Rathlin Bird Report 2019 Bird Sightings on Rathlin Island in 2019
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Rathlin Bird Report 2019 Bird sightings on Rathlin Island in 2019 Ric Else and Hazel Watson Contents Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2 Observer coverage …………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….. 2 Additional observers ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2 Breeding seabirds ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………... 3 Waders ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Seabird passage …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Wildfowl counts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Other species counts ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Ageing …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Accessibility of records …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Rathlin Stickybeak blog and Twitter ……………………………………………………………………………………… 5 Photographs …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5 Locations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6 2019 summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Species diversity ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7 Notable species……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Notable omissions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9 Red-billed Chough……………………………………………………………………………………………... 9 Breeding birds………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9 Brief notes on Rathlin’s bird recording history and compiling Rathlin’s all-time bird list ....……………………… 10 Arrival dates of spring migrants………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 Maximum monthly wader counts ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12 2019 seabird breeding season …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13 Key dates …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13 Breeding success …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15 Interesting observations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15 Jumplings ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16 Systematic list …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18 Species accounts …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20 References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 83 1 Introduction This report is a summary of our bird sightings made on Rathlin Island during 2019. This was our third year on the island and, as in the previous two years, we made efforts to find and record birds almost every day of the year, except for occasional trips away from the island. Our aim in this report is to thoroughly document the island’s birdlife at this time, providing a detailed reference for the interest and use of locals, visitors and ornithologists, both now and in the future. At the same time, this report is an opportunity to showcase the fascinating and diverse variety of birds present on Rathlin throughout the year, as well as to share some of our experiences watching them. The vast majority of sightings included here are our own and, although we could only have recorded a tiny fraction of the birds on the island on any particular day, we hope that they still provide a useful indication of the numbers of birds present and the timings of their movements during the year. This report should also demonstrate the range of species that just a couple of dedicated observers can reasonably expect to see during a year on the island. Throughout the report we have often made reference to and comparison with the previous two years. As we only have these three years of experience birding on Rathlin, we have generally made little attempt to put observations in a wider historical context, but where we have done so we have referenced the sources of this information. Our 2017 and 2018 Bird Reports remain freely available online: Rathlin Bird Report 2017: https://rathlinstickybeak.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/rathlin-bird-report-2017.pdf Rathlin Bird Report 2018: https://rathlinstickybeak.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/rathlin-bird-report-2018.pdf Observer coverage At over 14 km2, Rathlin is much too large for two observers to attempt anything like comprehensive daily coverage (especially while also working full time!). While we aimed to survey as much of the island as possible, only a small portion of the area could realistically be visited on any day, and there was a bias towards the western end of the island where we spent the most time. There was no coverage at all of some parts of the island that are not publicly accessible. In late September and early October we organised the second annual Rathlin Birding Week. As well as being an enjoyable week spent getting to know some other local birders, it also resulted in some absolutely tremendous birds being found and emphatically demonstrated the greatly increased bird-finding potential just a few extra pairs of eyes can make. Eleven birders joined us during the event, and a further six came at short notice to twitch the rarities unearthed by the original participants! We are grateful to them all for their birding efforts and convivial company. In addition to our own observations, we have included noteworthy sightings made by other observers whenever we are aware of them. Such records are indicated by the observer's initials in brackets. For rare species reported by other observers, we have only included these sightings in cases where we have been able to verify the identification with certainty. Thanks to all those who shared their sightings with us throughout the year. Additional observers mentioned in the text (in alphabetical order): MB – Michael Barton AH – Ann Henderson EM – Emanuele Miccolis PB – Patrick Barton DH – Dermot Hughes TM – Tim Morley KB – Kristina Blagojevitch LH – Lynn Hughes DM – David Morrow JB – Joshua Brown RH – Robert Hughes LM – Linda Moysey HC – Hilary Carmichael KK – Kevin Kirkham JOB – John O’Boyle DC – Douglas Cecil RM – Ruth Maxwell GP – Gareth Platt PC – Paul Collin MM – Margot McCuaig AP – Adele Pound NC – Nicci Cox TMcD – Tom McDonnell PQ – Paul Quinn AD – Ariane Dellavalle JMcD – James McDowell JS – Julie Staines SD – Shirley Dunlop AMcF – Alison McFaul RT – Russell Thompson WF – Wilton Farrelly JMcF – Jim McFaul EV – Elizabeth Vogel RF – Raymond Fulton LMcF – Liam McFaul NW – Neal Warnock PG – Paul Gallagher PMcF – Philip McFaul PW – Philip Watson SG – Susie Gold GM – Gerard McGeehan DW – Dennis Weir MG – Marianne Green SM – Stuart McKee JW – Jim Wells RG – Richard Green JAM – Julie-Ann McMullan CG – Colin Guy PGM – Peter Gerard McMullan 2 Breeding seabirds As breeding seabird counts are conducted periodically as part of national seabird censuses, we made no attempt to survey the colonies of most species ourselves (the monumental size of the task also being a significant factor!). However, annual surveys of some species were undertaken by RSPB Warden Liam McFaul and a sample of nests was monitored by staff at the West Light Seabird Centre, and we have included the results of some of these surveys in the report. Since we spent a lot of time working at the seabird colony throughout the summer, we have also included any noteworthy observations we made there. More information is given on pages 13–17 and in the individual accounts for each species. Kittiwake feeding frenzy just offshore from the West Light and the spectacular seabird colony on the cliffs and sea stacks. Waders Rathlin's mostly steep and rocky coastline has relatively little typical wader habitat, and most species are concentrated around the harbour and adjacent bays, and around the southeast coast of the island. This means that for most waders, carefully surveying these two areas on the same day can provide a more or less complete count of the number present on the island. While every wader still has a detailed account in the systematic list, we have also presented a table of monthly maximum counts for each species on page 12. Dozens of Dunlins thronging the shores of Mill bay during an excellent spring passage period for waders. 3 Seabird passage During windy periods in the autumn, we increased our efforts watching offshore seabird passage. While prominent headlands to the west of Rathlin (notably Ramore Head and Malin Head) are renowned for their autumn seabird passage, particularly in strong northwesterly winds, it appears that large scale passage of seabirds does not generally occur around Rathlin, even in seemingly ideal weather conditions. Indeed, on the best seawatching days at Ramore Head there can be (frustratingly!) almost no seabird movement visible from Rathlin. However, large numbers of seabirds can be observed offshore on many days in autumn, and it seems these movements of birds are connected to foraging activity rather than weather, with gatherings of feeding birds commonly occurring all around the island. Although we have had productive seawatching from various locations including the West Light and Ballyconagan, the best views are often to be obtained from the Rue where birds often pass at relatively close range as they move between feeding areas. Seabirds including Razorbills and Common Guillemots streaming past the Rue in heavy seas. Wildfowl counts Because the island's wildfowl populations are mainly concentrated at a few freshwater bodies and favoured stretches of coastline, it is possible to obtain relatively comprehensive counts by visiting all these sites on the same day. We completed these whole-island wildfowl counts at least once in each month from January to April and from October to December, and this count data for common wildfowl species is reported in the species accounts. We stopped these surveys during the summer when the birds are less