Finders-in-the-Field: Least Bittern, Farranfore, Co.Kerry - an Irish first
On Tuesday 8th October my good friend, John O Donoghue, called me to come and have a look at a bird he had found the day before on the back lawn of his house in Farranfore, Co.Kerry.
John had found the bird in very poor condition and it was unable to fly. So he decided it was best to pick it up and bring it inside to try and save it and to ensure his dog didn’t get hold of it. Unfortunately within 30 minutes it had died
I wasn’t familiar with the species and, despite an extensive Google search, I couldn’t find a species to match it.
I decided to make contact with Birdwatch Ireland and after some discussion with them it transpired the bird was a Least Bittern and had likely originated from America.
Little did we know at the time the interest this poor, misfortunate, little bird would attract. It's definitely a first for me, and even though I would watch the garden birds in the winter months, coming and going from the feeders in my back garden, this find and subsequent identification has given me an interest in something i knew very little about.
At the time little did either myself or John know that this is the first time one of these birds has been found in Europe and the fact that it chose our tiny village in mid-Kerry to land is even more fascinating, it is just a great shame it didn’t survive it's epic journey.
Anthony O'Connor
9 October 2019
Previous Records
The Kerry Least Bittern is the first for Ireland and the 10th for the Western Palearctic. Eight of the ten records come from the Azores, the only other remaining record is from Iceland in 1970.
Although not on the British List there is a credible record from autumn 1852. The bird was acquired near York as a Little Bittern but was later discovered to be a Least Bittern. It is currently in the Dorman Museum in Middlesborough (Evans 1994 Rare Birds In Britain 1800-1990).
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