Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:05 pm
Birdwatch Ireland have asked me to post the following.
Waterways Bird Survey
Our rivers and streams provide a unique suite of habitats upon which several of our bird species rely. Have you been lucky enough to spot a flash of blue as a Kingfisher flies by? Or perhaps you’ve had the privilege of observing a Dipper hanging about on a rock in a stream, awaiting an opportunity to ambush an unsuspecting insect or shrimp. Others, such as Little Grebe, Common Sandpiper and Sedge Warbler, are species which are dependent on our waterways which you may have come across.
There certainly is no shortage of river systems in Ireland, which makes this group of birds quite difficult to monitor. However, in 2006, we began our first survey of waterways birds, with the intention of investigating how these birds are faring, and in particular how they are coping with a variety of threats, especially drainage and pollution. So we set out to quantify the birds using a random selection of waterways throughout the Republic, and based our selection on the Environmental Protection Agency subbasin divisions.
[url=http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/bwi/pages092003/consvwork/surveys/waterways.html]Click here for more information...[/url]