Bird News Friday 14th October

The Great White Egret was still at Ballycarry this morning along with 16 Little Egrets (Jonathan Cooke, Ian Enlander).

A Spotted Redshank is also present at Ballycarry Bridge, Larne Lough. (Shirley Dunlop, Gerard McGeehan).

A Purple Sandpiper was with Turnstones near Lansdowne Crescent in Portrush. (Juliet Fleming)

The 4 Curlew Sandpipers were still at Ardilea at the mouth of the Blackstaff river in Dundrum Bay, the 1st winter Little Gull was still on the mudflats at Green Island. (David Nixon)

Thanks to Ian Enlander for the pictures of the Great White Egret, to Guy Hamilton for the picture of the Kingfisher, to Juliet Fleming for the picture of the Purple Sandpiper and to David Nixon for the picture of the Curlew Sandpipers:

Bird News Thursday 13th October

 There is a Great White Egret at Ballycarry bridge showing distantly on the south basin (Kevin Kirkham).

A single Curlew Sandpiper and a Ruff are at the Bann Estuary. The Glaucous Gull was at Burger King in Coleraine. (Jeff Larkin).

A Ruff and 2 Bar-tailed Godwits were at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve. (Derek Polley).

A Pink-footed Goose was at Waterfoot and the Black-throated Diver, and an Arctic Tern were at Carnlough. (Neal Warnock).

A flock of Barnacle Geese and an apparent Barnacle x Snow Goose hybrid were on Rathlin. (Ric Else & Hazel Watson)

Thanks to Jonathan Cooke for the pictures of the Great White Egret, to Kevon Kirkham for the pictures of the Glaucous Gull and the Whooper Swans, to Neal Warnock for the picture of the Pink-footed Goose and to Ric Else for the picture of the Barnacles and hybrid Goose:

 

BTO NI Birdwatchers' Conference

This year’s BTO NI Birdwatchers’ Conference is to be held on Saturday 5th November at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Oxford Island, near Lurgan. All are welcome to attend, you do not have to be a BTO member or volunteer. We have a fantastic programme of talks, a buffet lunch, plenty of teas and coffees, time to socialise, plus your choice of birding on the reserve or a bird poetry workshop. Is this our best programme ever? You decide!

Teresa Frost (BTO) - Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) in Northern Ireland.

Caroline Finlay (Conservation Detection Dogs Northern Ireland) - The use of detection dogs for avian conservation.

Karl Partridge - The use of drone technology for heronry surveys.

Katy Bell (Ulster Wildlife) - The Barn Owl story in Northern Ireland.

Roisin Kearney - Copeland Bird Observatory. 

Richard Gray (NIEA) - NIEA partnership with BTO (tbc). 

BTO Northern Ireland Science and Engagement update. 

BTO Youth Engagement update. 

A birds and poetry workshop with Mary Montague. 

Or birding on the reserve with identification help from BTO staff.

Entry is £25 per person and includes registration, plenty of tea/coffee and a finger-buffet lunch. Young people aged 25 and under can book at the reduced rate of £10. 

 Booking closes on Friday 28th October, so book now to avoid disappointment!

Bird News Wednesday 12th October

 Ramore this morning had 10 Barnacle Geese, 11 Greylags, 2 great Northern and 6 Red-throated Divers and a Raven. (Stephen Riddell).

The Crossbills are still present at Binevenagh. (Martin Deehan).

Two Yellow-browed Warblers, a Snow Bunting, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap and a flock of 20 Twite were on Rathlin today. (Neal Warnock, Hazel Watson & Ric Else).

Three Lapland Buntings were seen near Rinagree, Portrush, they flushed from the side of a path. (John Clarke).

A Great White Egret was at Ballycarry Bridge in Larne Lough. (Jonathan Cooke).

Hazel Watson - Yellow-browed Warbler

Hazel  Watson - Yellow-browed Warbler

Neal Warnock - Yellow-browed Warbler

Hazel  Watson - Twite

Jonathan Cooke - Crossbill

Jonathan Cooke - Crossbill

Bird News Tuesday 11th October

A ring-tail Hen Harrier was at Croaghan Island, Oxford Island this morning. (Ed O'Hara).

A ring-tail Hen Harrier recently Divis and a probable Golden Eagle (per Gregory Heaney).

Circa 100 Crossbills were at Benevenagh (John Clarke).

2 Snow Buntings and a Kestrel were near Aughafatten in the Antrim Hills. The Glaucous Gull was still around Burger King, Colleraine. 15 Whoopers flew over the Barmouth and 3 Whimbrel were also present (Kevin Kirkham)

A Common Sandpiper was at The Shore, Lough Foyle in Derry (John Spottiswood)

A first winter Little Gull was at Green Island in Dundrum Inner Bay North this afternoon. The Ruff was at the Moneycarragh Roost in Dundrum South Inner Bay. (David Nixon)

8 Whoopers were back in at Corbett Lough today (David McCreedy)

16 Whoopers were at Glynn (Gerard Dunlop / Shirley Dunlop)

Whooper Swan reports are now widespread.

Ruff, David Nixon:

Little Gull, David Nixon:

Bird News Monday 10th October

A Cattle Egret was in the south west corner of Lough Beg along with two Great White Egrets. (Dermot Hughes).

A flock of 30 Whooper Swans flew over Magilligan this morning. (Martin Deehan).

Seawatching at Ramore between 8.00 and 11.20am produced 140 Barnacle Geese, 84 Whooper Swans, 19 Brent Geese, 5 Greylag, 12 Wigeon and 4 Great Northern Divers. (Dean Jones). A further 34 Barnacles and 15 Whoopers were at Ramore this afternoon. (Stephen Riddell).

Rathlin this morning had a Snow Bunting at Mill Bay and two more at Kinramer. 28 Whooper Swans and flocks of Barnacle Geese were flying over. (Ric Else & Hazel Watson)

5 White Wagtails were with a flock of Pied Wagtails at Sandy Bay in Larne this morning, a juvenile Peregrine was also seen. (Kevin Kirkham).

The Black Tern was still in Kinnegoe Bay, Oxford Island this afternoon. (Richard Caves).

Stephen Maxwell - Kingfisher

Richard Caves - Black Tern

Richard Caves - Black Tern

Stephen Riddell - Barnacle Geese

Bird News Sunday 9th October

The Black Tern is still at Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh (Garry Armstrong)

A Barnacle Goose is at Ramore Head (Stephen Riddell)

A Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper are in front of the hide at the Barmouth (Dean Jones).

Six Whimbrel were at Orlock Point. (Richard Weyl).

Barnacle Goose, Ramore, Donna Riddell:

Bird News Saturday 8th October

The Black Tern was still in Kinnegoe Bay, Oxford Island. (Garry Armstrong).

A 1 hr seawatch from Fanad Head, Donegal this morning had one each of Grey Phalarope, Pomarine Skua, Arctic Skua and Sooty Shearwater. 12 Barnacles also flew west. (Wilton Farrelly).

The juvenile American Golden Plover was still in the ploughed field at Myroe. (Richard Hunter).

There is still one Curlew Sandpiper and two Ruff at Belfast Lough RSPB WOW reserve. (Dermot Hughes).

A ringtail Hen Harrier was at Portmore Lough RSPB. (Michael Latham).

A male Merlin was by the road at Aghagallon near Portmore. (Ed O'Hara).

The Glaucous Gull was still at the Burger King in Coleraine. (Juliet Fleming).

Black Tern Oxford Island:

Juliet Fleming - Glaucous Gull:

Thomas Cambell - Whooper Swans:

Thomas Campbell - Kingfisher

Michael Latham - Hen Harrier & Sparrowhawk

Bird News Friday 7th October

On Rathlin seawatching produced two Sooty Shearwaters, Arctic Skua, two Great Northern Divers, Red-throated Diver with thrilling views of a Merlin hunting around the cliffs and the first autumn flock of 19 Whooper Swans powering in from the North Channel, a bit later than usual (Ric Else & Hazel Watson).

The Black Tern is still in Kinnegoe Bay, Oxford Island. (Ed O'Hara).

A Curlew Sandpiper at the Bann Estuary (John Spottiswood).

A late Garganey was at Lough Beg. (David Steele).

A Red-throated Diver, 6 Ruff and 500 Golden Plover were around Church Island at Lough Beg. (David Morrow)

Kingfisher, Stephen Maxwell:

Black Tern, Ed O'Hara

Bird News Thursday 6th October

The Black Tern remains at Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh (Ed O’Hara)

A Snow Bunting was at Rue Point, Rathlin. (Tom McDonnell) Three Grey Phalarope were also present on Rathlin (Ric Else / Hazel Watson)

A Little Auk was seen from Ramore Head this morning (John Clarke)

A single Black-throated Diver in summer plumage and a Red-throated Diver were off Carnlough today. (Michael Latham)

The juvenile American Golden Plover was still at Myroe (Theo Campbell / Graham Mitchell / Peter McCarron)

4 Ruff were at RSPB WoW (Derek Polley)

Black-throated Diver, Michael Latham:

Red-throated Diver, Michael Latham:

Ruff, Stephen Maxwell:

You can see more picturesof local birds at: http://nibirdpics.blogspot.com/

Bird News Wednesday 5th October

 The Black Tern remains at Kinnegoe Bay, Lough Neagh (Ed O’Hara).

Four juvenile Curlew Sandpipers at Ardilea, Dundrum North Inner Bay this afternoon (David Nixon).

A Leach’s Petrel at Lough Foyle (Birdtrack).

Curlew Sandpiper, David Nixon:

Black Tern, Ed O’Hara:

Redshank, Wilfred Swain:

Buzzards, Wilfred Swain:

Bird News Tuesday 4th October

The Black Tern was still at Kinnego Marina this morning (Garry Armstrong)

A Great Norther Diver, 2 Black-throated Diver 2, a Great Skua and 2 Slavonian Grebes were on Belfast Lough at Jordanstown (Kevin Kirkham)

An adult Mediterranean Gull was at the East Strand car park, Portrush (Stephen Riddell)

One Pink-footed Goose was at Glynn with a large number of Greylag (Joe Lamont)

The juvenile American Golden Plover was again in the ploughed field at Myroe (Michael Latham / Theo Campbell / Graham Mitchell)

The Glaucous Gull was still at Burger King at the Riverside, Coleraine (Michael Latham)

A Pink-footed Goose was at Whitehead this morning (Cameron Moore)

A Snow Bunting was on the top of Divis and a Hen Harrier on the hill (John O'Boyle)

A Sandwich Tern was at Carnalea (Derek Polley)

Also at Myroe were a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, Slavonian Grebe and 4 Common Scoter offshore (Dean Jones)

American Golden Plover, Michael Latham:

Glaucous Gull, Michael Latham:

Pink-footed Goose, Cameron Moore:

Bird News Monday 3rd October

A White-tailed Eagle was at Ballinlea Road, Ballintoy. (Ian Dickey).

22 Mediterranean Gulls were off Ratallagh carpark south of Portavogie and another 5 Mediterranean Gulls were on the beach at Cloghy. (Garry Armstrong).

The Black Tern is still in Kinnegoe Bay, Oxford Island. (Ed O'Hara).

4 Mediterranean Gulls, 3 adults and a 1st winter, were at Groomsport. 3 Sandwich Terns were on Cockle Island.  (Bob Watts).

A Yellow-browed Warbler was trapped and ringed at Copeland Bird Observatory. (Chris Acheson).

A Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Ruff and 8 Sandwich Terns were at Belfast Lough RSPB WOW reserve at high tide this evening. (Daniel Newton).

4 Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver were off Carnlough today. (Michael Latham).

Thanks to Chris Acheson for the picture of the Yellow-browed Warbler, to Christine Cunningham for the picture of the Buzzard and to Michael Latham for the picture of the Kestrels:

Bird News Sunday 2nd October

The Black Tern is still at Kinnego Marina, Lough Neagh, this morning (Ed O’Hara)

An adult Little Gull was at Magilligan (Stephen & Donna Riddell)

The Pectoral Sandpiper is still in the southwest corner of Lough Beg this morning but very elusive (David Steele)

A juvenile American Golden Plover is at Myroe with circa 1300 Golden Plover. 2 Ruff were also present (Stuart McKee /Garry Armstrong / Wilton Farrelly)

Five Ruff were at RSPB WoW (Ian Enlander)

18 Raven and a Kestrel were on Divis Mountain (Paula Campbell)

A summer plumaged Black-throated Diver was with 5 Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver at Carnlough (Gerard McGeehan / Shirley Dunlop)

A Great White Egret was at Paddy’s Dubh, Lough Beg (Godfrey McRoberts)

Over 200 Whoopers were at Inch Lake, Co Donegal (Robin Cunningham)

Two Hen Harriers and a Dunlin were at Portmore RSPB. One of the birds was a male. (Seamus O’Hara)

72 Greylag Geese and one Barnacle Goose were in grain stubble fields at Ballintoy above Whitepark Bay. (Patrick Barton)

St Johns Point Co Down in three hours this morning had active migration including over 1,000 Linnets, 500 Skylarks, 300 Swallows and 80 House Martins. 30 Tree Sparrows we’re also present. (Chris Murphy)

American Golden Plover, Wilton Farrelly:

Black Tern, Andrew Millar:

Ruff, Stephen Maxwell:

Bird News Saturday 1st October

 A Red-necked Phalarope reported yesterday off Reagh Island at Cross Island (Guy de Bruyn eBird list via Birdguides & RBA). No sign in area this morning (Ian Young).

The Black Tern is still in Kinnegoe Bay, Lough Neagh (Garry Armstrong).

The Ringtail Hen Harrier is still showing at Portmore Lough RSPB this morning (Michael Latham).

A Merlin was seen today at St John’s Point (Chris Murphy).

An Osprey was at Owenkillew river, at Killymore bridge below Gortin, it flew towards the River Strule, Co Tyrone, posslbly same bird that was on River Derg two weeks ago. (Tony McCormick). 

Two Arctic Skuas off Rathlin Island from the Rue this morning (Ric Else & Hazel Watson).

A Pectoral Sandpiper was in the south west corner of Lough Beg this evening, (David Steele).

Belfast Lough RSPB WOW reserve up to 1pm had 3 Ruff, the winter plumaged male, juvenile male and juvenile female, and 15 Knot. (Tom Ennis, Andrew Miller).

The Black Tern was still present in Kinnegoe Bay, Oxford Island to at least 3.45pm. (Tom Ennis, Andrew Miller).

Thanks to Garry Armstrong for the Black Tern and Michael Latham for the Hen Harrier photographs: