting off we had a badger in the garden so here is a link to the trailcam footage.  If someone can tell me why I can't get the video showing on the page I would be grateful. I have tried uploading from computer and from YouTube, neither works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AdQ7pGteTU

Bolton added a great white egret at Elton Reservoir to the year list and a willow tit at the PenningtonFlash feeders. It managed not to add stock dove as well and I have no idea why!! A walk around Druridge Bay in Northumberland added a red-throated diver and a flock of 16 or so snow buntings, while Old Moor RSPB reserve in Yorkshire turned up a marsh harrier and a red-legged partridge as well as another great white egret. All in all a nice trip with a couple of days birding squeezed in despite wet weather and shortening days. 

Elton egret

Elton egret

Old Moor shovelers

Old Moor teal

Old Moor gadwall

Old Moor marsh harrier in the reeds!!

Old Moor egret

Old Moor red-legged partridge

I had a frustrating experience in Northumberland while visiting family in a little village called Matfen. It is a lovely little place with a village green which has a small stream flowing through it. There is also a pub, church and nice stone cottages. I checked the river out and lo and behold there is a dipper giving good views from the bridge. The gear was in the boot so I set up and then discovered the camera batteries were dead!!I tried phone scoping but as you can see it was not awfully successful - record shots!!

Phone shot of the dipper

Who would have expected a dipper on this river, I certainly didn't. 

I came back to a quiet WOW, but the grey wagtail posed nicely on the tern planks and the Kinnegar little gull was still around. I actually recorded 44 species but that included 19 at Kinnegar, so WOW only managed 25. The good news is that the feeders are up so tits and finches make the list.

Grey wagtail

Grey wagtail

Shelduck (+ teal)

Little gull

Little gull

The next task is to put up the garden feeders but it is still very mild and there are few birds about. The hedgehog has gone into hibernation as the food hasn't been touched for a couple of weeks. It must be the daylight which triggers this it is certainly not the temperature? I have not been back to thee coastal path since we got back, hopefully this week.

2021

146: Jack snipe

147: Great white egret

148: Red-throated diver

149: Snow bunting

150: Red-legged partridge

151: Marsh harrier

152: Willow tit

153: Little gull

NDCP

69: Razorbill

WOW

83: Grey wagtail

84: Song thrush

85: Little gull