|


|
| This project is funded by the Heritage Council under the Wildlife Grant Scheme 2008 and 2009 |
The Waterford Breeding Bird Atlas 2006-2011
What is it?
The Waterford Breeding Bird Atlas is
a project to map, at the level of 2-km x 2-km tetrads, the occurrence and status of breeding and summering
birds throughout County
Waterford. During fieldwork in 2006,
2007 and 2008, 55% of the c540 tetrads in the county received at least 2 hours of timed coverage. We aim
to increase this to over 70% by the end of July 2009. A total of six breeding seasons (April-July 2006-2011) will be
needed for full coverage. This will be followed by publication of detailed maps both online and in print form,
providing the most thorough documentation to date of Waterford’s breeding avifauna.
This will provide a baseline for assessment of future changes and allow documentation of important breeding habitats in the
county. See below for further details of coverage, methods and how to get
involved. Click here to request further information or offer help, or click www.birdatlas.net for full details of the national atlas which Waterford fieldwork will be part of. See also a
list of frequently-asked questions, and the Winter Atlas page for fuller details of the winter survey. Latest update 6
July 2009.
See sample species maps
Download 2008 report national newsletters methods summary survey forms
.
Coverage update: 2009 season
Known coverage up to 6th July is mapped below but not all coverage has been reported yet.
So far at least 100 tetrads (18% of county total) have had an hour or more of timed coverage this season, and 213+ tetrads
(39%) have contributed some records.

Coverage: nocturnal and crepuscular species 2006-2009
The map below shows tetrads with records of Water Rail, Woodcock, Snipe or Long-eared Owl, species that often require
targeted fieldwork at dusk or nocturnally. Tetrads checked at dusk or nocturnally but without success are also
shown. Records
of other relevant species are not currently mapped - Barn Owl, Nightjar and Corncrake (to maintain site-confidentiality),
or Grasshopper Warbler (many diurnal records and some involve migrants).

Coverage: 2008
The map below shows known coverage of tetrads in Co Waterford from 1st April to 31st July 2008. At least 129 tetrads (24% of county total) had two
hours or more of timed coverage this season, for both local and national atlas purposes, while a further 10 tetrads had
at least one hour of coverage. In total, records were collected for at least 311 tetrads (58% of county total)
in breeding season 2008. Updated 23/11/2008.
Coverage: 2006-2008
The map below summarizes combined coverage for the first three
breeding seasons (2006 to 2008). These include records from at least 452 (84%)
of the total c540 tetrads in the county, with 300 (56%) having at least two hours of coverage.

Preliminary species maps
See sample map below, and click here for other maps (updated 7 January 2009).

Tetrad
priorities & allocations for the coming seasons
The maps
below show three categories of 'priority' tetrads for coverage over the next three breeding seasons (2009-2011)
and indicate those which have been allocated, so far, to specific observers for timed coverage (TTVs). (See Winter
Atlas page for Nov-Feb allocations.) Allocated tetrads will not necessarily be covered this season (2009), and
many still need to be allocated. Updated 25 May 2009.
50-65 Priority 1 tetrads still available (open circles or squares below), + 138 allocated (also 15 provisionally allocated but may still be available):

43 Priority 2 tetrads still
available (open squares below), + 14 allocated:

14 Priority 3 tetrads still
available (full TTVs not required), + 4 allocated:

Based on coverage achieved in 2006, 2007 and 2008, priorities for timed (TTV) coverage
in the remaining breeding seasons (2009-2011) have been identified as follows:
Priority 1: Full tetrads which have not yet had at least 2 hours of timed coverage
in 2006-08. A 'sub-priority' for National atlas purposes will be those tetrads that received coverage in the 1988-91
atlas. (These will help assess changes in distribution over the last 20 years, and are shown as squares on the Priority
1 map, if not covered in 2006-08, or on the Priority 2 map if they were covered in 2006-07 but not 2008.)
Priority 2: Full tetrads that had 2+ hours coverage in 2006-07, but not in 2008,
for which further coverage during the National atlas period (2008-11) will help assess changes since 1988-91, when these tetrads
were also covered.
Priority 3: Partial tetrads which had no coverage, or < 1 hr of coverage, in 2006-08;
either coastal (midpoint below HWM) or border 'fragments' (with <15% of the area in Co Waterford). These partial
tetrads will require at least 1 hour of timed coverage for the Waterford atlas, but will probably not contribute timed coverage
to the National atlas (data will be submitted to latter as Roving Records).
Not mapped: Tetrads which received basic coverage (2 hours for full tetrads, 1 hour
for partial tetrads) in 2006-08, and which were not covered in 1988-91. These are not a priority for the National atlas
either, but if time allows as many as possible of these tetrads will be re-surveyed during 2008-11.
How
does the Waterford Atlas fit in with other bird surveys?
A
national atlas of breeding and wintering birds throughout Ireland and Britain - Bird Atlas 2007-2011 - started in November 2007. This is being organized by BirdWatch
Ireland (BWI) in Ireland, in collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in Britain. It will update two earlier national breeding atlases (1968-72 and 1988-91) and the
1981-84 winter atlas (see previous atlases). These earlier surveys involved substantial fieldwork in Waterford, but not on the scale planned for the local atlas during 2006-11. See Atlas 2007-11 Introduction and How to Help. Records collected for ongoing projects such as the Garden Bird Survey, Countryside Bird Survey, I-WeBS and bird ringing will also contribute to the national atlas.
Breeding-season
fieldwork for the Waterford Atlas will of course contribute to the national atlas during 2008-11, and the methods are fully
compatible with the wider survey. Coverage in Waterford will be more intensive and has started two years earlier than elsewhere in Ireland, because (unlike most counties) we’re attempting complete coverage. But
the national survey should provide extra incentive for fieldworkers in Waterford to carry on for the next
four years, with the aim of seeing results in print both at local and national scales.
Waterford coverage of wintering birds
will be less intensive than breeding season coverage, but a good contribution to the national survey is planned. (For
winter coverage, at least 8 out of 25 tetrads will be covered in each 10-km square, or all tetrads in any coastal squares
that have fewer than 8 full tetrads.)
How can I help?
For
both breeding season and winter coverage, we are looking for volunteers, of varying levels of experience or enthusiasm,
who can contribute bird records from around the county and help ensure gaps in coverage are filled and nothing much is
missed! There are two main types of surveying involved, one or other (or both!)
of which may suit your particular level of experience or confidence. Both will
involve the use of Ordnance Survey maps to record accurate locations (and further guidance will be provided on this).
Roving
Records (RRs): The first type of surveying will potentially be of interest to the largest number of volunteers
- i.e. anyone who can send in records of any species, with information on their breeding status if available,
from any part of the county during April-July of the years 2006-11 and November-February of the winters 2007/8-10/11. A copy of the Roving Records form used for summer 2007 is downloadable here. For the national atlas (November 2007 onwards), download RR form.
For
details of the codes and definitions used for recording the breeding status of species encountered during April-July, click
breeding categories.
Timed
Tetrad Visits (TTVs): This is the second, more intensive part of both summer and winter fieldwork.
For the breeding season, it involves at least 2 hours of timed morning surveys
to each tetrad (2-km x 2-km square) in Co Waterford. (For winter coverage, a sample of of about one-third of all tetrads will be the minimum target.) Essentially
each TTV involves surveying a tetrad, with the help of maps, to record all the bird species seen or heard within
an hour – then repeating the survey later in the same season. Detailed
counts of individual birds (other than juveniles fledged the same year) were also recorded for scarcer
species in summers 2006-07, and counts of all species will be needed for the national atlas. Many species will best be detected by sound, i.e. recognizing the song and the range
of calls of a given species. Thus not all local birdwatchers may feel they have
the necessary skills - but they can be learned by practice or listening to bird tapes or CDs.
So, over the next four summers, we’d hope that some Roving Recorders will also take on Timed Tetrad Visits as
their skill and confidence grows.
Of course, everyone who makes Timed Tetrad Visits
can also contribute as a Roving Recorder, as inevitably Kestrels etc will be seen from the car window etc.
A
copy of the Timed Tetrad Visit form used for summer 2007 is downloadable here. For the national atlas, download TTV instructions. TTV forms for winters 2007/08 onwards and summers 2008 onwards will be provided once an observer has been
allocated tetrads to cover.
Other
wildlife
In
Waterford, we will also be collecting records of other wildlife seen in the tetrads (mammals, butterflies and dragonflies
mainly) to provide a more comprehensive account of wildlife in the county over the period of the survey. Please keep
a separate note of these and report to the local organiser.
Songs and calls
If you have
access to the Internet using broadband, a useful site for getting to know songs and calls is:
http://www.rspb.org/birds/
which on the
top left of the page provides A to Z access to details of individual bird species, especially the audio/video links. Remember
many of the smaller species may be heard before they are seen so it is important to know the songs & calls of the individual
species, especially before attempting the more intensive Timed visits. Useful
commercial recordings of birdsong are also available, e.g. “British Bird Sounds on CD” from BirdWatch Ireland:
http://shop.birdwatchireland.ie/birdwatchireland/
Signing
up as a volunteer
For
winter coverage (Nov-Feb 2007-2011) and the breeding season (April-July 2008-2011), you can sign up online at
Bird Atlas 2007-2011. In particular, if you'd like to take part in the most detailed part of the survey,
i.e. Timed Tetrad Visits in summer or winter, it's important to agree in advance the tetrads you'll be covering, to avoid
duplication of effort. (See also maps above for details of tetrads already allocated, and an indication
of priority tetrads.) Alternatively, if you'd like further information, or
have records to contribute, please click here. Make sure to include a postal address if you'd like a supply of printed recording forms.
Above
all, enjoy the Atlas and the habitats of the county over the coming seasons.
How many 10-km squares and 2-km tetrads in Co
Waterford? - click here
Downloadable copies of instructions, maps &
recording forms - click here
|