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from a range of published and unpublished sources.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.
Coastal helicopter views: Click here for aerial photos along the entire Irish coast.
Find a grid reference: See www.gridreference.ie/, zoom & click location on map - useful when reporting sightings.
Online OSi map resource: Click osi to zoom in on Ordnance Survey maps and satellite images for Ireland - unfortunately from late June
2010 free access to 1:50,000-scale maps no longer available online. (Typical!)
SpringAlive project: click here to report sightings of Swallow, Swift and Cuckoo.
Website policy on rare breeding or other vulnerable species: Click here for details.
WATERFORD BREEDING BIRD ATLAS: 1st April
to 31st July: Fieldwork
for the 5th (and second-last) season of this project, also contributing to the national Bird Atlas 2007-2011,
ends on 31st July. See the main Breeding Atlas page, and www.birdatlas.net, for preliminary results and further details of how to get involved (Roving Records or Timed Tetrad Visits).
All records emailed or texted to Waterford Birds will also be added to the Atlas.
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 2 seasons of Waterford coverage (click for preliminary
maps):
Waterford bird-ringing summaries: Now available on the British Trust for Ornithology website's ringing pages, Co Waterford ringing totals for 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006, and recoveries (in Waterford or elsewhere) for 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.
WINTER ATLAS 1st November-28th February:
Fieldwork for the 3rd winter
season of the Bird Atlas 2007-2011 project ended on 28th February (the final season starts 1st November 2010),
but records from the period November-February can still be entered online at www.birdatlas.net. See the main Winter Atlas page, and www.birdatlas.net, for preliminary results and further details of how to get involved (Roving Records or Timed Tetrad Visits).
All November-February records emailed or texted to Waterford Birds will also be included.
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 submit sign up and contribute records to the online BirdTrack and Bird Atlas 2007-2011 recording schemes covering Ireland and Britain.
See also the website of waterfordwildife for other information on local fauna, and links for other relevant websites.
BirdTrack website - click logo
.
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.
