Last Monday was my bird class outing and we were joined by Ken and Joanne from California who had contacted me a few weeks ago and asked if I could take them birding. Ken took this photograph of me at one of our stops and thought I looked more like a film star than a bird watcher. Perhaps I could be both!!!
We started at the Flood Gates where 30.000 Pale bellied geese had arrived from the Canada's Arctic.
Joanne spotted the rainbow and I asked everyone to stand below it for a photograph. It did rain a little but not for long.
Unfortunately, as you can see the tide was out however with the use of the telescope and bins we managed to see the Brent along with Little Egret, up to 1000 Redshank, Heron, Lapwing, 500 Golden Plover, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Kingfisher and all 5 species of gulls we have here. For me, finding 38 Pintail ducks into Northern Ireland for the first time this year was the highlight.
We travelled to Islandhill to have coffee and the above shot and below were taken by Ken. I am explaining about the breeding of the the Brent geese and their migration pattern. We also saw more birds including a Kestrel and Buzzard.
The class finished just before lunch time and the three of us headed into the wonderful fertile Country Down countryside, then into a forest, then up to see Scrabo Tower before heading to the oldest Inn in Ireland, the Crawfordsburn Inn where we had a wonderful lunch. After that we headed to the newly opened RSPB WOW centre in Belfast and I will show you the birds we saw there tomorrow.
Under the pie crust was turkey and ham in a beautiful sauce and it rested on masked potatoes. Scrumptious! The sweet below was to die for. Yummy.
Thank you Joanne and Jen for making it such a wonderful outing.
I am linking this post with Mersad's THROUGH MY LENS.
I hope you enjoyed this post and hope to see you back tomorrow.
Many thanks to all the people who leave comments.
A grand day out. The lunch looks a bit skimpy. I hope it was cheap but in my experience the dearer the food the less there is of it.
ReplyDeleteHI Adrian The lunch wa neither skimmy or expensive. It just looks like that the way they pressented it but when you had the veggies out and the top of the pie there was plenty to eat. I have a very good appetite and love my food.
ReplyDeleteYou did well packing all that into one day and you saw so much!
ReplyDeleteI think you have highlighted a definite 'niche' in the market. What I am getting at is, are there bird watchers here offering such 'cheap and cheerful', guided trips to interested visitors coming here? I somehow doubt it. I certainly have never seen such trlps advertised but maybe I'm not looking in the right places.
Well done you!
HI Tom There is a world wide ssite ccalled BirdingPals and a birder can puttheir name on there adn is willing to take visitors out free but they are expected to perhaps pay for lunch or/and petrol. It relaly depends where you take them. Then if you go to a country you may find a birdingpla tht will take you out. Check it out. I have used it a few times I am abroad but havemett and taken more people out her in N.I. I love meeting different people from over the world and sharing our lovely countryside and birds.
DeleteOf course you can be a bird watcher AND a film star. No questions about it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a neat, folk from California! I'd love to see your notebooks, do you keep data journals with all of the facts you collect, they'd make fun reading :-)! Enjoyed your day...
ReplyDeleteUm dia de convívio em harmonia com a natureza.
ReplyDeleteUm abraço e boa semana.
Hello Margaret, Looks like a fun day with a great group of birders. The BirdPals site is great, I have to try it some time. I would have loved to have seen the Lapwing and the Golden Plovers. Great post, enjoy your new week!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to imagine seeing that many birds in one outing. I am jealous! Around here it is hit and miss for a blue heron or two or a lone woodpecker. But we really don't have any super wildlife areas...except for the lakes. I told my husband while we were camping that the birds have all left town...even most of the crows. LOL Oh well. Maybe one day I can take a tour- I would love it.
ReplyDeleteThis food looks really tasty. I'm hungry now. :)
ReplyDeleteMargaret, how much fun to enjoy the day and your hobby with friends.
ReplyDeleteBirds and a rainbow! And then delicious food - wow!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
Lea
Excellent! You had a great day, You were lucky to see the rainbow! Wonderful photos. Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteA lot more than birding going on here.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful time! Rainbows are always a good way to start....and to end with good food is just the perfect day!
ReplyDeleteYou had a lovely day to go birding with a group and your lunch afterwards looked scrumptious.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. I especially like the rainbow picture.
ReplyDeleteThe shadows seemed long---- then I remembered how much farther north you are. Truly a grand day, as Adrian said.
ReplyDeletethat rainbow shot is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHow delightful to have guests! Don't you know Margaret, (Western) Europeans are up on fashion, so they always look like celebrities/movie stars to the rest of the world (cant you tell, my European patriotism is shining through here, lol) - but you do look very nice (not joking!).
ReplyDeleteWe just ate about 2 hours ago and I am totally starved looking at your food pics!
ReplyDeleteThe rainbow shot was awesome. Looked like a great outing!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fine time was had by all, Margaret.
ReplyDelete;-)
I enjoy seeing pictures of your group. Everyone seems to be having a great time in each other's company. How cool to have the rainbow appear! You lunch looks delightful!
ReplyDeleteSpending the day with our Birding Pal, Margaret, was a highlight of our visit to Ireland. We so enjoyed being outdoors observing the birds and the company of the bird class folks who were very welcoming. Our common interest made us instant companions! We hope to reciprocate in the near future.
ReplyDeleteSpending the day with our Irish Birding Pal, Margaret, was the highlight of our trip. We were taken right in by her class which is just the type of personal experience we look for when traveling. The countryside, birds, and people were memorable. Thank you all so much. We hope to reciprocate your kindness someday soon in our town.
ReplyDeleteYour new friends from California were so lucky to have you as a guide! I enjoyed all these posts .
ReplyDelete