On this date

The 4th October 1844 saw Northern Ireland's first Broad- billed Sandpiper and indeed was the first record for all of Ireland, the bird was unfortunately shot, a fate that awaited most birds in those days, it turned up in Belfast Lough. There hasn't been a record for a good number of years now, they seem to be getting scarcer once again, there was a period in the 90's when they were seen annually in Ireland.