The 1st year Bonaparte's Gull is still at Inch in Donegal. (Chris Ingram).
The Mediterranean Gull is still present this evening at Inch Lake on the island by Farland Bank. (Searlas Anderson).
Ailsa Craig Boat Trip
There are 2 seats available for Friday's (May 8th) landing and Gannet feeding boat trip to Ailsa Craig. Great photo opportunities. Contact Jim Wells on 07856235144 for further details.
Bird News Tuesday 5th May 2026
The Spoonbill is opposite the hide at the Quoile and the Ruff is at the yacht club end. (David Nixon).
A Little Stint was near the hide at the Barmouth, 200+ Whimbrel also present. (John Clarke).
The 1st year Bonaparte's Gull is still at the causeway at Inch in Donegal, a Little Gull was also present. (Derek Brennan)
The count of Common Terns at RSPB WoW is now up to 24 (Jake Grant)
Spoonbill, David Nixon.
Bonaparte's Gull, Derek Brennan.
Bird News Monday 4th May 2026
2nd calendar year Bonaparte's Gull and 2nd calendar year Little Gull at the causeway at Inch in Donegal. (Theo Campbell, Chris Ingram).
The Ruddy Shellduck was off Long Point, Lough Beg. (Ivan Quail).
The Spoonbill is still at the Quoile, near the yacht club. A Ruff was also present. (Michael Latham).
An adult Mediterranean Gull was at Victoria Park about 13.00. (Bernard Parniewicz).
At least 3 Corncrakes are on Rathlin. (Ric Else).
The Cetti’s Warbler is still calling at Lough Cowey. (David Stirling).
Another Wood Sandpiper (a new bird) at Lough Beg this evening. (David Steele).
Two Great Northern Divers, 8 Red-throated Divers at the west end of Tyrella. Also 38 Whimbrel and two Basking Sharks. (Chris Murphy).
A White Wagtail was at Castlerock mole. (John Spottiswood).
Bird News Sunday 3rd May 2026
Spoonbill at Quoile hide, towards yacht club end. Also Ruff (Chris Veale).
Red Kite on Rathlin (Ric Else / Hazel Watson).
Basking Shark in Coney Island Bay yesterday evening (Barry Curtis).
Drake Ring-necked Duck continuing at Magheredrumman Lough, Fanad Head, Co Donegal (Wilton Farrelly).
49 Whimbrel and 16 Common Terns at Lady Bay (Michael Latham).
Whimbrel at Ballymacormack Point (Bob Watts).
210 Whimbrels, 750 Dunlins, 65 Ringed Plovers and 55 Sanderlings Bann Estuary. Red-throated Diver off the hide earlier (John Spottiswood).
Drake Garganey on East Lake, Tory, Co Donegal just the 2nd island record (Anton Meenan).
Ruff, Chris Veale:
Bird News Saturday 2nd May 2026
A second year Little Gull was at Inch (Chris Ingram)
An adult Spoonbill is at the Quoile (Dan Baillie) The bird was still present at 5pm (David Stirling)
120 Whimbrel were at Portballintrae (Simon Morton)
Rathlin today had a Golden Eagle, 2 Tree Pipits, circa 40 Whimbrels, 4 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Great Skuas, 1 Corncrake and a Carrion Crow. The Lesser Yellowlegs appears to have finally gone after a 6-month stay (Ric Else / Hazel Watson) It is thought that up to 6 Tree Pipits have been seen in the last few days.
The drake Ring-necked Duck was still at Magheredrumman Lough, Fanad Head (Wilton Farrelly)
11 Glossy Ibis were at the south end of Lough Beg although mobile (David Steele)
Cuckoo’s are widely reported from usual breeding locations.
Tree Pipit, Ric Else:
Whitethroat, Michael Latham:
Bird News Friday 1st May 2026
A Tree Pipit and two Crossbills were at Kinramer on Rathlin. A second Tree Pipit was over Kebble. A Corncrake was heard near Church Bay this morning by Nick Richards. Nick also saw the White-tailed Eagle again yesterday evening. A Pinkfoot was also present. (Ric Else).
Drake Ring Necked Duck was still present at Magheredrumman Lough, Fanad, in Donegal early this morning.
A Reed Warbler was at Harbour Meadows this morning. No sign of Spoonbill or Little Gull at WoW. 14 Common Terns at WoW. (Stuart Cossey).
A Mediterranean Gull was on the island by Farland Bank, Inch Lake in Donegal this morning. (Searlas Anderson).
4 Cuckoo were at Altikeeragh this morning. (John Clarke).
The Cetti’s Warbler is still at Lough Cowey. 4 Ruff were on flooded fields north of Kirkiston. (Richard Weyl).
9 Glossy Ibis flew east over Portmore. (Madeleine Mills).
Common Sandpiper, 26 Whimbrels, 365 Dunlins, 85 Sanderlings and 20 Ringed Plovers Bann Estuary this afternoon. (John Spottiswood).
The Little Gull is at the Quoile seen from the hide. A Ruff coming into summer plumage is at the yacht club end. (David Nixon).
1st-summer (2CY) American Golden Plover at Lough Beg this evening, also two Wood Sandpipers. The American Golden Plover dropped in at 19.10 and flew out again calling at 19.40, looked to be on the move. (David Steele).
The Chough was still on Copeland. (Holly McCormack).
A Whimbrel was at Larne Promenade. (David Gillespie).
6 Swifts were over Shaftesbury Square in Belfast this evening. (Jim Bowman).
Bird News Thursday 30th April 2026
Juvenile White-tailed Eagle (no visible tags) in the Antrim Hills (Ian Young).
Common Sandpiper and White Wagtail at Portstewart (Stephen Riddell).
Water Pipit reported at Ballystrudder on Islandmagee on fence post around edge of Oldchurch Bay, Larne Lough at 1052 (BirdGuides).
Juvenile White-tailed Eagle glided over Shantallow, Derry early afternoon heading NW perhaps towards Lough Swilly (Searlas Anderson).
Drake Ring-necked Duck on Magheredrumman Lough, Fanad Head late this evening. Also 40 Long-tailed Duck at Ballyheirnan Bay.
5 pairs of Mediterranean Gulls at Belfast Lough WoW also adult Little Gull, 6 Common Terns and 30+ Sandwich Terns (Derek Polley).
White-tailed Eagles, Ian Young & Searlas Anderson:
Bird News Wednesday 29th April 2026
An unringed White Stork is at a ploughed field at Newtowncunningham, Donegal. It is viewable from here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/kB8xvgRpThFHSKcX9?g_st=if (per Derek Brennan)
40 Whimbrel were in front of the Barn Gallery at Rossglass Beach (David Clarke)
An adult Little Gull was at RSPB WoW (Gerard McGeehan)
A Little Gull, Ruff and 29 Whimbrel were at the Quoile (Chris Murphy)
A White Wagtail and 10 Whimbrel were at Portstewart this morning. A further 50 Whimbrel were at the Bann Estuary (John Clarke)
Rathlin had the Lesser Yellowlegs, the White-tailed Eagle, 5 Purple Sandpiper and 2 Twite (Ric Else / Hazel Watson)
A Mealy Redpoll was visiting a garden in Co Antrim (Tim Davis)
White Stork, Derek Brennan:
Whimbrel, David Clarke:
Bird News Tuesday 28th April 2026
A Spoonbill is at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve this morning. (Clive Mellon). The Spoonbill was still present this evening. (Wilton Farrelly).
Two Cetti's Warblers, either side of 11, Downpatrick Road. Killough, which seems to be the territorial boundary. Adult summer plumaged Little Gull, Ruff and two Common Sandpipers at the Quoile. (Chris Murphy).
9 adult and a 1st summer Mediterranean Gull were also at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve. (Stuart McKee). A Common Sandpiper was also present. (Dot Blakely).
2 Stock Dove over Newtownards Road south of Newtownards, near the sewage works. (Bob Watts).
The shore between Ballintoy Harbour and White Park Bay had 42 Whimbrel and 3 White Wagtail this afternoon (Ian Enlander)
Dark-bellied Brent Goose and 88 Whimbrel are at the Bann Estuary this evening. (John Spottiswood).
A Wood Warbler was heard but not seen in east Antrim. (Christopher Lamb)
A male Whinchat was seen in the Antrim Hills. (Hugh Thurgate).
Spoonbill, Clive Mellon.
Bird News Monday 27th April 2026
Yesterday close views of immature White-tailed Eagle on Rathlin, also a Hen Harrier, 2 Great Skuas and a female Bullfinch represented just the 6th island record (Ric Else / Hazel Watson).
Lesser Yellowlegs and White-tailed Eagle still present on Rathlin also 5+ Purple Sandpipers and Twite (Ric Else / Hazel Watson).
White-tailed Eagle, Ric Else:
Bird News Sunday 26th April 2026
A Cettis Warbler was singing at the back of Strand Lough, Co Down. 25 Whimbrel were on Rossglass Beach. (Chris Veale)
The Cettis as Lough Cowey was calling again this morning. 15 Whimbrel and a White Wagtail were at Ballyquinton (Bob Watts)
A Common Sandpiper and 40 Common Tern were at The Quoile (Dermot Hughes)
Yesterday an immature White-tailed Eagle was on Rathlin (Stephen Macauley)
Two Pink-footed Geese and 10 Whimbrel were at Larne Lough (Cameron Moore)
A Wood Sandpiper was flushed at Lough Beg. 3 Ruff were also present (David Steele)
A Wood Sandpiper was in the flooded field behind the platform at Inch Lake (Chris Ingram)
32 Whimbrel were at the Bann Estuary (John Spottiswood)
11Whimbrel and two White Wagtail were at Kearney (Bob Watts)
7 Whimbrel were at Bartin’s Bay, Lough Neagh (Chris Rankin)
Six Common Tern were at RSPB WoW (Stuart McKee)
The leucistic Great Black Backed Gull which could be mistaken for a Glaucous Gull was again at Ardglass (Chris Murphy)
A Hoopoe was seen on a fence post at 107 Middle Road, Saintfield (Jackie Wade)
Whitethroat are widely reported. Cuckoo are now back at usual breeding locations.
Cettis Warbler, Chris Veale:
Dunlin, John Clarke:
Wood Sandpiper, Inch, Derek Brennan:
Bird News Saturday 25th April 2026
72 Whimbrel and 8 Brent were at Rossglass, Co. Down. A Basking Shark was off St. John's Point, also a female whitethroat. Cetti's Warbler was singing at Killough. (Dermot Hughes).
4 Ruff were with the Golden Plover flock in the middle of Reedy Flats, 5 White Wagtails were in a ploughed field. (Garry Armstrong, Ed O'Hara).
2 Whitethroat singing at Billy Neill Country Park, also a Yellowhammer. (Bob Watts, Daniel Newton).
A White-tailed Eagle was seen on the north coast near Downhill. (James Harte).
A Tree Pipit was trapped on Rathlin this morning. (James Crymble).
The Lesser Yellowlegs was seen again on Rathlin. (John Clarke, Ric Else).
2 Great Skua were seen on a boat trip round Rathlin. (John Clarke).
2 Mediterranean Gulls, a Whimbrel and 3 Common Terns were at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve. (Michael Latham).
A flock of around 80 Whimbrel this afternoon at Maghery Country Park. A White-tailed Eagle was seen in this area last Sunday past perched on a branch on the shore. (Ken Simpson).
Tree Pipit, James Crymble.
Great Skua, John Clarke.
Mediterranean Gull, Michael Latham.
Wheatear, Michael Latham.
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