For a variety of reasons I wasn't able to do much birdwatching in July and August. Whilst the garden has been active with birds it has mainly been sparrows, greenfinches and chaffinches. I dug a small pond in the front garden. I haven't been able to landscape it yet, or provide shelter. The sparrows love it. They drink from the water and then have a dust bath in the surrounding soil. My highest count was 50 sparrows at once. A frog was using the pond within a couple of days, and I've seen what I took to be a common lizard, but it didn't match any photos I could find. I've also had a number of visits from a hedgehog.
I've had a couple of visits recently to the RSPB Belfast Harbour Reserve.
1/9/04
Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Mute swan, Lapwing, Common Tern & juveniles, Jackdaw, Herring Gull, Teal, Curlew, Black-tailed godwits, Moorhen & juveniles, heron, swallow, Shelduck & juveniles, pied wagtails, oystercatchers, blackbird, starling, magpie & sparrowhawk.
8/9/04
Black-tailed godwits, magpie, oystercatchers, swallows, mute swan, teal, wigeon, mallard, lapwing, dunlin, blackheaded gulls, herring gulls, greylag geese, heron, moorhen, water rail, curlew, jackdaw, snipe, ruff, shelduck, little stint and spotted crake. My thanks to the birdwatcher who allowed me to view the spotted crake through his telescope as it appeared as I arrived at the hide. It is a new bird for me, and the only one this year, so far!