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Protecting Rare Bird Species

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Del.Monte
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Protecting Rare Bird Species

#1

Post by Del.Monte »

For the umteenth year in a row my award goes to the Scottish Wildlife Trust at the Loch of the Lowes 'Osprey' project in Scotland. The trust do everything right in my opinion, from protecting the Ospreys, to running an excellent webcam from the nest site which allows viewers to watch the complete lifecycle, to using the project to educate the public, gain new members and raise funds. https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/bl ... -the-lowes

Contrast that to the disjointed way our multitude of conservation groups work - up to date information is very hard to find, little attempt to raise awareness of issues, and even less effort to encourage new members or to raise funds. I refer in particular to the protection of one of Ireland's rarest birds - the Little Tern - which seems to involve various bodies including Birdwatch Ireland and the Louth Nature Trust.

As the protection of Little Terns has been a long time interest of mine (since the mid-1970s) I find it particularly galling that every year I struggle to find any information as to what's happening. The latest on the Birdwatch Ireland site about the most important site - Kilcoole, Co.Wicklow - dates from 2017! Every year I go through the same rigmarole of making repeated contacts with the different groups to find out what is happening and this year I am more in the dark than ever - and don't mention the virus as it has made zero difference to reporting of the projects. Currently the most up-to-date information that I can find is from 2019 here: https://littleternconservation.blogspot.com/ - why can this blog not be updated? Birdwatch Ireland's HQ is a couple of miles from the wardened project at Kilcoole but they can't get it together to provide a blog post - a simple phone call from HQ to the wardens would surely provide enough info for somebody at HQ to knock up a daily/weekly or even monthly blog.

24th May 2021
ME - Is there a blog or Facebook page for the Little Tern project this year?

Birdwatch:
We haven't posted any updates yet - the wardens have been too busy to write anything! We'll hopefully have something from them soon though, so keep an eye on our Facebook page and website and you'll see it!

20th June 2021

ME: Nearly a month on and still nothing! I cannot understand why this is so - utterly exasperating for somebody who is concerned about the project but cannot get there.

Birdwatch:
We do hope to publish an update soon on our website, David. The wardens at the colony really have been flat out. As always, we will also publish a detailed report on the Kilcoole Little Tern Project in due course, which hopefully will provide any information you need.

Incidentally, the most recent post on the Facebook page about the Kilcoole colony dates from the 15th June 2020.
I recently spoke to a well known birdwatcher who previously worked for Birdwatch and he said there was no excuse for such a carry-on as someone from the wardening team would be in daily contact with the office in person or by phone.

All this mullarkey is the reason why I continue to support British conservation bodies rather than Irish ones! Now over to you Birdwatch or your defenders.
'no more blah blah blah'
kadman
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#2

Post by kadman »

We care more about our phones than we do about our birds and wildlife.

I was in Killarney a few years ago, and went to visit a local wild life type farm with birds ext.
It was horriffic, it was quite apparent that throughout the farm there was no constant presence of anybody responsible for watering and food and welfare of the birds. What really pressed my button was an eagle tied to a tree stump, no water, no food. It was so upsetting, I left straight away.
I reported them to the ISPCA immediately and was assured that things would be dealt with.

And then I learned that it was common practice to put out poison for these beautiful birds.
I have lost all faith in people caring about birds and wildlife.
Seafields
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#3

Post by Seafields »

If you are talking about the same place I'm thinking kadman I couldn't agree more. Brought the kids there a few years ago. Absolutely disgusting place that was filthy. It has since closed. Thankfully.
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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#4

Post by Del.Monte »

Image

And so, more than a month on since I last posted and the breeding season for Little Terns over this is the current news for 2021.

Birdwatch Ireland (Portrane, north Co.Dublin) - 11 nests which produced 26 chicks, at least 24 of which fledged. Our previous best total was 14 so a good improvement on that. - Thank you Paul.

Louth Nature Trust, Baltray, Co.Louth - No news and my enquiry via FB of 20/8/2021 remains unanswered. Their website remains hacked for several years now, and despite this is still showing as a link on the FB page.

Birdwatch Ireland, Kilcoole
- by far the most important Little Tern colony in the country - total silence - a search for the Little Tern blog bring up a 2019 report. It must be very difficult to report on a project that Birdwatch administer just a couple of miles from their headquarters!

On the Birdwatch website this is the info: https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds/little-tern/

At another Little Tern breeding site - Ballinoulartm Co.Wexford - this is level of protection and advice: 'The Little Terns lays its eggs flat on the beach where they are indistinguishable from the stones. They are chattering little fellows with distinctive thin black tipped sharp yellow beaks, yellow legs and a very fast flight. Their courtship starts with an aerial display where the male first dive bombs into the sea to catch a fish and with the fish in his beak teases the female who chases him high up into the sky both of them swooping and rising in a sharp “V”pattern. Its nesting sites are vulnerable so please skirt the stony drifts in the center of the beach during the early summer.'
Good luck with that!

When is somebody in Birdwatch Ireland going to take the Little Tern conservation project seriously and drive it forward?
In the meantime I'll be supporting the work of the Scottish Wildlife Trust instead: https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/
'no more blah blah blah'
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Scotty
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#5

Post by Scotty »

Del.Monte wrote: Sun Aug 29, 2021 11:53 amLouth Nature Trust, Baltray, Co.Louth - No news and my enquiry via FB of 20/8/2021 remains unanswered. Their website remains hacked for several years now, and despite this is still showing as a link on the FB page.
I did see on a 'volunteer jobs' site that they were looking for the usual volunteers this year. I also see on twitter...

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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#6

Post by Del.Monte »

Vague enough report 143 eggs doesn't tell us much and they don't even seem to post much on Twitter. If they want money and volunteers they really need to sort themselves out for next year - now - not when the first birds arrive on the Beach. Given that they are supposed to be supported by Birdwatch Ireland it is that body who are severely lacking in their organisation.
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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#7

Post by Del.Monte »

The latest from the Baltray (Louth Nature Trust):

(FB message); LNT Facebook page has been unsupported this year as the main contributor has been unwell. A first draft report is due in the next few days. Meanwhile 80+ observed fledgling. Confident that there are more but hard to verify. Very extended season this year as they commenced later than normal. Worked hard to catch up and there were many late nesters. Sept 2021.

Still nothing from Birdwatch Ireland about Kilcoole - contrast that with the Rockabill project here: https://birdwatchireland.ie/rockablog-2 ... ll-island/ and it's very hard to understand.

Came across this nice video of Kilcoole from this year...

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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#8

Post by Del.Monte »

The Little Tern saga at Kilcoole continues with still no report - that I can see - relating to the 2021 season.
https://birdwatchireland.ie/our-work/sp ... n-project/

I have given up contacting Birdwatch Ireland about what's going on but assuming that they are awarded the contract to run the project this year they should be required to keep interested people informed by means of a regularly updated blog. The lack of information in recent years is one of several reasons why I continue to keep my membership of Birdwatch on hold.

Image
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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#9

Post by Del.Monte »

So, I'm back to Little Terns again, and this year I decided to try a less confrontational approach and offered my services free of charge to all three sites 'protecting' the birds.

This is the central portion of my email to the three groups:

I have decided instead of fighting with everybody this year, and due to the complete failure of Birdwatch Ireland to keep people properly informed about the Kilcoole project in recent years, I am launching my own Little Tern news site.

This will cover Kilcoole, Portrane and, of course, Baltray. I will also include reports of sites around the country but not unsupervised locations. I will also be linking to any of the UK schemes that I can.

As planned all three Irish sites will have a dedicated page carrying their - unedited news/reports etc. - while the homepage (blog) will have everything else including my own ramblings. It really is the best contribution that I can make and everybody is welcome to plug their own wants - donations, volunteers or whatever and it's up to each group to use me and the site to their best advantage.

I have a wide exposure on the internet through my own sites - especially "Collect Ireland" www.collectireland.com which is approaching 4 million hits and will be promoting the Little Tern site there and elsewhere. All I need now is a little co-operation from all the interested parties.


On the 4th May I contacted Birdwatch Ireland and received a holding reply on the 9th May from the new person overseeing the Kilcoole wardening scheme. Promises of great plans and a call back.....

I also contacted (Birdwatch Ireland, Fingal) Portrane colony on the 4th May - and this the most telling quote from the reply on the 12th May:

I personally won't have time to provide regular updates but I'll check with the group to see if someone is willing to do it. Other than advertising upcoming events I don't do Facebook.

As for Louth Nature Trust (Baltray Colony) - this reply on the 12th May:

Can you email xxxxxxx -- I live a long way from Baltray and really only do admin.

I emailed the new contact the same day but no reply......

Isn't good that they are so busy protecting the Terns that they can't inform anybody what's happening - the same three groups plead for money and volunteers with an annual Facebook post.....

Will I bother with my new site or just forget about it and commit to Dodder Action https://www.dodderaction.org/ who understand about social media/websites/appeals and organising volunteer projects? :(
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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#10

Post by Del.Monte »

And good news - at last - in their first proper post about Kilcoole in two years Birdwatch Ireland today reported that everything is up and running with the first nests located and eggs laid. Well done on letting people know.

https://birdwatchireland.ie/first-littl ... le-colony/
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#11

Post by knownunknown »

Del.Monte wrote: Wed May 18, 2022 4:46 pm
Will I bother with my new site or just forget about it and commit to Dodder Action https://www.dodderaction.org/ who understand about social media/websites/appeals and organising volunteer projects? :(
You’ll probably have more reach and be more effective as part of a team.
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#12

Post by Scotty »

Not heard anything locally about the Baltray site this year yet. Cars can't get nearly as close to the site as they used to be able to so I expect far less dog walkers around there this year. Hopefully it will reflect in the final numbers.

If you just want to see the terns and not the nest site itself, you can visit the Mornington side of the Boyne and you'll see them dive bomb away. They're a fantastic site to see feeding.
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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#13

Post by Del.Monte »

Birdwatch have now produced two useful updates on their site about the Little Tern colony at Kilcoole - the latest here: https://birdwatchireland.ie/eggs-everyw ... rn-colony/

A friend visited Kilcoole on the 16th June and send this picture of the chalkboard which is very encouraging. When I first surveyed Kilcoole in the 1970s numbers were usually about 30 pairs and how they clung on the totally unprotected beach back then is a miracle.

Image

Still no word from either Portrane or Baltray!
'no more blah blah blah'
765489

Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#14

Post by 765489 »

Here is a good example of EU environmental rules that will have an adverse impact on some bird and mammal species.

Government urged to suspend changes to rules on winter stubble https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/go ... r-stubble/

Winter stubble is of great importance to some of our red listed bird species. There should be more of it not less. In particular seed eating birds such as yellow hammers, buntings, sparrows and finches, and also small rodents which in turn provide food for barn owls and other birds of prey.

Greening is absolutely useless to wildlife. You bury the corn and weed seeds from the corn harvest so birds can't get to it as you disk in or power harrow your cover crop and the only thing it's good for is pigeons and rabbits.

Stubble greens over the winter as corn sprouts again and weeds take hold. Nitrogen will still leech from ground with plants that are only a couple of inches tall. This is the type of shit that turns me off the whole green movement. They know nothing about how local habits work.

It's a bit like the advice given out over the years about hedgerow maintenance. That it should be cut low and this helps thicken it which provides cover for nesting birds. Bulshit! what good is a hedgerow where the fruit is flailed in autumn time and the birds and mammals are left with nothing other than manicured rubbish you'd find in your front garden.

Rant over. Glad Birdwatch Ireland are bring this up. But the department of agriculture may not be able to change this unless they get some derogation on it.
765489

Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#15

Post by 765489 »

Update on the above from a local grain grower. The stubble needs to be cultivated back into the soil within two weeks after harvest. This will involve either min till or ploughing depending on the soil type. He is fuming over it as it takes at least 1 body / tractor away from the busiest time of the year as someone will have to be tasked with ploughing in the stubble. Again he said the same thing I stated above that weeds take over very quickly and seed and insect eating farmland birds use this over the winter as a food source. Probably the only food source for some species.

The government has stated that they will undertake a study on the effects of implementing this part of the nitrates directive, great, they have all the information they need from Birdwatch Ireland. Well done EC bureaucrats the seed and fertiliser companies will be delighted with the extra business. Fck the wildlife.

Anyway in more positive news ->

Check this out on Agriland - Common cranes hatch two chicks on rewetted peatland https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/co ... -peatland/
765489

Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#16

Post by 765489 »

I've just seen and heard a curlew fly over my field. Summer is now complete for me. I'm glad our native curlew are hanging on against all odds. Heading for the coast I'd say. Only one unfortunately.
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Del.Monte
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Re: Protecting Rare Bird Species

#17

Post by Del.Monte »

Little Terns

The Louth Nature Trust are reporting good progress with their efforts to protect Little Terns at Baltray this year and all the latest can be caught up on here at their new website: https://www.louthnaturetrust.ie/blog

At Kilcoole, Co.Wicklow - the most important site in the country for Little Terns - Birdwatch Ireland directly operate the protection scheme with 24/7 wardening. As in previous years it's almost impossible to obtain up-to-date information as the main Birdwatch site https://birdwatchireland.ie/our-work/sp ... n-project/ still takes one to the 2019 blog....More alarming is the fact that it is only in recent days Birdwatch Ireland's Facebook page has been calling for volunteers to protect the colony - surely this should have been organised months ago?

Image

At Portrane (Nth.Dublin) another small colony is looked after by Birdwatch (Fingal branch) but again they seem to be struggling to find volunteers...
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