Saturday 31st July News

Laughing Gull - 1, Ballycastle Marina, Co. Antrim (Ronan McLaughlin)
Green Sandpiper - 1, Belfast Lough RSPB, Co. Down (Ian Graham)
Common Snadpiper - 9, Belfast Lough RSPB, Co. Down (Ian Graham)
Teal - 10, Belfast Lough RSPB, Co.Down
Bar Tailed Godwit - 25, Kinnegar Shore, Co.Down
Dunlin - 2, Kinnegar Shore Co.Down
Dunlin - 20, Dargan Bay Co.Antrim
Black Tailed Godwit - 1000, Dargan Bay Co.Antrim
Scaup - 3, Dargan Bay Co.Antrim
Eider 800, Dargan Bay Co.Antrim
Little Egret - 9, Dundrum Inner Bay South (Ed McGuiggan)
Litlle Egret - 6, Dundrum Inner Bay North (Ed McGuiggan)
Greenshank - 12, Dundrum Inner Bay North (Ed McGuiggan)
Common Sandpiper - 6, Dundrum Inner Bay Nortth (Ed McGuiggan)
Sanderling - 150, Ballykinller Beach (Ed McGuiggan)
Dunlin - 30 Bann Estuary, Co.Londonderry
Sandwhich Tern - 10 Bann Estuary Co.Londonderry
Golden Plover - 6 Myroe Levels Co.Londonderry
Pied Wagtail - 50 Myroe Levels Co.Londonderry
Dunlin - 6 Myroe Levels Co.Londonderry
Peregrine - 2 juvenile Myroe Levels Co.Londonderry
Turnstone - 1 Ballykelly Co.Londonderry
Arctic Skua - 1, past Whitehead, Co. Antrim (Paul McCullough)
Great Skua - 1, past Whitehead, Co. Antrim (Paul McCullough)
Manx Shearwater - 400, past Whitehead, Co. Antrim (Paul McCullough)



Thanks again to John Marshall for this picture of a Whinchat
















Thanks to Tony Dodds for this picture - we have no idea what this is.
















Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at

Nutts Corner

This is the biggest Dalmatian we've ever seen!!



at

Spot the Bird (Part 41)












Answer to Part 40: Mandarin Duck
at

Friday 30th July News

Little Egret - 10, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Knot - 1, summer plumage, Killard Pt., Co. Down (Craig Nash)
Golden Plover - 1, juvenile, Killard Pt., Co. Down (Craig Nash)

Golden Plover by Craig Nash
http://peregrinesbirdblog.blogspot.com















Peregrine Falcon - 1, Killard Pt., Co. Down (Craig Nash)
Dunlin - 10, Killard Pt., Co. Down (Craig Nash)
Ringed Plover - 14, Killard Pt., Co. Down (Craig Nash)

Greenshank - 25, Blanket Nook, Co.Donegal
Ruff - 4, Blanket Nook, Co.Donegal
Whooper Swan - 5, Blanket Nook, Co.Donegal
Whooper Swan - 2, Inch Lake, Co.Donegal
Common Sandpiper - 12, Inch Lake Co.Donegal

(thanks to Ronan McLaughlin for above sightings)

Green Sandpiper - 1, also Blanket Nook, Co. Donegal (Wilton Farrelly)
Ruff -1, Blanket Nook, Co. Donegal (Wilton Farrelly)

Thanks to John Marshall from Coleraine for these great photos.

Eider
















Black-headed Gull














Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at






at

at

Friday Treat!

A photographic treat for you this moring courtesy of some stunning images from Brian Nelson. Many thanks to Brian and for the extra information.

Cicindela campestris, Tiger Beetle (Brian Nelson)

 
 
Somatochlora arctica Moorland or Northern Emerald, Ireland’s rarest species , confined to a few sites in Kerry (Brian Nelson)
 



Aeshna affinis (Blue-eyed or Southern Migrant Hawker) is the species causing excitement in Essex at present (see http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/hotnews.asp) This one taken in France
(Brian Nelson)


at

Name that Egg!

After the success of our last 'best competition the world has ever seen' we're happy to announce our new one - the originally titled 'Name that Egg' - we're sure you'll be as eggstatic as us about this one. (sorry about that - 2 really bad jokes in one day) One thing you can be sure of - it ain't a chicken egg! Thanks to Tony Dodds for the photo.


at

Chamber of Horrors 13


This one is really scary because most of you (except for lifelong vegetarians) will have eaten this and are murderers by proxy!.....it's a cow!!






'Moooooooooooooh' - that's what a ghost cow sounds like (sorry)

at

Thursday 29th July News

Laughing Gull - Ballymoney Co.Antrim (Geoff Campbell) On the roof of the Marine Hotel and Harbour area.
Red Kite - 9, Playrock viewpoint, Castlewellan,Co. Down (Shelagh Henry). 10 seen this morning (Robert Straughan)
Cuckoo - 1, Murlough NNR, Co. Down (Dan Bailie)
Common Sandpiper - 4, Belfast Harbour RSPB, Down
Greenshank - 1,Belfast Harbour RSPB, Down
Bar-tailed Godwit - 20, Belfast Harbour RSPB, Down

Thanks to Danny Boyd for the following photos taken along the Lagan Towpath today - a juvenile Blackcap and an adult and juvenile Little Grebe.




















































Thanks to Cecil Smyth for these pictures taken at Whitehouse Lagoon, Co. Antrim yesterday - a Black-tailed Godwit and some Grey Herons (or 'Hern Cran' as we like to call them in these here parts)






Last but not least here's a picture of a Common Blue butterfly feeding on a Marsh Helleborine by Tony Dodds - check out more work of photographers from the Northern Ireland Ornithologists Club at their website:

http://www.nioc.co.uk/index.htm






















Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at

Moths not on the Wing (Part 2)

Here's a picture of something that most people should be able to identify - the caterpillar of the Cinnabar Moth Tyria jacobaea which feeds on a common plant species in Northern Ireland - Ragwort Senecio jacobaea.





 

Ragwort sometimes gets a bad rep as it is poisonous to some stock if eaten, particularly horses and ponies. As such many landowners try to eliminate the plant but it is the sole food plant of the Cinnabar and acts as a nectar source for a wide variety of insect species. No fear though - you couldn't get rid of all the Ragwort if you tried!!

at



at
at

Classic Rarities (Part 1)

Seeing as it's seawatching season here's a golden oldie from the private archive of a mysterious Northern Ireland birder - a Sunfish from Co. Donegal..







Although we'll likely be previewing more of these notes for you  in the future we daren't show you what was on the next page (it scared us anyway!!)


at

Wednesday 28th June News

Osprey - 1, Lough Beg, Co.Londonderry (David Steele)
Little Egret - 2 Lough Beg (western shore), Co.Londonderry (David Steele)
Green Sandpiper - 1, Belfast Lough RSPB (Danny Boyd)
Little Egret - 11, Murlough Heronry, Dundrum, Co. Down
Greenshank - 17, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Whimbrel - 4, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 1, Green Island, Dundrum, Co. Down
Little Egret - 3, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North
Black-tailed Godwit - 35, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Greenshank - 13, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Whimbrel - 4, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Sanderling - 145, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Ringed Plover - 47, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Dunlin - 165, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Spotted Flycatcher - 7 Beleek, Co.Fermanagh


Green Sandpiper (today), Belfast Lough RSPB by Danny Boyd





























Late News:
Laughing Gull - yesterday, Ballycastle. (on the breakwater, morning and late evening) (Dave Allen)





Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at
at
at


A
at

Spot the Bird (Part 39)














Answer to Part 38: Marsh Harrier
at

Moths on the Wing - 28th July

Some people have questioned whether 'Sad and Lonely' exists which to be fair is not hard as he keeps such a low profile. We can say though that a lot of people think he is quite foolish and is often described as a fool because he keeps making mistakes - that really isn't fair. Some people just like to keep themselves to themselves and look at moths. We have a lot of time for this and that's why we're his best friends even though sometimes he is a bit of a fool (sorry fooly oops! i mean lonely).
Anyway it's that time of day to dedicate another moth to him - unfortunately the 'Sad Moth' and the 'Lonely Moth' don't exist as species.

Canary-shouldered Thorn Ennomos alniaria


at

Tuesday 27th July News

Greenshank - 13, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Teal - 8, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Turnstone -10, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - 1, Green Island, Dundrum, Co. Down
Little Egret - 2, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Greenshank - 11, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Black-tailed Godwit - 8, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Sanderling - 200, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Whimbrel - 2, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Dunlin - 40, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Ringed Plover - 37, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Mandarin Duck - 2 (eclipse male and female), Newcastle Boating Lake, Co. Down


(All of the above Leonard Charles and Ed McGuiggan)

Mediterranean Gull - 1 (adult), Kilroot Beach, Co. Antrim (Clive Mellon)


Thanks to Ed O'Hara for sending in these two photos from Oxford Island, Co. Armagh, at the weekend - a Sedge Warbler and a Common Sandpiper


















"Can you see me?"



Thanks to Cecil Smyth for sending this great photo of a Curlew, taken at Whitehouse Lagoon, Co. Antrim, yesterday.
















Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at

Derek's All-time Favourite

Here's a sketch of a Thayer's Gull by an up-and-coming young birder sent to us anonymously. This is Derek's favourite - rumour has it he keeps a copy under his pillow and has it as wallpaper for his front room.




at

Moths on the Wing - 27th July


This moth photograph was sent to us 'anonymously' but we're not falling for that. We know rightly that this one has come from no other than 'Sad and Lonely' reaching out to his new-found friends. We know we said we liked him but he's now completely obsessed with Derek and emails and texts him about 500 times a day. You could call it stalking......actually that's exactly what it is. At least he's got the moths for company - we've been told that he's spending quite a bit of time looking for migrant moths flying in from the sea off the south coast. This is highly laudable - at least he's doing something productive for a change instead of dressing up as Batman (with a skirt instead of a cape).

Dark Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta citrata



at

)



at
A

at

Whales and Dolphins in NI Waters

For those of you who have an interest in sea watching, NI has a new dolphin species on its list, along with a rare whale sighting. The Humpback Whale was seen at NI's premier summer birding location - Rathlin, and the Atlantic White-sided dolphins were also seen whilst travelling to the island! For more details, please see the article below:

http://www.iwdg.ie/article.asp?id=2394

The IWDG operate an excellent website for Cetacean sightings and we would encourage everyone to support it.
at

Monday 26th July News


Laughing Gull - 1, on the roof of the leisure centre, Ballycastle, Co. Down (Stuart McKee)
Red Kite - 3, Castlewellan, Co. Down (Jim Whitla)
Red Kite - 1, Ardglass, Co. Down (Declan Clarke)
Manx Shearwater - 600, off Newcastle Harbour, Co. Down (Jim Whitla)
Kingfisher - 1, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down (Dan Bailie)
Bar-tailed Godwit - 1, Dundrum Inner Bay North (Dan Bailie)
Little Egret - 2, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Greenshank - 8, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Greenshank - 7, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Sanderling - 152, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Ringed Plover - 40, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Dunlin - 25, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down



Late News:
An eagle species was reported from between Altnahinch and Armoy, Co. Antrim, yesterday. Both Golden Eagle and White-tailed Eagle have been reported in Northern Ireland in recent weeks.

Here's some pics from Ed O'Hara taken around the Newcastle area, Co. Down

Black Guillemot




























Turnstone and Redshank















Ringed Plover
















Check out these amazing pics of Bottlenosed Dolphins taken in Scotland by Danny Boyd







Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at

Best Competition Ever!


We are proud to announce our new competition 'What's that leaf?'. This is definitely one of best competitions we've ever ran - there's only over 250,000 species of plant to choose from, so it should be a doddle.





A lot of people thought this blog would run out of steam, become stale, ideas would become thin on the ground and all originality would be lost - who's laughing now? There's as much chance of that as there is Derek getting bored of gulls or getting interested in chickens (I worry about the guy). We've got whole series of these - at least 250,000.
Top prize is the famous 'half year's membership to the nibirding' worth a whole £30,000 sterling *


(* terms and conditions apply, this does affect your statutory rights, nibirding used to be a subsiduary of the Not Interesting Boring Association. nibirding is not responsible for content, dietary needs or anything that ever appears on this blog)
at

Chicken (of the woods)

Haha- had you all there! (Still on the chicken theme though and therefore tenuously linked to birds for all you purists out there). This edible (and very tasty) fungi is called Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus





Thanks to Ethan Veale for finding this forest feast for us at Nendrum Monastic Site, Co. Down earlier this week. A bit of garlic and butter - it apparently went down very well at Chez Veale Evening Bistro! (which is just as well because there are rumours that Paddy the Psychic Cephalopod was nearly on the menu last night)
at




at






at

Sunday 25th July News

Thanks to Ed O'Hara for these three pictures of a Common Sandpiper. But check the first photo it seems to be a new species the Long Billed Sandpiper! It is caused by bill dissapearing into the crack in the rock behind. Brilliant photo!


Ed O'Hara
Ed O'Hara

Ed O'Hara


Great Spotted Woodpecker - 1, (female) Curraghard, Tollymore, Newcastle, Co.Down (Dan Bailie)
Spotted Flycatcher - 2, Curraghard, Tollymore, Newcastle Co.Down (Dan Bailie)
Spotted Flycatcher - 4, Castlewellan Forest Park, Co. Down (Ed O'Hara)
Manx Shearwater - 100, Newcastle, Co. Down
Greenshank - 1, Dundrum, Co. Down (Ed O'Hara)
Common Sandpiper - 5, Dundrum, Co. Down (Ed O'Hara)
Turnstone - 50+, Newcastle, Co. Down (Ed O'Hara)
Red Kite - 1, Moneyslane, Co.Down (Ed O'Hara)
Ruff - 2, (adult female), Lough Beg, Co. Londonderry
Dunlin - 1, (juvenile), Lough Beg, Co. Londonderry
Greenshank - 13, Lough Beg, Co. Londonderry (a high count for this location)
Little Egret - 1, Lough Beg, Co. Londonderry
Arctic Skua - 2, (Dark Phase) Whitehead, Co.Antrim, flying up Belfast Lough. (Ian Enlander)
Manx Shearwater - 1000+ Portmuck, Co.Antrim (flying south in a two hour period)
Reed Warbler - 1, Oxford Island, Co. Armagh (Comghal McQuillan)
Green Sandpiper - 1, Ballyherly Lough, Co. Down (Richard Weyl)
Reed Warbler - 3, Ballyherly Lough, Co. Down (Richard Weyl)
Red Grouse - 6, Slieve Beagh, Co. Tyrone (Colin Bell)
Late news concerns another possible sighting of a Golden Eagle between Armoy and Altnarichard Co.Antrim


Wahey! We've got 450 friends on Facebook - if every one of them was a member we could offset the £3000 nicked by Andrew in the 'Bahama-gate' scandal that has rocked birding in Northern Ireland.


Visit us at Facebook here

For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at

Spot the Bird (Part 38)





Answer to Part 37: Bonaparte's Gull
at

Moths on the Wing - 25th July


Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata

at

Saturday 24th July News


Mediterranean Gull - 1 (adult), Whitehead, Co.Antrim
Whooper Swan - 1, Glynn, Larne Lough, Co.Antrim
Little Egret - 2, Glynn, Co.Antrim
Kingfisher - 1, Glynn, Co.Antrim
Whimbrel - 2, Whitehouse Lagoon, Co.Antrim
Common Tern - 30, Whitehouse Lagoon, Co.Antrim
Eider - 800, Whiteabbey Shore, Co.Antrim
Great Crested Grebe - 200, Whiteabbey Shore, Co.Antrim
Scaup - 2, (male) Dargan Bay, Co.Antrim
Buzzard - 2, Kinnegar Shore, Co.Down
Dunlin - 2, Kinnegar Shore, Co.Down
Turnstone - 7, Kinnegar Shore, Co.Down
Common Sandpiper - 1, Kinnegar Shore, Co.Down
Common Sandpiper - 5, Belfast Lough RSPB Reserve, Co.Down
Greenshank - 1, Belfast Lough RSPB Reserve, Co.Down
Bar-tailed Godwit - 30, Belfast Lough RSPB Reserve, Co.Down
Black-tailed Godwit - 800, Belfast Lough RSPB Reserve, Co.Down


Andrew has admitted stealing the £3000 for the reports but he is having a lovely time drinking cocktails on the beach so i think its only fair we forgive him. I didn't win the Bingo last night so the lucky gull foot didn't work but i am going back tonight and they are letting me bring my lucky seagull Ross. It should be a good night as Ross doesn't get out that much. I am having to use more NIBA funds for the taxi and entrance money and although the debts of the NIBA continue to soar one lucky win will get us back in the black.


So with Andrew away i can slip in yet another Laughing Gull picture, this is great! He is away for nineteen more days so unless someone comes up with new bird pics, its a Laughing Gull a day!
at

Seatrack- the Irish Seabird Passage Project

Here is a chance for everyone to pack their scope and head for the seaside. Who knows what you might see!
FAME – Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment
“Seatrack” - the Irish Seabird Passage Project

Seabirds are excellent indicators of the health of marine ecosystems - large, conspicuous and at certain times of year, relatively easy to count. Seabirds, by definition, have to ‘track’ marine resources (i.e. fish, squid & plankton) closely, but these same resources are also tracked by the fishing industry. The climate change scenario of today thus influences all components of the marine ecosystem – fish, birds, cetaceans and fishermen.

In the northeast Atlantic, the Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus) is a high priority, globally endangered species which has suffered a major decline in its’ breeding population in the western Mediterranean due to introduced mammalian predators, development ‘pressure’ and probably negative interactions with certain fisheries. In recent years it has become apparent that the non-breeding distribution of the Balearic Shearwater is shifting northwards, and although they have been regularly recorded in Irish waters in small numbers for a long time, our understanding of their ecological requirements and preferred destinations whilst here is very poor.

As part of a collaborative project with BirdLife International partners from Spain, Portugal, France and the UK, we are seeking to improve our knowledge of the status & distribution of Balearic Shearwaters in Ireland, where they are designated as a Red-listed species. We aim to achieve this through a series of co-ordinated, simultaneous seawatching sessions which will be undertaken at selected headlands around the whole country over specified weekends between late summer & autumn. This is where we seek your help. We would like committed seawatchers to volunteer to cover one of the identified sites (others can be added) for a minimum period on pre-selected weekends. We are not targeting weather systems (i.e. north-westerly storms) which are known to be particularly exciting at certain west coast sites but we want data from whatever ‘average’ conditions prevail on the selected weekends.

The enclosed/attached instructions and forms give an idea of what is required but please feel free to contact any of use by phone or e-mail if any clarification is needed. This is a pilot project that can be modified in future years on the basis of our experiences in the 2010 season. The priority species are shearwaters and the project will focus on picking out Balearics amongst larger movements of Manxies (there is always the chance of Sooties, Greats and Cory’s too!). If time and conditions permit, we are happy to receive counts of all species and information from other seawatches outside the selected weekends. We will give regular updates on the BWI website and via e-mail to all participants and will produce a full report during the winter period.

While contributing to this project you can still report your sightings to any of your preferred outlets such as www.birdtrack.net [note – there is a dedicated seawatching page], www.irishbirding.com, www.birdguides.com and so on. We will also maintain close links with the www.seawatch-sw.org operation coordinated by Russell Wynn in the southwest UK. Their website is a great resource for bang up-to-date seawatch results (note recent Yelkouan-type Shearwaters) and excellent photo galleries.

We look forward to hearing back from you.
Good seawatching!

Contacts
Steve Newton snewton@birdwatchireland.ie 01-2812406/087-2316109
Niall Keogh nialltkeogh@hotmail.com 085-7368133
at

)



at

at

Moths on the Wing - 23rd July


Common White Wave Cabera pusaria



'Sad and Lonely' seems to be quite annoyed with us - he even said he's going to stop following our blog! (thankfully he hasn't and is still keeping us company). We really want 'sad and lonely' to stay friends with us because we realise we're the only ones he's got. There you go 'Sad and Lonely' you're not so sad and lonely after all.
at

Chamber of Horrors 12

Frogs legs anybody - these are just slightly past their use by date but can still be saved with a little butter and garlic.


at

Thursday 22nd July News

Red Kite - 4/5 from the viewing point in Castlewellan, Co. Down (Spencer Marshall)
Greenshank - 9, Dundrum Inner Bay South, Co. Down
Greenshank - 8, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Black-tailed Godwit - 20, Blackstaff River, Dundrum Inner Bay North, Co. Down
Dunlin - 110, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Sanderling - 74, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Ringed Plover - 23, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Turnstone - 2, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Greenshank - 1, Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down
Knot - 1 (summer plumage), Ballykinler Beach, Co. Down



Here's some interesting shots! A juvenile Jackdaw with a deformed beak sent to us by Sean Neill.








There are now over 1300 wildlife photos on this blog!


Visit us at Facebook here


For the latest UK bird news: rarebirdsinbritain or birdguides

For the latest Irish bird news: irishbirding

For everything else Surfbirds and Fatbirder
at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)