Rare Bird Records 2021

The following records for 2021 have been or are under assessment. If you have any details on these sightings (particualrly those shown as 'Not Proven'), or notice any ommissions or corrections, please let us know:

Species	Location \ County	Date	Observer(s)	Overall Verdict
Red-necked Grebe	Belfast Lough	01-Jan-21	Stuart McKee	Accepted
Sinensis Cormorant	Belfast Waterworks	16-Jan-21	Stuart McKee \ Tom Ennis	Accepted
Caspian Gull	Clea Lake, Co Armagh	21-Jan-21	Brian McCloskey	Accepted
Kumliens Gull	Clea Lake, Co Armagh	07-Feb-21	Brian McCloskey	Accepted
Ross's Gull	Killough	18-Feb-21	Chris Murphy	Accepted
American Wigeon	Glynn	07/03/2021 - 30/3/21	Cameron Moore	Accepted
Lesser Scaup	Portmore Lough	19-Mar-21	Wilton Farrelly	Accepted
Lesser Whitethroat	Garden, Coleraine	24-Mar-21	Anon	Accepted
Russian White-fronted Goose	Ecos Centre	11-Apr-21	Jeff Larkin	Accepted
Lesser Scaup	Lough Erne Resort	14-Apr-21	Brad Robson	Accepted
Little Ringed Plover	Paddys Dubh, Lough Beg	13-Apr-21	David Steele	Accepted
Lesser Scaup	Portmore Lough	11-Jun-21	Garry Armstrong	Accepted
Bonapartes Gull	Lough Beg	26-Jun-21	David Steele	Accepted
Montagu's Harrier	Antrim Hills	July 2021	Michael Latham	Accepted
Bonaparte's Gull	Kinnegar Shore, Belfast	29-Aug-21	Stuart McKee	Accepted
Dotterel	Swatragh	26-Aug-21	Clive Mellon	Accepted
Little Ringed Plover	Lady Bay, Lough Neagh \ Portmore	04-Sep-21	Garry Armstrong	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher (Ad)	Lough Beg	20-Sep-21	David Steele	Accepted
Buff-breasted Sandpiper x 2	Myroe	16-Sep-21	Stuart McKee \ Hal McCullough	Accepted
Little Ringed Plover	Myroe	17-Sep-21	Jeff Larkin	Accepted
Dotterel	Lomond Rd, Limavady	29-Sep-21	Stuart McKee \ Garry Armstrong	Accepted
Lesser Yellowlegs	Lough Beg	4th October	David Steele	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher	Portmore Lough	5th - 6th October	Martin Deehan	Accepted
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Lough Beg	9th -10th October	David Steele	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher	Bann Estuary	10th - 22nd October	John Clarke	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher (Juv)	Lough Beg	4th -29th October	David Steele	Accepted
Lesser Whitethroat	Bangor	- 31st December	Sean Wensley	Accepted
Bonaparte's Gull	Ballycarry \ Larne	24th - 25th December	Garry Armstrong \ Oscar Campbell \ Neal Warnock	Accepted
Rustic Bunting	Carnalea, Bangor	22nd - 31st December	David Miller	Accepted
Black-bellied Dipper	Downhill Forest	06-Mar-21	Theo Campbell	Not Proven
Bonapartes Gull	Ballyfrench, Co Down	30-Mar-21	Billy Miskelly	Not Proven
Red-necked Grebe	Kircubbin	03-Apr-21	Garry Armstrong	Not Proven
Blue-headed Wagtail	RSPB WoW	08-May-21	Garry Armstrong, Bob Watts, Tom Ennis	Not Proven
Hobby	Glenariff	06-Jul-21	David Steele	Not Proven
Lesser Whitethroat	Ligoneil Dams, Co Antrim	16-Jul-21	Dermot Hughes et al	Not Proven
Hobby	Carrickfergus	23-Jul-21	George Stewart	Not Proven
Great Shearwater	Rinagree Point, Portstewart		John Clarke	Not Proven
Bairds Sandpiper	Myroe	12-Sep-21	Garry Armstrong	Not Proven
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Ballykelly	10th October	Garry Armstrong	Not Proven
Tundra Bean Goose	Ballykelly	17th October	Stuart McKee \ Hal McCullough	Not Proven
Glossy Ibis	Lagan Valley Hospital	9th December	Garry Wilkinson	Not Proven
Lesser Scaup	Ardmore, Lough Neagh	12th - 15th December	Garry Armstrong  \ Bob Watts	Not Proven

Black-browed Albatross - A species new to Northern Ireland

On the 9th September 2020, Ollie Padget, whilst seawatching at Copeland Bird Observatory, picked up a Black-browed Albatross flying south at 18:25. The bird was observed for four minutes and seen by a fellow birder.

No photographs of the bird were obtained but a detailed note \ description was made that evening and subsequently submitted for assessment.

At least one Black-browed Albatross had been recorded in the summer of 2020 in Britain and it ranged widely so is possibly the same bird.

 

Bufflehead - A species new to Northern Ireland

On Saturday 5th December 2020, Tony Donaldson found a drake Bufflehead at the Quoile Pondage, Co Down. 

The identification of the bird was straightforward and was clearly a male. It was seen well throughout December but was always at a distance. It was last seen on the 9th January 2021. Whilst a drake, it should be noted that many GB records that have been accepted are also drakes.

Bufflehead breeds in Canada east to western Qubec, Alaska and south to Washington and Montana.

At the time that the bird was seen there were three accepted records for Ireland (a female, The Gearagh, Cork, 18th January to 8th March 1998, a first-year male, Lough Atedaun, Clare, 6th January to 4th March 2007 and an adult female, Ballinacarriga Lake, Cork, 26th November to 15th December 2018). Another Bufflehead (a female or immature), was also seen in Cork during the autumn \ winter of 2020\21.

Drake Bufflehead, Quoile, Tony Donaldson:

Rare Bird Records 2020

 The following records of birds seen in 2020 have been accepted:

SPECIES	LOCATION	DATE	OBSERVER(S)	Status
Water Pipit	Ballyfrench, Portavogie	From 2019	Richard Weyl	Accepted
Water Pipit	Cushendun	From 2019	Ivan Quail	Accepted
Great White Egret	Lough Beg	From 2019	David Steele et al	Accepted
Lesser Yellowlegs	Lough Beg	28th January	David Steele	Accepted
Hawfich	Dunadry	13th February	per Mark Smyth	Accepted
Pied Crow	Ballycastle	10th April	Geoff Campbell	Category D1
Hawfinch	Killyleagh	29th April	Paul Megaghey	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher	RSPB WoW	23rd May	Daniel Newton	Accepted
Common Rosefinch	Rathlin Island	26th May	Ric Else \ Hazel Watson	Accepted
Hawfinch	Ards Peninsula	30th May	Toby Edwards	Accepted
Spotted Sandpiper	Castle Espie, Co Down	7th August	Mark Wigglesworth	Accepted
Red-backed Shrike	Millisle, Co Down	3rd September	Marty McClenaghan \ Ronnie Snoddy	Accepted
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Myroe, Co Londonderry	6th September	Mervyn Guthrie	Accepted
Black-browed Albatross	Copeland, Co Down	9th September	Ollie Padget	Accepted
Lesser Yellowlegs	Bann Estuary	13th-15th September	Richard Donaghey	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher	Lough Beg	21st - 28th September	David Steele	Accepted
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Ballykelly	27th - 29th September	Garry Armstrong	Accepted
American Golden Plover	Ballykelly \ Myroe, Co Londonderry	27th - 30th September	Garry Armstrong	Accepted
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Myroe	2nd October	Garry Armstrong	Accepted
Cattle Egret	Strabane	2nd October	Brian Hegarty \ Michael Savage	Accepted
American Golden Plovers	Myroe \ Ballykelly	to 2nd November	Various	Accepted
African Sacred Ibis	Cullyhanna	-December 2020	Joe Devlin	Category E
Great White Egret	Castle Espie, Co Down	17th October to 1st November	Maurice Turley et al	Accepted
Long-billed Dowitcher	Lough Beg	26th October	David Steele	Accepted
American Golden Plover	Portstewart	27th October to 1st November	John Clarke	Accepted
Cattle Egret	Castle Espie, Co Down	27th October to 31st October	Castle Espie	Accepted
Cattle Egret	Bann Estuary \ Myroe	28th October - 7th November	Annette Elkin	Accepted
Great White Egret	Lough Neagh \ Portmore	5th November	Clive Mellon et al	Accepted
Great White Egret	Derryleckagh Bog near Newry \ Dromantine \ Pontyzpass	5th November	Andrew Crory	Accepted
Great White Egret	Boa Island \ Lower Lough Erne, Co Fermanagh	25th November	Fionnbar Cross	Accepted
Great White Egret	Ballycarry	3rd November	David Galbraith	Accepted
Black Brant	Myroe	29th November	Theo Campbell	Accepted
Bufflehead	Quoile, Co Down	5th December	Tony Donaldson	Accepted
Glossy Ibis	Whtehead, Co Antrim	8th December	Warren  McConnaughie	Accepted
Great White Egret	Lower Lough Erne	10th December	Brad Robson	Accepted
American Wigeon	Glynn, Co Antrim	15th December	Cameron Moore	Accepted

Rare Bird Records 2020

The following records for 2020 are under assessment. If you have any details on these sightings or notice any ommissions or corrections, please let us know:

SPECIES	LOCATION	DATE	OBSERVER(S)
Water Pipit	Ballyquinton Point, Co Down	1st January	Richard Weyl
Yellow-legged Gull	Carrickfergus	4th January	Garry Armstrong \ Ed O'Hara
Lesser Scaup	Portmore Lough	9th January	Joe Devlin \ Clifford Sharp
tristis Chiffchaff	Armoy	23rd January	Clive Mellon
Mealy Redpoll	Rathlin Island	29th March	Ric Else \ Hazel Watson
Grey-bellied Brent	Killough	26th April	Chris Murphy
Hobby	Lower Lough Erne	19th May	Brad Robson
Lesser Whitethroat	Killogh	21st May	Chris Murphy
Glossy Ibis	Kinnegar, Co Down	31st May	Kevin Kirkham-Brown
Spotted Sandpiper	Bartons Bay, Lough Neagh	4th July	Kevin Kirkham-Brown
Ruddy Shelduck	Dundrum Bay, Co Down	11th July	Dan Baillie
Semi-palmated Sandpiper	Myroe, Co Londonderry	23rd August	Garry Armstrong \ Ed O'Hara
Goshawk	Lisburn	15th September	Anon
American Golden Plover	Mullagh, Lough Beg	1st October	David Steele
Hawfinch	Scarva	2nd October	Stephen Drake
Temmincks Stint	Blackstaff River, Dundrum	7th-8th October	Dan Bailie
Lesser Whitethroat	Runkerry Wood	8th-11th October	Dennis Weir \ Stuart McKee
White-rumped Sandpiper	Ballykelly	18th October	Stuart McKee \ Garry Armstrong
Siberian Chiffchaff	Oxford Island	23rd October	Ed O'Hara
American Wigeon	Castle Espie, Co Down	30th October	Birdguides
Great White Egret	Lough Beg	8th November	David Steele
Red-necked Grebe	Gas Works, Strangford Lough	13th November	Dave Weir
Siberian Chiffchaff	Jordanstown	22nd November	Paul McCullough
Surf Scoter	Murlough, Newcastle	3rd December	Chris Murphy
American Wigeon	Drumgay Lough, Co Fermanagh	31st December	Brad Robson

Black Stork, a species new to Northern Ireland

Ric Else has kindly provided this write up on finding this first for NI:

My partner Hazel Watson and I moved to Rathlin in March 2017, and with intentions to bird the island as much as possible we were optimistic about our chances of finding something good here during the spring migration period. As mid-May approached, we’d seen a decent variety of migrants but nothing particularly rare, and migration was already petering out.

On 11th May, we walked out of the house and immediately saw a couple of Spotted Flycatchers and a few Blackcaps – quite a promising start to the day! However, three hours of birding later we’d hardly seen any more migrants and, finding ourselves at the harbour, we came perilously close to calling it a day and retiring into the cafe. Somehow, we resisted the temptation and pushed on towards the eastern part of the island. We checked all the gardens along the way, and were just deciding whether to continue all the way to the East Lighthouse when a Yellow Wagtail (as at May 2020, still the only one we’ve seen on Rathlin) called several times overhead, flying in the direction of the lighthouse. Decision made, we set off after it.

Moments later, I raised my binoculars to check a distant speck in the sky above Ballyconagan, fully expecting it to be just a gull. But to my absolute astonishment it was a Black Stork! Even at that range there could be no doubt about the big gangly shape, black upperparts, white belly, and long red bill and legs. I said something along the lines of ‘oh my god it’s a stork!’ and Hazel was onto it immediately. Luckily it was drifting our way, circling high above the north cliffs, and although it was always distant it came just close enough for both of us to get photos. It circled several times, drifting ever further east and, unfortunately for all the other birders in Northern Ireland, was soon disappearing way into the distance in the direction of Scotland.

We put the news out straight away and were quickly informed that it was a first for Northern Ireland. What an outrageous bird for our first Rathlin rarity! And as newcomers to the region, thank heavens we got photos as proof!

Updated Northern Ireland List

An updated list of the birds of Northern Ireland is viewable via the menu bar or at this link: NI List April 2020

Rarity Description Species - Update for 2020

The Committee have made the following changes to the Rarity Description species:

The following species no longer require a description:

• White-tailed Eagle
• Golden Eagle
• Tree Pipit

The following species now require a description:

• Bewicks Swan 

Common Nighthawk - New to Northern Ireland

This is perhaps the most bizzare and fascinating rarity ever to occur in Northern Ireland.

On the 5th October 2019, Fergus Auld reported to Dot Blakely that whilst out fishing, he had observed a Nightjar along the River Maine at Galgorm on the 3rd October. On Sunday 6th, a number of birders took advantage of his offer to view the bird and it duely showed briefly at dusk. Some poor quality pictures were taken in the diminishing light but when circuated the following morning, Josh Jones felt that the bird was actually a Common Nighthawk ad news was shared widely about it. Later that same afternoon, the bird was actually seen by Stuart Piner who had travelled over from England for it. By dusk, circa 50 birders were on site and were rewarded with excellent views of the bird as it hawked insects over the river, often coming within a few feet of those in attendance.

The following day seen more birders visit the site and amazingly the bird was found day roosting. It then showed, often roosting in the day but also feeding along the river at dusk until Thursday 17th October. During this period, it is estimated that at least 500 birders viewed it and it stayed loyal to the same area of the river.

The bird was not seen in NI after the 17th October but amazingly it was photographed by Lewis Newman over Regents Park, London on Saturday 19th October. Unusually for an autumn migrant it was an adult male. This was the first record of ths north American species for Northern Ireland.

Nighthawk - Jonny Andrews

Nighthawk - Mervyn Campbell

Red Eyed Vireo - New for Northern Ireland

During the Rathlin Birding Week, organised by Ric Else and Hazel Watson, a Red-eyed Vireo was found on the morning of Sunday 29th September 2019 by Wilton Farrelly. The bird was in sycamores near the east light, Rathlin Island. At times it would show well (although distantly) and was last seen on Wednesday 2nd October. During this time a Melodious Warbler and a Yellow-browed Warbler were also on the island.
Red-eyed Vireo is the most common American passerine seen in Britain and Ireland but had not previously been recorded in Northern Ireland.

Red-eyed Vireo, Ric Else:

American Black Tern - New for NI

On Monday 10th September 2018, Ian Dickey found an American Black Tern at the Bann Estuary. The bird was seen on and off until Tuesday 18th September. At times it gave great views but would often dissapear out to sea.

This record is the first of the sub-species for Northern Ireland and an excellent find.

American Black Tern, Ian Dickey:

American Black Tern, Stephen Dunbar:

Can you help?

Do you have an interest in bird recording and could you help support the NIRBC? Please get in touch if you feel that you could assist in eg helping collate data, assessing records, website management or administrative support. If so, please email us at NIRBcomm@gmail.com