Ussher & Warren birds Waterford

Waterford extracts

Online access to this standard text, whose lead-author R.J. Ussher lived at Cappagh in Co Waterford, is available through Waterford County Library (see link above). Specific references to Waterford observations are listed in detail. Note that many other of Ussher's personal observations relate to Co Waterford, but extracts are only provided below where Co Waterford, or specific Waterford locations, are explicitly mentioned or can be inferred. Reference to the full text is recommended, to place Waterford observations into national context at the time.

Modern English names have been given below (see Waterford checklist for scientific names); the sequence of species is as given by Ussher & Warren, but may be changed later to reflect modern classifications.

Song Thrush : "...there is a general increase in winter in Waterford, Cork and along the West. ... This bird has been seen building on the 14th February at Cappagh, but it usually commences in March."

Blackbird : "In August and September I remark a great scarcity of them in Waterford, and Mr. Blake Knox has noticed this in the co. Dublin. ... In 1890 more than one bird near Cappoquin produced eggs with a white, not a green, ground, and I have a similar set taken about a mile from Cappoquin in 1885."

Ring Ouzel : "In all, or nearly all, the other counties [apart from Meath, Westmeath, Longford and Armagh] this species has breeding-haunts. I may specially mention the higher mountains of Kerry, Waterford, Wicklow, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Down, but in many other counties it is not uncommon in suitable haunt. In waterford it is only found above the thousand-foot line…"

Whinchat :"Though I have observed birds here nearly all my life, I have but once seen the Whinchat in the South of Ireland, and I know of no instance of its breeding in Munster. True, Thompson stated, 'Mr. Neligan considered this bird common in Kerry,' but though I have several notes of the occurrence of Whinchats in Cork, Waterford and Wexford, I cannot say that these were more than stragglers."

Redstart : "Mr. Barrington has sixteen specimens obtained at light-stations… Two are from Wexford, one from Waterford (Dungarvan) … An immature male in the Dublin Museum was found dead at Tramore, co. Waterford, by Mr. Spencer, after a storm in October 1889, and Mr. Moffat records two seen in co. Wexford on 8th August 1885."

Black Redstart : "They are often unsuspicious and enter houses, like two which I found in my study in October and November 1895. ... [Addendum] The following birds occurred last autumn, 1899:- 1 saw one at my window at Cappagh on 2nd November ..."

Robin: "It is most numerous in sheltered and cultivated parts, but maybe met with on moors and mountains in smaller numbers. Thus I have met with the Redbreast in the Comeragh Mountains, eighteen hundred feet above the sea … A nest was built in a watering-can hung up in a porch that opened into a garden at Lismore. … a farm near Cappagh was frequented on successive seasons by a male whose back was ash-coloured and under-parts white, while only the face was reddish its mate was of the ordinary colours, and young were produced."

Blackcap : "In the counties of Dublin and Waterford, and probably in many others, it has also increased. ... Waterford ... S. ['summer half-year, April-September'] increasing, W ['winter occurrences, October-March] -. repeatedly"

Garden Warbler : "I … have also observed it for a few days in May, in 1893, in my garden at Cappagh, as well as at Dromana, in the co. Waterford"

Sedge Warbler : "This is one of the species most numerously represented from light-stations in Mr. Barrington's collection. His one hundred and eleven specimens occurred on seventy-seven occasions. … Waterford … 7 [occasions]"

Grasshopper Warbler : "In some counties, as Antrim, Dublin, Wexford and Waterford, it occurs in so many localities and varieties of situations as to denote it a common bird. … I have no record of it from the marine islands nor from the western sea-board, though in co. Waterford it sometimes breeds not far from the coast. I have two entries of its occurrence here at Cappagh, on the l1th April, but it is usually first heard the last week in that month."

Dipper : "Great attachment is shown to the nesting-site, in which, after the first nest has been removed, a second is sometimes built the same season. An iron railway-ridge near Cappagh was thus resorted to annually, the nest being built on an inner flange over the river."

Treecreeper : "A pair built at Cappagh in the dense mass of an old cypress, among the crumbling matter lodged in its broom-like growth. Another pair bred for successive years between the wood-work of the verandah and the wall of Comeragh House."

Grey Wagtail : "Grey Wagtails have bred in the walls of my outside buildings and yards for over forty years, but not always near the stream that turns our water-wheel. One year the nest was in an empty joist-hole, close above a farm boiler in daily use. A plant of Geranium robertianum concealed this nest. Another nest was in the trailing ivy on the wall of the stable-yard, beside the main thoroughfare and low enough for the hand to reach it. … I have a set almost white, and another with white ground and very distinct markings of deep reddish-brown and undershell-grey. Successive clutches of this very peculiar type were laid on my premises, but the parent bird was probably killed, and later in the season eggs of the ordinary type were laid in the same corner of the laundry-roof."

Golden Oriole : "Nearly all the occurrences took place in maritime counties, twelve in the county Cork, seven in Waterford, and six in Down. Waterford. - One shot at Ballinamona in 1824 or 1825 (Thompson); a male shot near Woodstown 14th June 1839 (Burkitt); remains of one found, Tramore Bay, about 1848 (Ibid.); one shot near Flower Hill, before 1858 (B. Drew); a pair, male and female, shot Dungarvan Bridge 1845 to 1847 (Thompson); one shot in co. Waterford before 1856 (D.N.H. Soc.); one observed at Glenbeg before 1883 (Mr. E. Foley)."

Great Grey Shrike : "Waterford, Tipperary. - Thompson states that it is said to have been met with in both counties."

Waxwing : "Of the seasons marked by the immigration of this species into Great Britain the winter of 1849-50 witnessed the capture of Waxwings in Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Dublin, Longford, Roscommon and Antrim; ... Waterford.- March 1850 (Kinahan)."

Spotted Flycatcher : "Probably no bird will endure the disturbance of her home in the same way. A boy brought up to my house two Flycatchers nests containing eggs which he had taken from the branches of fruit-trees on the garden walls. I removed from each a cracked egg and made him replace the nests; next day the birds were sitting in both nests, and hatched their young in them."

Hawfinch : "Three examples were taken at Wexford lighthouses in October and November 1897, and one at a Waterford lighthouse (Mine Head) in November 1898 (Migration Reports). These are the only instances from light stations, but Mr. Sheridan obtained a male in beautiful plumage at Achill in October 1897."

Goldfinch : "Around Cappagh I have found the nest in the following trees: Apple, wild plum, hawthorn, horse-chestnut, laburnum, beech, evergreen oak, Biota cinensis, cypress, Pinus insignis, spruce and Scotch fir, larch, also in a furze-bush, and in a rose-tree nailed to the house, as well as in ivy on a wall. Eight nests were found in 1884 in one grove of firs on the hill called the Giant's Rock where Crossbills, Siskins, and Lesser Redpolls breed."

Siskin : "…Dr. Burkitt, of Waterford, wrote: 'Several Siskins visited us in the summer of 1852.' In 1856 I observed Siskins in the breeding season, and in April 1857 I found a nest in a Scotch fir at Cappagh. In April and May of that year the woods here were continually ringing with the cries and songs of Siskins. I cannot believe that the bird-had never before bred in

Ireland

. Its small size and habit of frequenting the tops of lofty fir-trees in the breeding season render it liable to be overlooked. I have notes of Siskins in spring and summer, and of their nests or broods during a long series of years. Since 1857 they are more numerous in some seasons than in others, and several pairs usually breed within the radius of four hundred yards from my house. … The Siskin is the earliest of our Finches to breed, laying its first clutch in Waterford and Wicklow early in April. … In spring this bird frequents the upper parts of tall conifers, usually Scotch and silver firs in which it breeds. We have several tall groups of the latter about the demesne in which Siskins annually breed, sometimes towards the top of the tree and always far out on the branch, sometimes twelve feet from the trunk."

House Sparrow : "The numbers of this bird vary greatly in country parts of

Ireland

. In some counties, as Fermanagh, Armagh and Antrim, it is abundant. In others, as Waterford, it is absent from many if not from the majority of farmsteads, but though local with us I find it increasing and spreading."

Chaffinch : "Flocks of females have been often noticed in co. Dublin, in northern counties, and once, at least, on the Tearaght, but in January 1877 Mr. Palmer, then at Lucan, co. Dublin, met with thirty or forty males to one female during several days, and Mr. Hart during one winter observed the same thing in Donegal (Zool., 1891, p. 336). In co. Waterford I have failed to find these exclusive flocks, though the species is abundant it all seasons."

Brambling : "In severe winters these birds sometimes appear in unexpected numbers and in unwonted localities, but their regular visits are apt to be overlooked, owing to their shyness and general resemblance to Chaffinches. Thus it was not until my coachman had caught one that I became aware of their visits to Cappagh, where I afterwards noticed their appearance during a series of years."

(Lesser) Redpoll: "It breeds commonly in Waterford, as it does in most counties..."

Twite : "On the heath-clad parts of the hills near Cappagh, I have listened to this bird in May, while, on a low bush, it uttered its song in passages or exclamations, the longest of which seemed like 'Lazy Jenny.'"

Bullfinch : "This is another of those woodland birds which is gaining ground in

Ireland

. Thompson described it as rather scarce, and stated that in many of the artificially wooded districts it was not found; while Dr. Burkitt was not acquainted with it round Waterford until about 1840, although from that time up to 1855 he found that it had become plentiful in all directions. Within my memory it has decidedly increased here, not only abounding in the young larch and fir plantations, but being met with along the country hedges, far from woods."

Crossbill : "They increased suddenly in

Ireland

in 1888, when Mr. Crosbie Smith knew of thirteen nests near Monkstown, Cork. In that year they were observed close to my house, and have never been long absent from Cappagh since. … I will give the results of my observations of this now familiar bird at Cappagh since its settlement in 1888. I have been much aided by John Power and others here. …" [See full text for extensive details.]

Corn Bunting : "It forms flocks in places, but these do not wander like the flocks of many small birds, and they keep together until late in spring, when the birds sing in company. I have repeatedly in April seen such an assemblage, amounting once to fifty or sixty Buntings, on a hedge by a farmhouse in an upland locality near our Waterford oast. The vociferous chorus they uttered was remarkable"

Starling : "... the great autumn immigration ... sometimes begins in September, and through October and the first half of November it is at its height. …. The Rev. A. Ellison, when living up a valley sixteen miles from the Wicklow coast, has described the low flying flocks passing south-west in October with a whizzing sound and with amazing speed. ... They pass through Waterford along, the valleys that lead in the same south-west direction. … A pair of Starlings used to build twice every season in a hollow apple-tree at Brook Lodge, Waterford: The tree was split open by a storm, when a mass of nesting-materials two feet deep was disclosed that had filled the cavity. The bottom, which represented the earliest nest, was nearly four feet from the orifice."

Chough : "Though the Chough has disappeared from the coasts of Dublin since 1852, and more recently from Wexford and the eastern parts of Cork, it breeds regularly in the sea-cliffs of Waterford, where there are some twenty nesting-places, but from the Comeragh mountains it has long since vanished. ... Along favoured parts of our Waterford cliffs the nests occur on an average a mile apart.… The larger and more richly marked varieties are oftener found in the west of

Ireland

than in Waterford."

Jay : "At the present day it breeds commonly in the woods of Northern Waterford along the Suir Valley … it is known to be increasing in the counties of Wexford, Carlow and Waterford … It wanders, or occurs irregularly, in the counties of Cork, Limerick (near Bruff), South Waterford, East Galway, Westmeath, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath and Louth."

Jackdaw : "It has … settlements in our Waterford cliffs, where it is numerous."

Raven : "It has been driven from most of its inland breeding-places, such as cliffs over rivers, and lofty trees in demesnes, like those of Curraghmore and Clonbrook and the islands of Lough Erne … Two or three pairs still nest on our Waterford coast, and others in the mountain-cliffs of this county and of Tipperary."

Hooded Crow : "Though no migration of the Hooded Crow is usually observed in

Ireland

, I am of opinion that some do visit us in winter. I have twice seen in co. Waterford a flock flying westward as immigrants do. One occasion was on the 10th December 1891, when I observed fifty or sixty flying up the Suir."

Woodlark : "Thompson stated that in his time the Wood-Lark was to be found in Cork, Waterford, Armagh, Down and Antrim … The late Mr. Corbet of Rathcormack, co. Cork … said that … they used to breed at Doneraile and near Castle Hyde, Fermoy, where I heard that a nest had been found about 1887 in a meadow. Old people recognized the bird as having bred there years before. … Several persons living in Cappoquin, co. Waterford, have told me that they used to take Wood-Larks in that district in the autumn and had them in cages, but they place the time as far back as 1870. The vicinity of Lismore was another haunt mentioned. The bird thus seems to have inhabited the Blackwater Valley from Cappoquin to Castle Hyde, the practice of bird-catching having led to its disappearance."

Swift : "The great majority leave in August, but stragglers sometimes occur in September and more rarely in October. I have seen one here on the 4th October with a great assemblage of Swallows preparing to migrate. … I observed Swifts about Cappagh during the first week in August 1895 moving day after day westwards, contrary to the direction one might expect. … More than one pair breed beside a public road here in the gable of a cow-house only twelve or fifteen feet above the ground."

Nightjar : "It is usually noticed early in May, but sometimes in the last week of April, at least in Waterford; it was observed in two parts of this county on the 24th April 1893, these being the earliest records I possess."

Wryneck : " ... in the remaining two cases it was shot not far from the coasts of Waterford and Wicklow. … The first was shot near Dunmore, co. Waterford on 5th October 1877, by Mr. Ernest Jacob, who presented it to the Science and Art Museum."

Great Spotted Woodpecker : "The numbers killed in the several counties have been:- … Waterford, 1 ..."

Hoopoe : "Irregular spring and autumn-visitor. Found in most cases near the coasts, chiefly the coasts of Wexford, Waterford and Cork. ... When two Hoopoes occurred together they are treated as one instance in the following tables:- … Waterford….19 ... [Addendum:] In April 1900 Hoopoes were obtained in the counties of Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, and Antrim ..."

Cuckoo : "A Cuckoo's egg which showed but the first trace of incubation was found here in a Meadow-Pipit's nest, which contained one hard-set egg of the latter and two young Pipits just hatched."

Barn Owl : "It has been found asleep in rock-fissures at Malin Head [Co Donegal] and Mine Head."

Short-eared Owl : "In Waterford, Tipperary, and in several of the inland counties, it is an uncommon bird."

Marsh Harrier : "Waterford has no extensive marshes, but an old gamekeeper of the Marquis of Waterford told me he had formerly seen 'Kites' with white heads. "

Hen Harrier : "Waterford. -Probably still resident on the Knockmealdown Mountains, where on 26th May 1882 I found a nest with six eggs on a steep slope surmounting the escarpment of a lonely ravine, and was entirely composed of heather among tall plants of which it was placed. It formerly bred on the Comeraghs (Davis in Thompson). I see Hen-Harriers occasionally, chiefly wanderers in winter."

Buzzard : "Waterford.- Dr. Burkitt preserved three (one on 27th February 1838, and one in January 1854)."

Golden Eagle : "Repeated statements have been made of this bird carrying away and then dropping a fox in the co. Waterford mountains. … In Waterford the eyrie above Coumshingaun in the Comeragh Mountains is mentioned by Thompson as having been robbed in 1837. It was certainly used up to 1854 or 1855, if not later. I am informed that there was a second at Coumeag in the same range."

White-tailed Eagle : "Thompson mentions a White-tailed Eagle seen on Knockmealdown, co. Waterford, in 1837. The late Lord Lilford informed me in 1896 that be still had a female of this species, procured through Lord Waterford's keeper in 1854 from a nest in the Comeragh mountains. He recollected to have been told that the nest was in a high cliff over a mountain lake. As the only mountain.lake on Lord Waterford's property was Coumshingaun, it is possible that this species bred there latterly and not the Golden Eagle, whose young was, however, taken there in 1837 (Thompson, I., 9). Eagles are said to have bred in the Ballycurreen cliffs near Mine Head."

Honey Buzzard : "Waterford.- An immature specimen, preserved at Camphire on the Blackwater was shot there by the late Christopher Ussher previously to 1879."

Gyr Falcon ["Greenland Falcon"] : "birds were distributed as follows:- … Waterford….1 … Waterford.- An adult female, in my possession, was shot near Annestown on the coast of this county in the winter of 1893-4."

Peregrine : "On the Waterford coast there are eight breeding-places, and three more in the Comeragh Mountains… The eggs are frequently disposed in straggling, untidy manner, so that they do not all touch each other. In this they differ from the eggs of every other bird I know. In the county of Waterford [the eggs] are laid during the first half of April. … After carefully measuring all the Irish eggs available from time to time, I find the average length slightly exceeds 2 inches by 1.59; but those from the county of Waterford exceed in size those from Wexford, Tipperary, Cork and Kerry which I have examined. One eyrie in the first-named county contained year after year eggs of such exceptional size as averaged 2.16 x 1.66, the largest (now in my collection) attaining the remarkable dimensions of 2.32 x 1.76. And here I may quote a remark of Dr. Charles Smith (1746): ‘In the sea-cliffs of this county (Waterford) there are eyries of excellent Falcons, which were formerly of great repute among our ancient kings and British nobility, as appears from the tenures of some lands and estates being held by presenting Hawks from this county.’"

Merlin : "...though it is so widely dispersed, this species is generally far from numerous; in Waterford it is apparently less so than the Peregrine Falcon, and it is but little known owing to the lonely nature of its haunts, which are seldom left in summer."

Kestrel : "In illustration of the sort of prey Kestrels will take, I may mention having watched a family party hovering quite low, over our coast, and pouncing frequently on the ground, which was covered with very short herbage; on examining the place, I found it abounded in grasshoppers."

Osprey : "We have fifty-one notices (some relating to more than one Osprey) in which localities are given, and which are thus distributed:- … Waterford… 2 … Waterford. - A specimen was obtained near Dunmore East in September 1875; another, presented to the