NIBirding Friday 6th December

PTO DAY12. Post Tawny Owl day 12, my goodness its nearly 2 weeks and still no anouncement from Nobirds! How difficult can it be? Perhaps they need to hold a meeting, but that would involve jetting in members from outside Northern Ireland, maybe they have run out of money to pay for flights? Expect membership prices to be raised, £20 a year sounds like a good round figure, sure look what you get for your £10 already? Absolutely nothing, so for twenty pounds you will get double absolutely nothing, Sweet FA as we used to say at school. But at least you can sleep safely in your beds knowing your money is keeping the aircraft industry going. That is of course conjecture, we dont know but as Nobirds dont make any statements, dont have any meetings and dont publish any accounts we have no idea what they are doing with everyones money, including my £20 and Andrews!! While they have my money i have the right to be critical! We want our money back! But come on boys you dont need a meeting, the Tawny Owl broke into Castle Ward and was begging for food!! Even for you guys thats not a difficult one.

 

Anyway some great Red Kite and Lampey photos by Ronald Surgenor and the last photo by guess who, yes its Stephen!!

 

 

Grey Phalarope

The first casualty of the gales today, a Grey Phalarope is in Portmuck Harbour (Cameron Moore)

NIBirding Thursday 5th December

Todays the day for getting the winter woolys on and heading to the North Coast!! Little Auk guarenteed and maybe an Ivory Gull as well. Frostbite and exposure almost certain as well!

 

Thanks to Ian Dickey for the 3 Wheatear photos, autumn has long since left us!!

And a few left over from autumn as well.

 

PTO Day 11 Post Tawny Owl Day 11. Strong winds today, might bring another Tawny Owl over, i would check near Aviarys that have been blown down overnight, shock horror there is a trade in illegal Owls in Northern Ireland!

 

NIBirding Wednesday 4th December

 

Yesterday The Grey Bellied Brent Goose was still at Dundrum Inner Bay South and a male Goosander at Lough Island Reavy (Tom Ennis)

Spoonbill the second was again on the mudflats off Castle Espie

 

PTO Day 9 Post Tawny Owl day 9. Ive been listening to radio and watching TV flat out waiting for the report of the Tawny Owl. Surely the Nobirds hierarcy will retract their earlier statements? They certainly loved the limelight and flashing lights, come out from behind the sofa guys!!

 Some Redhead Goosander photos

 Second winter Iceland Gull, yipee its the gull season again!

NIBirding Tuesday 3rd December

Morning after the Night Before at Floodgates.

Little Egret before.

After 3 sachets of Resolve,2 Red Bulls,a mouthful of Seaweed, 4 round of veda with a slab of butter on each and a morning constitutional round to Castle Espie he was good to go 5 rounds with the second Spoonbill.
Brian Douglas.

Thanks To Andrew Poots for this Tree Sparrow photo. Andrew has admitted that recently he has suffered holosinations brought on by eating tooo much Arctic Roll and that he no longer see's and Gannets over Richill.

Dave and Orcilla were recently at the Ebro Delta in Spain, part of a prisoner exchange scheme they have with a Spanish prison near Barcelona. At Lobregatt Reserve they found this portrait of Andrew (it really is him) which commemorates the year Andrew spent there in his youth.

Dave and Orcilla also gripped Andrew off with a lovely fluffy moth. They have brought one back for Andrew which they will give him when he visits them in Maghaberry Prison. Orcilla only has 9 months of her 3 year sentence, Dave has been a bad boy in prison, he got caught running a Cider still and wont be out for nearly a year. Orcilla is happy enough with this!

Vulture!

Some Goosy photos from Lough Island Reavy, thanks to Ian Wray for these

Rare Scarce and Bird Photos Northern Ireland

And i should also add endangered birds as well!! Below a sad and lonely Ruddy Duck at a secret location, we will tell people where its at but it will be ten pounds please!!

Then male and reddhead Goosander at Lough Island Reavy, Castlewellan. Then a dodgy old goose at Dundrum. It had a grey belly!! Two Long Tailed Ducks at the River Qouile that think they are seagulls, i kid you not! Then another even  more dodgy goose on the Ards Peninsula, we conside all Barnacles seen here as escaped!! Take note some people!

Then the good old Cattle Egret at Hillssborough which hasnt left the site since it first arrived over 2 years ago. Then two Med Gulls, first winter and adult and finally another hybrid this time the Ring Billed x Common Gull at Millisle. My friends are now calling me Birdguides after Nobirds use my sightings and then put (Birdguides) after them!

PTO Day 7: Post Tawny Owl Day 7, still nothing from Nobirds, this is nothing unusual as they have produced nothing since i done the last report for them 2008 and Andrew set up the blog with all links etc for them