Winter Gulls and Scarce Visitors

Adult Herring Gull by Fran O'Connell

On February 4^th, local birder Arlo Jacques discovered an adult little gull at the Tramore Boating Lake. This was the eleventh different species of gull to be recorded on this small lake in 2014.

                  

So what is the status of gulls this winter in Waterford ?

Let us first deal with the most commonly found species in winter in the county. Herring, greater black-backed, lesser black-backed, common and black-headed are all numerous and widespread during wintertime. When food resources, mainly fish, are readily available numbers of each species can be very large. Greater black-backed gulls are the largest gull occurring in our waters, followed by herring gulls and the slightly smaller lesser black-backed gull. Common gull is smaller again and black-headed gull is the smallest of this group.

Adult Winter Common Gull by Bernie Sheridan

Correctly identifying gulls can be a challenge at any time. Adult gulls have a summer and a winter plumage, but are easily sorted. However large gulls take up to four years to fully mature, and ageing gulls takes experience. Herring, greater black-backed and lesser black-backed are four year gulls. This is where matters get complex. These gulls have different plumages as juveniles, first winters, first summers, second winters, second summers, third winters, third summers, fourth winters, fourth summer/adults. Now combine this with various different races of herring gull and the results can be bewildering.

Adult Great Black-Backed Gull by Fran O'Connell

Common and black-headed-gulls take a mere two years to reach maturity.  Both have distinctive plumages as juveniles, first winters, first summers and second winters before reaching adulthood.

Adult Winter Black-Headed Gull by Fran O'Connell

Now that we have that lot sorted out we can attempt to find some of the rarer species which overwinter in Waterford. Throughout the coastal areas of Ireland there has been an unprecedented influx of ‘northern’ gulls this winter. The two species involved are glaucous gulls and Iceland gulls. Both are four year gulls but are distinguished from our regular gulls by the complete lack of black colouration on their bodies and wings. Glaucous gull is large, approaching greater black-backed in size and noticeably bigger than herring gull. Iceland is usually smaller than herring gull and looks more elongated. Both species have been observed in Waterford this winter at Ardmore, Whiting Bay, Ferrypoint, Helvick, Dungarvan, Tramore, Dunmore East and Cheekpoint. Again the individuals range from first winters through to adults.

Adult Winter Lesser Black-Backed Gull by Fran O'Conell

Amongst the Iceland gulls were a number of kumliens gulls, a distinct subspecies. These can be differentiated from Iceland gulls by varying amounts of darker colouration on the tips of their flight feathers. The first occurrences of kumliens gull in Waterford were noted at Helvick Head during January this year.   

Adult Glaucous Gull by John Power

Mediterranean gulls were once a rare visitor to Ireland. In recent years they have become established as a breeding species in this country. Mediterranean gulls are regularly seen at Whiting Bay, Ardmore, Dungarvan Harbour and Tramore.

Yellow-legged gulls are very similar to herring gulls in appearance but are now treated as a separate species. Adults are best distinguished from the herring gull by their slightly darker backs and yellow legs. Kinsalbeg and Dungarvan are good for this species although in very small numbers.

Adult Iceland Gull by John Power

Kittiwake (named for its call) is a pelagic species rarely coming to land other than to breed. The breeding colony at Dunmore East is justifiably famous for its easy accessibility to human observers. In winter kittiwakes come close inshore during winter storms. Little gulls are our smallest and daintiest gull usually encountered in Waterford during or immediately after storms. Helvick Head, Ballynagaul and Tramore are notable for this species.

Adult Winter Kumlien's Gull by Richard Zamora

Ring-billed gull is a North American species which is annual in Ireland albeit in small numbers. An adult ring-billed gull has turned up every winter for a number of years at the Tramore Boating Lake. It is often very easy to observe allowing an approach down to a couple of meters in the car park.

Kittiwake by Andrew Malcolm

In addition to the above, five other species of gull, as follows, have been recorded in Waterford. Caspian gull, as its name suggests, is an Eastern European/Central Asian species. Ivory gull is an Arctic specialist usually found scavenging on dead whales, seals and dolphins. Bonaparte’s gull is a North American species named after the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. American herring gull is the North American equivalent of our herring gull but now recognised as a separate species. Sabine’s gull is an August – October passage migrant named after Edward Sabine, a scientist aboard John Ross’s 1818 expedition to search for the North West Passage.

Adult Winter Ring-billed Gull by Bernie Sheridan

Interestingly two other species of gull have been named after personalities associated with the search for the North West passage - Ross’s gull after the aforementioned John Ross and Franklin’s gull after John Franklin. To date neither of these two species has been recorded in Waterford.

In total, excluding sub-species, 17 full species of gull have been recorded, to date, in county Waterford.

 

MUD GLORIOUS MUD AND WADERS

High Tide Wader Roost by Richard Zamora

Waterford being a coastal county has large areas of estuarine mud. At first glance mud may seem to be a degraded habitat devoid of all life. Happily this is not the case. Estuarine mudflats are considered one of the richest habitats in the world. The mixture of fresh and salt waters, with abundant nutrients and organic materials supports an extremely abundant invertebrate resource. This food concentration is extremely important to birdlife, particularly waders.

Lapwing by Colum Flynn

Waders, or shorebirds in American parlance, generally occupy wet places where they probe for food such as molluscs, snails, worms and other invertebrates. Waders include a large number of different species characterised by different bill and leg lengths. This allows each species to probe at different depths in the mud to locate prey, thus avoiding direct competition. It also guarantees that the prey species can survive in sufficient numbers to ensure continued existence.

Waterford is of vital importance to wader survival in two respects –

Long-Billed Dowitcher by Liam Cahill

overwintering birds, and passage migrants.

Large numbers of waders choose Waterford to overwinter. Their feeding is dictated by the tides. Waders only stop feeding at high tide when the mud is totally covered. Night-time is not an obstacle – they simply continue probing for food during the hours of darkness.

Whimbrel & Grey Plover by Pat Veale

Waders are long distance migrants moving in spring to their breeding grounds in the far north from their over-wintering areas here, in Southern Europe and Africa. In autumn they reverse their migration along with their progeny. These journeys are not done in one step. The waders stop off at traditional feeding areas upon which they have become dependent over millennia. They feed at these staging posts before continuing with their onward migrations. Any loss or damage to these feeding areas would be catastrophic to their wellbeing. Whimbrel, migrating to their breeding grounds and stopping on the way to feed in Waterford in late April, is an excellent example of passage migration.

Dunlin by Fran O'Connell

Black-Tailed Godwit by Colum Flynn

The following illustrates the absolute importance of Waterford to waders as a winter refuge in terms of numbers: Dungarvan is internationally important for black-tailed godwit and nationally important for oystercatchers, golden plover, grey plover, knot, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit, greenshank, redshank and turnstone. Tramore is nationally important for golden plover, grey plover and black-tailed godwit whilst Waterford Harbour holds nationally important numbers of oystercatcher and black-tailed godwit. The Blackwater Callows are internationally important for black-tailed godwit and nationally important for curlew.

Lesser Yellowlegs by Colum Flynn

Occasionally Waterford plays host to rare American waders (shorebirds). At different times long billed dowitcher, American golden plover, pectoral sandpiper, lesser yellow-legs and semi-palmated sandpiper have graced the Cunnigar.

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Sanderling by Fran O'Connell

Viewing waders in Waterford is easy. Bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits are readily located in large numbers on estuarine mud virtually anywhere within the county. Turnstone get their name from their habit of turning over stones and seaweed to locate prey. Dunlin are the ubiquitous small wader often in large flocks. Both dunlin and turnstone are widespread throughout Waterford. Watch out for the small grey sanderling feeding along the tideline.

Turnstone by Andrew Malcolm

Curlew by Liam Cahill

 Sanderling resemble toy soldiers as they advance and retreat with the breaking waves. High tide roosts present an opportunity to view different species in close proximity and to study the varied sizes and plumages. Look for and listen to the widespread lapwing with its distinctive pee-wit call. The long de-curved bill of the curlew is unmistakeable, coupled with its plaintive ‘curlew’ call. 

Look among the wader flocks for the plump, stubby billed, medium sized, pale coloured grey plover. The grey plover is easily recognised by its dark axillaries (armpits) once in flight.

Redshank by Andrew Malcolm

 Both redshank and greenshank are common throughout Waterford and best recognised by their respective leg colouration and easily recognisable calls.

Check out www.waterfordbirds.com for local wildlife updates and submission of records. If you have any questions or comments please email them to japwatntr@gmail.com.

Pelagic Birding and Dolphins

Gannet by Andrew Malcolm

On Friday the 9^th of August, 13 local birders and crew, captained by Martin Colfer, sailed from Youghal

along the Waterford coast in search of pelagic birds and perhaps some whales and dolphins.

Pelagic birds are birds of the open seas, which are unlikely to be encountered on land other than at breeding colonies.

Black Guillemot by Fran O'Connell

Gannets were quickly seen. These very large seabirds sustain themselves entirely by fishing. They dive into the sea, often from a great height, in pursuit of their prey. Once almost wiped out as a breeding species in Ireland, they are now happily thriving.

Auks (family name Alcids) are well represented in Irish waters by guillemots, black guillemots, razorbills and, everybody’s favourite, puffins. Looking comical and friendly puffins are, in reality, tough, ocean going birds, capable of surviving the harshest conditions. Puffins, like all auks, fish by pursuing their prey underwater, using their wings to propel themselves forwards.

Puffins by Dominic Clancy

Storm petrels are a tiny (sparrow-sized) totally pelagic species, which dip feed on the ocean surface. The name petrel is thought to derive from St Peter as their pattering on the surface of the sea is reminiscent of the Saint’s ability to walk on water. Storm Petrels are also known as “Mother Carey’s Chickens” after a supernatural figure representing the sea. Petrel’s tiny seemingly fragile appearance again belies their ability to survive at sea in the most extreme conditions. During the trip storm petrels were very much in evidence.

Manx Shearwater by Pat Veale

Sooty Shearwater by Andrew Malcolm

Shearwaters are a truly pelagic species undertaking huge annual migrations. The name derives from their flying method, whereby they appear to shear across the waves. Manx shearwaters breed in Ireland and migrate to waters off Brazil and Argentina in the winter. They were regular on the trip as were small numbers of sooty shearwaters. “Sooties” breed on southern ocean islands and disperse northwards along the western side of the Atlantic Ocean, moving east into our waters in July/August before returning south down the eastern side of the Atlantic to their remote breeding colonies in November/December.

Fulmar by Fran O'Connell

Almost always on view during the trip was the fulmar. Fulmars look superficially like gulls but their stiff winged flight and tube noses are obvious differences and more reminiscent of their close relatives albatrosses. The tube nose is an adaptation for excreting salt, which is picked up through their prey and seawater. Now a common breeding bird in Ireland this was not always the case. However with the demise of the human population on St. Kilda in Scotland and the subsequent reduction in hunting, fulmars quickly moved into all available breeding niches in Britain and Ireland.

Also in attendance on the pelagic trip was the kittiwake. This species is

Kittiwake by Dominic Clancy

named after its call. The kittiwake is a beautiful, dainty, small gull with jet black wing tips as if dipped in ink. This is a truly ocean going species which will never be encountered in dumps (as are other gulls) and only rarely on land. Dunmore East presents a good opportunity to see kittiwakes as they breed there on the cliffs in spring/summer.

Other species seen on the trip included several species of large gull, terns and a small pod of porpoises.

Martin Colfer regularly runs bird watching and whale watching trips from Youghal and is available on 087 265 7177.

Bottlenose Dolpin by Bernie Sheridan

Dungarvan was recently graced by a pod of bottlenose dolphins, comprising of ten to twelve individuals. The dolphins lingered for a few days, hunting between Ballinacourty Lighthouse and Ballyvoile. Bottlenose dolphins track their prey by the use of echo location. These dolphins are regular in Irish waters, with a resident population in the Shannon estuary and the most famous of all “Fungie” in Dingle harbour.  

Why do birds sing?

Robin by Andrew Malcolm

Birds sing in order to communicate and for two main reasons -

• to attract a mate
• to defend a territory

A male bird singing in spring and early summer (and it is mostly males) is proclaiming that he is in tip-top breeding condition and is ready and able to mate. Females in the vicinity are attracted by the song and can judge by it whether or not the singing male will make a suitable mate. She can decide by the quality of his song as to whether he is strong and healthy enough for the rigours of mating and providing food for their offspring.

The singing male is also defending his territory. He is, in strident terms, telling

Garganey by Richard Zamora

other males that this patch is his, as is the female, and to keep well away. Just as the female is attracted to the male's song, other males are repelled by it. This largely avoids unnecessary physical confrontation between males which could lead to injury to either or both. An injury to any wild animal greatly reduces its survival chances. Furthermore, if a male for whatever reason, does not defend his territory, another, probably younger male, will quickly move in and take over.

Song Thrush by Fran O'Connell

Perhaps the best time to listen to birdsong is at dawn, the aptly named 'Dawn Chorus'. Why should birds sing most actively at dawn? At dawn the air has not warmed up so that conditions are usually fairly still and sound carries further. The males are also proclaiming that they are still alive and active and re-asserting their claims to territory and females after the night. It is also thought that feeding opportunities being limited at dawn, the birds can devote their time more readily to singing.

Wren by Fran O'Connell

By mid-July, singing will have very much declined. Most birds will have mated by then and competition for mates and territory will have fallen off. By late summer many species of bird will be in active moult and the last thing any bird will want is to attract a predator whilst their flying ability is impaired.

Skylark by Andrew Malcolm

In addition to singing, birds have a range of other vocalisations. These are used to warn other birds of threats such as predators and other dangers. Many species have contact calls, particularly used in feeding and migrating flocks to keep in touch and in communicating with fledged young. Most of us are familiar with the alarm call of a blackbird when disturbed or the 'tick tick tick' warning call of a robin.

Reed Warbler by Fran O'Connell

Some notable songsters easily heard in Waterford include the skylark with its seemingly endless cascade of song often delivered from high up in the sky. The song thrush is readily heard repeating each phrase of its song over and over again. Listen out for the reed warbler singing from deep cover in reed beds or the very loud song of a wren which seems impossibly vocal for such a tiny bird.

Bird song recordings are easily accessed on the internet and can be downloaded as apps. An excellent and informative book on bird song is 'Bird Watching With Your Eyes Closed' by Simon Barnes which introduces many familiar birdsongs of Britain and Ireland. An accompanying podcast can be downloaded from the internet.

Yellow Wagtail by Bernie Sheridan

RECENT NEWS

The discovery of an adult male yellow wagtail at Curragh Beach, Ardmore was a nice find. Disappointingly the bird departed after a short time, to the annoyance of would be observers. A pair of garganey was seen at Ballinlough near Kill. Garganey are a small duck which interestingly are the only duck species which migrates from the south in Africa into Europe to breed. Hopefully this pair might successfully raise a brood in County Waterford this year. 

Some Success Stories

Unfortunately, all too often, reports on bird populations deal with declining numbers and even extinctions so it is very pleasing to report on some success stories.

Collared Dove by Fran O'Connell

The collared dove is a pale, buff grey, medium sized dove with a distinctive black ‘collar’ across the neck, sides and a long tail. The collared dove started spreading across Europe in the early 20th century reaching Great Britain in the early 1950s and Ireland by 1959 (although anecdotal evidence suggests it may have reached Dungarvan prior to that date). It has now spread throughout Europe and North Africa. It is well established in North America but possibly as a result of introductions and escapees. Interestingly, collared doves are sedentary and do not normally migrate. Collared doves are widespread across Waterford, particularly in urban areas and regularly come to garden feeding stations, sometimes in large numbers.

Reed Warbler by Paul Walsh

The reed warbler is a migratory bird arriving in Ireland in early April and May and departing in September/October. Technically an acrocephalus warbler, it is a brown un-streaked bird, which, as its name suggests occupies reedbeds. It has a distinctive song, which is often the best indicator of its presence in dense reed. With patience reed warblers can be seen in reedbeds. Virtually unknown in Ireland until the 1960s, it has undergone a remarkable expansion in this country and is now well established in suitable habitat in Waterford.  Reedbeds along the rivers Blackwater, Suir and Bride are particularly good for encountering reed warblers.

Little Egret by Fran O'Connell

Little egrets are an all white plumaged, medium sized, elegant heron with a black pointed bill and black feet with yellow toes. Almost unknown in Ireland until the late 1980s, little egrets started occurring more regularly and became resident. Breeding was proven in 1997 for the first time in this country in Co. Waterford. In subsequent years other colonies were established and little egrets have now spread to most parts of Ireland and are common in Waterford in suitable aquatic habitats. Numbers in excess of 50 birds can sometimes be seen at Waterford roosts.

Buzzard by Andrew Malcolm

Ireland has a paucity of birds of prey compared to Great Britain and mainland Europe. Buzzards are one of the most common raptors (birds of prey) in Britain and Europe but until recently were extremely rare in Ireland. However, in recent years buzzards have begun rapidly expanding throughout this country and now are seen in every county. Buzzards are medium sized raptors with broad wings, which they hold in a shallow v while soaring. Buzzards can be seen perched on posts, poles and trees and soaring in the skies above. Buzzards are increasingly common and easily seen throughout Waterford.

RECENT SIGHTINGS AND NEWS

Caspian Gull by Paul Archer

The most exciting recent event was the discovery of a caspian gull at Dunmore East by Waterford based birder, Paul Archer. Caspian gulls are native to Eastern Europe and Central Asian. Along with being extremely rare in Ireland, caspian gulls present a very difficult identification challenge, making Paul’s achievement all the more noteworthy. The weather at Dunmore East was extremely foul at the time and not very conducive to bird watching. However, the gull lingered long enough for birders from all over Ireland to get to see and admire it. For many it was a very long awaited and appreciated addition to their Irish bird list. Along with the caspian gull a further 11 species of gull were noted in Waterford on one day which is very high by national norms.

Wheater by Andrew Malcolm

 An adult male ring-necked duck continues to over winter at Knockaderry reservoir, as does a spotted redshank at Tramore back strand.

Spring migration has already begun with several wheatears and sand martins recently sighted in Waterford. Over the next several weeks look out for swallows, sandwich terns and perhaps an exotic hoopoe.

Check out www.waterfordbirds.com for local wildlife updates and submission of records. If you have any questions or comments, please email them to japwatntr@gmail.com