Over the last few days I have done a bit of birdwatching, all within 25 miles of home. The weather has varied from rain, strong winds, snow showers to blue skies today with ice still on untreated roads.
Co Down (country) - goldfinch, blackbird, house sparrow, rook, carrion crow, hooded crow, jackdaw, mallard, woodcock (my first since 2001), wood pigeon, collared dove, magpie, pheasant, tufted duck, coot, little grebe, gadwell, mute swan, black-headed gull, shoveler, chaffinch, greenfich, robin, mistle thrush, song thrush, redwing, feral pigeon, goldeneye, wigeon, grey heron, redshank, buzzard (being mobbed by 2 carrion crows), dunnock.
Quoile Pondage - mallard, teal, pochard, wigeon, lapwing (200+), goldeneye (pair, got a photo of the drake, not bad for me but a bit distant), coot, black-headed gull, herring gull, cormorant, mute swan, great black-backed gull.
Co Cown (coast) - black-headed gull, herring gull, common gull, great black-backed gull, dunlin, brent geese, oystercatcher, mute swan, redshank, curlew, red-breasted merganiser, cormorant, grey heron, pied wagtail, shelduck, grey seal, shag, sanderling, knot, mallard, teal, shoveler.
Confined to the house at the moment with the dreaded lurgy!! At least I had a lovely, long view of a goldcrest today. Unfortunately not near enough to photo. On the plus side I have at last invested in Broadband, so am enjoying all your expert photos even more.
Managed a quick visit yesterday to the hide. Birds seen black-headed gull, common gull, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, herring gull, goosander (drake out of the water in front of the hide), ruff (2 in winter plumage, again in front of the hide), bar-tailed godwit, curlew, lapwing, teal, moorhen, reed bunting, linnet, magpie, hooded crow, shoveler, golden plover, wigeon, mallard, great tit.
Got some birding in again yesterday. There had been another storm overnight, and whilst most of the fallen trees had been cleared there were still enough to cause problems. For those of you who are not familiar with the Quoile Pondage it is fresh water beside Strangford Lough, which is a sea lough. The area was created by the building of a barrage as flood control for nearby Downpatrick. The whole area is a nature reserve, with a good hide. Usually there are a number of very small islands in front of the hide where a variety of ducks sit out. Yesterday the water level was above the islands.
Quoile Pondage - mute swan, goldeneye, wigeon, teal, greylag geese, lapwing, grey heron, mallard, tufted duck, sparrowhawk, herring gull, black-headed gull, lesser black-backed gull, greater black-backed gull, little grebe, golden plover, cormorant, coot, wren.
Co Down in general - Rook, crow, jackdaw, blackbird, robin, pheasant, yellowhammer, shelduck, dunlin, mistle thrush, song thrush, fieldfares, starling, kestrel.
The first week in the new year has been very stormy. One of the birdtables was damaged, but still usable. Temperatures have fluctuated between mild and cold, with snow showers today, but no lying snow. Birds include: great tit, coal tit, blue tit, collared dove, carrion crow, song thrush, chaffinch, greenfinch, house sparrow, dunnock, goldfinch, starling, blackbird. Great tits have been exploring the nest boxes I put up last month. It would be nice if something nested this year. Still some berries in the front garden, but none in the back. The apples I put out have been untouched. They were popular last winter, but not as much this winter. The great tits, starlings and song thrush have been enjoying the fat balls. There have been 3 collared doves in the garden most days. Today 1 of the doves tried to chase off the 3rd. I wonder if it is 1 of last year's young?
I've done a few hours of birding over the last few days. The weather has been very stormy, so there wasn't much about - magpie, carrion crow, rook, jackdaws, starling, blackbird, chaffinch, hooded crow, tufted duck, fieldfare, greenfinch, blackheaded gull, house sparrow, mute swan, blue tit, redwing, mistle thrush, song thrush, pheasant, whooper swan, robin, sparrowhawk, kestrel.
A belated happy new year to everyone. My last bird for 2004 was lapwing. My first bird of 2005 was magpie. Not very exciting compared to the other blogs, but still lovely birds.