Red-flanked Bluetail - A species new to Northern Ireland

Red-flanked Bluetail was a new and unexpected bird for Northern Ireland in an autumn of rare birds. It was originally found on the evening of Saturday 8th October by Tim Murphy, just reward for the many hours that he has put in birding at St Johns Point and Kellys Wood. The bird was then present first thing the following morning. However it was then prone to disappearing for long periods but over the following days it was seen by most birders who visited Kellys Wood. The last report of the bird was the 13th October.

This bird represented the first record for NI and the sixth for the island of Ireland. The species has enjoyed a westward population expansion in Scandinavia in recent years but it was still an unexpected record.

Gerard Murray:

James O'Neill:

Baird's Sandpipers in 2016

Baird's Sandpiper is an extremely rare wader in NI with only 4 accepted records prior to 2016. However 2016 was marked by a further two records, including one very long staying bird.

The first bird was found on the 3rd September 2016 at Myroe and present until at least the 1st October 2016. The second bird was found by Neal Warnock at RSPB WOW on the 23rd September. Both birds were juveniles and at times showed well. The Belfast bird could however go missing in the vegetation for long periods of time.

Whilst 2016 was a good year in the UK and Ireland for Baird's Sandpiper, this was not the case for other nearctic waders. For example, there was only a single report of a Buff Breasted Sandpiper in 2016 for NI.

Baird's Sandpiper, Myroe, Garry Armstrong:

New Committee Member - Stuart McKee

We are pleased to announce that Stuart McKee has joined the Northern Ireland Rare Bird Committee.

Stuart is an extremely experienced, knowledgeably and familiar birder in Northern Ireland. He has found may rarities in his time and has an active interest in bird recording in bird recording. Indeed he is one of the few birders in the field who still keeps notebooks!

Bird Records for 2016

Records shown in RED have not yet been accepted by NIBRC. If you have any information on these sightings, we would be pleased to receive further information:

Species	Location	County	Date	Reporter/Observer
Glossy Ibis	River Bann	Antrim	17/01/2016	Seamus Burns
Glossy Ibis	Ballinary, Lurgan	Armagh	23/01/2016	Ed O'Hara
Great White Egret	Caledon	Armagh	25/01/2016	per NIBARC
Lesser Scaup	Dargan Bay,Belfast	Antrim	06/02/2016 to 23/02/2016	per NIBARC \ Derek Charles
AmericanWigeon	Dargan Bay	Antrim	26/03/2016	Per NIBARC
Belted Kingfisher	River Bann	L’Derry	22/04/2016	Jonathon Roberts
Glossy Ibis	Portmore Lough	Armagh	01/05/2016	Kate McAlistair/Marta Barberis
Night Heron	Dromantine Lake	Down	18/05/2016	Mary-Ann MacRae
Red-rumped Swallow	Murlough	Down	31/05/2016	Garry Wilkinson
Temminck’s Stint	Myroe	L’Derry	31/07/2016	Phillip West
White-rumped Sandpiper	Belfast	Down	03/08/2016	Gerard McGeehan
Bairds Sandpiper	Myroe	L'Derry	03/09/2016	per NIBARC
White rumped Sandpiper	Myroe	L'Derry	13/09/2016	Jeff Larkin
Tree Pipit	Killough	Down	14/09/2016	Tim Murphy
Common Yellowthroat	Bann Estuary	L'Derry	18/09/2016	Stuart McKee
Buff Breasted Sandpiper	Myroe	L'Derry	21/09/2016	Jeff Larkin
Bairds Sandpiper	RSPB WOW, Belfast	Down	23/09/2016	Neal Warnock
Red Flanked Bluetail	Kellys Wood,St Johns	Down	08/10/2016	Tim Murphy
Red-breasted Flycatcher	Kearney	Down	08/10/2016	Stuart McKee
Common Crane	Lough Macnean	Fermanagh	09/10/2016	Brad Robson
White-winged Black Tern	Portmore Lough	Armagh	18/10/2016	Gavin Ferguson
Great White Egret	Lowery Bay	Fermanagh	20/10/2016	Anmy Burns
Isabelline Shrike	Murlough	Down	04/11/2016	Dan Baillie
Great White Egrets (2)	Lower Lough Erne	Fermanagh	29/11/2016	Brad Robson

New Committee Member - Neal Warnock

Following the sad passing of Martin Garner, we are pleased to advise that Neal Warnock has joined the Records Committee. Neal will be familiar to many birders in Ireland, where he is perhaps best known for finding a Baillon’s Crake on Great Saltee Island in March 2012.  Other past finds include the first Woodchat Shrike for Galway and closer to home, Red-backed Shrike, Red-footed Falcon, Bonaparte’s Gull and Fea’s type Petrel in County Antrim.

Neal is an avid seawatcher and patch birder and spends most of his time birding Larne Lough and Rathlin Island. Neal has a wealth of birdwatching experience in parts of Europe, Africa and North and South America. He previously worked for BirdWatch Ireland in County Offaly and currently works as a Conservation Advisor for the RSPB, with a focus on breeding waders in the Glenwherry area of the Antrim Hills.

We welcome Neal and are confident that he will be able to make a valuable contribution.

Ian Graham, Records Secretary