**Gull-Billed Tern. **Despite now having seen them around the world in numbers, from Ireland to Arabia to North Africa and the Americas, it remains one of my favorite Irish rarities.

When I started out birding they were a true mega. Birds had been few and far between, with twitchable individuals such as one at Rosslare being the stuff of legend.

When one turned up at Courtmacsherry, Co. Cork I was unable to get to it, and they were not going to be an easy species to catch up with.

2 birds present at Tacumshin, coincided with my Leaving Cert and had to be left to their own devices.

Their status has of course now changed. They are now a multi annual species in Ireland. Still rare of course, but not quite on the mega radar as they once were.

In the end, as fate would have it, I never twitched one. I’ve seen 3 in Ireland and each of them was self found.

July 11th, 2004

My first Gull-Billed Tern was an unexpected deep Summer find. A day trip down to Wexford, intending on twitching a Short-Billed Dowitcher at Lady’s Island turned into a truly exceptional day.

On the way down, we were as usual perusing field guides and discussing birds.

Upon reaching Gull-Billed Tern in the book my brother smarmed that, having seen 2 birds at Tacumshin some years prior, this would be a species it would take me a very long time to catch up on.

Nearing Wexford town, I suggested we stop into the North Slob en route as no one works it in the summer.

Barely a second into the Pat Walsh hide and myself and my brother noticed a Tern hawking along the channel to our right.

I put the scope on it, almost knowing what it would be.

Sure enough, it was an absolutely gorgeous **Gull-Billed Tern. 😂 **Sometimes it really is just that easy.

We carried on and enjoyed the Short-Billed Dowitcher at Lady’s Island making it a two mega day.

Gull-Billed Tern - Tom Shevlin - (sadly now a shot disappeared from online archives).

I know there were many other images out there of this individual which sadly now seem to be lost to the vagaries of old hard drives.

May 20th, 2006

On this date, I headed out of Cork city, bound for Ballyvergan Reedbed, Youghal, with the intention of working east Cork, back to the city as I do often did on any given weekend.

Ballyvergan had been playing host to a long staying Marsh Harrier, which was highly reluctant, over the course of weeks, to show itself to me.

A morning stakeout here produced nothing and I moved on towards Pilmore. The car park was a bit chaotic as several pigeon racing groups released truckloads of homing pigeons, but I managed to see Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbler at Pilmore pool.

Still. It was feeling a bit quiet.

That was about to change.

As I drove west towards Ballymacoda, just before the bridge over the Womanagh river, a Tern glided out of the fields on the right of the road, right in front of me, just a few feet in front of my windscreen.

GULL-BILLED TERN!!!!

I slammed on the brakes and swerved in, in quite dodgy driving fashion, and jumped out of the car, just in time to see the Tern drop down behind the polder embankment and continue south.

I put the news out instantly, and desperately scanned for the bird, desperate for it to return.

Luckily, it eventually did, sitting on the mud of the then breached polder, in the process of being reclaimed by the sea.

The day had been saved. 😍

The bird was present for 3 days and was well twitched so far as I am aware.

Gull-Billed Tern - Pretty sure this image is by Paul Moore, but doesn’t seem to appear in any online archives I can find anymore

Gull-Billed Tern - not sure who this image belonged to from back then. (If anyone knows raise your hand). Again it doesn’t seem to appear in any online archives anymore.

I know there were other images of this bird out there, but as with so much online stuff, it has disappeared into the mists of time. If anyone has any other images of these birds (both) I would love to have them.

Rogerstown, Dublin

My 3rd self found bird was present a couple of years later, on the inner estuary at Rogerstown, Co. Dublin.

Enjoying a day’s birding around Meath and North Dublin, I ended up at the hide at Turvey and working the various pools and channels.

Whilst scanning the mud for waders etc, I heard the familiar nasal call of Gull-Billed Tern!

Panic ensued as I tried to locate the source, before locking on to an adult Gull-Billed Tern moving up the channel.

I scoped the bird as it moved upstream and around the bend, out of view, however, the bird quickly returned into view before making it’s way over the flooded field and seemingly dropping down behind the embankment.

I waited it out for 15 minutes but the bird didn’t show for me again.

I decided to make my way around to the north side to check the field, but when I arrived, I could see no sign.

With the tide pushing in I tried both the upper channel on the Turvey side again and Beaverstown and Spout Lane on the outer estuary, but no joy.

A brief, but enjoyable bird, and one I prize for my Dublin list to this day.

With ongoing climate change and droughts affecting the Iberian peninsula with increasing regularity, it seems highly likely that GBT will at the very least maintain it’s current, more regular status, if not increase in frequency even further.

They will still be top drawer birds to me though.