BirdWatch Ireland (BWI) is a voluntary conservation organisation devoted to the conservation and protection of wild birds and their habitats in Ireland. It was formerly known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (IWC). [1] [2] [3] Irish Wildbird Conservancy was founded in 1968, among others by Major Robert (Robin) Ruttledge, an Irish ornithologist who became its first president. [4]
BWI has over 15,000 active members and supporters, and a network of 30 branches actively promoting the importance of birds and habitats, and general conservation issues. It publishes the annual journal Irish Birds and the quarterly magazine Wings. It manages a number of nature reserves including Little Skellig. [5]
BirdWatch Ireland is a member of the Irish Environmental Network, the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), Environmental (Ecological) NGOs Core Funding Ltd (EENGO), Working and Educating for Biodiversity (WEB) and the Irish Uplands Forum (IUF). They also work closely with the Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre in providing wildlife monitoring data.
The Charities Regulator reported in November 2022 that there had been misuse of funds and inadequate internal controls. [6]
BirdTrack is an online citizen science website, operated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) on behalf of a partnership of the BTO, the RSPB, BirdWatch Ireland, the Scottish Ornithologists' Club and the Welsh Ornithological Society (Welsh : Cymdeithas Adaryddol Cymru). [7] [8]
The Garden Bird Survey (GBS) is one of BirdWatch Ireland's most popular volunteer surveys which receives over 1,000 submissions annually when it takes place between December and February. [9]
The organization released the Irish Wetland Bird Survey in the 1990s, when there were 1.2 million wintering waterbirds in Ireland. A recent analysis in April 2019 put the number at 760,000. [10]
In July 2019, Birdwatch Ireland reported that the Irish bird population was in "dramatic" decline, with 40 percent of the country's waterbirds, or half a million, lost in the prior 20 years. Loss of habitat was cited as the reason for the decline. [11] Other reasons were climate changes, agriculture, hedge cutting, pollution, and the burning of scrub. [12] Birdwatch Ireland called for Citizens' Assembly to examine the biodiversity loss. [13] One of every five Irish bird species assessed in the survey was threatened with extinction. [14] Lapwing numbers, according to Birdwatch Ireland, were down 67% in twenty years. [15] It also said there had been an "almost complete extermination" of farmland birds, for example the corncrake. [12] The curlew was reported on the verge of extinction in Ireland, with only 150 pairs remaining. In the 1960s, 5,000 pairs had been reported. [12] [16]
County Cork is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are Mallow, Macroom, Midleton, and Skibbereen. As of 2022 the county had a population of 581,231, making it the third-most populous county in Ireland. Cork County Council is the local authority for the county, while Cork City Council governs the city of Cork and its environs. Notable Corkonians include Michael Collins, Jack Lynch, Roy Keane, Sonia O'Sullivan and Cillian Murphy.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment through public awareness campaigns, petitions and through the operation of nature reserves throughout the United Kingdom.
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams.
Edward Max Nicholson was a pioneering environmentalist, ornithologist and internationalist, and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund.
Christopher John Mead was a popular British ornithologist, author and broadcaster, and an influential member of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020.
The Skellig Islands, once known as "the Skellocks", are two small, steep, and rocky islands lying about 13 km (8 mi) west of Bolus Head on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The larger of the two is Skellig Michael which, together with Little Skellig, is at the centre of a 364-hectare (899-acre) Important Bird Area established by BirdWatch Ireland in 2000. Skellig Michael is also famous for an early Christian monastery that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The European hedgehog, also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles. It is a generally common and widely distributed species that can survive across a wide range of habitat types. It is a well-known species, and a favourite in European gardens, both for its endearing appearance and its preference for eating a range of garden pests. While populations are currently stable across much of its range, it is declining severely in Great Britain where it is now Red Listed. Outside its native range, the species was introduced to New Zealand during the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
Jeremy John Denis Greenwood CBE is a British ornithologist and was Director of the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) from 1988 until he retired in September 2007.
Puffin Island is an uninhabited steep rocky island lying off the coast of the Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland.
The fauna of Ireland comprises all the animal species inhabiting the island of Ireland and its surrounding waters.
The Scottish Ornithologists' Club (SOC) is a Scottish ornithological body, founded in March 1936 at the premises of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. As of 2008, the SOC has 2,200 members. The Club runs the Scottish Birds Records Committee, which maintains a list of birds recorded in Scotland. In 2007, the club was awarded the Silver Medal by the Zoological Society of London.
Jonathan Elphick is a natural history author, editor and consultant. He is an eminent ornithologist, a qualified zoologist; Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. He is author of The Birdwatcher's Handbook: A Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland; Birds: The Art of Ornithology and The Natural History Museum Atlas of Bird Migration: Tracing the Great Journeys of the World's Birds, which received Bird Watching Magazine's 'Best Bird Reference Book of the Year'; as well as co-author of the Encyclopedia of Animals; the RSPB Pocket Birds; A Unique Photographic Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe with Jonathan Woodward and The National Parks and other Wild Places of Britain and Ireland, with photography by David Tipling.
Stanley Cramp was a British civil servant and ornithologist best known as the first Chief Editor of the encyclopaedic nine-volume handbook The Birds of the Western Palearctic (BWP).
The Welsh Ornithological Society is an organisation which promotes the study and conservation of birds in Wales. Each year it organises a conference and publishes two issues of the journal Welsh Birds, one of which contains the Welsh Bird Report. It was founded on 26 March 1988 at a conference in Aberystwyth. It now has about 250 members. The television presenter and author Iolo Williams has been the society's president since November 2009.
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) is an environmental non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in Hong Kong, a territory on the southern coast of China. It is a BirdLife International affiliated organization. The emblem of the HKBWS is the Chinese egret which visits Hong Kong on migration and used to breed in the territory.
The five Marsh Awards for Ornithology are among over 40 Marsh Awards issued in the United Kingdom by the Marsh Charitable Trust and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), in the field of ornithology.
Robert "Robin" Francis Ruttledge MC was an Irish ornithologist, also known as "The Major", who is best remembered for his work in the systematic recording and conservation of Irish birds over a period of sixty years.
The Mongolian Ornithological Society), was founded in 1999 in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. It is non-profit environmental organisation dedicated to the research and conservation of birds and their habitats, and also other wildlife in Mongolia. It publishes a peer-reviewed annual scientific journal, Ornis Mongolica, and other bird-related books, guidebooks and papers on bird research works and conservation activities in Mongolia and other countries. The Society raises funds for conservation and educational activities by arranging bird watching and wildlife tours to different parts of Mongolia. The society puts great emphasis on educating young researchers and raising public awareness on conservation. Its board members consist of well-known ornithologists, biologists and ecologists from Mongolia and other countries. In collaboration with the Ornithological Laboratory at the National University of Mongolia, a total of more than 30 scientific theses by bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. students have been supervised by members of the society.
BirdTrack is an online citizen science website, operated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) on behalf of a partnership of the BTO, the RSPB, BirdWatch Ireland, the Scottish Ornithologists' Club and the Welsh Ornithological Society. It is also available though mobile apps.