A late Autumn bird walk

A few of our members met at Seapark, Crawfordsburn on 9 November to enjoy a late morning walk and some birdwatching. Our coastline is vitally important to many species of birds, who use it as a ‘stop off’ point to rest and feed as they migrate for the Winter. For some of these species, Belfast Lough remains the destination, rich in food and shelter. This time of year, therefore, is a great time to see many different species, and we were not disappointed.

Of course, we saw many of our more common birds, such as herring gulls, black-headed gulls, hooded crows and oystercatchers. But under the watchful and expert eye of Derek Pauley, who accompanied us, we were able to identify a number of more unusual birds as well. A razorbill was hunting quite far out in the lough. However, during the course of our walk, it came closer and rested, which meant that Derek was able to point out its distinguishing features including the broad bill and its distinctive plumage.

Also spotted were great crested grebe, red-throated diver, black guillemots (winter plumage), egrets, grey heron, cormorants, shags, eider, great black-backed gulls, redshanks, curlew, grey and pied wagtails and a lovely little robin.

The lough was like a mirror and, although the day was dull, our walk was both enjoyable and informative. The seals in this area are magnificent and we were treated to sightings of several lounging around in the water.

We hope to organise another walk in January, so watch this space or our Facebook page!