Spring delivers

The Quoile Pondage produced a good range of birds but no swallows or martins. However I was amply compensated by 2 common sandpipers, 1 little egret, 5 herons, 2 common terns and a pair of mergansers plus all the usual suspects.

WOW today had a full and varied list including 1000 black-headed gulls, 500+ common gulls, 40+ redshank en route to Iceland, 1 ruff, 1 barwit, 400 blackwit,  13 whimbrel and a brief glimpse of a ring-billed gull thanks to Stuart McKee. As usual we had over 30 species even though we looked out on arrival and saw only black-headed gulls by the hundred. The terns haven't arrived yet and the island is still taped off. There are also 6/7 Mediterranean gulls around and we have hopes that they will breed.

Distant whimbrel

Blackwit in full breeding dress

I walked the coastal path twice in the last week and added sandwich tern, reed bunting and meadow pipit.

WOW patch list:    

68 Ring-billed gull
69Whimbrel

West Bangor patch list:
58 Sandwich tern

59 Reed bunting

60 Meadow pipit

2016 list 

128 Common sandpiper

129 Common tern

130 Whimbrel 
131 House martin

Know your finches

The WOW feeders regularly have chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch and redpoll. There are also occasional linnets and siskin as well as great and blue tits. 

Nice red redpoll & goldfinch

Chaffinch & redpoll

Greenfinch & redpoll

 

 

........and a nice shoveler

Spring has sprung

At last we have migrants. The Broad Water near Moira last week had singing chiffchaff, swallow and sand martin. Kiltonga near Ards yesterday had singing chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcap. WOW today had willow warbler and there were sandwich terns at the Kinnegar. The mediterranean gulls are showing signs of nesting and a swallow was observed - but not by me. The tern island has been covered with tape and CDs to keep the gulls from nesting. The trick is to strip it back when the terns arrive but before the gulls can take over. Hopefully Chris will get it right.

View from the roadside hide

Swan nest from the lane hide

Tufted duck from the lane hide

Swift tower is ready for action

WOW patch list:   63 Brent goose

64 Sandwich tern

65 Dunnock

66 Willow warbler

67 Black guillemot

West Bangor patch list:
55 Raven
56 Lesser black-backed gull
57 Goldcrest

2016 list 
123 Raven

124 Swallow

125 Willow warbler

126 Sand martin

127 Sandwich tern

Few migrants as yet

Not a lot to report as I have not been out much or it has been too wet or I have been away from the patches due to family circumstances. I dropped into WOW for pintail and ruff and the blackwits have really oranged up in the last couple of weeks.  Antrim produced a dipper and  I finally managed a lesser black back along the coast, a flyover raven and two garden goldcrests this morning. The feeders are still attracting the female blackcap - it was there today -  and a pair of siskin. I thought they would be away by now. Still looking for curlew, sandwich tern and gannet along the coast, the former might wait till the autumn, but I had the latter two in March in 2015. Hopefully will be out and about this week and clean up on a few migrants.

WOW patch list:  
61 Pintail
62 Ruff

West Bangor patch list:
55 Raven
56 Lesser black-backed gull
57 Goldcrest

2016 list 
122 Dipper

Med gulls galore

Belfast WOW on Thursday was different. First we had the ponies right up at the window on a calm warm sunny day.

Konik ponies

Then we had two med gulls on the tern island and redpoll at the feeders.

Med gulls

Redpoll(F)

 With the tide low at 1150 and the one month window to work on the tern islands from March 17th to April 17th just open Chris and Monica donned their waders and set off to work. The result was an exodus of birds but hopefully the refurbished tern islands will attract even more breeding terns later in the year.

I think the idea is to do the work as the winter visitors leave and before the summer ones arrive. You also need a decent day and low tide when the birds are feeding on the Lough. Next week tides are high so work might not happen. Despite this we saw 32 species with one addition to the WOW patch list in the form of a greylag goose.

Today I walked the patch and managed to up the list by three grey heron, rock pipit and after 15 months of checking every black-headed gull in Bangor PATCH GOLD  in the form of a Mediterranean gull at the Marina. First spotted flying round and landing for short periods, then having a wash in the pool where the pedalo swans are!! Quick record shot and it flew off for another circuit of the Marina.

Shot through two fences

 On the way back when things were quieter there it was again sitting on the flag pole at the gangway down to Bangor Boats.

Really chuffed to finally nail this one on the patch. The heron was a bonus as it is also a hard one to pin down, last year it was raiding my garden for frogs but there has been no sign of one this year and the frog spawn has been there for 2 - 3 weeks. I also saw a purple sandpiper at the Long Hole whilst looking for the rock pipit.

WOW patch list:
60 Greylag goose

West Bangor patch list:
52 Mediterranean gull
53 Grey heron
54 Rock pipit

Spring at WOW

Beautiful morning, excellent visibility, no wind and a high tide, just the job for three hours at WOW. The highlight was a mediterranean gull, a second winter apparently.

Record shot

 The 700 + blackwits are starting to moult into their summer breeding plumage and with some millet spread around they were right in front of the window, so close you did not need binoculars. The black-headed gulls are back in force with 750+, but duck and lapwing numbers are on the slide and the wigeon have gone.

The future's bright the future's orange

Close up

Spot the not godwit!!

Despite not being able to see many birds it is quite nice at night as well especially when it is as flat as this.

The Bangor West front has been very quiet of late but the garden has produced a bit of sparrowhawk action. Still hasn't caught anything but has been through at least three times in the last week. First shot he sat in the tree and refused to turn round.

However on Tuesday he posed on the bird table , presumably looking for lunch. Fortunately for them they had all vanished when he wheeled over the hedge.

WOW patch
58 Mediterranaean gull
59 Jackdaw

Bangor West patch
51 Wren

Belfast WOW

First visit in three weeks and I had 32 species including over 150 black-headed gulls who are back on the islands displaying and posturing. There were also 8 reed buntings, 5 linnet, 1 buzzard,  1 red-breasted merganser, 2 redpoll and a song thrush. Coot numbers were 34 while duck and lapwing numbers are on the way down. Apart from lapwing there were no other waders as it was low tide.but there was a fair bit of bird song in and around the reserve so winter is slowly giving way to spring.

One eighth of the buntings

Belfast WOW
57 Linnet