Main pic: A beautiful Robin posing in east Donegal this week. Pic: Joe Boland/NorthWest NewsPix.
BirdWatch Ireland is calling on Donegal people to help monitor the health of the country’s populations by counting the birds visiting their garden over the winter.
Ireland’s longest-running and most popular citizen science survey, the Irish Garden Bird Survey, commenced on Monday and runs until the end of February. Taking part is free and simple, yet impactful, as all participants contribute to a crucial body of data that will help to inform monitoring and research into bird populations and environmental change.
Last year’s survey, which saw over 1,600 households across the country participating, revealed the Robin as Ireland’s top garden bird once again, present in 96% of gardens. Blackbird and Blue Tit followed in second and third place, occurring in 94% and 91% of gardens respectively. However, all three species appeared in fewer gardens than at any point in the last thirty years due to the mild winter weather conditions, which reduced birds’ need for garden feeders.
As usual, there are clear differences in the birds visiting gardens across the country. Notable differences in Ulster include Blackbird being the most widespread species, Goldfinch not featuring in the top 10 (12th), and it being the only province with either Jackdaw or Song Thrush in the top 10.
“We often get emails from people early in the winter wondering where their garden birds are, but last winter people all over the country were commenting on how quiet their gardens were,” said Brian Burke, coordinator of the Irish Garden Bird Survey.
“This week we’re seeing very cold conditions across the country, and that’s definitely driving more birds into gardens at the moment, so it’ll be interesting to see what the coming weeks bring. The more people who do the survey, the more we can learn about these sorts of links between climate, birds and our environment.”
To learn more about the survey and to get involved, see here: https://birdwatchireland.ie/our-work/surveys-research/research-surveys/irish-garden-bird-survey/
