Bird News Sunday 23rd February

An adult Iceland Gull was at Kinnegar (Daniel Newton)

24 Twite were still present at Whitehead Boat Park, Co Antrim (Fianna MacGinley and Paul Smith)

The hybrid Ring-billed Gull was still at Millisle and there were 4 Pink-footed Geese south of Anne’s Point. (Richard Weyl)

The adult Iceland Gull was at Glynn and a Merlin in the Antrim Hills (Gerard McGeehan \ Shirley Dunlop)

A drake Ring-necked Duck was at Lough Fern, Co Donegal (Robert Vaughan / Jamie Bliss)

The Black Redstart was still at Portstewart (Jonny Rosborough)

Mediterranean Gull, Kinnegar, Gareth Platt:

Twite, Ed O'Hara:

Twite, Paul Smith:

Black Redstart, Jonny Rosborough:

Bird News Saturday 22nd February

A redhead Smew was at Portmore Lough RSPB, there was no sign of the Lesser Scaup. (Ian Stevenson).

8 Waxwings were opposite Divis Tower on the Falls Road in Belfast. (John O'Boyle)

25 Twite were at Whitehead (Gerard McGeehan / Shirley Dunlop)

3 Great Northern Diver were with the Scoter flock off Newcastle. (Michael Latham).

The hybrid duck resembling an American Wigeon is still present at the Barmouth, 237 Black-tailed Godwits were also present, see pictures below. (Hill Dick).

Thanks to Michael Latham for the picture of the Greenshank and to Hill Dick for the pictures of the hybrid Wigeon:

Bird News Friday 21st February

At the Bar mouth the bird presumed to be a male American Wigeon was still present, photographs, although taken at very long range, do suggest that this bird may show some signs of hybridisation. See pictures below. (Hill Dick).

Thanks to David Hill for the pictures of the Red-throated Divers and the Barnacle Geese taken around Malin Head in Donegal and to Hill Dick for the pictures of the presumed American Wigeon:

Bird News Thursday 20th February

23 Twite were beside the boat compound at Whitehead seafront. (Cameron Moore)

A drake American Wigeon was at the Barmouth. The Black Redstart was still at the bandstand at Portstewart and a Long-eared Owl was roosting at the University of Ulster. (Nigel Moore / Garry Wilkinson)

2 Sandwich Tern were at Groomsport (George Gordon)

Myroe had c 900 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and c1100 Golden Plover on the lawn grass fields: also 250 Whooper Swans were feeding on potato fields. Off Magilligan Point 15 Common Scoter. (Ken Perry/John Clarke/Hill Dick)

Black Redstart, Nigel Moore:

Long-eared Owl, Garry Wilkinson:

This Kestrel was in a garden at Cavehill, Belfast, Reece Hinton:

Bird News Wednesday 19th February

A female Great Spotted Woodpecker has been visiting a garden in Ballynahinch, see pictures below. (Ian Jackson).

Bird News Tuesday 18th February

There were 5 Long-tailed Duck off Loughshore, Belfast Lough (Gerard McGeehan)

There was no sign of the Lesser Scaup or the Smew at Portmore Lough this morning (Dylan Branagh)

Male and female Shelduck, Christine Cunningham:

Bird News Monday 17th February.

About 200 Whooper Swan where in  flooded fields on the banks of the Lagan at the junction of Lany Rd and Innisloughlin Rd. Down /Armagh( Mike McLaughlin)

Bird News Sunday 16th February

The drake Ring-necked Duck was at Portmore Lough RSPB (Garry Armstrong)

A Short-eared Owl and 14 Pink-footed Geese were around Portrush. A second Short-eared Owl, single Snow Bunting and 6 Twite were in the dunes around Portstewart and Portrush (Marc Hughes)

3 Goosander were at Lough Island Reavey (Gerard McGeehan /Shirley Dunlop)

Yesterday a White-tailed Eagle was at Lower Lough Erne (Michael Stinson).

A female Brambling was near the caravan park area in Gosford Forest Park this morning. (Ed O'Hara & Comghal McQuillan).

An adult Iceland Gull was in Larne harbour. (Neal Warnock).

A male Lesser Scaup and 3 redhead Smew were at Portmore.

Thanks to Ed O'Hara for the picture of the Brambling, to Linda Thompson for the picture of the Crossbill, to Marc Hughes for the picture of the Snow Bunting and to Neal Warnock for the picture of the Iceland Gull:

Bird News Saturday 15th February

There was no sign of the Hawfinch at Dunadry between 9.20 and 11.25am (Nigel Moore)

A Lesser Scaup was at Portmore Lough, just in front of hide (Paul Toner)

A female Long-tailed Duck was off Portrush (Marc Hughes)

Female Yellowhammer, visiting a garden - Mike McLaughlin:

Bird News Friday 14th February

42 Waxwing are at Cherryvale playing fields, Ravenhill Rd, Belfast at the back of Knockeden Park (Dermot Hughes)

4 Twite where at Whitehead seafront.(Ian Enlander)

76 Waxwings were at Lockview Road Car Park, Stranmillis at 4pm (Sam Thomas)

3 Waxwing where seen at No. 12 The Beeches, Drumahoe.(Graham Mitchell)

A 1st winter Glaucous Gull was at Portrush. (Marc Hughes)

A Hawfinch visited a garden in Dunadry on Thursday.(Mark Smyth). The bird is at: 62 Islandreagh Drive, Dunadry

https://goo.gl/maps/2nVVr6DaYUbYbauw5

The house is to the right of the thatched house and the bird table is approx 5m away. It is narrow road so please park with consideration.

Bird News Thursday 13th February

A male Brambling has been visiting a garden in Glencairn Estate, Belfast. (Ivan Dalglish).

There was no sign of the Waxwings in Cabin Hill Park this morning, the berry tree they were feeding in is now stripped so they have probably moved elsewhere. (Derek Polley).

The Ring-billed Gull was seen again at the lower pond at Belfast Waterworks. (Michael Orr)

31 Whooper Swans seen this afternoon. Feeding in a ploughed field beside the Masonic Hall on the north side of the Blaris Road, Lisburn (Tom Trouton)

Portrush today had 1 1st W Glaucous Gull on Corbally Reservoir, and in the harbour 1 Red-throated Diver. Also Ramore Head had 2 Ravens. (Ken Perry, John Clarke, James McDowell, Hill Dick)

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was at Derrynoid Forest, Draperstown on 11th February (Geraldine Fox)

Glaucous Gull, Hill Dick:

Waxwings from yesterday, Garry Wilkinson:

Bird News Wednesday 12th February

There were 94 Waxwings in Cabin Hill Park in Belfast today. (Garry Wilkinson).

Two of the Bramblings were still in Gosford Forest Park this morning. (Frank Carroll).

Four Jack Snipe were at Shaw's Lake in County Armagh and a Chiffchaff was along the Newry Canal about 3 miles south of Poyntzpass. (Joe Devlin).

A Ring-billed Gull was at Belfast waterworks bottom pond (Stuart McKee)

Thanks to Kenny Moore for this picture of a Jay and to Linda Thompson for the picture of the Golden Plover:

Bird News Tuesday 11th February

4 Brambling, a male and 3 females, were at Gosford Forest Park. (Clifford Sharpe & David Knight).

Thanks to Mike McLaughlin for the pictures of the Skylark and the Red Kite and to David Knight for the pictures of the Brambling:

Bird News Monday 10th February.

A  flock of 20+Waxwing where still present in Cabinhill Park,Belfast this afternoon(Phillip West)

2 Sandwich Tern where on the rocks off Groomsport.(Terry Paton)

Bird News Sunday 9th February

A flock of circa 30 Waxwing are off Cabin Hill Park, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast (Wilton Farrelly \ Derek Polley)

Six Brambling were at the bottom of Shillnavogie Road in amongst a flock of chaffinches. Two Crossbill were up towards the forest. (Michael Latham)

An adult Med Gull was at Sandy Bay. Carnlough had an adult Iceland gull (Gerard McGeehan, Shirley Dunlop, Ivan Quail, Nicky Lynn).

A flock of circa 30 Tree Sparrows in a garden in Banbridge this morning. ( Mike McLaughlin).
 
Brambling, Michael Latham:

Male Crossbill: 

Bird News Saturday 8th February

The female Wigeon at Dargan Bay is now regarded as a Eurasian Wigeon.

Three male and one female Goosander were at Corbett Lough (Mike McLaughlin)

Five Sandwich Terns were at Portaferry (John Wilson Foster)

A Pink-footed Goose was south of Anne’s Point. (Richard Weyl)

The 4th w Glauc juv and 2nd w Iceland Gull & Long-tails Duck were still around Enniskillen (Brad Robson)

Thanks to Neal Warnock for this picture which shows the bird having grey axillaries on the underwing (they are white on American Wigeon). The bird is however very distinctive and can be  picked out from the Wigeon flock relatively easily:

Bird News Friday 7th February

The female American Wigeon was still at Dargan Bay this morning (Billy Miskelly).

A Red Kite was over Burnside Road in Banbridge this morning. ( Isabel McLaughlin).

A male Ring-necked Duck and a probable Lesser Scaup were at Portmore Lough RSPB reserve, a family of Otters was just outside the hide. (Brad Robson).

Thanks to Wilf Swain for the picture of the Buzzard and to Christine Cunningham for the picture of the Yellowhammer:

Bird News Thursday 6th February

An immature White-tailed Eagle was at Lower Lough Erne this morning (Brad Robson)see pic. below

Raptor Sightings in NI

We have been asked by the NIRSG to publish the following and would ask everyone to respect it. We do forward sightings of raptors to the NIRSG when they are passed on to us.

Dear NI Birds contributors / readers,

We would like to thank you for your role in recording and documenting the species you encounter and remind you that you are incredibly valuable assets in the recording community. As we begin to enter another breeding season for birds of prey we would like to remind everyone that these species are extremely vulnerable to disturbance and suffer from widespread illegal killing - see last report here: Raptor Report 

Many species of birds of prey are extremely site faithful and remain on their territories all year. Please be mindful of what you post on social media, especially related to the locations of sensitive and vulnerable species.

Kind regards,

Eimear Rooney

Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group

www.nirsg.com

Bird News Wednesday 5th February

The female American Wigeon was seen again at Dargan Bay (Stuart McKee)

2 Crossbills and a flock of 48 Snow Buntings were at the west end of Rathlin this morning. A 2cy Glaucous Gull came in to roost on the island this evening. (Ric Else \ Hazel Watson)

A Crossbill was in Castle Archdale Country Park, Co Fermanagh (Brad Robson)

Small parties of Crossbills were in Springwell Forest near Coleraine (Ken Perry/John Clarke/Hill Dick)

Female American Wigeon (rear bird), Stuart McKee:

Female American Wigeon, Tom Ennis:

BTO Heronry Census - can you help?

If you can help, contact Ian Enlander at: ian.enlander1@hotmail.com

Bird News Tuesday 4th February

A Smew was seen again at Portmore Lough (Rachel Hynes)

Red-breasted Merganser, Darren Brown:

Bird News Monday 3rd February.

2 Waxwings were on Church Road, Helen’s Bay this morning (Richard Donaghey)

A Merlin was at Ramore Head.(John Clarke)

Our thanks to William Smiton for the Blue Tit photo.

Lough Beg on World Wetlands Day

The theme of today's (Ramsar) World Wetlands Day was biodiversity and Lough Beg lived up its reputation for being one of Ireland’s richest wetlands for birds. Large numbers of waterbirds encountered on a public walk to celebrate the occasion included 740 Whooper Swans, 2,000 Golden Plover, 1,000 Lapwing, 22 Ruff and 43 Little Egrets. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting between Church Island and Paddy’s Dub.

For anyone interested, the re-routing of the A6 through Lough Beg’s meadows between The Creagh and Deer Park Road will be the subject of a discussion led by Chris Murphy and Doris Noe in the company of Extinction Rebellion at the Accidental Theatre, Shaftesbury Square, Belfast this Tuesday, 4 February, at 6pm. All welcome.

Rathlin Bird Report 2019

2019 was a simply outstanding year for birding on Rathlin. The total of 167 species recorded on the island not only smashed the number tallied in the previous years, but it also included a fantastic array of rare and unusual species that provided excitement throughout the year.

 Read all about it the Rathlin Bird Report 2019. It's a bumper edition for a bumper year!

 The report is free to download here: https://rathlinstickybeak.wordpress.com/2020/02/02/rathlin-bird-report-2019/

Ric Else & Hazel Watson

Bird News Sunday 2nd February

The drake Ring-necked Duck was still at Oxford Island, Co Armagh (Neal Warnock)

The drake American Wigeon was still at Culdaff, Co Donegal (Jeff Larkin).

The Ring-billed Gull was still at Carrickfergus. (Philip West).

A Mediterranean Gull and a hybrid Hooded x Carrion Crow were at Glynn in Larne Lough. (Gareth Platt).

Lough Beg today had 740 Whooper Swans, 2,000 Golden Plover, 1,000 Lapwing, 22 Ruff and 43 Little Egrets. A ringtail Hen Harrier was hunting between Church Island and Paddy’s Dub. (Chris Murphy & Doris Noe)

The Great White Egret was at Lough Beg (Richard Donaghey)

A female American Wigeon was at Dargan Bay, Belfast Lough (Birdguides)

Thanks to Jonny Rosborough for the pictures of the Red Grouse and to Gareth Platt for the pictures of the Mediterranean Gull and the Bar-tailed Godwit which was ringed in Holland:

Bird News Saturday 1st February

The Water Pipit was still at Ballyfrench Beach, Portavogie (Billy Miskelly).

The male Ring-necked Duck was still showing off the Kinnegoe hide at Oxford Island. (Mark Killops, Ed O'Hara).

The Ring-billed Gull was still at Antrim Road Waterworks in Belfast.

The Spoonbill, a Hen Harrier and a Merlin were all at Church Bay at Lough Beg. (Gerard McGeehan & Shirley Dunlop).

A single Snow Bunting was on Divis Mountain. (Paul Toner & Noel McKernan).

Thanks to Danny Gibson for the pictures of the Ring-necked Duck and to Thomas Campbell for the picture of the Yellowhammer: