2023 round up

I had this up and ready to post when my good friend and fellow birder David told me he had a brambling in his garden, so I hung on till New year's eve and hot footed it up to Carnalea this morning and dipped out. Heading out after lunch and a phone call to say the brambling is showing well so up we went and got number 161 for the year at the second attempt. Thank you David - and it would be churlish of me not to put on some of his recent photographs taken at the feeders in his garden which is where the rustic bunting appeared two years ago. 

Sparrowhawk is a regular visitor!

Chaffinch with brambling

Brambling

Brambling

Tree sparrows every winter

So back to the quick and short round up of 2023 which is coming to an end soon. The totals were as follows

The year list finished on 161 plus the 26 birds seen in Alaska, claiming 187.

The North Down patch ended on 70.

The RSPB/WOW/Kinnegar patch ended on 94.

Both patches notched up one more each since the last post and they were unusual birds. The garden produced a treecreeper and WOW turned up not one but two great spotted woodpeckers - a male and a female. The two woodpeckers were coming to the peanut feeder at WOW and to be honest I am not sure I have had better views anywhere. I have seen them in England but not as close and not for such a prolonged view. Views in Northern Ireland tended to be brief and frustrating, but not any more. These two guys performed and also gave good flight views as they flew in to the feeder and then away. As usual both patch lists had serious omissions as did the 2023 list but let's concentrate on the positives. 

The Irish garden bird survey continues to entertain with numbers and variety. As well as the treecreeper I also had a jay in the garden and two visits from the sparrowhawk. The song thrush is still around and goldfinches and greenfinches have put in appearances. I also have regular visits from house sparrow and linnet. Blackcaps have provided 2 females and a male.

Blue-billed teal is still around WOW

Unseasonal greenshank

Male GSW

Male GSW

Female GSW

The female appeared on a grey wet drizzly day while the male pitched in on a bright sunny day. We have had quite a few of the former recently which has made photographs challenging at times. Some days I have looked out and decided not to bother, just enjoy the birds!! 

Here's hoping for a bird filled 2024 and here's hoping David and I  can kick off with the annual January 1st Round the Lough to kickstart the list. I have pencilled in a trip or two to Bolton as well as Tyneside, and hopefully I will get back to Islay again. A lot of this was will depend on the orthopaedics - but I can always sit in WOW or the back room with a pair of binoculars and as David says - "Anything can turn up anywhere"

2023

160: Willow tit

161: Brambling

+USA/Canada: 26 = 186 for the year

NDCP: 

70: Treecreeper

Belfast RSPB

94: Great spotted woodpecker

# patch gold megatick

Let's not beat about the bush here, this afternoon I saw a water rail in Strickland's Glen. One of those moments you dream about as a birder -  an unexpected bird in a famliar place. As they are reedbed specialists I have no idea what it was doing there in a wooded glen. There is a tree down across the river at that point and in heavy rain the water backs up and the path floods. Once the flood subsides there is a mass of flotsam behind the tree - mud, leaves, branches, plastic bottles, dead footballs etc.. I stopped to look, saw a movement and thought dunnock, no too big, possibly moorhen, so got the binoculars onto it and bingo, it is a water rail which picked about long enough for Tanya to get a good look at it as well. After taking our fill of the bird, we walked on and it was still picking about. The hoped for grey wagtail and first lesser black backs of the year did not appear, but hey, who cares I'll get them again!

Other than that, it has been reasonably quiet as most of the winter stuff has been mopped up and the spring migrants are not here yet. I added a garden song thrush, and a walk along the Broad Water at Moira turned up two redwings in a flock of 20 - 25 fieldfare. WOW was very quiet with a low tide and heavy showers. The milder weather this week with south-west winds might pull in an early chiffchaff or sand martin, both have been seen locally. The other piece of news happened in Carnalea where my friend David - he of the good camera - spotted a brambling on his feeders on St Patrick's day. It did not hang around and has not been back or found its way to my garden but you never do know - if you can get a water rail in Stricklands Glen anything is possible. It just proves the old adage, anything can turn up anywhere.

Dunlin at Whiteabbey

Black-headed gulls at Smelt Mill Bay

A rainy WOW last Thursday, there were around 1000 black-headed gulls present.

Water rail spot on the river

It was behind the orange football!!

David Miller's brambling

Great tit with large tick

The great tit was photographed by David as well at Castleward. He thought it looked a bit off colour and let him get close without moving, only later did he realise it has a large tick attached to its neck. probably not long for this world unfortunately. 

2019
117: Redwing

Bangor West
48: Greenfinch
49: Song thrush
50: Water rail

Belfast WOW
67: Lesser black-backed gull