Ballycotton, in the east of Co Cork, has long been famous as a magnet for rare waterbirds. It has an enviable list including species such as Long toed Stint, American Coot, Lesser Crested Tern and, only 12 months ago, Pacific Golden Plover. The habitat available to these wanderers has declined in quality in recent decades, due to both natural and unnatural forces, but the area still manages to pull in rarities, particularly annual Nearctic shorebirds.
On the evening of Wednesday 31 July 2024, local birder Dennis O'Sullivan rang to tell me that, among the several hundred small waders present, he had seen a stint that seemed to be quite warm on the throat. He only had his binoculars with him and the flock had been flushed by dog walkers – he hadn't seen it again and was unsure what it was.
The following afternoon, I timed my arrival to coincide with high tide – a crucial element to consider if visiting the beach at Ballycotton. There were small groups of waders scattered along the shore but it wasn't until I reached the southern end of the beach at the outflow of what used to be Ballycotton Lake that I found a large flock.
One of the first birds I spotted was a stint. Even with the brisk wind and heat haze I immediately realised there was a concentrated area of clean faded red on the throat that was bordered below by a necklace of streaks on a white breast. I immediately rang Dennis to put him on a red alert and settled down to get more details on the bird.
Before the Ballycotton bird (above), Ireland's most recent Red-necked Stint was in August 2011 at Reenroe Beach, Co Kerry (Alex Lynch).
The flock was flighty but the combination of features – the clean-coloured throat with a good bit of white around the face and the elongated and short-legged look – immediately reminded me of the first Irish record of Red-necked Stint in 1998, found by Phil Davis merely 40 m from where I was standing.
Some of the upper scapulars were fringed by a fiery rufous colour but in the main the upperparts were greyish. Some of the wing coverts were dark centred and the bill looked relatively short. I was by now certain that this was a Red-necked Stint so I messaged several people, both for second opinions and those whom I knew would want to travel to see it.
With the arrival of Dennis and one or two others, we were able to divert walkers and dogs around the birds so it wouldn't be flushed again. Despite this, the bird remained unsettled and flew off on its own a couple of times only to return to its favoured area five minutes or so later.
Once the tide dropped the birds dispersed over the beach, making it trickier to locate, but it was seen late that evening at dusk. The following morning it was seen briefly a couple of times but could not be relocated on the evening high tide so had seemingly moved on.
This is the sixth Red necked Stint for Ireland and the third for Ballycotton, following birds in 1998 and 2002. It was speculated at the time that both of those earlier sightings might have related to the same bird returning, but after a gap of 22 years it's unlikely to be the case this time. Indeed, most of the birders present who had seen all three birds were probably just happy that they're still alive!
Ballycotton boasts no fewer than three Red-necked Stint records (Brian McCloskey).
