Bird News Tuesday 27th October

A Barn Owl was seen landing in the waste ground adjacent to Carrickfergus Marina/Sailing Club at 1100hrs today. It stayed about 30 mins and flew off in the direction of Belfast being given a hard time by the local gulls and crows (Nigel Thompson, Carrickfergus Harbour Master).

 

St John’s Point to Rossglass from 8.30 to 9.30 had four small parties of Starlings (total 16 birds) coming in off the sea, 70 Brent Geese, 5 Great Northern Diver (all in summer plumage), 1 juvenile Red-throated Diver, c.100 Guillemots, 8 Razorbills, 9 Black Guillemots, 2 Shelduck, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Wigeon, 19 Scoter, 170 Lapwing and 1 Merlin (Chris and Tim Murphy).

Ballykellly had 380 Whooper Swans, 129 Brent Geese, 2 White-fronted Geese; Myroe had 70 Whooper Swans, 43 Brent Geese, 500 Golden Plover, Bann Estuary had 250 Dunlin, 70 Sanderling, 40 Whooper Swans. (Peter Robinson / Hill Dick)  

A Short-eared Owl was at Inch, Co Donegal (Boyd Bryce)

Thanks to Annette Elkin for this pic of Barnacle Geese at Lissadell, Co Sligo: