Recent Sightings - 30th December 2019
With the passing of another year, lets take a moment a relive some of the bird highlights at Castle Espie in 2019! It's been quite a year with large flocks of passing migrants, infrequent visitors becoming regular features, remarkable breeding successes and some very rare blown-ins!:
Right at the start of the year we were treated to marvellous wintering murmuration of starlings of nearly 350 birds!! They performed their aerial displays above the brickworks before roosting overnight in our reedbeds.
As we moved into springtime we were seeing large flocks Oystercatcher and Black-tailed Godwits using the newly refurbished shingle bank. 500 birds of each species in a single flock! Leg rings were also seen on birds confirming them as born in Iceland, so these flocks were probably migrants stopping for a rest and refuel here at Castle Espie.
An unusual sighting for the reserve was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers on the Saline lagoon! These uncommon seaducks are numerous further out on Strangford, to see them on the reserve itself was very exciting!
As the days got warmer and longer the Black-headed Gull Colony returned like clockwork. Around 700 pairs nested this year (1400 birds!), creating a raucous cacophony of calls slightly larger than last year. We even had a pair of Mediterranean gulls prospecting, though they didn't settle they could return in the future to breed, who knows!
Our big success on the reserve this year was that our Common Terns bred for the very first time! An artificial raft was put out on the Saline lagoon specially for them and they found it quite amenable and in late summer they managed to fledge a single chick. This is a huge success here, as Common Terns are in decline all across the UK and are a special feature of Strangford Lough. Just over ten years ago a single Black-headed Gull nested here and now we have a full fledged colony. Fingers crossed Castle Espie can also be a stronghold for Common Terns in the future.
We've had special rarities visit the site for the first time this year too! American vagrants; Lesser Yellow Legs in the summer and a Ring Necked Duck this month have been really special. There was also the Little Gull and Greater Scaups which gave great views on the Main Lake for a number of days as well.
As we moved out of summer our beloved Brent Geese arrived back in Strangford Lough and every day since we've heard their beautiful, distinctive, bluster trumpet of a call piercing the air. Lots of juveniles were seen amongst the adults this year, nearly 25000 birds on the Lough in total. One of Northern Ireland's great nature spectacles.
Finally this autumn and winter we are seeing large flocks of ducks and waders using the Wadermarsh, both for roosting at high tide and for feeding. Teal are being seen there nearly everyday, with a record maximum count of 150 birds in November. And birds commonly seen on the lough, Lapwing and Grey plover, are beginning to be seen on a regular basis amongst the plethora of waders that frequent the wadermarsh.
Check out past blogs and old posts on the Castle Espie Facebook page for pictures, videos and more info on all these sightings. Here's to much more bird excitement in 2020!
Today's Count was taken at Low Tide
Estuary - visible from the Brent Hide and the Limekiln Observatory
Brent Geese 162, Shelduck 140, Curlew 2, Oystercatcher 8, Black-tailed Godwit 2, Redshank 1, Lesser Black-backed Gull 1,
Main lake - visible from Sensory garden and Visitor centre
Mallard 125, Tufted duck 24, Gadwall 1, Teal 2, Greylag goose 1, Moorhen 1
Shingle Bank - visible from Sensory garden and Visitor centre
Mallard 6, Shoveler 5, Teal 4, Woodpigeon 2
Wadermarsh - visible from Wadermarsh lookout and Brent Hide
Moorhen 4, Teal 43, Redshank 4, Black-headed gull 2, Grey Wagtail 1
Freshwater Lagoon - visible from Brent Hide and Crannog
Mallard 40, Teal 2, Moorhen 2, Coot 2, Heron 1
Saline Lagoon - visible from Limekiln observatory
Little Grebe 2
Peninsula field and marsh
Heron 1, Black-headed Gull 1, Skylark 1
Woodland
Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blue tit, Great tit, Coal tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Bullffinch, Magpie, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Long Eared Owl
