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.

 

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. 

Celebrating Spring Migration in Waterford

Swallow by Andrew Malcolm

Every spring millions upon millions of birds migrate from Africa into Europe. They do so primarily to take advantage of the super abundance of food and longer days available in the northern hemisphere during spring, summer and autumn. These conditions are a prerequisite for successful breeding. Spring migration is concentrated in April and May and Waterford fully participates in this phenomenon.

For many, the swallow is the harbinger of spring. Due to the recent adverse cold weather conditions swallows were slow to arrive this year but are now here in good numbers.

Swift by Andrew Malcolm

Swifts are only just now appearing over our towns and will be the earliest departing migrant being mostly gone by late august.

Blackcap by Fran O'Connell

Being insectivorous warblers are mainly summer visitors to this country although small numbers over winter. Blackcaps can be heard singing their rich melodic song from cover at present and with a little patience close observation will be rewarded.

Little Tern by Fran O'Connell

Terns are a pelagic seabird also known as sea swallows for their elegant flight. Sandwich terns can now be easily observed fishing close inshore along the Waterford coast while continually uttering their harsh call. A little tern (a scarce

Waterford passage migrant) was recently briefly observed feeding along Clonea beach before heading to its breeding grounds.

Whimbrel by Andrew Malcolm

Some migrating species use Ireland as a staging post to feed up on their way to their breeding grounds far to the north of us. Each spring whimbrel (somewhat resembling curlew in appearance) feed on beaches in Waterford before continuing on to their breeding sites in Iceland. Black throated divers do not breed in Ireland so the adult summer plumaged bird recently observed at Helvick was most likely feeding up on passage north.

Firecrest by Paddy Dwan

Firecrests vie with the more familiar goldcrest as the smallest bird occurring in Europe. This spring Waterford experienced an unprecedented influx of at least three of this beautiful little bird. Further small numbers were recorded in Wexford. Whereas these occurrences were most likely a cold weather movement there remains the tantalising possibility that these birds were prospecting future breeders.

With so many birds moving from Africa into Europe there are bound to be a few overshoots. Hoopoes normally breed in Southern Europe but every year small numbers migrate way beyond their target area. True to form a hoopoe graced Creadan Head this spring lingering for several days to the delight of many bird watchers.

Hoopoe by Richard Zamora

Watch out over the next several weeks for cuckoos, dragonflies and butterflies such as holly blue and peacock.

Check out www.richzamora-images.com for images of Waterford wildlife.

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

Whales and Dolphins by Andrew Malcolm and John Power

Fluking Humpback Whale by Andrew Malcolm

It might well come as a surprise to many people that Ireland is one of the best places
in Europe to go whale watching. Furthermore, here in county Waterford we are
doubly blessed in that the second largest animal ever to have lived on the planet is
regularly to be encountered not too far off our coastline. At up to 22m in length the fin
whale is only surpassed in size by the blue whale, and visits our inshore waters to feed
on the herring that gather here in huge shoals during the winter months. This explains
the old name given to them by fishermen of ‘herring hogs’

Fin Whale by Andrew Malcolm

For several years these behemoths of the sea have been recorded from November
until March feeding due south of Ram Head at Ardmore, where due to the distance
offshore of up to 15km they could only be viewed with quality watching gear.
However, in more recent years these animals have been spotted feeding very close
inshore from Ballyvoyle Head to Dunmore East. On one occasion they came in so
close to the cliffs under Tankardstown that they could be heard breathing (no need for
any type of watching gear that time!) Remarkably these animals were less than 1 km
offshore in water only 11m deep, so they were more or less ‘paddling’!

Goldfinch Mule by Fran O'Connell

How do you spot a fin whale? Well, as they are of course mammals, they have to
come to the surface to breathe and when they exhale, the 6m high ‘blow’ of water
vapour is quite a tell-tale indicator of its presence. Usually they have a sequence of up
to 10 breaths at the surface with a gap of 10-15 seconds between them before they
dive again. They can then stay underwater for anything up to 9 minutes. Sea birds will often gather around where a whale is feeding in much the same way that they will
follow a trawler, picking up scraps from the whales feast, so if you see a lot of birds

Spoonbill by Andrew Malcolm

in a concentrated spot then that could well be a good place to keep an eye on. These
birds will often also follow the large groups of common dolphins that are also to be
found at this time of year joining in the bonanza of food. These pods of dolphins can
often be widely spread out and include several hundred animals.

Humpback whales are increasingly being seen at this time of year off the Waterford/
Wexford coast. The most charismatic of the whale species to be found off our shores,
they are the only whales that will ‘fluke’, that is lift their tail out of the water when
they dive. The markings under their tail is unique to each individual animal, rather
like a fingerprint is to us, and is used as a cataloguing method to help identify animals
that might return again to our shores or elsewhere in the North Atlantic.


For more information or to report a sighting of a whale, dolphin or porpoise visit

Waxwing Male & Female by Colum Flynn

www.iwdg.ie

If you are interested in a trip out from Dunmore East contact Martin Colfer at
www.charterangling.ie


LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS

The regularly over-wintering spoonbill has returned to Dungarvan for a further winter

Waxwing Male & Female by Colum Flynn

and can be seen from the Cunnigar or Western Bay – best looked for at high tide. Up
to 15 crossbills have taken up residence on the Ballinacourty golf club most easily
seen immediately behind the pier. Three female long-tailed ducks (old squaw in

American parlance) are between the Lookout and the Cunnigar. A hybrid/mule finch
has been showing up at various feeders in Dungarvan. A female surf scoter (north
American duck) is present off the Lookout.
A major influx of waxwings is taking place in both Britain and Ireland. The name

Brambling by Mick Cowming

is derived from the colouration on their feathers reminiscent of coloured wax.
This feature combined with an obvious large crest on their crown makes them
unmistakeable. These beautiful birds feed on berries and can be encountered almost
anywhere even in small urban gardens. Another bird being seen this winter is the
brambling – an irruptive finch. Please report any sightings of either species.

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

Not Quite Native

Mute Swan Family by Bernie Sheridan

We live on an island, which for many thousands of years was largely covered in ice. As a consequence very few, if any, land mammals were to be found in Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age. As the ice retreated a process of colonisation began. Some land mammals may have colonised naturally by crossing land bridges connecting us to Britain or even swimming here but a surprising number were certainly introduced here by humans. Human introductions were sometimes accidental and oftentimes deliberate. Some authorities maintain that all surviving land mammals in Ireland are human introductions but this is open to debate.

RABBITS AND HARES

The ubiquitous rabbit is most certainly a human introduction. Rabbits arrived here with the Normans in the 12^th century as a domestic food source. The wild rabbits seen here today are the offspring of escapees. The Irish Hare has been here for a considerable period of time and may have been a natural coloniser.

MINK

The mink is a carnivore originally from North America. It was introduced into this country in the 20^th century to be commercially farmed for its fur. Many escaped from these enterprises, and misguided and irresponsible individuals deliberately released others. Their initial impact on local wildlife was severe but other animals have now adapted to the mink somewhat. Mink are well established and widespread in Co Waterford.

Shrew by Andrew Malcolm

SHREWS

Greater white-toothed shrew is the latest addition to Irish land mammals. It was first discovered in 2007 in regurgitated barn owl pellets in Counties Limerick and Tipperary. It was most certainly introduced by man probably by accident from the continent. Subsequently Andrew Malcolm confirmed their presence in Co Waterford where they may be relatively widespread.

RODENTS

Although the red squirrel may have colonised Ireland in the early postglacial period it appears to have died by the end of the 18^th century possibly as a result of hunting and habitat loss. Red squirrels were subsequently re-introduced from England in the 19^th century and became re-established in all counties. At present it is widespread in Waterford but is now facing an imminent danger from the grey squirrel.

The grey squirrel is a North American species. The grey squirrel was introduced from England to Co Longford in1911 and has been rapidly colonising the rest of Ireland. In very recent times it has been observed in Co Waterford. Where red squirrels meet up with their grey counterpart it does not auger well for the reds. Red squirrel populations plummet and often disappear. Grey squirrels being bigger may be able to out compete reds for resources. Greys may also carry a virus to which they are immune but which is lethal to the red squirrel.

Bank voles are a very recent addition to Ireland arriving here in the 1960s. It was almost certainly introduced by man perhaps by accident. It is now established in Co Waterford.

Wood Sandpiper by Colum Flynn

Rats, perhaps surprisingly, are relatively recent arrivals in Ireland and were certainly the result of human activity. The black rat arrived here first from Asia spreading along trade routes used by man. Although it may have arrived here as early as Roman Britain it was certainly here by medieval times when it was associated with Black Death or bubonic plague. The brown rat arrived here much later in the early 18^th century again from Asia. Both rats were called Francach in Irish reflecting the belief that they originated from France. Whereas the brown rat has thrived in Ireland the black has all but disappeared and is now probably extinct here.

DEER AND GOATS

Fallow Deer by Liam Cahill

Red Deer, or at least those occurring in Co Kerry, were considered the quintessential native Irish species. However, recent genetic studies suggest Neolithic Irish farmers introduced them. The Normans introduced fallow deer, widespread in Co Waterford, in the 13^th century. Sika deer occur in Waterford and were introduced in the 19^th century to Ireland.

Wild (feral) goats in Ireland and Waterford are descended from domesticated animals.

RECENT SIGHTINGS AND NEWS

Osprey by Andrew Malcolm

Waders have begun their return journeys from their breeding grounds to their winter refuges. Recent sightings included a little ringed plover (second county record) found by Michael Cowming at Ballinclamper, Clonea and a wood sandpiper at Killongford pool discovered by Colm Flynn, which lingered for a few days. A number of spotted redshanks and green sandpipers were also noted on passage. Andrew Malcolm had a flyover osprey and a minke whale at Ram Head and also upwards of 100 common dolphins at Helvick. Arlo Jacques sighted an eagle species most likely an immature golden eagle. Small numbers of sabine’s gull were observed passing along various points on the coast.

Spotted Redshank by Colum Flynn

Check out www.waterfordbirds.com for local wildlife updates. If you have any questions or comments, please email them to japwatntr@gmail.com. See also the accompanying Blog at www.understandingwaterfordnature.blogspot.com