Up to now my comments have been confined to birdwatching in my garden as I am recovering from a broken leg. However thanks to some very good friends I was able to get out and about on Friday and Saturday.
This was a lovely end to a week that had started full of frustrations. I moved house in August and since then I have been unable to get my printer to work. Despite the help of some computer boffin friends, and replacement printer cables, the printer has remained silent. I decided to treat myself to a new printer, and as I was also investing in a digital camera I decided to buy a printer which would print from a memory card as well as from the computer. The new printer arrived, a new USB cable was purchased and despite installing and uninstalling the software numerous times the printer would not work. Some long conversations ensued with the printer help line, all to no avail. The problem appears to be a processor/hard drive problem, and I now have to decide the best way forward.
The digital camera arrived. The printer is printing from the memory card, and the PC is downloading the photos from the computer. I've been experimenting, and will try and download a couple of photos of Friday's outing. I've already tried this twice and lost the entry. As I'm sure you have gathered by now I'm not very technically minded!
On Friday we headed to the RSPB reserve in the Belfast Harbour Industrial Estate. It is a small reserve, based around a fresh water pool, in the middle of the busy Belfast docklands and with parking close by. There are 2 small man made islands, which in the summer are home to a common tern colony. Friday was a lovely bright, sunny day, but very cold, with a biting north wind. Part of the water was frozen over. We were at the reserve at low tide.
Rarities consisted of a ruff, which had apparently over wintered, and a 1st year Iceland gull. Large numbers of wigeon, shelduck and a variety of gulls were present. Other species spotted were reed buntings, blackbird, cormorant, moorhen, both carrion and hooded crows, curlew, black-tailed godwits, dunnock, redshank, magpie, mallard, pochard and blue-tit. However, the most spectacular were the teal. Now I appreciate that teal are quite common, but on Friday they were close to the hide. The sun was catching the colours of the drakes beautifully, and I have never seen the speculum of the females highlighted so well. On leaving the reserve we saw goldfinch, oystercatchers and curlew.
On Saturday other friends took me along the Ards Peninsular shore of Strangford Lough. The tide was coming in, and we had good views of shelduck, redshank, oystercatchers, mute swans, dunlin, knot, ringed plover, brent geese, curlew, and black-headed and herring gulls. As well as brent geese feeding on the shore line a one stage a flock of around 500 flew over our heads, circled back over the Lough and landed just out of sight.
Two very good days!
Hi Dawn, congrats on sorting out your printing issue - it can be frustrating. Ruff and Iceland Gull are good birds. Email me if you need some help posting photos.
Posted by: andyb at March 5, 2004 07:09 AM