Cracking day to be out and about! With divers flavour of the month, I had a good look off Long Strand this morning, but couldn't do better than 50 red-throated divers and 19 great northern divers - both nationally important counts! Things were steady on the lake, with 50 teal, 2 wigeon, 1 tufted duck, 44 little grebes, 1 coot and the great crested grebe, while the female/immature black redstart was still messing about on the beach at the surfers end of long strand. The year ticks have dried up though!
A collared dove sitting on the phone wires at the bottom of the garden this morning was an unseasonal visitor to the patch (82). One little egret was also around, proving that they didn't all succumb during the big freeze, though numbers generally seem pretty low just now.
Minimal effort spent on the patch today, but still gleaned fulmar and kestrel for the year (81). A (the same??) red kite was seen briefly over Rathbarry late morning, and a 2nd winter med gull flew over Long Strand early afternoon, while the great crested grebe was still on the lake, with 14 tufted ducks. The juvenile spoonbill was still loitering at Ross this afternoon too.
