A Baltimore Oriole chirps in Gaelic

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yahoo.com Oct 9, 2001

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American Oriole Travels to Ireland

By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - The birdwatchers of Ireland were atwitter Tuesday after spotting a Baltimore oriole - in a seaside village named Baltimore.

``This is the first-ever sighting of a Baltimore oriole in Ireland. It's made an astonishing journey,'' said Birdwatch Ireland's Dick Coombes, who drove for six hours Sunday after getting frantic calls from friends who'd seen the bird.

Coombes speculated that the oriole got caught in a storm while trying to migrate south, ended up in the jet stream, and struggled to dry Irish land after spotting a lighthouse near Baltimore in remote West Cork, at the southwest corner of the country.

About 50 birdwatchers have spent the past few days monitoring the bird's movements in and about Baltimore. Among them is a carload of Britons who caught a ferry from Wales 400 miles to the east once they'd heard about the sighting.

``I ran like the clappers when I heard someone shout up the hill they'd seen the wee fella,'' said Coombes, who stayed overnight in Baltimore. ``We got some magnificent views when he came out to feed on blackthorn berries. The oohing and ahhing going on was something else.''

Every autumn birdwatchers congregate on the west coasts of England, Wales and Ireland in search of lone North American arrivals blown badly off course during migration. Canadian geese and sandpipers make regular appearances, but songbirds rarely survive a crossing exceeding 3,000 miles.

Mike Everett of Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said a lone Baltimore oriole was spotted in England about a decade ago.

``We've just had a sighting of an American gray catbird which is causing something of a sensation in Wales,'' he added. ``These arrivals are one of the great mysteries of bird migration.''

The accidental tourists stand no chance of returning to North America, given prevailing winds. Both Everett and Coombes predicted that Ireland's temporary Baltimore oriole would try to migrate to West Africa this winter, mistaking it for South America.

``I expect him to wait for calm weather, then he'll be off,'' said Coombes. ``Until then we'll just have to keep drinking it in, then file it in our brains as a beautiful memory.''

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), October 09, 2001

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The bird was unconcerned about terrorism. Life goes on.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), October 09, 2001.

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