Welcome to the
Waterford Birds website, providing up-to-date and archival information on the birds of County Waterford (Ireland), compiled
from a range of published and unpublished sources. Some records of migrant or scarcer insect species, cetaceans and
less commonly seen mammals etc are also included (see also www.waterfordwildlife.com). See Main menu (left) for list of main contents, and further down this page for latest news, updates,
contact details etc.
Irish Rare Birds Committee: Click www.irbc.ie for updated website, including provisional lists of reported rarities for 2007-2009, and full Irish Rare Bird
Reports for 2005 -2008.
Geograph website (photos by 1-km square):
See www.geograph.org.uk or click here to see photos from a selection of 1-km squares in Co Waterford or further
afield.
Waterford bird-ringing summaries: Now available on the British Trust for Ornithology
website's ringing pages. Co Waterford ringing totals for 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006, and recoveries (in Waterford or elsewhere) for 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. Highlights include recoveries in Co Waterford of gulls from Poland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and
recoveries of Waterford Sedge Warblers in France and the Channel Islands. The most recent recoveries include a Lesser
Repoll ringed at Brownstown Head in October 2007, retrapped in Suffolk in October 2008 and again in Sussex in November 2009,
and a Teal ringed in Co Down in September 2009, shot at Villierstown in December 2009.
Irish Birds vol. 9 no. 2: available now from BirdWatch Ireland shop (26 euro including p&p), including Irish Rare Bird Reports for 2009 & 2010
Website policy on rare breeding or other vulnerable
species: Click here for details.
ATLAS UPDATE: Fieldwork for
the national Bird Atlas 2007-11 project is now completed (late-submission deadline 31 January 2012), but
the Waterford Atlas will continue to collect roving/casual records for one more winter and breeding season,
i.e. Nov-Feb 2011/12 and Apr-July 2012. Waterford records from 1st November onwards (preferably for 2-km tetrads) can still
be entered via the Atlas or BirdTrack websites, or submitted to atlas @ waterfordbirds.com
Target species for the Winter Atlas: Coastal or inland wetland species
(divers, grebes, wildfowl, waders, gulls) and scarcer species (e.g. Woodcock, owls, Blackcap, Brambling) are the main priority
for the final winter, but any records are welcome.
Target species for the Breeding Atlas:
Records of all breeding or summering
species are important, but some scarcer or easily-overlooked species are a particular priority in the last season
of Waterford coverage (click for preliminary maps):
by Declan McGrath, recently published (344 pp) - available
now in local bookshops, or €25
(incl P&P) from: D. McGrath, 10 The Estuary, King's Channel, Waterford.
Atlas of Irish Mammals:
A new survey launched in April 2011 by theWaterford-based National Biodiversity Data Centre is collating records of terrestrial mammals, bats and seals - please submit records online to the
survey website. Records of mammals collected during the Waterford Bird Atlas will be added in the coming months. Cetacean
records are collated by the Irish Whale & Dolphin Group.
Bird records
- request for sightings: The website compilers are always interested in sightings - not just of scarcer
migrant or winter visitors, but also counts of commoner species. Of particular value are sightings of uncommon residents
like Barn Owl (precise breeding locations of sensitive species will not be published online or elsewhere). In
addition to any records included on the website, all records will be added to a larger database of Waterford sightings,
to help with ongoing assessment of local bird status. Records during 2006-2011 will also contribute to the Breeding AtlasandWinter Atlas. Please email any sightings (recent or from any year), or digital
photos, to the website compilers. Any
comments or suggestions re the site would be welcomed. We would also encourage you to sign up and contribute
records to the online BirdTrackand Bird Atlas 2007-2011 recording schemes covering Ireland and Britain.
.
Website contributors:
Click here for a list of those who have submitted records, photographs or other items since the website went
online in September 2004 - many thanks to you all.
