WHIMBREL - NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS

The WHIMBREL's name in the Irish Language is ‘Crotach eanaigh’. The Latin name is ‘NUMENIUS PHAEOPUS’. It is a GREEN LISTED bird in Ireland.

It is a wader. Visually it's a close relative of the curlew. Both come from the genus 'Numenius' which comes from the words 'new' and 'moon'. Probably a reference to both bills and the crescent shape curve they have. Whimbrels are 'passage migrants'. So they don't hang around long. The big difference is the length of the bill, the Whimbrel's is much shorter. Whimbrel's also have shorter legs and a light stripe above the eye. Good luck with identifying that. Garrett has been at it for years and still admits he finds it difficult to differentiate birds that have similar plummage. They stop off in April and May on the way down from the Arctic to Spain and Africa.

A single whistle from a whimbrel means good weather, a quivery whistle means bad weather. Also In folklore the Whimbrel gets a bad rap as it is considered to be a bird of bad omen.

You can recap by listening to Garrett's other HIDE FM podcasts to date by searching HIDE FM on any podcast distributor, apart from Spotify. HIDE FM is a Per Cent for Art commission by Fingal County Council.

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What is HIDE FM?

HIDE FM - Podcast is a work of art by artist Garrett Phelan. It takes the form of 28 imagined and performed monologues on 28 birds that are visitors to the Rogerstown Estuary, Lusk, North County Dublin, Ireland. They were performed by Garrett from October 2023 - January 2024 in Millbrook Studios, Rathfarnham, Dublin. They were originally transmitted via an independent radio station HIDE FM during Spring 2025. The podcast is a sensitive exploration of the Fragility of our ecosystem. Garrett explores the status, sound, diet, breeding patterns, movement and folklore of each bird type, with ‘sonic interruptions’ interspersed into the podcasts. They were performed and created to depict viewing birds during the seasons of Autumn/Winter/Early Spring at the location of THE HIDE SCULPTURE, Lusk, Co.Dublin. 12 of the 28 birds he features are on the endangered RED list. 10 of the birds are on the endangered AMBER list and 6 are on the GREEN LIST. The HIDE FM - Podcast IS NOT REAL. It is an ‘IMAGINED, PERFECT’ landscape. Each week we will release a podcast that will focus on one particular bird from the area.

For more information on what we do follow us @thehideproject on Instagram or go to www.thehideproject.com

HIDE FM is a Per Cent for Art Commission by Fingal County Council.

Send all of your questions to [e-mail]