Stilt Sandpiper

I struck it lucky on Friday (5/9/14) when business took me to Dublin and I got a chance to pick up a new life tick with the Stilt Sandpiper at Broadmeadows on the Swords Estuary.  The bird was first seen on the previous day (Thursday), hot on the heels of another Stilt Sandpiper found by Killian Mullarney in Wexford on Tuesday.  Assuming the Swords bird is a new bird, it is the 14th Irish record of this rare North American species.

The bird was very active and a bit nervous and it moved around quite a bit. The light conditions were not great making photography a bit of a challenge.  However the bird was quite well marked and seemed to be  in transition from adult summer to winter plumage.

Broadmeadows is good spot for getting close to waders and there was good selection there on Friday. Lapwing and Redshank are often very nervous and difficult to approach but these birds below were a bit more relaxed and approachable than normal.

Lapwing

Adult Lapwing

Ruff

I paid a quick visit to the Swords Estuary in Dublin last Saturday evening hoping to catch up with the juvenile Ruff that was giving good views there earlier in the week. I found the birds feeding along the southern shoreline at high tide.  It was quite confiding and did not seem to be bother by the constant stream of walkers close by.

Juvenile Ruff  ©Tom Tarpey

The inner estuary is a great place to get close to waders especially at high tide.  There were large flocks of Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit present as well as smaller numbers of Lapwing and Dunlin.  I also came across a juvenile Common Sandpiper and a lone Snipe keeping close by a boulder protruding through the mud.

Snipe ©Tom Tarpey

Common Sandpiper ©Tom Tarpey

Lapwing ©Tom Tarpey