White-Rumped Sandpiper - Blast From The Past Finds

White-Rumped Sandpiper is a pretty consistent rarity in Ireland, with frequent autumn influxes building a base for return migration birds in late Spring and Summer.

I've found 3 individuals over the years, all away from the wader center of Tacumshin.

October 2002

My first self found individual occurred at Rogerstown, Co. Dublin. 

Visiting the hide midweek with the old man, thorough scanning up and down the channel wasn't producing much, except for an interesting head which, amazingly, was popping up from behind the mud right below us.

The bird walked out into the open and revealed itself to be a pristine juvenile White-Rumped Sandpiper.

The bird gave excellent view for us for close to an hour, before it moved further up the channel and was lost to view. A pretty good Dublin find, if I do say so myself.

Ballycotton, September 7th, 2006

My second self found bird came again on another bit of midweek sniping, taking a geologist friend of mine down to Ballycotton to photograph the cliffs.

Having already found a Wryneck in the process, we stopped in at the lake to check the waders. The tide was already well in and I decided to check the waders at the lake exit from Silver Strand. There, among the Dunlin, was a silvery grey moulting adult White-Rumped Sandpiper. Easy peasey, and a great result for a sneaky two hours down at my beloved BallyC.

This bird (and the Wryneck) were both twitched on the day, with the White-Rumped Sandpiper staying on site likely into November.

White-Rumped Sandpiper - Ballycotton 

July 31st 2011 - Ballycotton 

The rise of the dog walker at Ballycotton was very evident from about 2010 onwards. 

Working Ballycotton at the weekend, as was my regular routine, I picked up what looked like an adult Summer White-Rumped Sandpiper distantly among the weed with a couple of Dunlin, almost immediately after leaving the car park.

However, any thoughts of moving closer to it were immediately dispelled as two loose labradors went milling through the waders.

The mixed flock of smalls and oycs moved off west towards Shanagarry, but I thought I picked up a white rump in flight for sure.

I crossed the channel, and moved west along the beach scanning as I went, but before I got to the garryvoe side, yet more dogs were loosed and waders again scattered. 

I had no joy relocating here, so I moved back east, and went towards the lake. No joy here either. Feck.

As I went to leave Denis O'Sullivan arrived in the car park and I let him know that I had seen what looked like a nice adult White-Rumped, but hadn't been able to refind it. 

Luckily, it was seen the next day by others, and subsequently snapped by Rónán McLaughlin.

White-Rumped Sandpiper - Rónán McLaughlin 

It's always a good idea to let people know you have had possibles/probables etc etc.

There are those out there, arseholes generally, who will criticize you if you are putting out what they say are too many possible reports, but those same people will also, in full blown hypocritical manner, slate you if you don't.

Letting people know at least gives you a shot of someone else following up and things getting nailed down.