Adding Value to a Days Birdwatching

Back in October 2015 the Dublin Bay Birds Project Team hosted a 'ring-reading’ event at Bull Island Visitor Centre, see here. On Saturday, February 10^th 2018, we are pleased to be running another similar one and we would love you to come along.

Colour-ringed Redshank John Fox

The event acts as a way for us to thank and provide feedback to  the observers who have been submitting their observations of colour-ringed wintering waders to us, but, also, we would love to help more people get involved with this element of the Dublin Bay Birds Project. The Citizen Science contribution to the project is of immense value and crucial to this work.  We would like to encourage even more new Citizen Science contributors and catch up with established project contributors.

Ring-reading Event Poster BirdWatch Ireland

Since 2013,  we have ringed more than 1700 waders in Dublin Bay of which over 500 are colour-ringed (376 Oystercatchers, 99 Bar-tailed Godwits, and 41 Redshank). But all of that means nothing if nobody tells us where they spot them and the context of their observations. With five years of colour-ring resighting information now compiled we are seeing some interesting stories beginning to emerge. 

DBBP Ringed Oystercatcher Resightings From Scotland BirdWatch Ireland

All of the observations we receive paint a picture of where the birds go to breed and what routes they take to get there, and they play a key role in identifying staging sites. But, importantly, your observations of colour-ringed birds in Dublin Bay provide valuable information about how they use the bay for feeding & roosting. This information in turn informs our policy work and our conservation efforts, and it opens up dialogue with our colleagues internationally to feed into international bird studies and conservation management. 

Sample Resighting Report/Bird History BirdWatch Ireland

What we want you to do is - stop when a colour-ringed bird catches your eye and, if possible, read and note the ring inscriptions. With that done you can enter your observation online and we will get back to you with the movement histories for that bird. All sounds simple, but of course it takes a bit of practice, concentration, and a good pair of binoculars or a telescope! If you would like to find out more or just want to come hear about the project and meet like-minded people we would love to see you on February 10^th at 10am at the Bull Island Visitor Centre.