Bird News Thursday 21st August

A Long-eared Owl was seen at Castlebawn waste grounds heading towards the airfield at around10:30pm last night (Adam Middleton)

A Cuckoo was just off exit 6 / B95 on the M2 on the outskirts of Antrim (Mark Smyth)

2 Garganey, 28 Ruff, a Green Sandpiper and 6 Little Egret were at Lough Beg (David Steele)

A juvenile Mediterranean Gull was at Whitehouse Lagoon in Belfast (Stuart McKee)

A short seawatch at Ramore head this evening produced 3 Great Skuas, along with 250 Manx Shearwaters. Earlier another Great Skua was seen flying along cliffs east of Ballintoy Church (Colin Guy)

At Lough Mourne were 3 Sanderling, 6 Redshank, 14 Ringed Plover, 4 Ruff, 130 Black Tailed Godwit, 1 Dunlin, 1 Green 

Sandpiper. and a couple of White Wagtail. (Stuart McKee)

You can report rare and scarce bird news to nibirds@live.co.uk or Twitter @nibirds

Thanks to Dick Glasgow for the pic of the Sparrowhawk, William Smiton for the Fulmar and Stuart McKee for the Green Sandpiper. You can see more bird pics at www.nibirdpics.blogspot.co.uk