Sunday 22 August 2010

CHIMNEY SWIFT in Southwest Ireland

News is just coming in of a CHIMNEY SWIFT being seen in COUNTY CORK, in SOUTHWEST IRELAND, at Ballyadeen, near Castletownroche - a remarkable record (1720-1808 hours at least).

Most of our previous Chimney Swifts in Britain and Ireland have occurred much later in the autumn, primarily between mid October and mid November. However, this is somewhat surprising when one considers that peak Chimney Swift passage on the Eastern Seaboard is between mid August and 11 September, with counts of over 1,500 birds in New York State at the end of August

Anyway, I had predicted Purple Martin to have arrived with this weather system, but I certainly wasn't expecting Chimney Swift. The wonders of bird migration and vagrancy........