Recent Sightings 15th June 2026
The following sightings were taken from the reserve at Castle Espie during a rising tide. The bird of the week this week is the Starling. At a distance these birds look black, but a closer look reveals iridescent purples and blues and whitish tips to their feathers. In the winter, Starlings have dark beaks, but during the breeding season they change to yellow. This change is caused by carotenoid pigments which the birds obtain from their food, therefore a bright beak shows a healthy bird which is good at foraging for food. Starlings are excellent mimics and can copy the calls of other birds, and some have even been known to copy man-made noises. Witnessing a Starling murmuration should be on any wildlife-lovers bucket list, a great place is above the Albert Bridge over the river Lagan in Belfast during the winter months. These huge flocks of birds are boosted by overwintering birds from mainland Europe. The murmurations can only be seen in the evenings when the birds are coming in to roost for the night; in the morning they leave more gradually. Unfortunately these once common birds are now red listed in the UK because of dramatic declines over the last few decades, data suggests as much as 80%.
Estuary - visible from the Brent Hide and the Limekiln Observatory
Eider Duck 2 (plus 6 ducklings), Herring Gull 50, Little Egret 1, Lesser Black-backed Gull 1, Black-headed Gull 3, Cormorant 5 (flying over), Curlew 9, Mute Swan 19, Shelduck 6, Bar-tailed Godwit 30, Black-tailed Godwit 10
Main lake - visible from Sensory Garden and Visitor Centre
Little Grebe 2, Shelduck 2 (plus 3 ducklings), Mallard 26 (plus 1 duckling), Tufted Duck 3, Common Tern 2, Coot 2, Herring Gull 5, Moorhen 2, Swallow, House Martin, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Greenfinch, Sand Martin
Shingle Bank - visible from Sensory Garden and Visitor Centre
Oystercatcher 181, Black-headed Gull 17, Herring Gull 24, Common Gull 47, Little Egret 1
Wadermarsh - visible from Wadermarsh lookout and Brent Hide
Jackdaw 4, Wren
Freshwater Lagoon - visible from Brent Hide and Crannóg
Gadwall 2 (plus 3 ducklings), Mute Swan 1, Swallow, Wren, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Reed Bunting
Saline Lagoon - visible from Limekiln observatory
Sedge Warbler
Brickworks
Jackdaw 2, Swallow, House Marti, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Starling
Limestone Lake
Little Grebe 1, Black-headed Gull 1, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Willow Warbler, Blackbird, Blackcap
Peninsula Saltmarsh
Gadwall 1, Meadow Pipit, Stonechat, Pied Wagtail, Starling
Peninsula Field
Blackbird, Swallow
Woodland
Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Wren, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Swallow, Long-tailed Tit
Sensory Garden
House Sparrow, Swallow, Robin, Jay, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Wren, Raven 1
