Karl Martin bird blog: Kinnegar

Yesterday, two Little Gulls that have been hanging around Belfast Lough for a while were reported at Kinnegar Shore. I saw one of these birds at the WoW reserve a few weeks ago but travelled to Kinnegar with hopes of closer views and was not disappointed. When I arrived I scanned the shore but there was no sign of the Little Gulls. I then walked over to the pools and after a few minutes of scanning a smaller looking gull caught my eye as it flew around. As I found it in my camera I realised this was one of the birds I was after. It flew around the lagoon for a few minutes and then flew off to the shore. I was about to walk back to the shore to see if I could find it again when I noticed the other bird sitting in the lagoon quite close to me. This gave me the photo opportunity I was after. I hung around for a few hours during which time I walked along the shore where I saw Curlews and Oystercatchers and managed to get some nice shots of a group of Dunlin, which also included a single Sanderling. When I returned to the pools, both Little Gulls were swimming in the lagoon and I was able to get some more close photos. You can see these below.