1 Jan 2010

Happy New Year and a Life Tick




HAPPY NEW YEAR


Having woken up feeling dreadful. No not because of the drink, I was the designated driver but because I have Chondromalacia patella or in other words an excruciatingly painful knee. So now doped to the eyeballs and can walk about again. Consequently I decided to spend the morning birding from the house.
While I was looking out at Launches large (one of the islands in front of the house) I spotted an Otter with a flat fish on the shoreline then I noticed another and called my wife to come and have a look and as she was looking through the scope she said there are three not two and sure enough there was a family party. I also saw another just out from the Castle Island Hide later in the afternoon. So four Otters in one day ain't bad.
From the house I saw 37 species of bird. The most at a sitting is 45 but I was pretty happy with 37.

1. Curlew
2. Brent goose
3. Wood Pigeon
4. Greenfinch
5. Bluetit
6. Rook
7. Black-headed Gull
8. Herring Gull
9. Lapwing
10. Great Tit
11. Common Gull
12. Redshank
13. Oystercatcher
14. House Sparrow
15. Robin
16. Shelduck
17. Chaffinch
18. Blackbird
19. Coal Tit
20. Magpie
21. Goldfinch
22. Starling
23. Ringed plover
24. Mallard
25. Golden Plover
26. Dunnock
27. Wigeon
28. Heron
29. Hooded crow
30. Song thrush
31. Great Crested Grebe
32. Cormorant
33. Jackdaw
34. Bullfinch
35. Sparrowhawk
36. Pheasant
37. Teal

After lunch I headed to the Castle island Hide on the Quoile. Most of the area in front of the hide was completely frozen. There were areas that were unaffected and held concentrations of Teal, Mallard, Wigeon and Greylag Geese. There were also a number of Goldeneye out on the water. I then headed to Killough Harbour where there have been reported sightings of a Black Redstart over the past month. This was my fourth trip to try and find it and as I arrived I saw birders Gerard , Shirley and Mark who had the bird right in front of them. It does make life easier when they are easy to find!! There's a record shot above but I will now have to go back with a longer lens to see if I can get a better shot of it. Below are the remainder of the birds I saw today.

38. Buzzard
39. Mute swan
40. Greylag Goose
41. Goldeneye
42. Tufted Duck
43. Coot
44. Little Grebe
45. Redwing
46. Fieldfare
47. Raven
48. Mistle Thrush
49. Black Redstart
50. Wren
51. Stonechat
52. Greenshank
53. Turnstone
54. Little Egret
55. Moorhen
56. Collared Dove
57. Black guillemot
58. Rock Pipit
59. Sandwich Tern
60. Purple Sandpiper
61. Dunlin
62. Bar-tailed Godwit
63.. Pied Wagtail
64. Shag

2 comments:

Timothy Belmont said...

Otters occasionally visit Salt Island - the other side from you, facing Delamont - where we've enlarged a small, fresh-water pond. We often see their spoor there. Hopefully i'll get an opportunity to work at the pond this year and dredge it some more.

Anonymous said...

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