Winter meets Spring - Rathlin Visit 3

I made use of the early morning ferry to Rathlin on Friday 21^st March to spend the entire day slogging around the patch in search of year ticks and early spring migrants.  As is typical for this time of year, there was a nice mix of wintering stragglers and incoming breeders, which resulted in a further 11 species being added to the year list (including all 4 predicted at the end of my last post).

 

The Long-tailed Duck continued its long-term residency in the harbour alongside a male Red-breasted Merganser.  From the West Pier 2 Chough (58) were seen tumbling along the cliff tops in the strong SW winds.  The gull contingent in Mill Bay now included the first Black-headed (59) and Lesser Black-backed Gulls (60) of the year and a single Great Northern Diver remained offshore. 

Craigmacagan Lough once again produced some of the highlights of the day.  Whilst scanning the water, I heard Redwings (61) calling overhead and looked up to see 4 birds land on a nearby gorse bush before quickly disappearing. A male Reed Bunting (62) was calling from the reed bed, one of at least 6 males seen during the day.  As I approached the cattle grid at the south end of the lough, I noticed a bird scuttling across the track just a few yards in front of me.  Before I had even raised my bins I knew it was a Water Rail; it was that close (63)!  Nevertheless, this did provide a pleasant flashback to my day in the sun on Saltee a few years back!  The bird scrambled towards the nearest ditch, allowing just enough time to get a pic on the phone.  It’s always a treat to see this species out in the open.

Water Rail

Twice more between Craigmacagan and Ushet Loughs I saw pairs of Chough flying by, each time carrying nesting material.  It’s impossible to tell if today’s sightings relate to more than 2 birds - perhaps this was just the regular breeding pair performing an elaborate courtship flight across the entire length of the island!

 

A small number of Lapwing (64) have once again returned to Ushet Lough and as I watched these flying around, a Snipe (65) flushed from nearby.  I only realised this was a year tick when checking through my Birdtrack records earlier today! Also at Ushet were lots of gulls and Oystercatchers noisily setting up territories for the breeding season.  A male Goldeneye was on the water.

Ushet Lough

I had planned to walk down to the South Light, but upon seeing waves crashing against the cliffs, sending spray higher than the lighthouse, I decided against it.  Instead, I walked the sheltered coastline between Ushet Port and Doon Bay.  In amongst the many sandy inlets and pools here were 60+ Teal and over 30 Shelduck. As I watched 4 Buzzards hovering high above the cliffs, a Peregrine (66) hurtled by overhead, causing a commotion amongst the nearby Common Gulls.  I finally connected with my target bird for this stretch of coast at Doon Bay – 2 male Wheatears (67) seen skipping from boulder to boulder ahead of me.  Much in the same location as the first birds last spring!

I also checked the East Light gardens, then found myself up by the coastguards hut and had a quick search of Church Valley.  Only one further surprise was on offer – a single Chiffchaff (68) flitting about the willows by the Church.  Also of note was a great swarm of Meadow Pipits seen flying across the valley here.

Scores 68 species, 81 points or 53.6%

Rathlin Island - Visit 2

A switch to colder air in recent days had me back out on Rathlin on 12 January, hoping that something decent might have dropped in.  The omens looked good as while driving up to Ballycastle on Friday evening, a Woodcock flew across the road near Ballypatrick Forest. 

The first noticeable difference to the last visit was the large numbers of Guillemots and Kittiwakes present in Rathlin Sound.  Many of the good birds from the last visit were still present; a female Goldeneye in the Harbour, a Great Northern Diver off the West Pier, female Pochard in Ally Lough and 3 Common Scoter (2 female, 1 male) in Mill Bay.  However, this time I wanted to concentrate more on the northern section of the patch I had not checked on the first visit.

 

Coastguards Station, Rathlin Island

I quick check of Church Valley produced the first of the days patch year ticks, as 2 Goldcrests rummaged around a gorse bush.  I headed uphill and onto a rough track that leads through the rough grasslands of Ballyconagan to the old Coastguards Station, which sits roughly 120m above the Atlantic Ocean.  A couple of flyover Linnets were a welcome addition to the year list and were later seen feeding by the side of one of the many small pools in the area.  Several Song Thrushes were in a bramble covered bank and a few Meadow Pipits were flushed from heather areas.

The stony heather covered slopes in and around the Station are a good spot for Snow and Lapland Buntings in autumn and must occasionally have Golden Plover as well.  The views east and west from the Station should produce a few good birds throughout the year as this part of the island is excellent for raptors, but the hoped for Kestrel or Merlin did not materialise today.  Instead though, masses of Fulmars were already back around the cliff face below and as far as the eye could see to the west. Unfortunately, the site is too high for seawatching (that won’t stop me trying though), but could prove a good spot to spend a few hours during migration periods looking upwards instead.

 

                                                                    View of the North Cliffs from Coastguards

                                                                             View of the East Lighthouse from Coastguards

I made my way to the end of the surfaced road before the track to the East Lighthouse.   Here a few cattle fields are usually good for corvids and finches but I was soon interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a CHOUGH.  I looked into the fields to see not one but two birds feeding in the mud amongst Hooded Crows at a cattle feeder.  This is the first time I’ve seen them in this part of the island and in fact this year is the first time Northern Ireland’s only breeding pair have decided to over-winter on the island.  You can find out more here.

I completed the loop back towards Church Bay and made my way to Ballycarry Pool and was delighted to find 5 Wigeon present, another patch year tick.  Also present here were 35 Curlew, 61 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 2 Coot and 4 Mallard.

                                                                            Ballycarry Pool in full flood

From here I made my way down to the Harbour and along the Shore Road towards Mill Bay – gull and wader numbers were very low so I kept going south towards the Loughs.  The birds present here were much the same as last visit, with a few notable exceptions.  There were now several different flocks of Greylag, I counted at least 117 – so many were new in.  Also new was a male Goldeneye at Ushet Lough (that had been reported during the past week).

I always check the pines and bramble ditches at the south end of Ushet and was pleased to find that in amongst the many Blackbirds and Song Thrushes was a single Fieldfare – my final patch year tick of the day.  All these birds are likely to have been new arrivals.

I decided to try and find a good seawatching point along the cliffs between Ushet Point and Maddygalla and I think I’ve sussed out a good spot that should be sheltered by a stone wall in a southerly.  My presence along the cliff tops spooked some of the birds in the rocky bays and pools below – and out flew about 40 Teal which landed on the sea – this is definitely an area to check more in the future.  I then realised I had lost track of time and spent the next 45 minutes hoofing it back for the 4pm ferry.

So another day and another 7 species has brought me to 58 species/69 points/54.33% for the year.  Glad I went over!

                                                                                       Greylag Geese on a grey day