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Attitudes of Europeans towards the issue of biodiversity Eurobarometer Survey March 2010 http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_290_en.pdf
Awareness of Natura 2000 network
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The current survey results showed that EU citizens have remained relatively unfamiliar with Natura 2000 - the EU wide network of nature protected areas 1. Almost 8 in 10 respondents said they had never heard of Natura 2000. The proportion of respondents who said they had never heard of it ranged from 19% in Finland, 96% in Ireland to the ultimate low of 97% in UK. There was virtually no difference in results between 2010 and the previous survey in 2007.
A sad reflection on the Dept of the Environment, NPWS and Irish conservation NGOs. 1 Natura 2000 was established under the 1992 Habitats Directive and the 1979 Birds Directive with the aim of ensuring the long-term protection of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats, |
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How environmental crime is handled elsewhere ... Police have raided the Moy Estate, near Inverness, after birds of prey were found poisoned in the area.
Thursday, 3 June 2010 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/
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A total of 45 investigators, including wildlife crime officers and staff from the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage, have been involved in the operation. Police have been searching outbuildings and the wider area. Northern Constabulary said 25 police officers took part in the raids. A number of rare Red Kites had been killed. A police spokesman also confirmed that poisoned bait had previously been found on the estate, and that their investigation had been ongoing for a number of weeks. The carcass of a grouse has tested positive for an illegal poison, the force said. RSPB Scotland said one of the dead kites had been among birds of prey which were satellite tagged for its "Eyes to the Skies" schools project. The conservation charity said suspicions were raised when its signal, which was being tracked via the internet, stopped moving. Area commander for Inverness, Chief Insp Andy MacLean, said wildlife crime was a blight on the environment and a serious concern to the public. He added: "Northern Constabulary consider such crime a serious risk to the safety of the public and have demonstrated today our intention to rigorously deal with reports of wildlife crime, in particular the poisoning of wildlife on open ground which is accessible to the public." .... meanwhile in the Republic they sit on their hands and/or issue press releases ... |
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Biodiversity: do we have the courage to save it? Ireland’s performance is bottom of the league when it comes to wildlife protection
Press Release: 22nd May 2010 – BirdWatch Ireland
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Brussels, 22 May 2010 – Today, with its groundbreaking new report on the state of biodiversity in the EU, BirdLife International denounces the EU’s failure to reach its target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 and indicates the necessary steps needed to stop the loss of biodiversity and to enhance its recovery in the EU. The report highlights Ireland’s poor record at a European level: poisonings of birds of prey and loss of valuable wetlands that help prevent flooding are amongst the more serious issues facing our natural environment. Unfortunately the areas we are failing to perform in cut across everything – legislation, the capacity of Government departments and agencies to enforce environmental protection measures, and the lack of resources available to undertake active conservation measures. “The message from this report is clear: the EU needs to take decisive action if it wants to turn the tide on the deepening biodiversity crisis and follow on the pledge of the European Heads of State, who adopted a new ambitious target during their last European Council” commented Ariel Brunner, Head of EU Policy at BirdLife International European Division. “We know what to do. The question is: do we have the will and the courage to take action before it is too late?” The report, entitled “2010-Turning or Breaking Point for Europe’s Wildlife?”, was compiled in cooperation with BirdWatch Ireland and its fellow BirdLife Partners in all 27 EU Member States, and analyses the progresses towards the 2010 biodiversity target against 10 major groups of indicators. Worryingly, three were rated as “highly insufficient”, while all the others as “inadequate”. “The EU has failed to achieve the 2010 target and is still a long way off from preventing further loss of wildlife and habitats. The picture emerging from our assessment is one of continuing impoverishment of biodiversity and inadequate responses” continued Mr Brunner.“Despite the overall failure, however, there are many examples of best practices and local success stories that show how the EU already has powerful conservation tools, such as the EU Birds and Habitats Directives”. As highlighted in the report, a strong post 2010 EU biodiversity policy must be properly implemented, especially focusing on its integration with other EU policies and on funding instruments. The report suggests specific actions that would enable a new EU biodiversity policy to achieve its goals, such as stronger enforcement of EU nature legislation, develop 2020 biodiversity strategies for key sectoral policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), new investments in green infrastructure and strong measures to counteract the causes of biodiversity and ecosystem loss. The status of national biodiversity strategies shows that insufficient attention is paid to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at national level. Therefore it is essential that the EU leads by example in the preparation of the next Nagoya COP10-CBD meeting later this year. “BirdLife International, official Partner of the International Year of Biodiversity, spotlights the need for the EU to show leadership by setting itself real and binding future targets ahead of next conference of the Convention of Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, this October”, concludes Mr Brunner.
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Another Irish eagle poisoned Press Release: 10th March 2010 – BirdWatch Ireland
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The recent death of a Golden Eagle has once again highlighted the serious threat posed by the reckless misuse of poisons to our fragile bird of prey populations, as well as to the wider environment. A Golden Eagle corpse was recovered on the 18th February 2010 on the Sligo/Leitrim border at Truskmore Mountain. Analysis revealed that the bird had died as a result of feeding on a lamb carcass which was left exposed on the side of the mountain and which had deliberately been laced with Nitroxynil, a widely available toxin. The eagle was a juvenile male known as Conall after the Irish for Donegal, Tír Chonaill. This bird captured the imagination of the country, when, in 2009, he became one of the first wild Golden Eagles to be hatched in Ireland for over 100 years, following the establishment of the Golden Eagle Trust’s reintroduction project. In addition to the Golden Eagle project, reintroduced populations of White-tailed Eagle and Red Kite have also been established in Ireland following their extinction due to human persecution, and BirdWatch Ireland assists with each of these projects. The needless death of this juvenile eagle in the North West is unfortunately just one incident of many which threaten the return of these birds to their rightful place in the Irish countryside. A total of nine Golden Eagles, White-tailed Eagles and Red Kites have been poisoned in Ireland over the past two and a half years. In each case the cause has been the use of poison meat baits. This gives serious cause for concern, not only for the reintroduced birds of prey but for other protected bird species, as well as for the wider countryside. In some parts of the country, especially in sheep-rearing areas, a small number of farmers leave out poisoned meat baits in an attempt to control foxes and crows. It is illegal under the Animal By-Product Regulations to knowingly leave dead livestock above ground; however, provided that the intention is to kill a fox, it is lawful to lay out poison on other meat baits (other than a livestock carcass), under certain conditions. These regulations clearly do not provide adequate safeguards to prevent the inevitable poisoning of birds of prey and as such are in clear contravention of the EU Birds Directive. John Lusby, Raptor Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland said, “Irish legislation covering the use of poisons needs to be reassessed urgently. Poison meat baits are completely indiscriminate in their effects, and leaving these lethal substances exposed in the countryside will not only affect the species being targeted, but also a wide range of other wildlife and potentially even humans and pets.” As predators at the top of the food chain, birds of prey provide a valuable insight into the health of the local environment, making the recent deaths of nine of the reintroduced birds even more worrying. John Lusby added, “The poisoning of the reintroduced birds of prey has received much public and media attention due to the high profile of these projects. Given the number of fatalities, one can only imagine the devastating impacts poisoning is having on other scavenging bird of prey species such as the Buzzard. These birds do not carry radio transmitters, and so their deaths are likely to go largely unnoticed.” Alan Lauder, Head of Conservation with BirdWatch Ireland stated, “We fully appreciate the need for farmers to control pest species in certain situations. Although the majority of farmers do so in an environmentally friendly way, unfortunately the small number of landowners who continue to misuse poisoned meat baits are responsible for bringing farming into disrepute, damaging wildlife and as a result ultimately threatening tourism and farm incomes. BirdWatch Ireland is calling for a complete ban on the use of poisoned meat baits in Ireland.” Alan Lauder also commented, “A major problem in relation to the use of poisoned meat baits is awareness, both of the legislation surrounding their use and also of the potentially devastating effects they can have. Most people have a great respect for birds such as the Buzzard and might not realise that by placing poison baits they may be killing them, as well as a whole host of other wildlife.” Scavenging birds of prey are not the only species at risk from poisoning. Barn Owl, Kestrel and Long-eared Owl populations are likely to be negatively impacted by secondary poisoning. Second-generation rodenticides, which are used to control rats and mice, have the potential to affect certain predatory bird species, particularly those that feed on small mammals. The Barn Owl population in particular has declined in Ireland in recent times. The increased use of rodenticides has been widely implicated as a contributing factor in this decline. John Lusby stated, “The problem occurs when raptors such as Barn Owls feed on rodents which have ingested rat poison. The compounds used in certain rat poisons nowadays are extremely toxic and build up in the bird’s body, ultimately killing it.” BirdWatch Ireland is calling on the Irish Government to step up to its responsibilities to the people, wildlife and unique natural environment of Ireland, as well those imposed on it under EU law, and to properly legislate against the indiscriminate and improperly controlled use of poisons in agriculture. www.goldeneagle.ie The Golden Eagle Reintroduction Project
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Dublin Public libraries have recently acquired Esther Woolfson's CORVUS - A LIFE WITH BIRDS. This is a wonderfully entertaining and informative account of life in the Woolfson household, which is shared with a variety of birds. Woolfson is a writer of some standing and her book is elegantly written and a delight to read. The book concentrates on a Rook called Chicken and a Magpie called Spike. She describes in some detail and with great affection her life with these two birds over many years - an opportunity given to few ornithologists. She touches on most aspects of bird science with a light touch and covers bird anatomy, relationship with humans, temperament, nesting behaviour, caching, moulting, mythology and folklore in a way that makes for compulsive reading for the average birder. The corvids impress as intelligent, sociable and curious creatures that are also possessed of a real sense of humour. One is also left in admiration of the author who over the years had the formidable task of cleaning bird droppings and various items of food, which her two pals loved to cache in the most unsuitable places. If you want a book that will lift your spirits, increase your store of knowledge of corvids and make you think about issues such as magpie predation and bird intelligence this is a read that is for free in your local library and should not be missed. - Sean Hogan
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Another Setback for Ireland’s Farmland Birds and Rural Environment Press Release: 15th July 2009 – Newcastle, Co. Wicklow
Our farmland birds are in serious trouble. BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation NGO, is concerned that the substantial
changes to Ireland’s Rural Development Programme announced last week by the Department for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will
drastically affect our precious wildlife and habitats.
These unprecedented cutbacks, including a reduction in funding of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) by
approximately €140 million per year, also pose a real threat to agriculture as an industry and as a livelihood in Ireland,
and also to the quality of life of people who live in rural areas or visit our countryside.
Alan Lauder, BirdWatch Ireland’s Head of Conservation, said, “While REPS did not turn out to be the saviour of the Corncrake
or the Curlew that we had hoped for, it could in time have been improved upon. It is a great pity that despite the intention to replace
the scheme with something, hopefully, better, the attendant funding cuts will see the potential scope and reach of any new scheme much diminished.”
Alan continued, “Sadly, in these tough economic times investment in our natural environment, the very bedrock of rural tourism and
quality of life, is being shunned. BirdWatch Ireland now hopes that the Department will properly consult in advance of launching any
poorly-funded new scheme to make sure it knows exactly how to maximise the benefit of every cent remaining to enhance our rural
environment and its important wildlife.”
Support for BirdWatch Ireland’s position has come this week from the European Commission, in the form of a report assessing the state of
nature in all EU Member States. Using data provided by national governments, the report analyses the health of hundreds of habitat types
and more than one thousand animal and plant species that are protected under the EU Habitats Directive.
The report points out that the EU is very likely to miss its 2010 target of halting the loss of biodiversity. Farmland habitats are
singled out as being in particular trouble, and a mere 17% of the EU’s most important species and habitats are considered to be safe.
The report reveals that the Irish Government has performed badly, and that crucial habitats have been deteriorating across the country.
Siobhán Egan, Policy Officer with BirdWatch Ireland, said, “The report also highlights that most of our habitats are in poor condition,
which means that the wildlife that depends on them will follow suit; in fact, our surveys have shown that this process has already begun.
Unless preventative measures are put in place, it is only a matter of time before some of our most iconic farmland species, such as Curlew,
Lapwing and Snipe, are lost forever.”
Konstantin Kreiser EU Policy Manager for BirdLife International, a global partnership of bird conservation organisations, said,
“The EU report repeatedly highlights the failure of national governments to provide proper financial incentives to farmers to help them to
safeguard crucial habitats. In this context, national governments’ commitment to save the environment seems hardly credible and nobody
should be surprised by what this sad report has revealed.”
Alex Copland, Farmland Birds Officer for BirdWatch Ireland said, “Strong agri-environmental measures are needed to reverse the deteriorating situation.
Land management practices that impact badly on our habitats and species need to be changed, and good practices rewarded.
We cannot afford another failure when it comes to biodiversity. Human well-being, food security and economic prosperity depend
on our natural environment.”
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President McAleese opens BirdWatch Ireland’s East Coast Nature Reserve to the public 11th June 2009 – Newcastle, Co. Wicklow
BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation charity, was delighted this morning to welcome the organisation’s patron, President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to open its flagship 220 acre East Coast Nature Reserve at Newcastle, Co. Wicklow to the public.
Purchased in 2003, this former farmland been restored to a natural state, and is now home to a huge range of plants and animals. It represents a wonderful resource for the people of the greater Dublin region, as well as for the country as a whole, and President McAleese was keen to point out the importance of the reserve for the children of the area.
The reserve opening coincided with BirdWatch Ireland’s 40th anniversary celebrations, and, with a backing of Skylark song, President McAleese warmly congratulated the charity’s volunteers and staff on reaching this historic milestone.
Oran O’Sullivan, BirdWatch Ireland’s CEO, said, “We are very happy to have President McAleese here to open the East Coast Nature Reserve to the public. We look forward now to welcoming visitors to join us in enjoying the magnificent wildlife that has made its home here.”
Kieran Grace of BirdWatch Ireland said, “We are particularly honoured that President McAleese, our patron, has agreed to formally open our new flagship reserve to the public today during our 40th anniversary celebrations. The formal opening of the reserve to the public represents a landmark day for the organisation.”
Mr. Grace continued, “The creation of a flagship reserve has been a long-term goal of BirdWatch Ireland for many years, and we are immensely proud of what we have achieved here. From today, the East Coast Nature Reserve is ready both for community and educational use, and we look forward to reaching out to schools and community groups to visit our reserve and offering them a fascinating insight into a unique habitat.”
Following a tree planting ceremony, President McAleese walked to the reserve’s new wildlife observation hide to meet the BirdWatch Ireland volunteers and supporters who have played such a vital role in the creation of the reserve.
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Democrat or Republican? - Dick Coombes FlightLines Nov. 2008
When residents living in the Gulf states are busy battening down the hatches as the hurricane
season kicks off every autumn, the saying about every cloud having a silver lining has a
particular resonance with Irish birders. We watch the weather reports like vultures – not out
of concern for those humans unfortunate enough to be caught up in the nasty weather, but rather
for what avian migrants might get swept eastwards across the ocean to our shores. Some years
are “better” than others.
We do get a good smattering of transatlantic vagrants in this country anyway each autumn and
winter – mainly gulls, waders and ducks. Some species, like Ring-billed Gull, Buff-breasted
Sandpiper and Ring-necked Duck are virtually household names nowadays. But the real spice,
the ones that push the blood pressure up and get twitchers twitching are the American
passerines – the small birds, many of which may be dirt common in the States, but mega rare
this side of the Atlantic.
October (or occasionally late September) is the time to expect these little gems, especially
after hurricane activity off the US east coast. Throughout the autumn, millions of birds pour
south along the eastern flyway, migrating from Canada and the northern states. Many take a
great leap across the Gulf of Mexico on passage to wintering grounds in Central and South
America. Uncountable numbers never make it – they hit poor weather and end up in the sea.
A few disoriented birds however find themselves well offshore and get whisked across to Europe
in a succession of fast-moving depressions. Hardly surprisingly, any that reach Ireland are
likely to make landfall along our west and southwest coasts – invariably ending up in small
gardens on windswept islands and headlands.
A few years ago, a Baltimore Oriole (Ireland’s first) caused quite a stir with the US media –
they were enthralled at how it had found its way to, wait for it, Baltimore in West Cork.
(Some were equally amazed to learn we had a “Baltimore” in Ireland too!). There is much
evidence that tired migrants hitch a ride on ocean-going vessels, sometimes for days on end.
A surprising amount of insect life flourishes on board in the microclimate between containers
stacked on deck – cobwebs can even form in the spaces. And of course, crew members, taking
pity on these weary travellers often provide them with food. These hitch-hikers are termed
ship assisted migrants and formerly, those that could be proved not to have made it here unaided,
were not accepted on the Irish list. A famous case was a Northern Flicker seen flying ashore
from a liner in Cork Harbour in October 1962.
Now, ship assistance is no longer regarded with such snobbery – after all, these birds
shouldn’t be penalised for showing some initiative, and haven’t islands the world over been
colonised by enterprising creatures riding floating logs and vegetation?
Some autumns are quiet, with perhaps just one American “passer” being recorded in the whole
autumn – Red-eyed Vireo for example. But 2008 will go down as one of the best in living memory.
The fun began unexpectedly early, during the third week of August, when a Yellow Warbler, a
Northern Waterthrush and a Solitary Sandpiper all turned up on Cape Clear together – these
were the third, fourth and second Irish records respectively. Then another Yellow Warbler
was found on Mizen Head. And it was there that an American Redstart spent a few hours in a
garden a few weeks later (the third for Ireland), followed by several Red-eyed Vireos in Mayo.
Just when things were calming down a bit, a Little Blue Heron – the first ever in Europe – was
found feeding on the shore at Letterfrack in October. This attracted lots of birders from
Britain, as did the Scarlet Tanager in West Cork (the fourth) round the same time.
All this would
have been enough for even the greediest rarity hunter, but then another wave of American vagrants
hit the southwest mid-month – a Swainson’s Thrush on Galley Head, then
a White-throated Sparrow
next day on Cape Clear followed by the bird of the autumn – a Philadelphia Vireo in a bunch of
willows on Loop Head (only the second Irish record). The bonanza closed with an elusive
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, also on Loop, bringing the year’s grand total of American passerine
species to nine – one better than 1985, a year spoken of with reverence by those old enough and
mad enough to have been part of the circus in that crazy autumn.
And the great thing is, none of these Americans need a visa and no one feels obliged to ask
their political persuasion!
- All photos: Dick Coombes
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Bird Life On The Ocean Waves - Dick Coombes 21.09.2008
It's 21st September, two in the morning
- an ungodly hour for anything unless you happen to be partying or perhaps even sleeping. Familiar faces nod at each other under the bright deck lights - we're on board "M.V. Atlantic Explorer", about to push off from Cahersiveen marina, and venture into deep water.
Although most of the dozen punters on board are birders, the main reason we are here at all is in the hope of seeing a mammal - the largest in the world - a Blue Whale. One (or possibly two) had been photographed near here a week previously - the first in Irish waters for several decades. The window in the never-ending bad weather was too good an opportunity to pass up - it is worth a try.
For an hour, in the gathering light, solitary Fulmars wing in from the horizon to
investigate our craft, before pushing on to nowhere in particular. Then a shout from Noel -
"Petrel". Hard to pick out much detail on this tiny dark bird flitting by, but Killian, up on
the fly deck, assures us it was Wilson's Petrel (above) - a rare bird in Irish waters from
the Southern Ocean, though actually one of the most abundant birds in the world.
Occasional Sooty Shearwaters (another southern species), Manx Shearwaters
and Storm Petrels appear and disappear, as do three Grey Phalaropes, looking
incredibly fragile in this enormous seascape. Then another, closer Wilson's - this time
showing the diagnostic pale grey crescents on the upperwing, long trailing legs and
broad wings.
The wind freshens. The sea is deep ultramarine here. We speed up and search for hours in vain for fishing boats - that's where you find the big seabird concentrations. A few weeks back, a Black-browed Albatross was seen out here. It's touching force six and getting a bit lumpy. Still 60 miles west of the Blaskets, we head home. Wild salty spray engulfs us, foam lashes at the windows - it's like being in a giant car wash. I only see one casualty kindly donating his breakfast (and by the sound of it several already digested meals as well) to the petrels. Another is said to be "not the best". Almost eighteen hours on the sea is not for the faint-hearted, but maybe the only way to experience these wonderful pelagic birds in their own, challenging environment. Blue Whales? Maybe next time.
- Dick Coombes
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| BirdWatch Ireland's list of
Red and Amber listed birds
of conservation concern - 2008
[PDF format 756KB]
This page requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar PDF reader ..
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Small Gardens have a (big) role in Biodiversity SEAN MacCONNELL Agriculture Correspondent, The Irish Times 17.07.2008
Some small gardens have more biodiversity than some very
large farms in the country, a press conference has been told.
Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland made the claim yesterday
at the launch of a campaign to raise awareness of the value
of gardens in halting the decline in biodiversity.
In association with Corrin Hill, an ice cream manufacturing
company in north Cork, BirdWatch Ireland has devised the
campaign, which will feature a competition to find Ireland's
best biodiversity gardens.
One of the winners of last year's overall title, Joe Barry
from Co Kildare, said that to encourage biodiversity, people
should forget all the advice dished out on radio, TV and gardening books.
"They will tell you how to kill moss, pull down ivy and kill
so-called weeds in your lawn," he said. The key to wildlife
friendly gardening is more about not doing things than anything else,"
It was about not spraying pesticides and not trying to be
over tidy, but providing a range of plants and trees that
would sopport all the wildlife.
"I think it
was Oliver Rackman who said that tidiness is the enemy of
biodiversity and I believe that is so true."
Mr Hatch said that even one
family garden in a Dublin suburb could make a major
contribution to biodiversity. "Our gardens are a wonderful
resource where birds can be fed and ponds can be created
and where wildlife is safe".
"There are 1.25 million households in Ireland," he added, "and
most have a garden. If even a small number of these made an
effort to garden in a wildlife friendly way, it would make
an incredible difference."
For instance, the number of swallows and housemartins coming
here annually appeared to be in a steady decline.
"We are not sure of the reasons, but we do know that a lot of
nest sites have been lost. Housemartins may make noise and a
fuss, but by allowing them to build, homeowners would help
stem the decline," he said.
The same was true of the swallow population, Mr Hatch added,
and, if people who had barns and garages left access to them
by opening a door, this would he|p their numbers.
Mairead Stack, biodiversity officer with Dublin City Council,
gave details of a survey of biodiversity in Dublin city gardens
carried out last year.
It found that the average Dublin garden contained six native or
naturalised trees, while a wide variety of animals, birds and
small creatures was also reported to be present.
Particular species such as the fox, the robin and the snail
tended to dominate, while most gardens had fewer than 10 bird
types on average.
Ms Stack said the survey showed that given the know-how, most
respondents would switch to organic methods of weed and pest
control in their gardens, they would plant more native plant
species and would convert other parts of their gardens to
wildlife frieindly areas.
Details of the competition can be had from
www.corrinhill.ie
or
www.birdwatchireland.ie
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South Dublin Bay
Take a bow, Dublin City Council!
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In the News ...
Left to right: Stephen McAvoy, Niall Hatch, Dick Coombes, Helen Boland and Oscar Merne |
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Spring Alive 2008 - help us track the arrival of spring ..
Once again this year, BirdWatch Ireland is delighted to announce its participation in Spring Alive, the
project designed to track the arrival dates of Europe’s common migrants. All across the continent,
the public are asked to visit the Spring Alive website
www.springalive.net
to report their first
sightings of Swifts, Swallows, Cuckoos and, for participants in Central and Eastern Europe,
White Storks.
The aim is to allow the public to watch the fascinating spread of spring across Europe as our migrants
return and to inform them about the wonders of bird migration, while at the same time allowing us to
gather important scientific data that will help us to gauge the impact of problems such as habitat
loss and climate change.
The Spring Alive website has been completely redesigned since last year, and now contains even more
information, photos, sound and video clips and even interactive games. New, state-of-the-art animated
maps will allow you to see in real time how your observations fit into the whole European picture, and
everything has been designed with fun in mind. For the first time, participants can even upload their
own photos to the website to show the arrival of spring.
The website also makes a perfect educational tool for school groups, with a comprehensive set of
downloadable teachers’ materials and lesson plans, designed to help teach migration as a class project
suited to children aged 8-12. The website has been produced both in Irish and in English, and in
fact now represents perhaps the best source of material on migratory birds in the Irish language.
It is also available in a vast range of other European languages, so it also makes an ideal source of
material for language classes. If you know any teachers, please tell them about Spring Alive and encourage
them to take part.
Although the website has been designed to be child-friendly and particularly with schools and teachers
in mind, we hope that adults will also submit their sightings; we need as many records as we can get.
Taking part is extremely easy: simply watch out for your first Swift, Swallow and/or Cuckoo of the year,
then either go to www.springalive.net, write to us or call us (see details below) and tell us the date
you saw or heard the bird and which county it was in. We count observers, not individual birds, so,
for example, if a family of five all see the same Swallow, that represents five records, not just one.
The response from observers in Ireland last year was phenomenal; in fact, Ireland was responsible for
more records than any other country in Europe. We are keen to keep up this good work this year, so,
please, visit
www.springalive.net
and enter your records, and tell your friends, family and work
colleagues to do the same. It only takes a few seconds to do, and we guarantee that you will enjoy
all the features that the website has to offer. If you don’t have internet access, don’t worry,
you can also ring us at 01-2819878 to report your sightings, or write to us at
Remember, we want as many records as we can get from as many people as possible . . .
if you are reading this, that includes you!
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World on the Move - 6th March 2008 - Michael Ryan
BBC Radio 4 are currently broadcasting World on the Move a series of programmes about
bird and animal migration which will run for a year.
On their website I saw a familiar name mentioned and high praise given for a question he had posed.
Oscar Meme posed this very interesting question via the Comments board:
We thought we'd get our migration guru and Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor Colin Pennycuick
to answer this question ...
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- Bird respiratory systems are more complicated than those of mammals. The lung itself is a compact organ with air channels running through it, and a system of air sacs draws air through these channels, always in the same direction, whether the bird is breathing in or out. The blood vessels in the lung run parallel to the air channels, with the blood flowing in the opposite direction to the air. This counter-current arrangement allows a bird to extract oxygen from the air, even when the air pressure is too low for the dead-end lungs of mammals to operate. Bar-headed geese migrate over the Himalayas, doing much better than mountaineers (mammals!) struggling below. Actually 2,700 m is not all that high. Mountaineers function all right at that height, and plenty of birds (especially waders) fly higher when they migrate, even without any mountains to get over. We do not have a usable theory to calculate the actual rate at which a bird can extract oxygen for the air at a given height, but we hope to get a handle on this by observing the maximum rate of climb that our geese can manage at different heights, as they climb up to get over the Greenland ice cap.
Geese are indeed well insulated, but when they fly the thinly-feathered area under the wing is
exposed to the air flow. That is necessary, because the problem in flapping flight is disposing
of excess heat, rather than keeping warm. www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/worldonthemove/
Another great migration site: Roy Dennis on a tracked Scottish Osprey - spectacular!
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| Thanks to Paul Jago for putting up a sparrow nestbox in a house near the Maritime Museum. Recent extensive renovation work on the museum included pointing the stonework thus filling in the holes which previously served as nesting space for a substantial number of the local House Sparrow population. House sparrow nest boxes have three chambers since sparrows nest communally. |
Well done to Terry Doherty, ranger, and the Parks and Wildlife Service for their successful
prosecution of a number of individuals who had been trapping and selling wild birds,
particularly finches. Even Brambling, a rare enough wintering finch were found to have
been illegally trapped and kept in cages. - from Flightlines the monthly newsletter of the South Dublin Branch, March 2008 |
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PRESS RELEASE .. European Court of Justice judgement against Ireland - 14th December 2007 The Irish Government has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law in relation to the designation and classification of Special Protections Areas (SPAs) for wild birds ... |
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BirdWatch Ireland, which is Ireland's largest conservation charity and the BirdLife International Partner for the Republic of Ireland, warmly welcomes yesterday's ruling by the European Court of Justice that the Irish Government has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law in relation to the designation and classification of Special Protections Areas (SPAs) for wild birds. [Case C-418/04: Commission v. Ireland] The Court also found that the Irish Government had failed adequately to protect some of our most threatened bird species, including the Kingfisher, the Chough and the Corncrake. Upholding five complaints made against the Irish State by the European Commission, the Court ruled that Ireland had failed properly to classify and/or protect several Important Bird Areas (IBAs) identified by BirdWatch Ireland, and had neglected its duty both fully to protect threatened birds and habitats and correctly to implement provisions of the EU Birds Directive. Dr. Stephen Newton, Senior Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland, said, "One of the main issues against the Irish State was its failure to 'translate' IBAs identified in 2000, including important breeding sites for species such as Sandwich Tern and Corncrake that had been identified by much earlier surveys, into SPAs. These sites then deteriorated for a variety of reasons by the mid 1990s, to such an extent that the local extinction of the species concerned occurred. Two examples brought up in the ECJ proceedings were Cross Lough in Co. Mayo, a tern colony vacated by the birds once introduced American Mink colonised the area, and the Moy Valley, also in Co. Mayo, where 'the loss of corncrake was the result of changes in agricultural practices which Ireland took no steps to remedy'." Dr. Newton continued, "On the east coast, in Dublin Bay, an internationally important wintering site for migratory waders including Oystercatcher and Redshank, small parts of the mudflats were excluded from the Sandymount Strand and Tolka Estuary SPA, perhaps since they had been earmarked for development. We concur with the ECJ's ruling that such areas are 'an integral part of the entire wetland ecosystem and for that reason ought also to have been classified as an SPA'. "Furthermore, we welcome the Court's recognition that land management outside designated areas is also important in the protection of bird species considered as having unfavourable conservation status. Here we are talking about the declines of formerly common farmland species such as the Skylark, which has been lost from most tillage and lowland grasslands in Ireland because of intensive silage production and the switch to the use of winter cereals." Siobhán Egan, Policy Officer with BirdWatch Ireland, said, "This judgement is a clear signal to the Irish Government that it needs urgently to make up for lost time and put in place the necessary protection measures for threatened bird species and habitats, both to prevent further infringements of EU law and the continued destruction of our natural environment. "Birds are crucial indicators of the health of our environment and represent an important asset to tourism and to Ireland's natural heritage. The Irish Government needs to invest in protecting them. Without doing so, the unsustainable use of natural resources and loss of biodiversity will continue unabated." Oran O'Sullivan, CEO of BirdWatch Ireland, said, "This case highlights the need for urgent action to protect our wild birds and the habitats on which they depend. We look forward to sitting down with the Irish Government early in the New Year to discuss how the situation can be rectified." Full European Court of Justice judgement here (C-418/04)
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A female Sparrowhawk has become a fairly regular
visitor in my garden where apart from its usual surprise
attack on the bird feeders it often lands in the tree I
hang the nut and sunflower feeders from, perching there
for up to an hour at a time, almost motionless apart
from its constantly darting eyes.
It's nerve-racking
to watch the birds making their way through the bushes
and trees towards it, but apart from a cursory glance it
doesn't go near them and perched on one leg, without a
clear flightpath, it doesn't look like it's primed to
go anywhere in a hurry.
- Michael Ryan December 2007
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Dun Laoghaire News .. October 2006
Display Boards for the East Pier
Heritage Council Walks |
A Great Unkindness
One morning in September coming down through the trees on Killiney Hill I heard the familiar croak of a
raven overhead and got a fleeting glimpse of a black shape through the treetops. Eventually emerging from
the tree cover I looked overhead expecting to see a pair of ravens but the sky was teeming
with ravens, a seriously large flock of them. I couldn't count them properly
because the pairs and individuals were wheeling, diving and soaring within the flock but there were at least 30 and maybe
32! I'd seen groups of 18 and more before but never this many.
Hopefully it's a sign they're breeding well around the country. Incidentally one of the biggest
roosts of Ravens in Europe and possibly even in the world is just across the Irish Sea in Angelsea
where thousands of ravens roost together in a Monteray Pine wood during the the winter.
- Michael Ryan
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PRESS RELEASE .. Birds need our help in cold weather - 23 November 2005 |
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The current cold snap has made life very difficult for many of our wild birds. In an effort to ensure that as many of our feathered garden visitors as possible survive the harsh weather conditions, BirdWatch Ireland would like to encourage people to put out food for the birds that visit their gardens. It is very easy to do and will make it far easier for the birds to keep warm. It is also a fantastic way to observe them at close quarters and learn all about their fascinating behaviour. It is important to point out that, despite the current fears about avian influenza, or "bird 'flu", feeding birds in your garden in a proper hygienic manner poses no risk to humans. The virulent H5N1 strain of the disease that has been making headlines around the world has not been recorded anywhere in Ireland so far, and in any event the bird species that visit our gardens are extremely unlikely ever to come into contact with it. The main wild vector species for the virus to date have been ducks and geese originating in parts of Asia, very few of which migrate to Ireland; the majority of our wintering ducks and geese travel here from places such as Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia and northern Canada, well away from any areas where infection has been detected. In addition, these species are strongly associated with wetland areas and do not visit gardens. Contracting a virus from a wild bird generally also requires very close contact with a bird carrying the infection, or with their droppings. By following these basic hygiene procedures when feeding the birds in your garden you can ensure piece of mind, both for yourself and for the birds:
The menu is easy. Wild bird seed, peanuts and sunflower seed can found in local supermarkets and garden shops, as can the special wire or plastic feeders that they should be put in. These feeders can be suspended from tree branches or a bird table, where they prove extremely popular with such garden favourites as Blue Tits, Greenfinches and Chaffinches. Apples, whether cut in half and speared on branches or simply left out whole on the lawn, are also a great source of food, particularly for Blackbirds and other members of the thrush family, as well as Blackcaps (small warblers that have only recently begun to spend the winter in Ireland). Kitchen scraps, such as bacon rinds, cheese (particularly loved by Robins), suet, raisins, moistened bread, melon seeds, fruit, stale cake, cooked potato, oatmeal, fresh coconut and uncooked pastry also make welcome meals. Fat is an especially important source of energy for birds, so please don't waste it! Lumps of suet may be hung out on strings or in plastic mesh vegetable containers, and meat trimmings, bacon rinds and other scraps will also be eaten. Melted fat may be poured over bread or cake scraps to make "bird cake". There are a couple of items which should never be fed to birds. These include desiccated (dried) coconut, uncooked rice or dry bread, which may swell up in the birds' stomachs. You should also bear in mind that once you begin to feed the birds they quickly become dependent on you, so please be sure to continue feeding right through to mid-spring. It is equally as important to ensure that your garden birds have a constant supply of fresh drinking water, something that can be very hard for them to find when ponds and puddles are frozen over. As well as needing to drink it, they also need it for bathing, to ensure that their feathers are kept clean so that they will insulate them effectively against the cold weather. A simple bird-bath can be made from an inverted dustbin lid sunk into the ground; remember to keep the surface ice free. It is also a good idea to provide berry- and seed-rich plants in your garden, as these will attract a greater variety of birds and will help those species that do not visit bird tables or artificial feeders to make it through the winter. Plants can also provide places for birds to shelter and, when spring comes, to build nests. If you like, while feeding the birds you can also take part in our annual Garden BirdWatch Survey, where participants keep note of the totals of each bird species they see visiting their gardens each week from the end of November through to February. The results we receive from this simple survey enable us to build up a detailed picture of the distribution and fortunes of our wild bird populations: a fun and enjoyable way to learn more about the birds in your garden and contribute to conservation and science at the same time. It also makes an ideal school project. For full details, please click here for BirdWatch Ireland's web site. If you have any questions about feeding wild birds in your garden, the best plants to provide for them, or the Garden BirdWatch Survey, please write to
BirdWatch Ireland, See also Feeding Wild Birds
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Migration .. why birds migrate .. Niall Hatch The Dawn Chorus .. Niall Hatch |
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A Bird in the Bush
Gilbert White (born 1720 Selborne – 1793) was probably the first to articulate that watching wildlife can have an aesthetic and spiritual dimension, though he wasn’t averse to resorting to the gun in order to sort out the warblers. The roll call of well-known ornithologists/birders is long, covering the era of the collectors through to the present where reliance on high quality optics and the resultant identification guides predominate. It chronicles the democratisation of birdwatching initially due to the development of the railways which allowed people to roam safely beyond their patch and more recently through private transport and air travel. The life list of early observers was short, albeit impressive when one considers the social context.
Most of the personalities and organisations portrayed are or were either British or
American. It would be unreasonable to expect one small volume to document the many
others but it leaves open the possibility of many more social histories. - B.G. |
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Birdwatcher’s Pocket Field Guide to Birds of Parks and Gardens
Mark Golley’s text is clear and to-the-point, providing details of when and where readers can expect to see each species, together with descriptions of their songs and calls. The identification pointers themselves are given in the form of annotations to the paintings, all showing the species in a variety of different characteristic poses. This format works well, allowing the reader quickly to pinpoint which features to look out for. The artist does a superb job of capturing the poses and habits of the species, and there is a real sense of movement and vibrancy in all of his artwork. Being a UK publication, naturally the book includes several species that, while common in Britain, are absent from Ireland. By and large these absences are mentioned to some degree in the text, but perhaps the inclusion of range maps would have made the situation somewhat clearer. The text also contains a couple of clear errors when it comes to Ireland, perhaps the most glaring being the unfortunate assertion on page 54 that Long-tailed Tits are absent from Ireland (they are, of course, common residents here). On page 14 we are also informed that feral flocks of Canada Geese are an “extremely common sight across the whole of Britain and Ireland”; not so - they may be common on the other side of the Irish Sea, but in Ireland they are extremely local and absent from most of the country. These quibbles aside, this is an excellent guide that will serve many birdwatchers well. With its thin, narrow design (meaning it will fit easily into a jacket pocket or car glove box) and low weight, this is a very ‘field-friendly’ publication at a price that represents excellent value.
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CORVUS by ESTHER WOOLFSON
Four and a half hours later, we're woken from what must have been some kind of sleep by a change in the boat's motion - the engines have throttled back to 7 knots. Blinking on deck and automatically anxious to get a fix on what direction we're going, I scan around. The sky is leaden grey, though brightening
- the sea surface barely ruffled, but the groundswell unmistakably Atlantic. No sign of land anywhere
- a glance at the skipper's fancy navigation screen shows we're some eighty miles SW of the Kerry coast and sitting right over the shelf edge, where the seabed plunges alarmingly to the dark world of the abyssal plain 4,000m below. The depth right here is 1,000m and we are following this contour in a NW direction.
The open ocean can be surprisingly lifeless. Thor Heyerdahl, on his epic Kontiki voyage, reported vast expanses of sea devoid of obvious life - no birds or dolphins and few fish. Sunlight and availability of nutrients are prerequisites for the photosynthetic process to take place in the sea and for phytoplankton (the tiny plant organisms that form
the building blocks of the food chain) to proliferate. So it is no accident that some 95% of the planet's fisheries are carried out between the shore and the 200m contour - in other words, in water shallow enough to permit enough light penetration to combine with suspended nutrients and kick start a whole food web. In deep water, nutrients lying on the seabed only
become available for
plankton production in regions where upwellings or convergent sea currents bring them to the surface. The edge of the continental shelf is one such region and in the weeks leading up to this trip,
fleets of fishing boats had been catching albacore here. Whatever these tuna were feeding on, the Blue Whales probably were doing likewise.
Several groups of Common Dolphins
join us, bow ride for a while, then peel away. One threesome turns out to be of a much rarer
species - Striped Dolphin. Then what we had all been waiting for, a massive blow a
mile dead ahead, followed by several more. As we get closer, they are clearly Fin Whales
- the second largest whale. Long, sleek, dark grey backs, slide along the surface after each
blow - a thorn-shaped fin appears just before they sink below the waves. We have more - about
ten in total - but as they fall behind, we focus again on this special opportunity to watch
Wilson's Petrels at close quarters - the tally is 14 by the end of the day. Makeshift chum
(mashed up bits of mackerel) helps attract in lots of Stormies and at one point, four
Wilson's together and then a magnificent Great Shearwater (right) hangs around off our stern
for ages - another taste of the South Atlantic - this is magic.
One of six information boards erected along the seafront by Dublin City Council
to publicise the wildlife of the South Bay area.
Spring is coming, and one of the key signs that the seasons are changing is the return of our
migratory breeding birds. No doubt most BirdWatch Ireland members keep a keen eye or ear out for the
return of their local Swallows, Swifts and Cuckoos: don’t forget that we need you to share the good news
with us.
This book is a fabulous read; the sub-title “A social history of birdwatching” says it all.
It charts the evolution of birding from Gilbert White through Thomas Bewick, Max Nicholson,
Julian Huxley, Peter Scott, Roger Tory Peterson to Phoebe Snetsinger who ticked more than
8400 species on her world list and includes Lee Evans of course and many more.
This charming little book, produced in conjunction with the UK Wildlife Trusts Partnership, has been designed to provide beginning and intermediate birders with a small, concise and highly portable field guide covering just the 80 species that they are most likely to see in park and garden settings. Lavishly illustrated by Wexford-based Dave Daly, one of Ireland’s leading bird artists, this guide manages to cram in almost all of the key information birdwatchers would need to identify the birds it covers, all in a very attractive and surprisingly uncluttered format.