Sunday 12 January outing to Miltown Lake and I-WeBs Event

Whooper Swans on Parkers Lake

The first branch outing of 2014 to Miltown Lake will be held on Sunday 12th January. We will meet up at 10am at Drumlane Abbey car park, Milltown. At Miltown lake, we hope to see a varied selection of waterbirds including whooper swans ( in photo above). Following the main outing we will also perform an I-WeBS (Irish Wetland Bird Survey) count of Milltown lake and other lakes in the locality. Those interested in taking part in the survey will be divided up into small groups. Each group will be assigned a few local lakes to visit in order to record the number and variety of bird species present at each site. If you are interested in visiting Miltown Lake ,or would like to know more about the survey, come along and find out what it's all about. Lots of information about this survey and why it is so important to monitor waterbirds during Winter can be found on the Birdwatch Ireland website here  This event will be lead by Olivia Crowe who is the Conservation & Science Officer with Birdwatch Ireland.

In the event of poor weather/road conditions on the day, be sure to check this blog to ensure the outing is going ahead as planned!

Directions: Drumlane abbey is South of Milltown village and located up a small lane- it is signposted from the crossroads in the village.

Happy Christmas to all and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year!

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More information on I-WeBs by Niall Tierney.
BWI Conservation Officer - Waterbirds
http://www.dublinbaybirds.blogspot.ie/


The Irish Wetland Bird Survey (I-WeBS) is the scheme that monitors wintering waterbirds across Ireland. It is jointly run by BirdWatch Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife service. Wetlands of all types and sizes are monitored, and each winter more than 250 wetland sites are covered by over 300 enthusiastic volunteers.

I-WeBS is simply a monthly count of all the wintering waterbirds at a wetland. The data is recorded on count forms provided by the I-WeBS Office or entered onto the online data entry system at the end of each visit. More detail on the methods can be found at the link below.

The objectives are to assess: population sizes, the importance of individual wetland sites, and changes in abundance and distribution over time.

The type of sites covered range from small ponds and river stretches with small numbers of birds that can easily be can covered by one observer with a pair of binoculars, to large complex estuaries that hold thousands of birds and require a team of experienced observers with telescopes. Many of the sites that require coverage in Cavan are manageable with a pair of binoculars.

Olivia Crowe will be running an I-WeBS day in Co. Cavan on the Sunday 12th January in order to introduce I-WeBS to a wider audience and to get some of Cavan’s many wetlands covered. Despite a number of dedicated I-WeBS counters in Cavan, it is always tricky to achieve full coverage due to the sheer number of wetlands in the county!

Getting involved with I-WeBS is a great way to make your birding count, and we’re always looking out for new recruits! By taking part, you’ll be helping us to fulfil our legal obligations to the EU Birds Directive to monitor the trends in our waterbird populations and to identify the most important sites for them. It’s also good fun and a great way to brush up on your waterbird ID skills!

http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/OurWork/ResearchSurveys/IrishWetlandBirdSurvey/Methods/tabid/112/Default.aspx