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Pre-Christmas visit. Not much time spent birding but a few little walks still produced the goods.
Belfast - Victoria Park
A flock of a dozen or so Siskin were present on both the 13th/ 14th. A Shoveler was on the inner lake amidst the Mallards and Greylags, as were the usual handful of Grey Heron and Little Grebe. A Black Guillemot was in the Musgrave channel on the 14th too.
Newcastle - Harbour
This is one of my favourite birding spots and I always make an effort to have a stroll down in the morning before the better half wakes up. The wintering flock of 13 Purple Sandpiper were regular on the rocks just below the end of the harbour wall. Turnstones were also ever present, as were Redshank and Oystercatcher. Double figure counts of Great Northern Diver were close offshore all week, and on Wednesday 16th there was the added bonus of a Black-throated Diver too. The odd Guillemot drifted past as well, and Fulmars and Gannets could be seen further out. A raft of Scoter always remained agonisingly distant - all the more frustrating as a local birder I spoke to claimed to have picked up a Surf Scoter amongst them the previous week.
Nonetheless, a Black Redstart that seems to have taken winter residence in the harbour was a real treat, whilst Rock Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail and Hooded Crow were all present too.
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"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue."
Patch YTD: 155
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