Bird News Sunday 30th September

Highlights from Ramore Head from 07:15-14:00 were Great Northern Diver 8, Sooty Shearwater 45, Barnacle Goose 52, Leach’s Petrel 1, Grey Phalarope 1, Pomarine Skua 1, Arctic Skua 4, Great Skua 23, Pintail 18 and Scaup 4 (Neal Warnock).

Also seen at Ramore this morning were ten Puffin and a single Storm Petrel that was taken by a Peregrine. (Stuart McKee).

Fanad Head from 7:30 to 10am had 3 Leaches Petrels, 150+ Sooties, 6 Bonxie, 3 Arctic Skua, 3 Arctic Tern, 16 Great Northern Divers and 2 Red-throated Divers. Small flocks of Barnacles were also seen heading west. (Robert Vaughan / Wilton Farrelly)

A Dark-bellied Brent Goose was at the north end of Strangford Lough (Richard Weyl)

2 Med Gulls were in the car park at Antrim KFC (Gareth Platt)

Ramore Head this evening had 19 Sooty Shearwater, 5 Leach's Petrel, 6 Bonxie, 3 Arctic Skua, 6 Barnacle Geese, 4 Red-throated Divers and circa 150 Kittiwake. (Matthew Tickner)

Yesterday a Hen Harrier was seen near Pontzpass (Alan McDonnell)

Thanks to Thomas Campbell for this pic of a Dunlin with a flock of Sanderling:

Med Gull, Gareth Platt:

Great Northern Diver, Thomas Campbell: 

Bird News Saturday 29th September

The Bairds Sandpiper was still at Myroe (Richard Donaghey)

The second year Little Gull was at Whitehead (Cameron Moore).

A White Wagtail was at Portavogie. (Richard Weyl).

An "Eastern" Jackdaw was in the harbour area of Groomsport. (John Edwards).

For anyone interested the escaped Mandarin Duck remains around Shaw's Bridge in Belfast. (Alan Godfrey).

Thanks to Thomas Campbell for the pictures of the Peregrine, Ringed Plover & Greenshank and to Ian Jackson for the pictures of the Sanderling and the Turnstone:

Bird News Friday 28th September

The Bairds Sandpiper was giving excellent views at Myroe tonight (as you can see with Neal's photo below) The ad White-rumped Sandpiper was still showing, there was also a dark-bellied Brent Goose.(Neal Warnock)

A Short-eared Owl was at Cockle Island this evening.(Richard Weyl)

Yesterday a Merlin was in Ward Park in Bangor, it was attacking the caged birds there. (Margaret Adamson).

Bird News Thursday 27th September

An adult Stilt Sandpiper was off the viewing platform at Inch Island, Donegal. The bird was there to at least 3pm. (Theo Campbell)

The White-rumped Sandpiper was still at Myroe (Robert Vaughan) The bird was still present this afternoon. (Hill Dick/Peter Robinson)

A juvenile Bairds Sandpiper was at Myroe this afternoon (Hill Dick / Stuart McKee).

A 1st winter Mediterranean Gull was at Belfast Water Works. (Paul McCullough).

A Wheatear was at Belfast WOW which still has no water. (Derek Polley).

Thanks to Stuart McKee for the pictures of the Bairds Sandpiper, to Paul McCullough for the picture of the Mediterranean  Gull, to David Hill for the picture of the Knot and to Olivier Bernard for the picture of the Kingfisher:

Bird News Wednesday 26th September

Three Pink Footed Geese were seen from Ramore Head this morning.(Brian Murphy)

This afternoon on Larne Lough, Glynn lagoon (north) had 22 Greenshank and a Whimbrel. Glynn Station had a high count of 167 Red-breasted Merganser (Ian Enlander)

Yesterday a Whimbrel was at Glynn (Brenda Campbell)

Thanks to Brenda Campbell for this pic of the Whimbrel:

Bird News Tuesday 25th September.

A Kingfisher was seen in Victoria Park, Belfast.(Stuart Cahoon)

Black tailed Godwits - Wilfred Swain.

Bird News Monday 24th September

The White-rumped Sandpiper and one of the Buff-breasted Sandpipers were reported again from Myroe. (Birdguides).

20 Pintail were at the Maltings, Newtownards (Gerard McGeehan)

Thanks to Cameron Moore for the pictures of the Little Gull and the Wheatear from Whitehead at the weekend:

Bird News Sunday 23rd September

The adult White-rumped Sandpiper was still at Myroe this morning (Brian McCloskey). There was no sign of the Buff Breasted Sandpipers nor the American Golden Plover.

At Lough Beg this morning a juvenile Marsh Harrier was hunting around Paddy's Dub and three Pinkfeet flew high west. (David Steele)

Ramore Head this morning had 13 Leach’s Petrel, 44 Sooty Shearwater, 11 Arctic Skua, 7 Bonxie, 25 Common Scoter (Neal Warnock)

Whitehead had a Wheatear and 15 Whooper Swans which flew over up the Lough (Gerard McGeehan)

A Black Brant was reported from the northern end of Strangford Lough (BirdGuides)

Three Whooper Swans were at Ballykelly (Michael Savage)

Greenland Wheatear, Lindsay Hodges:

Bird News Saturday 22nd September

An adult White-rumped Sandpiper and the Buff-breasted Sandpiper were at Myroe to 2pm at least (Neal Warnock)

An adult American Golden Plover was at the west end of Myroe along with a second Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Garry Armstrong)

19 Whooper Swans were at Bridgend, heading towards Inch Wildfowl Reserve (Christine Cassidy)

A 2nd yr Little Gull was at Whitehead Promenade at 11am (Cameron Moore)

A Pomarine Skua was at Ramore Head this morning (Richard Hunter)

A White Rumped Sandpiper was seen this morning at the Barmouth but flew off high. There was no sign of the American Black Tern (Theo Campbell)

3 Carrion Crows, along with a Hooded Crow, were on the shore just north of Ballygally (Halfway House Hotel). May Possibly be a hybrid pairing, with two juveniles.
 An Iceland Gull, was on the shore of Larne Lough, at Glynn.(Gareth Platt)

5Arctic Skua and a Great Skua were off Groomsport.(Richard Weyl)

Rathlin Bird Week...

Were looking for any birders who would like to stay on Rathlin during the first week or so of October to help us find and record birds on the island. Cheap accommodation is available for up to eight birders each night in return for birding the island and contributing sightings. Further information and the relevant contact details can be found here: https://rathlinstickybeak.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/rathlin-birding-week-2018-coming-soon/ Ric and Hazel)

Iceland Gull - Gareth Platt.

Red throated Diver - Thomas Campbell

Adult American Golden Plover - Neal Warnock.

Bird News Friday 21st September

A Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Pectoral Sandpiper were at the east end of Myroe this morning (Jeff Larkin).

A sea-watch at Ramore Head, Portrush this morning produced 14 Leach's Petrel, 3 Sabine's Gulls, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 7 Bonxie's and 3 Arctic Skua's. (Stuart McKee).

Further sea-watching at Ramore this afternoon and this evening produced 29 Bonxie's, 28 Arctic Skua's, 3 Leach's Petrel, a single Storm Petrel, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 21 Arctic Tern, 2 Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver, a Whimbrel, 6 Red-breasted Merganser, 15 Brent Geese and 16 Wigeon. (Matthew Tickner).

Also recorded at Ramore this evening were 4 Leach's Petrel, 32 Arctic Skua, 30 Bonxie's 2 Grey Phalarope, 120+ Brent Geese, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 18 Arctic Terns, 3 Great Northern and 2 Red-throated Divers, a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, 3 Red-breasted Merganser and 12 Wigeon. (Neal Warnock).

A skein of 70 Pink-footed Geese flew high south over Rathlin this morning. (Ric Else & Hazel Watson).

Thanks to Mervyn Guthrie for the picture of the Pectoral Sandpiper from Myroe:

Bird News Thursday 20th September

A Pectoral Sandpiper was still at the east end of Myroe (Brian Murphy)

Belfast WOW this afternoon had a Greenland Wheatear, 20+ Pied Wagtail and 40+ Meadow Pipit (Ian Enlander)

27 Red-breasted Merganser were off Kinnegar (Derek Polley)

At least two Curlew Sandpiper were at the Barmouth (Thomas Campbell)

Thanks to Thomas Campbell for the pics of Curlew Sandpipers with Dunlin and a Snipe:

Bird News Wednesday 19th September

A Pomarine Skua was seen off Copeland Bird Observatory (CBO).

Several Sooty Shearwaters and a Little Gull were off Rue Point in Rathlin during the stormy weather. (Ric Else & Hazel Watson).

Bird News Tuesday 18th September

The American Black Tern was giving good views perched on posts to the left of the hide at the Barmouth between 9.00 and 9.30 this morning. (Clifford Sharpe & David Nixon).

Around Lough Foyle today were a single Pectoral Sandpiper, a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and a Curlew Sandpiper at Myroe. Also present were a Pink-footed Goose, 4 Ruff, 11 Med Gull and a high count of 56 Little Egret. (Brad Robson and Matthew Tickner).

A Greenland Wheatear was at Lough Mourne (Stuart McKee) and another there Wheatear was at Rockport (Derek Polley)

Greenland Wheatear, Stuart McKee:

Bird News Monday 17th September.

No news in so far of the American Black Tern at the Bann Estuary.

 Late news from Saturday,,an adult Stock Dove was at Carmean between Moneymore and Magherafelt. I have not seen a Stock Dove in my local area for years. (Godfrey Mc Roberts)

Dunlin - Christine Cassidy/Lindsay Hodges.

Bird News Sunday 16th September

The American Black Tern was feeding along the river, inland from the Barmouth breakwater at 9:30 (Ed O’Hara / Garry Armstrong). A Jack-snipe was also present. (Stuart McKee). 4 Arctic Skua's were off the Barmouth. (Ian Graham)

Although the American Black Tern was absent for most of the day it was seen again off the Barmouth at 5.30p.m. (Neal Warnock).

A Pectoral Sandpiper is at Myroe (Daniel Newton)

An adult Pomarine Skua and 6 Curlew Sandpipers were at the Barmouth this afternoon. (Wilton Farrelly).

Two Arctic Skua’s and a Great Skua were off Portstewart Head. (Sean Hickey).

Yesterday 40 Red-throated Diver passing south at Burial Island between 9 and 10a.m. and 2 White Wagtail were at Kirkiston. (Richard Weyl).

3 Golden Plover were at Llendrum Wind Farm this afternoon. (Colin Bell).

Thanks to Ed O'Hara for the pictures of the American Black Tern, the Pectoral Sandpiper and the Arctic Skua, to Thomas Campbell for the picture of the Ruff, to Michael Latham for the picture of the Wheatear and to Alan McCluskie for the picture of the Sandwich Tern:

American Black Tern

Many thanks to Stephen Dundar for these pictures of the American Black Tern at the Barmouth:

Bird News Saturday 15th September

The American Black Tern is back at The Barmouth. It was there to at least 2pm (Neal Warnock)

The Barmouth Coleraine this morning had 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 6 Ruff & 3 Med gull (Richard Hunter).

Thanks to Thomas Campbell for the pictures of the Arctic Skua, Red-throated Diver and Sanderling:

Bird News Friday 14th September.

No news so far today.

Arctic Skuas harassing a Black-headed Gull. - Ronald Surgenor

Bird News Thursday 13th September

There was no sign of the American Black Tern at the Bann this morning. There were two Curlew Sandpipers, three Ruff , three 1st year and one adult Med Gull, and six Arctic Skuas (Jeff Larkin / Stuart McKee)

A Short-eared Owl was on Rathlin (Ric Else / Hazel Watson)

The juvenile Black Tern was still over Lough Beg this evening. Also 13 Ruff were present. (David Steele)

Ballykelly had 120+ Brent Geese and Magilligan had a Med Gull (Christine Cassidy, Lindsay Hodges)

Myroe had c200 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Curlew Sandpiper. Magilligan Point had 4 Arctic Skuas. (Hill Dick/Peter Robinson)

Short-eared Owl, Ric Else \ Hazel Watson:

Bird News Wednesday 12th September

A juvenile American Black Tern was reported this morning on the Bann Estuary. The bird appears to be feeding along River Bann towards Coleraine but was roosting on rocks at the estuary mouth yesterday (Ian Dickey). The bird was still present at 12 at the Barmouth (Stuart McKee).

As well as the American Black Tern, the Barmouth had 2 first year Little Gulls, 10 Arctic Skua, a Pomarine Skua and a Bonxie. The small river at the Bann Estuary had an adult Little Gull and two Whimbrel. (Stuart McKee) 

100+ Meadow Pipit were at Whitehead Seafront this morning before quickly moving through (Ian Enlander)

Circa 55 Brent Geese flew over Helens Bay this afternoon (Philip Watson)

American Black Tern, Ian Dickey:

Bird News Tuesday 11th September

A three-hour seawatch from Rue Point on Rathlin this morning produced 1 juvenile Sabine's Gull, 1 juvenile Little Gull, 21 Sooty Shearwaters, 1 Storm Petrel, 115 Brent Geese, 1 Great Northern Diver, 3 Arctic Skuas and 3 Great Skuas. (Ric Else & Hazel Watson).

A juvenile Black Tern was over Lough Beg this afternoon. (David Steele).

2 Black tern and 2 Ruff were at Reedy Flat and a White Wagtail nearby at Bann Foot on the south shore of Lough Neagh. (Richard Weyl).

3 Mediterranean Gulls were at the Round O in Enniskillen this evening. (Brad Robson).

17 Greenshank were at Glynn and 35 Brent over Larne. (Gerard McGeehan).

Thanks to Ronald Surgenor for the picture of the Curlew Sandpiper and to Lindsay Hodges and Christine Cassidy for the picture of the Red Grouse:

Bird News Monday 10th September.

One of the Curlew Sandpipers was still present at Myroe.(David Hill)



Our thanks to Michael Henderson for this pic of a Spotted Flycatcher seen at Oxford Island, also to David Hill for the Curlew Sandpiper(right hand bird)

Bird News Sunday 9th September

Two Curlew Sandpiper were in the channel to the east end of Myroe (Daniel Newton)

The Bann Estuary had a second year Little Gull, a Curlew Sandpiper and 5 Mediterranean Gulls (Jeff Larkin)

There were still many hundreds of Kittiwakes between Rathlin and Ballycastle this morning. Arctic Skua, Great Skua and one juv Pomarine Skua also out there, viewed from Rathlin. (Ric Else and Hazel Watson)

Two Ruff were still at Kinnegar this afternoon (Daniel Newton).

Between Magilligan and Castlerock there were at least 5 Arctic Skua (Daniel Newton / Stuart McKee)

Two Arctic Skua and a Bonxie were off St Johns Point (Brian Murphy)

Unfortunately the lack of water at RSPB WoW means that it currently holds very few birds.

Bird News Saturday 8th September

A Short-eared Owl was on Copeland (Lawrence Eagling)

At Burial Island were a Great skua, 2 Red-throated diver and a Shoveler (Richard Weyl)

Grey Point had a dark phase Arctic Skua, Common Scoter and Redthroated Diver (Stuart McKee)

2 Arctic skuas between Greencastle and Magilligan (Richard Gray)

A juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, 6 Ruff and 2 Med gulls were at Myroe. A Ruff and 10 Med gulls were at the Bann Estuary. Another Med gull was at Portballintrae - all except two were first calendar year. A juvenile Little Gull was on the sea with hundreds of Kittiwakes off Ballycastle this evening (Neal Warnock)

Curlew Sandpiper, Neal Warnock:

Thanks to Thomas Campbell for this pic of a Little Grebe:

Bird News Friday 7th September

An American Golden Plover was flying around Ushet Lough on Rathlin late morning (Ric Else / Hazel Watson)

An adult summer Glaucous Gull flew past the cliff path between Dunseverick and Giant's Causeway. (Colin Guy).

An Osprey was at Lower Lough Erne (Michael Stinson)

An Arctic Skua was in Belfast Lough this evening (Ronald Surgenor)

Bird News Thursday 6th September

At least 17 Sooty Shearwaters were offshore from Rathlin this morning, and a Merlin at the west end of the island (Ric Else / Hazel Watson)

A Sooty Shearwater was reported flying past Ramore Head at 9:30 (Bird Ireland)

An adult Roseate Tern was at Whitehead Seafront (Cameron Moore)

Roseate Tern, Cameron Moore:

Hen Harrier, Co Derry, Christine Cassidy:

This White-rumped Munia was taken by Robert Scott, on the Ormeau Road, Belfast. If you know who may have lost it, please contact us.