Birds

In 2010, as part of the initiative to review the State of Knowledge on Ireland’s Biological Diversity the National Biodiversity Data Centre produced an inventory of sources of biodiversity data. The inventory was developed by inviting recognised national experts to identify the state of knowledge.

The Biodiversity Inventory is laid complete in sections following taxonomic grouping with an overview. Each section follows the same format; Irish checklist, number of species, primary sources of distribution data, National conservation assessment, and monitoring or repeat surveys in place. This layout allows the reader to compare the state of knowledge of different groups.

Irish checklist

Irish Rare Birds Committee – The Irish List

Number of resident and regular visiting bird species

457

Kingfisher – Edward Delaney

Primary sources of distribution data

Bird Atlas 2007-11 (BirdWatch Ireland)
Birds of Ireland (National Biodiversity Data Centre)*
Atlas of Breeding Birds of Britain & Ireland: 1968-72 (BirdWatch Ireland)*
Atlas of Wintering Birds of Britain & Ireland: 1981/82 – 1983/84 (BirdWatch Ireland)*
Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of Britain & Ireland: 1988-91(BirdWatch Ireland)*
BirdTrack (BirdWatch Ireland & British Trust for Ornithology)
Countryside Bird Survey (BirdWatch Ireland)
Irish Wetland Birds Survey (BirdWatch Ireland)**
ESAS bird sightings (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, U.K.)***
Seabird 2000 (BirdWatch Ireland)*
Kingfisher Survey 2010 (BirdWatch Ireland)*
Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Burren and the Aran Islands (1993-96) (Liam Lysaght)*
North-west Ireland Machair Breeding Waders (2009) (BirdWatch Ireland)

*Databases held by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and made accessible through Biodiversity Maps. ** IWEBS data from 1994-2001 is accessible through Biodiversity Maps. ***ESAS bird sightings from 1980-2003 are accessible through Biodiversity Maps.

Yellowhammer is listed a bird of conservation concern in Ireland.

National conservation assessment

Lynas, P., Newton, S.F. & Robinson, J.A., 2007. The status of birds in Ireland: an analysis of conservation concern 2008-2013. Irish Birds 8(2) 149-166.

Newton, S., Donaghy, A., Allen, D. & D. Gibbons., 1999. Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland. Irish Birds 6(3) 333-344.

Barn Owl – Robert Shea

Monitoring or repeat surveys in place

Countryside Birds Survey (annual)
Garden Bird Survey (annual)
Irish Wetland Birds Survey (annual)
Whooper & Bewick’s Swans (every 5 years, latest January 2015)
Barnacle Geese (every 5 years, latest March 2008)
Light-bellied Brent Geese (annual)
Non-Estuarine Coastal Waterfowl Survey (NEWS, every 9 years, latest 2006-07)
Common Scoter (breeding, not on regular cycle; overdue)
Corncrake (annual)
Twite (ongoing research & population monitoring)
Chough (every 10 years, latest 2002-03)
Breeding Curlew Survey (2015)
Machair Breeding Waders
Shannon Callows Breeding Waders
Lambay Ornithological Survey (annual; includes full seabird census every 5 years, latest 2009)
Breeding Cormorants (sporadic, latest 2010; east coast colonies counted annually)
Breeding Terns (national every 10 years, last 1995, overdue)
Roseate Terns (breeding, annual)
Little Terns (breeding, east coast only, annual)
Swift Survey (2015)
Breeding Seabirds (full national, every 15 years: 1969-70, 1985-87, 1998-2002)
Upland Birds 2002-2004 (Golden Plover, Ring Ouzel)
Red Grouse 2005 (pilot), 2007-2009 (national)
Waterways Birds (including Kingfisher) 2006-2010
Dipper (long-term monitoring in Cork & Laois-Offaly)
Irish Rare Breeding Birds (annual assessments published by the panel)
Grey Herons (& Little Egrets: done historically, to be re-launched soon)
Barn Owl (ongoing research & population monitoring)
Peregrine (every 10 years, latest 2002
Hen Harrier (every 5 years, latest 2015)