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Scarce and Rare bird sightings, Ireland, Autumn 2007 (1 Viewer)

buzzard12

buzzard12

Well-known member
As I am living in Swden and I am slightly out of touch, thought that a thread of whats being seen back in Ireland might be interesting, scarce or Rare sightings. Not a lot goes on in this Ireland section, thought I might try to bump it up.
Would be nice if there was a more accessable, or rather prominent placing for the Ireland section, for both the Irish birders in the forum, but also for the many UK birders interested also. Anyhow, post any records here and see how it goes. Expect Cape, Loop Head and Tory will again dominate, along with Cork and Wexford sites...
 
Nothing doing passerine-wise in Cork all autumn, except for a very brief 'purple patch' on Mizen last Saturday, with 1st-w Citrine Wagtail, Barred Warbler, 2 Garden Warblers and a Yellow Wagtail. I was in the area when the former was found, and still only got to Lissagriffin in time to get flight views: the only other passerine migrant, other than hirundines, that I had was a heard-only Chiffchaff!
I've heard no landbird news at all from Cape Clear, other than that there were 2 Lesser Whitethroats there the weekend before that.
Even Tory, as yet, has yielded nothing better than a few rostrata Redpolls and small numbers of Snow Buntings.
 
Harry Hussey said:
Nothing doing passerine-wise in Cork all autumn, except for a very brief 'purple patch' on Mizen last Saturday, with 1st-w Citrine Wagtail, Barred Warbler, 2 Garden Warblers and a Yellow Wagtail. I was in the area when the former was found, and still only got to Lissagriffin in time to get flight views: the only other passerine migrant, other than hirundines, that I had was a heard-only Chiffchaff!
I've heard no landbird news at all from Cape Clear, other than that there were 2 Lesser Whitethroats there the weekend before that.
Even Tory, as yet, has yielded nothing better than a few rostrata Redpolls and small numbers of Snow Buntings.
Click to expand...

Tory is probably going to enter the frey this weekend Harry, Weather looks superb and not a cloud over Scandinavia, may have to fill your tank up...

(These are all my rarities flying over me in Sweden as I speak because there is no rain to knock them down, cruelty of the highest order!)
 
buzzard12 said:
Tory is probably going to enter the frey this weekend Harry, Weather looks superb and not a cloud over Scandinavia, may have to fill your tank up...

(These are all my rarities flying over me in Sweden as I speak because there is no rain to knock them down, cruelty of the highest order!)
Click to expand...

More cruelty...Tory is harder for us to get to than some parts of BRITAIN (we got across for the 2003 Black Lark quicker than we'd get to Tory, what with the 7.5 hour drive to the ferry port, and over an hour's crossing time, for the latter site), and doesn't tend to HOLD birds either. Of all the megas seen there in the late 90s and early 00s, only one Arctic Redpoll stayed for more than one day (Pechora Pipit, Booted Warbler, another Arctic Redpoll, Black-headed Bunting and Radde's Warbler were all one-day wonders).
My best hope, I suppose, is to hope that a few friends, who were thinking of heading somewhere for the weekend anyway, decide on Donegal...?
 
Harry Hussey said:
More cruelty...Tory is harder for us to get to than some parts of BRITAIN (we got across for the 2003 Black Lark quicker than we'd get to Tory, what with the 7.5 hour drive to the ferry port, and over an hour's crossing time, for the latter site), and doesn't tend to HOLD birds either. Of all the megas seen there in the late 90s and early 00s, only one Arctic Redpoll stayed for more than one day (Pechora Pipit, Booted Warbler, another Arctic Redpoll, Black-headed Bunting and Radde's Warbler were all one-day wonders).
My best hope, I suppose, is to hope that a few friends, who were thinking of heading somewhere for the weekend anyway, decide on Donegal...?
Click to expand...


Thats were I would be Harry. If I could get there this weekend I would.
Tory has little cover, so birds dont tend to stay. a lot of these eastern vagrants hop over in stages and can feed as they go and therefore are not as exhausted as trasatlantic vagrants.
The weather is perfect for a mega on Tory, the southwest will have to wait. Usually takes a south easterly airflow to lead to a direct fall in the southwest. Tonight there is an perfect easterly airflow over scandinavia where the skies are clear, a lot of birds will find themselves dissorientated and well out over the atlantic as fist light breaks. The Tory lighthouse may prove a draw for something rather special.
I suppose the beauty of being on Tory in the right conditions is that the reward is potentially so huge for those present. You find it, whoever else is on the island see's it and shares the elation, then it dissapears overnight and remains forever in your locker as a blocker...
 
buzzard12 said:
I suppose the beauty of being on Tory in the right conditions is that the reward is potentially so huge for those present. You find it, whoever else is on the island see's it and shares the elation, then it dissapears overnight and remains forever in your locker as a blocker...
Click to expand...

Probably one of the main reasons that Jim Dowdall has passed Denis O'Sullivan as top lister, to be honest...he was on Tory for the Pechora Pipit (which he found) and the 1998 Paddyfield Warbler, both of which Denis needs, and neither of which were still present when he got there the following day.
The Richard's Pipit there in 2001, which is still the only one that I've seen anywhere, didn't even stay a full day...Killian Mullarney picked it up in flight on call, it landed, we watched it for an hour max, and it took off, last seen heading out to sea towards the mainland.
 
Well, Tory has the pick of the migrants in Ireland today, as predicted...unfortunately, that's not saying much, and the best there are a Barred Warbler (present since yesterday) and up to 8 rostrata Redpolls, with another rostrata at nearby Bloody Foreland. Any sites in Cork or Wexford seem mainly to have small numbers of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, presumably involving Irish breeding birds.
 
Great White Egret at Lough Beg Co Antrim and Pec Sandpiper at Quoile Co Down. A.M. had a Lapland Bunting off Co. Mayo
 
Very little in Cork yet, but Red-backed Shrike, 2 Common Rosefinches and 8 rostrata Redpolls on Tory today, and 2 Red-breasted Flycatchers, a Yellow-browed Warbler, 3 Pied Flycatchers, a Turtle Dove etc at Loop Head yesterday.
In contrast, the Old Head today only yielded a few Wheatears and Chiffchaffs.
Harry
 
Two Buff-bellied Pipits at Lissagriffin (Co. Cork) since yesterday, one of which had been found on 6th, with another bird found yesterday at Liscannor (Co. Clare). A scattering of scarce migrants in the Mizen/ Lisagriffin area yesterday included a Marsh Harrier, up to 5 Yellow-browed Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Ring Ouzel, but other migrants were thin on the ground: our carful saw the two pipits (the main thing!) and the Marsh Harrier (found by young Sean Ronayne), but failed to see any of the rest!
Red-breasted Flycatcher and a Yellow-browed also on Cape Clear, with a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling and another Yellow-browed at the Old Head yesterday per Paul Rowe. Dursey produced Richard's Pipit, 5 Yellow-broweds, Red-breasted Flycatcher etc on Sat, Mizen had had another 'RB Fly', 3 Common Rosefinches and a Wryneck on Friday last, Inishmore (Co. Galway) had up to 10 Yellow-broweds over the weekend, Killian had an American Black Tern at Tacumshin last week, Derek Charles had a Temminck's Stint in Donegal on Friday, which was the last definite day that the juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was seen at Ballycotton.
Phew, seems to have gotten a bit better all of a sudden! ;)
 
Harry Hussey said:
Two Buff-bellied Pipits at Lissagriffin (Co. Cork) since yesterday, one of which had been found on 6th, with another bird found yesterday at Liscannor (Co. Clare). A scattering of scarce migrants in the Mizen/ Lisagriffin area yesterday included a Marsh Harrier, up to 5 Yellow-browed Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Ring Ouzel, but other migrants were thin on the ground: our carful saw the two pipits (the main thing!) and the Marsh Harrier (found by young Sean Ronayne), but failed to see any of the rest!
Red-breasted Flycatcher and a Yellow-browed also on Cape Clear, with a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling and another Yellow-browed at the Old Head yesterday per Paul Rowe. Dursey produced Richard's Pipit, 5 Yellow-broweds, Red-breasted Flycatcher etc on Sat, Mizen had had another 'RB Fly', 3 Common Rosefinches and a Wryneck on Friday last, Inishmore (Co. Galway) had up to 10 Yellow-broweds over the weekend, Killian had an American Black Tern at Tacumshin last week, Derek Charles had a Temminck's Stint in Donegal on Friday, which was the last definite day that the juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was seen at Ballycotton.
Phew, seems to have gotten a bit better all of a sudden! ;)
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it Harry! Buff B Pipits an amazing series of records.
Temmincks Stint in Donegal is a hell of a record too, hats off.

Having a torrid autumn here in Stockholm! Nothing about due to an everlasting northerly/Westerly airflow and clear skies previous to that....
 
Been 2 Blyth's Reed Warblers, at Mizen Head (Co.Cork) and the Mullet (Co.Mayo) since last week, the first two national records, also a Radde's on the Old Head of Kinsale (Co.Cork) on Sunday last (14th), a Dusky Warbler on Cape Clear the same day (dipped on that...my first dip on a potential tick this year! Dipped the last one as well, in 1998, and had what was very probably one get away from me near Galley Head in 2005, so I want one badly!), a Red-rumped Swallow and Red-throated Pipit also in the Mizen Head area on Sunday, with a Red-eyed Vireo in Dunquin (Co.Kerry), the aforementioned Grey-cheeked Thrush on Cape Clear (found after I left having dipped the Dusky, just as well I've seen two!), with a Greenish Warbler also there (didn't see it), and 1-2 in the Mizen Head area since the weekend.
 
Harry Hussey said:
Been 2 Blyth's Reed Warblers, at Mizen Head (Co.Cork) and the Mullet (Co.Mayo) since last week, the first two national records, also a Radde's on the Old Head of Kinsale (Co.Cork) on Sunday last (14th), a Dusky Warbler on Cape Clear the same day (dipped on that...my first dip on a potential tick this year! Dipped the last one as well, in 1998, and had what was very probably one get away from me near Galley Head in 2005, so I want one badly!), a Red-rumped Swallow and Red-throated Pipit also in the Mizen Head area on Sunday, with a Red-eyed Vireo in Dunquin (Co.Kerry), the aforementioned Grey-cheeked Thrush on Cape Clear (found after I left having dipped the Dusky, just as well I've seen two!), with a Greenish Warbler also there (didn't see it), and 1-2 in the Mizen Head area since the weekend.
Click to expand...


Still waiting on a mega there, rather likely to be in the next 5 days if it is to happen, Cape is a likely bet due to coverage if nothing else. All those asian rarities that may be moving west could end up turning up now too perhaps...
 
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