Cooney, T. 2017. Migration phenology of Jack Snipe at an Irish coastal wetland. Irish Birds 10: 463–468
Migration times of Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus were monitored at North Bull Island in Dublin Bay during 2011/2012 to 2016/2017. Average arrival times in autumn centred on 2 October and average departure times in spring on 23 April. Although these results were site and habitat specific, they were similar to recent migration data for Ireland. While the time series examined for Ireland and Britain were of different lengths, migration times were extraordinarily similar. The average autumn arrival date for Ireland as a whole was 16 September while that for Britain was 23 September, and departure times in spring for Ireland centred on 30 April, one day later than in Britain. The close agreement suggests that migration times across both islands possibly occur synchronously. Other recently generated data for Ireland provides tantalising evidence that passage migration may take place and that Jack Snipe could be more frequent in upland areas than previously suspected. In both instances greater clarity will only be possible through increased observer effort and higher detection rates of this enigmatic species.
INTERNATIONAL WADER STUDY GROUP