nibirds

Bird News Friday 10th September

Two juvenile Black Terns were at Oxford Island this morning. (Garry Armstrong). Both Black Terns were still present this afternoon, two Manx Shearwaters were also present. (Gerard McGeehan, Shirley Dunlop, Carol Gillespie, Billy Miskelly).

The Little Ringed Plover was at Lady Bay this morning. (Nigel Moore).

The Bonaparte's Gull was in Kinnegar Waterworks and also Kinnegar pool briefly. Belfast Lough RSPB WoW had the 3 Curlew Sandpipers and 10 Ruff. (Garry Armstrong, Stuart McKee).

The two Little Stints are still at the Groomsport entrance to Ballymacormick Point. (James Andrew).

A Wheatear was at the Chaine Memorial, Larne (Ed Simpson)

A Wood Sandpiper (new bird) was at Church Island, Lough Beg this afternoon (flyover, calling). Two inland Sandwich Terns were on rocks in Lough Beg. (David Steele)

An Osprey is at the Bann Estuary (Richard Donaghey)

A Common Scoter was off the Giants Causeway (Robert McDowell)

Brent Geese continue to be widely reported.

Thanks to Wilbert McIlmoyle for this pic of the Osprey:

Bird News Thursday 9th September

A Jack Snipe, 9 Ruff and 2 Curlew Sandpiper are at RSPB WoW (Derek Polley)

2 Purple Sandpiper were at Annalong (Richard Gray)

4 Red Grouse were in the Antrim Hills (Ian Jackson)

The Bonapartes Gull was seen again at the roof next to the sewage works at Kinnegar, this afternoon (Stuart McKee)

Brent Geese are now widely reported at eg Lough Foyle, Strangford and the north coast. Flocks of Greylags have also been seen arriving along the north coast (Martin Deehan, Colin Swan, John Wilkinson, John Clarke, Richard Donaghey)

A juvenile Little Gull (new bird) was at the south end of Lough Beg this afternoon. Yesterday a Garganey was seen and 28 Ruff were at Mullagh but just six Ruff were seen today. (David Steele)

3 Wheatear were at Whitehead (Cameron Moore)

The juvenile Little Ringed Plover, juvenile Ringed Plover and Dunlin were at Portmore Lough RSPB this evening. (Michael Latham).

A Great Shearwater was seen off Rinagree between Portrush and Portstewart. (John Clarke).

2 Little Stints were at Ballymacormick Point. (Richard Weyl).

A juvenile Black Tern was feeding off the Barmouth this afternoon. (Richard Donaghey)

Brent Geese on Strangford Lough, Colin Swann:

Red Grouse, Ian Jackson:

Wheatear, Cameron Moore:

Thanks to Cameron Moore for this superb video of the Little Stint that was at Whitehead last week:

Michael Latham - Little Ringed Plover

John Clarke - Brent Geese

Bird News Wednesday 8th September

A seawatch from 0915-1130 at St John’s Point had 7 Great Northern Diver, 1 Red-throated Diver, an Arctic Skua and a Puffin. Two Wheatear were at Killough (Bob Watts)

There was no sign this morning of the Spotted Redshank or the Little Ringed Plover at Portmore / Lady’s Bay (Kevin Kirkham)

Brent Geese continue to be reported with 80 at Newtownards (Brian Murphy) and 12 at Balls Point, Lough Foyle (Lindsay Hodges).

A Purple Sandpiper has returned to the rocks at Seacliffe Road in Bangor and two Mediterranean Gulls were at the east end of Ballyholme beach. A Little Stint, Knot and a Greenshank were at the Groomsport entrance to Ballymacormick Point. (James Andrew).

Two Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint were off the hide at the Bann estuary. (Stuart McKee, Martin Deehan).

A Melodious Warbler was on Tory Island (Anton Meenan).

Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve had 5 Curlew Sandpipers and 13 Ruff, a 2nd year Mediterranean Gull was at Kinnegar. (Wilton Farrelly).

Portmore Lough RSPB this afternoon had the Little Ringed Plover, a juvenile Ringed Plover and juvenile Dunlin. (Tom Ennis, Carol Gillespie).

Thanks to Thomas Campbell for the pictures of the Gannet and the Sandwich Tern:

Melodious Warbler, Tory Island, Anton Meenan:

Red Kite Bus Trip

There are still seats available for the bus trip to Glendalough and Avoca to see Red Kites on Saturday 18th September. Dr Marc Ruddock who manages the Red Kite reintroduction programme in County Wicklow will give the group a detailed insight into this very successful project. Contact Jim Wells on 07856235144 for full details.

Bird News Tuesday 7th September

An inland Manx Shearwater was off the breakwater at Oxford Island, Lough Neagh this morning. (Ed O'Hara).

The Little Ringed Plover and a Ruff were at Portmore RSPB (Gerard McGeehan / Shirley Dunlop / Tony Dodds)

The Spotted Redshank was still at Lady Bay, Lough Neagh (Shirley Dunlop / Gerard McGeehan).

RSPB WoW had two Little Stint, 5 Curlew Sandpiper and 11 Ruff (Wilton Farrelly / Ken Brewster).

An eclipse male Pintail was on Kinnegar pool. (Daniel Newton).

Thanks to Comghal McQuillan for the picture of the Manx Shearwater at Oxford Island:

Bird News Monday 6th September

A Little Stint was on the beach by the boatyard at Whitehead. (Cameron Moore).

A juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff and Little Stint were at the Bann Estuary also four Wheatear and a Chiffchaff on the rocks along the shore. An adult Med Gull flew out towards Portstewart (Stuart McKee)

A Ruff was at the Groomsport entrance to Ballymacormick Point and 3 Med Gull on the east side of Ballyholme.(James Andrew)

The Spotted Redshank was still present at Ladys Bay.(Joe Lamont)

The Little Ringed Plover was still at RSPB Portmore Lough reserve.(Robbie Hughes).

At least 5 Curlew Sandpipers and the 2 Little Stints were at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve this afternoon. (Daniel Newton).

A Little Stint and 3 Curlew Sandpipers were with 300 Sanderling and 400 Dunlin at Magilligan. (Richard Donaghey).

Our thanks to Tim Jess for the photo of this Red Kite taken in the Dromara hills. Also to Cameron Moore for the photo of the Little Stint from Whitehead.

Bird News Sunday 5th September

The Little Ringed Plover has relocated to Portmore Lough RSPB this afternoon. (Richard Caves)

The Spotted Redshank was still at Lady Bay, Lough Neagh. (Billy Miskelly).

The Great White Egret was in the south west corner of Lough Beg and 8 Ruff were at Mullagh. (Richard Hunter).

Two Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint are at the Bann Estuary (John Spottiswood/ Jeff Larkin)

A Spotted Redshank is at Ballyhalbert Beach (Kevin Kirkham)

The Bonapartes Gull was seen this morning at Kinnegar (Ed O’Hara)

RSPB WoW had 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 2 Little Stints, a Sanderling and 13 Ruff (Gerard McGeehan / Shirley Dunlop / Carol Gillespie). 2 Sanderling and 2 Knot were also at Kinnegar. (Ian Enlander).

St Johns Point this morning had 2 Arctic Skua, 2 Great Northern Divers and 40 Common Scoter. (Wilton Farrely, Garry Armstrong).

A Marsh Harrier was hunting at Portmore Lough RSPB this evening. (Paul Toner, Charlie McFarlane).

At least a hundred Greylags flew south over Antrim this evening, 30 also passed over last night. (Davy Hunter).

Thanks to Richard Caves for the pictures of the Little Ringed Plover, to Richard Hunter for the picture of the Great White Egret, to Michael Latham for the picture of the Spotted Redshank, to Stephan Maxwell for the picture of the Sanderling and to Ed O'Hara for the picture of the Bonaparte's Gull:

Bird News Saturday 4th September

The Bonaparte's Gull was in Kinnegar Waterworks this morning. (Richard Hunter). The bird was on Kinnegar Shore early afternoon (Daniel Newton). It was at the wall along the sewage ponds at 6pm before flying out to Kinnegar shore (Wilton Farrelly)

The two Little Stints, three Curlew Sandpipers, eleven Ruff, three Sanderling and two Knot were at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve. (Garry Armstrong / Richard Hunter)

The Spotted Redshank was at Lady’s Bay, Lough Neagh (Michael Latham) A juvenile Little Ringed Plover is also present (Garry Armstrong)

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was visiting a garden at Ballyrobert (Patricia Lindsay)

The high tide roost at Mill Bay, Carlingford Lough had a Little Stint, Whimbrel, five Knot and 6 Brent (Richard Gray).

A Redwing was on Copeland (Billy Miskelly)

Many thanks to all who share bird sightings and photographs. You can see more pics of local birds at http://nibirdpics.blogspot.com/

Spotted Redshank, Michael Latham:

Little Ringed Plover, Michael Latham:

Ruff and Snipe, Richard Hunter:

Bonapartes Gull, Ivan Quail:

Bird News Friday 3rd September

The Bonaparte's Gull was seen again on Kinnegar shore this evening. (Michael Latham / Gerard McGeehan / Shirley Dunlop)

A Green Sandpiper was seen briefly at McCourt's Lake, County Armagh this morning before flying off. (Joe Devlin).

Brent numbers are now on the increase. 50 were in front of Castle Espie and circa 200 by Ards Floodgates at midday today. (Ross McIlrath)

A Spotted Redshank is at Lady Bay, L Neagh. Best seen from main road as it was feeding close to the shore. (Dermot Hughes)

The Little Gull was again at Kinnegar Shore this morning (Stephen Maxwell/Martin Deehan).

The two Curlew Sandpipers and two Little Stints were still at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve. 8 Ruff were also present (Martin Deehan/Gerard McGeehan/ Shirley Dunlop).

Our thanks to Tim Jess who luckily has this Great Spotted Woodpecker coming to his garden. Also to Michael Latham for the photo taken at the Belfast WoW reserve of a Curlew Sandpiper and a Ruff, to Stphen Maxwell for the picture of the Little Gull and to Thomas Campbell for the pictures of the Knot and the Yellowhammer

Bird News Thursday 2nd September

The Bonaparte’s Gull is still at Kinnegar Shore this morning (Tony Dodds / Ronnie Doggart / Derek Polley). It subsequently moved to the sewage works (Tony Dodds / Andrew Millar)

RSPB WoW this morning had 2 Little Stint, 2 Curlew Sandpiper and 9 Ruff (Tony Dodds / Derek Polley)

A Wood Sandpiper was in the southwest corner of Lough Beg this afternoon before flying to the western shoreline, also a Garganey nearby on Lough Beg and the Great White Egret was seen again. (David Steele)

A Little Gull was at Kinnegar Shore this evening (Daniel Newton)

Video footage of the Bonaparte's Gull from Tony Dodds:

Bonaparte's Gull, Ronnie Doggart:

Bonaparte's Gull, Andrew Millar:

Bird News Wednesday 1st September

Two Little Stint are at RSPB WoW, the Bonaparte’s Gull at Kinnegar Sewage Works (Billy Miskelly, David Stirling, Stewart McKee)

The Bonaparte's Gull was seen at 7:45pm at Kinnegar Shore (Shirley Dunlop)

A Green Sandpiper is at the Bann Estuary (Dennis Weir)

11 Brent Geese are on Strangford Lough, viewable from Castle Espie today. Their arrival has been late this year. (Ross McIlrath)

14 Ruff were at RSPB WoW this evening (Wilton Farrelly)

Bonaparte's Gull, Kinnegar Shore, Stuart McKee:

Waders at RSPB WoW, from left to right - Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Little Stint, Dunlin, Stuart McKee:

Bonaparte's Gull, Wilton Farrelly:

Bird News Tuesday 31st August

The adult Bonapartes Gull was still at Kinnegar Shore this morning at 8:45 (Ronald Surgenor). It was also seen at 1pm at Kinnegar, flying in to the Sewage Works. (Michael Latham).

Two juvenile Little Stints, 3 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers, 10 Ruff and 4 Sanderling were at RSPB Belfast Lough WoW reserve this afternoon. (Stuart McKee).

A Purple Sandpiper was between Ramore Head and the Countryside Centre in Portrush. (Juliet Fleming).

Bonapartes Gull, Michael Latham:

Thanks to Philip West for this phone \ scope video of the Bonapartes Gull at RSPB WoW last night:

Purple Sandpiper and Wheatear - Juliet Fleming:

Bird News Monday 30th August

The Bonaparte's Gull is at Kinnegar Shore at 1:40 (Bob Watts). It is at RSPB WoW at 7:45pm. (Gerard McGeehan)

RSPB WoW this morning had a Curlew Sandpiper and 2 Sanderling. Another Curlew Sandpiper and a Knot were at Kinnegar (Bob Watts) There were also 10 Ruff and about 70 Dunlin present at RSPB WoW. (Tom Ennis).

This morning 2 Whimbrel, 3 Greenshank and a high count of 230 Red-breasted Merganser were at Glynn (Ian Enlander)

Little Stint seen at Kinnegar, Bonaparte's Gull seen but distant.(Kevin Kirkham).

At least one Garganey was on Lough Beg this afternoon, also a Great White Egret on the western shoreline. The 2nd-winter Little Gull, 25 Ruff (22 juvenile) and 3 White Wagtails were at Mullagh. (David Steele)

At Burial Island this morning there were 2 Arctic Skua, 2 Red-throated Diver and 10 Common Scoter. (Richard Weyl)

Bonapartes Gull:

Bird News Sunday 29th August

An adult Bonapartes Gull is at RSPB WoW at 17:45, the two juvenile Curlew Sandpipers and five Sanderling were also present. A Whimbrel was at Kinnegar shore. (Stuart McKee)

The nine Ruff were still at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW reserve this morning. (Garry Armstrong).

A Little Stint was at Ballykelly Marsh. (Nicky Lynn & Ivan Quail).

Three Garganey were at Lough Beg this morning, 20 Ruff. 17 juveniles and 3 adult males, were at Mullagh. (David Steele).

Two Spotted Redshank, two Curlew Sandpiper and 10 Ruff are at Blanketnook, Co Donegal (Derek Brennan)

At John’s Point, Co Down had a Great Northern Diver, 6 Common Scoter, and a Minke Whale (Michael Latham).

Thanks to Stuart McKee for the picture of the Bonaparte's Gull and to Tim Jess for the picture of the Great Spotted Woodpecker:

Bird News Saturday 28th August

Two Curlew Sandpiper, nine Ruff and a Sanderling were at RSPB WoW (Gerard McGeehan / Shirley Dunlop)

A Corys Shearwater went west past Glassagh Bay, Fanad at 11:15 (Wilton Farrelly)

Thanks to Tim Jess for the picture of the Red Kite:

Bird News Friday 27th August

An adult and juvenile Roseate Terns were at Ballyholme beach this morning, an adult and juvenile Mediterranean Gulls were also present. (James Andrew).

7 Goosander (inc at least 5 juv) were at Ballykelly river mouth this morning. Also present were 6 adult Mediterranean Gulls, and 6 Knot (Richard Gray)

5 Ruff are at the pool next to Kearney Village (Dermott Hughes)

9 Ruff, a single Whimbrel and a Sanderling were at Belfast Lough RSPB WoW this afternoon. (Garry Armstrong).

The 2nd year Little Gull now moulted into winter plumage was at the Mullagh, Lough Beg. 6 juvenile Ruff were also present. (David Steele).

Thanks to Clive Mellon for the pictures of the juvenile Dotterel and to Richard Gray for the picture of the Goosander:

Red Kites at Avoca and Glendalough - Coach Trip

Red Kites at Avoca and Glendalough, Saturday 18 September 2021

A coach trip to Avoca, Wicklow to see Red kites will take place on Saturday 18 September. The coach will leave Sprucefield at 9am. Dr Marc Ruddock, who manages the Wicklow Red Kite project, will meet the coach at Avoca. The cost of the trip is £30. For more information, please contact John Mason at johncmason@btinternet.com