I found this North American wader on the tide line at Seafield Pier, Quilty, Co.Clare on 14/10/2025. It's an immature bird, moulting from juvenile to winter plumage. It's one of about a dozen that arrived in Ireland in the past week or so and is the 13th County record for Clare.
I came across this unusually confiding Common Sandpiper on the Limerick/Kerry border on the shore of Tarbert Bay.
This bird appears to be in adult plumage. It has a badly disfigured right foot, however it didn't seem to be unduly affected by it.
I came across three Black Terns on a trip to west Clare today. There has been an unusually large passage of Black Terns around the Irish coast this autumn, with a few birds also showing up at inland sites like this one. Indeed I came across a single juvenile bird last week (10/9/2025) at another inland site; Lough Gur in Co. Limerick.
At least two of today's birds were juveniles. The third bird may also have been a juvenile, however I didn't manage to get a clear enough view of it to determine its age.
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron, first confirmed at Belcarra, Co. Mayo on 26/5/2024, has got to be one of the most spectacular firsts for the Irish list. It is believed to have been in the area for a number weeks prior to confirmation of its identification. It has proved to be a most reliable and confiding bird.
The bird appears to be well acclimatised to its new surroundings and has been seen catching and eating crayfish in the Manulla River regularly. It would appear to be a third calendar year bird based on the presence of a few immature wing coverts.
Previous records of this species on this side of the Atlantic have been largely confined to the Azores so its very much a new species in north west Europe. It's largely a migratory species in America, breeding in along the east coast as far north as New England and south to Florida and west to Texas. It's wintering range extends from South Carolina down to tropical America. There has been much speculation about its arrival in this part of the world. It may well have arrived in Europe in mid September 2023 as part of the unprecedented of influx of American vagrants driven by Hurricane Lee.
The visit to Inishbofin Island on 16/10/23 also provided an opportunity to catch up with some other interesting birds including a Common Rosefinch and an American Wigeon.
I was delighted to catch up last Monday (16/10/23) with the Black and White Warbler found by Jim Dowdall on Inishbofin Island, Co. Galway. The bird was as spectacular as I had imagined and looked somewhat larger than I had anticipated.
Here are a few shots of the spectacular Cape May Warbler found by Micheál O'Briain at Corrymore, Achill Island, Co. Mayo on 29/9/23. It's a first Irish record of this American warbler. The shots were taken on 2/10/23.
