American megatick

Now and again the patch at WOW turns up a good bird. There are a few reasons for this. It is nicely situated alongside Belfast Lough, there are a range of habitats and it is well watched. Most birders will visit Kinnegar beach and lagoon on their way to WOW or vice versa. It is a magnet for waders and gulls so observers happily check out flocks and those whose idea of a good day out is to scope through 1000+ gulls can have a good time within easy reach of Belfast. Over the weekend we hit the jackpot when Stuart McKee found a Bonaparte's gull. It spent most time on Kinnegar beach, as well as roosting in the sewage works or in WOW. I finally found it on my fourth visit and it was hard enough scanning through 4-500 black-headed gulls, plus herring gulls, lesser black backs and sandwich terns. Last saw one here in Bangor in 1979, but also saw them on their home turf in Niagara in 1991. here are a few shots, for really good ones go to the NI birds web site here: https://nibirds.blogspot.com/

Despite falling water levels WOW is pulling in passage waders. This week we had our regular oystercatcher, curlew, lapwing, redshank, dunlin and black-tailed godwit, but we also had eight snipe feeding out in the open, nine ruff, two sanderling, three curlew sandpiper and two little stint. Kinnegar added ringed plover and turnstone. All in all I had over 30 species and as the feeders aren't up there were very few small birds on the list. No finches, tits, dunnock, robin or blackbird. Could hit 40 on a good day. Kinnegar lagoon and the sewage works holds most of the ducks as the reserve is too dry, it also had ten little egrets and two grey herons. Normally these are occasional visitors - usually single birds - but for some reason they are there in their droves. Presumably there is food to be had or they wouldn't be there.

Little egrets and mallard

Roosting curlew

Snipe and moorhen

Might have to cut down the predator perch!!

Teal each side of a dunlin with a tiny little stint in behind.

The local coastal path is still getting walked but nothing new has popped up. Winter waders have returned with redshank and turnstone, once I see a purple sandpiper I'll know winter has arrived. The garden is quiet so the list stays at 69 - I need a raven cronking overhead.

2021

144: Little stint

145: Bonaparte's gull

NDCP

69: Razorbill

WOW

77: Little stint

78: Bonaparte's gull

Kinnegar

Seeing as WOW is still dry and not producing a lot of birds, Kinnegar is worth a visit as you swing in and out of the Harbour Estate. There is a small stream flowing in to the sea at this point. It drains the marshy area betwen Holywood Exchange and the A2. This is the area bisected by the railway line  between Holywood and Sydenham. It usually has coot, moorhen, mute swan, tufted, mallard, moorhen, grey heron etc.. I am sure there are interesting birds in the reeds but access is either impossible, illegal, dangerous or possibly all three!!

Still a bit on the dry side

There is a causeway at the landward end of Kinnegar Pool accessed by a rough path close to the Clare House Overflow Car Park. Cross the causeway and you are into an area of reed and scrub which is good for passerines and spring migrants.

Causeway looking upstream towards B&Q

Causeway looking towards the lough

Where the river reaches the sea you can look upstream to the causeway or out to the Lough. At low tide the mud is covered with waders and gulls. At high tide they can roost on the shingle or on the lagoon. The lough itself needs checked for sea duck, divers, auks and grebes particularly in winter. The scrubby woodland around the lagoon can produce lots of small birds and apparently holds reed warblers - I have failed to see or hear them . The lagoon is good in summer for hunting/roosting terns and is a favourite hunting ground for swallows and martins. House martins and swallows collect mud here for their nests.

From the road looking towards the causeway

From the road to the beach

River mouth looking to Belfast at low tide

River mouth looking to the Irish Sea at low tide

Lapwing in the lagoon

High tide from the road

Roosting waders in the lagoon at high tide

The exposed mud at low tide gives scope views of a variety of birds - oystercatcher, redshank, knot, dunlin, turnstone, ringed plover, bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits, curlew, shelduck, brent goose, and up to five types of gulls. The lagoon holds mallard and teal with occasional shelduck, gadwall and tufted duck. Like any body of water it can throw up unexpected visitors. Roseate tern, little ringed plover and yellow wagtail have been seen. Lists have not been updated as there is nothing to update. NDCP has reached the expected 70 and WOW is on 93, hopefully some wintering ducks and auks will push it up. Until we get serious rain at WOW I am not expecting any exotic waders to boost the list. At the minute we are looking forward to returning winter wildfowl but are worried that they will go elsewhere.