Garden Warbler - 3, Lower Lough Erne Islands RSPB Reserve
Spotted Flycatcher - 2, Lower Lough Erne Islands RSPB Reserve
Redshank 30, Lapwing 25, Curlew 12, Snipe 12, Oystercatcher and Common Sandpiper all Lower Lough Erne Islands RSPB Reserve
Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1, Fivemiletown, Co. Tyrone (drumming)
Dipper - 1, Killyleagh, Co. Down
Red Kite - 1, Castlewellan, Co.Down
Answer to Wednesday's trivia question:
"Ivory Gull is
one of the most sought after rarities in Ireland (there are only 3
Northern
Ireland records). Apart from these what is the connection between Ivory Gull
and the Emerald Isle?"
Ireland records). Apart from these what is the connection between Ivory Gull
and the Emerald Isle?"
Captain Leopold
McClintock was from Dundalk (Louth) and was involved
in the search for the Franklin expedition to find the North West Passage
(they
were all lost when the ships Erebus and Terror were crushed in the
ice).
He was
one of the pioneers of Arctic travel and in 1853 covered 1,408 miles by
sledge
in 105 days. On 21st June 1853 an Ivory Gull was found on the nest with
an egg -
the first ever find of a nest of this species. Then he sighted an island
to
the north of Melville Island to which he crossed and charted.
He named it Emerald Isle.
He named it Emerald Isle.
(but of course you knew that)
Just for badness (because only half the NIBA committee have seen one) - here's a couple of pictures of the Ivory Gull at Baltimore, Co. Cork, March 2009. A 650 mile round trip but it was worth it - a nearly all white gull (but one of the rarest in these parts - or anywhere).
Ivory
Gull - Baltimore, Co. Cork by Derek Charles
A great bird - I went armed with a can of tinned octopus thinking that it would be a sure-fire bet to get the Ivory closer to me than my wife would like. I hid it in my pocket all the way down to Co. Cork (laughing to myself in the back seat - my secret weapon to lure a bird that eats disgusting things, it simply couldn't fail).
I threw it into Baltimore Harbour....and it sank to the bottom - the Ivory Gull threw me an irreverant look and sailed past. Thankfully most people were too busy looking at the gull. I have now acquired a taste for octopus and haven't seen a good bird since.
