Sunday 17 November 2013

Birds at Balloo Wetlands, & Wood also Sea Shore

Last Monday was the day my bird group went birding and we decided to go the Balloo Wetlands and Woods which are about 5 minutes away from my home.  The Wetlands and Woods are only about 4 years old and in the middle of a commercial are.  
Come join us as we walk around and see what we can find.
 
 
 Over on the far side of this pond were about 16 male and female Teal and perhaps you can see the Little Grebe far left.
 
 
Below is a shot I took that shows the site of both the wetland and wood.

 
 
 
Above, some of the Teal.  There was also Moorhen, Black headed Gulls and some small birds. 
The site is managed by the Ulster Wildlife Trust.
 
 
 
 
The Little Grebe is just behind the Teal to the left.
 
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Derek found a lovely little Frog
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Then we went to Balloo Woods and were surprised to find a lot of the leaves still on the trees.
 
 
 
 
As we entered the site there was a Wind Turbine and when you are standing underneath it, it is enormous.
 
 
This  Beech tree was hanging on to its leaves.
 
 
These are some of the animals birds and butterflies you can find at either site.
 
 
 
 
There were a couple of small ponds.  This one didn't have anything in it that day, however the other one have a lot of  Moorhen and Mallard.
 
 
On our way round we found beautiful old trees and fungi.
 
 
 
 
This is a Larch Tree, the only deciduous Conifer we have here.
 
 
Mallard
 
In a lovely area of wood, we were fortunate to see a lovely flock of Long tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, 1 Bullfinch and very many Blackbirds.   Of course there were also Wood Pigeon, Jackdaw and Rook.
 
 
It was time for coffee so we left the wood and decided to go to the Eisenhower Pier on Bangor sea front.  The first birds we saw were Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail.
 
 
Oystercatcher, also saw Cormorant flying past.
 
 
I put this shot in as I know some of you that live inland love to see some waves.
 
 
Purple Sandpiper
 
 
Purple Sandpiper
 
 
Turnstone
 
 
Great Black backed Gulls
 
 
Hooded Crow
 
 
A Great Black backed Gull in flight
 

Turnstone on right, Purple Sandpiper on left

 
Purple Sandpiper
 
 
Further along the road at Ballyholme, we saw Oystercatcher, Redshank, Gulls however over to the right of us on the stony beach there was Ringed Plover and Dunlin.  My bird group did have trouble finding them but in the end everyone saw them,  Can you?
 

I am sure you how can see the Ringed Plover.

 
 A cropped shot of the Ringed Plover.
 
  
1 Dunlin (middle left) and the rest are Ringed Plover.

 
 5 Dunlin across the back with 2 Ringed Plover bottom left.
 
We all agreed we had a wonderful morning's birding in great weather for the time of the year.  We hope the weather will permit us to get on this Monday!
 
Thank you for visiting and also for all your comments
which I apprecciate so much.

41 comments:

  1. lovely excursion Margaret; I was intruiged by the Hooded Crow especially. How fortunate to have a great big birding pond within five minutes walk from home.

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  2. HI CaroleYes I am fortunate to have quite a number if places to bird not too far from home. Glad you liked the Hooded Crow and thanks for comment.

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  3. Margaret, a wonderful frog.
    The hooded crow I'm a little envious of I spent many hours chasing them around last summer.

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    1. HI Adrian I know there are notmany in the Uk, Keith is usually envious also! Man thanks for comment.

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  4. Hi Margaret,
    Thank you for the walk, I feel exhausted! ;)
    I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that one of the Teal in your photos show signs of being a Green-winged Teal, an American visitor. The bird with the vertical white band across the side of its breast is the one, 'normal' Teal have a horizontal stripe above the flanks.
    Cheers,
    J
    Follow me at HEDGELAND TALES

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    1. HIJOhn I got you exhausted adn you gotmy excited however my excitment was short lived. The Teal you thought was a gren winged Teal is only a common Teal. Ican see why yuo thought that however the near vertical 'line' is a piece of weed. The line in fact would be a little more forward and straight. That would have made agreat find here if it had been what you thought. Anyhowmany thanks for your comment. My group wasn't exhausted and 4 of them are over 80 years old!! Must be their Irish blood!!

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  5. j'aime beaucoup tes photos, les canards sont fabuleux et les batraciens bien sypathiques!
    Très belles photos!
    J'adore!!
    I like this picture!!
    Very nice post! Thanks & Welcome for your comment and your next visit to my blog.
    Have a nice day! Cath.

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    1. HI Cath Many thanks for your comments and I am glad youo enjoyed the ducks andn Frog.

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  6. Hi Margaret, I enjoyed my visit, such lovely places shared. I also enjoyed the Whooper Swan post. Looks like you have a lot of nice places to go birding and explore~

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    1. HI Mary I am glad you enjoyed this post as well as seeing the Whooper Post. Many thanks for comments.

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  7. Hi Margaret! Love the frog photos - we've started our storm season here and I have two different frog species in my garden, so I'm finding our little amphibian friends very interesting lately! The Mallard photo you've posted is also a standout for me, with colours that really POP!

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    1. Hi Christian It wil be lovely to see you frogs on a post. Glad you liked the Mallard shot and thnaks for comment.

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  8. Beautiful pictures, Margaret.
    I like the frog in the hands.
    Greetings Irma

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    1. HI Irma I am glad you liked the images adn especially the Frog in Derek's hands. Many thanks for your comment and I hope you are having a good weekend.

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  9. A great outing, Margaret! The Teals are pretty and I love all the shorebirds. The Ringed Plover is a cutie! Great shots! Have a happy day!

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    1. HI Eileen Glad you enjoyed not only the ducks but all the Waders. Thanks for comment.

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  10. Another great wildlife reserve Margaret and some beautiful photos - love the frog :)

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    1. HI RR Yes it I a very small reserve however we always see something there. Glad you liked the images and thanks for comment.

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  11. that little frog was a well behaved photo subject-such interesting fungi and lots of it!

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    1. Hi Lynn Glad you liked the frog and fungi and thanks for comment.

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  12. Yet another great birding place right on your doorstep Margaret, how lucky are you? A great bird count and beautiful autumn colours, what more could you want to make an enjoyable trip out?
    Not too sure about that ugly turbine though!...[;o)

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    1. H Trevor I feel I have to be honest and show the good and the not so good! Glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for comment.

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  13. You got some great pictures of the frog. What a cutie. I think my favorite photo is the one of the mallards, though. It's just a beautiful picture, with the floating leaves and grasses complementing the mallards.

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    1. HI Linda Glad you liked the Frog and Mallards and thanks for comments.

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  14. beautiful trees and fungi. really like that pretty frog!

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    1. HI Tex Glad you liked the Frog, Fungi and trees and thanks for comments.

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  15. Love the purple sandpipers and a oystercatcher.

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    1. HI Steve lad you enjoyed the Oystercatcher and Purple Sandpipers. Thanks for comment.

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  16. A superb collection of images, Margaret. The trees and fungii are some of my favourites, but I'm very envious of the Purple Sandpipers as I've never seen one!

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    1. HI Richard Well I hope you will see a Purple Sandpiper one day. Glad you liked the Trees and Fungi. Thanks for comment.

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  17. You have so many birds, love 'em.

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    1. HI Bob Glad you liked the birds and thanks for your comment.

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  18. Beautiful photos of the reserve, Margaret!

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  19. Looks like a fabulous area. You saw so many interesting things (birds, frogs, trees, fungi, etc. etc. etc.)... WOW.... Looked like fun!!!! I was surprised to see one of those old turbines in that area. Those things have killed so many birds...

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  20. What a glorious spot. A spot to put all your cares away and revel in the moment. Thank you.

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  21. What a wonderful place to spend the day! You found so many surprises. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. A great number of birds! Oystercatchers are such vibrant birds. Some lovely autumnal photos :)

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  23. sems like a nice area for recreation. :)

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  24. You have so many wonderful photos! I love the Mallard, the emerald heads are so pretty. The trees, the pond, the frog as well as the birds all make for super pretty photos!

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  25. TO EC, BETTY A, BETTY L, LOU MARY, NF AND EG.
    VERY MANY THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS ANS I AM GLAD YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS POST IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

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  26. Looks like you had a wonderful time birding. The frog is very cute!

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