"Buff-Bs".

There are few birds which sing Autumn migration to Irish birders quite like Buff-Breasted Sandpiper.

Unlike most Irish Birders, I saw my first Buff-B, not at Tacumshin, but at Swords, Co. Dublin, a most unusual location for said species.

I have seen many at Tacumshin since, but for a very long time, finding one of my own was proving challenging. Tacumshin just wasn’t doing it for me.

Even when I worked in Wicklow and could nip down to Wexford after work with relative ease and speed, I just couldn’t seem to connect with a self found bird of my own.

A simple case of a place that is worked by far too many people on a near daily basis, the odds of being the one who happened to be there for a yank waders arrival was naturally low.

Kerry, on the other hand, was a virginal paradise. Her untouched beaches and saltmarshes were a well kept secret and I soon realized the opportunities they held.

September, 2008

My first self found Buff-Breasted Sandpiper finally fell in 2008. Considering I had been birding, properly, since 1996, this was my most notable bogey bird for my self found list. Buff-Breasted Sandpiper was, arguably, more "common" at the time, considered perhaps on the same level as Pectoral Sandpiper (which had had found several of by that time).

Is it just me who feels that Buff-Bs seem to have become a little less regular?

Sure, you can still at times get the odd good season, but it does feel like overall numbers may have dropped a little, though I admit I have not sat down to analyze it.

I left in the wee hours, intent on hitting Blackrock strand as my starting point.

On arrival I successfully intercepted a rather crisp Baird’s Sandpiper which had been present, a good start for sure (who doesn’t adore Baird’s?) but with not an awful lot else doing on the beach, I made my way straight to Carrahane.

Baird’s Sandpiper - Blackrock

If you have never been to Carrahane, it’s worth a visit, just for the visuals. Like most birding sites in Kerry, it’s kind of spectacular.

Carrahane - What a place!

Stepping on to the Saltmarsh, I set up my scope and began scanning, it was a bit of a surprise to lock eyes on a distant Buff-Breasted Sandpiper, not wandering around on the marsh, but on the sand/mud instead. Nonetheless I sauntered over to the edge of the mud and took the find gleefully.

Buff-Breasted Sandpiper - Carrahane

The rest of the weekend went exceptionally well with several other self found Buff-Bs at sites such as Inch and Smerwick, several self found Pectoral Sandpiper, self found Bonaparte’s Gull, and self found **Ring-Necked Duck, **and some good seawatching from Brandon, including Sabine’s Gulls and Long-Tailed Skuas, as well as successfully twitching Black Duck and Lesser Yellowlegs.

To this day I recommend that people take the risk and work Kerry or Mayo, rather than traipsing down to Tac over and over just because that’s where everyone else goes. The rewards can be great.

Sure, there are times you will try and it may not work out, but when it does, you may learn that you find a decent bird or birds at almost every single stop along the route from North Kerry to Smerwick. 😍

Black Duck - Ventry

Ring-Necked Duck

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**Bonaparte’s Gull **

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Pectoral Sandpiper

I’ve found several Buff-Bs since that first great weekend in Kerry, including some in Cork and Clare, but the Kerry ones, particularly the Carrahane ones stand out in my memory for that spectacular setting.

Buff-Breasted Sandpiper - Carrahane, 2011