BirdWatch Ireland seeks raptor and river bird records in Dublin City

The call has been put out for Dublin’s citizen scientists to assist in a very special project this summer.

That’s because BirdWatch Ireland, in collaboration with Dublin City Council and supported by the National Biodiversity Data Centre, is looking for records of river birds and raptors in Dublin City.

Running until September 30, the Dublin City Raptor Survey and Dublin City River Bird Survey need citizen scientists willing to log their sightings of particular species and what they are doing at the time of observation.

The Dublin City Raptor Survey is seeking records of Peregrine Falcon, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Buzzard, Long-eared Owl and Barn Owl, while the Dublin City River Bird Survey is seeking records of Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Sand Martin and Dipper.

Raptor and river bird populations are often under-recorded in Ireland due to their ecology. Several bird species are of significant conservation concern including the Grey Wagtail which declined by 67% between 1998 and 2016.

Meanwhile, raptors such as Kestrel and Barn Owl are Red-listed species, meaning they are at risk of extinction in Ireland.

Many of these species occur in urban environments.

As urbanisation is increasing rapidly in Ireland, we need to better understand our baseline population of river birds and how are they faring in an increasingly urbanised environment.

This information will inform conservation measures for these species.

Citizen scientists are key to these projects, and your knowledge and sightings will make a significant contribution to our understanding of river bird and raptor populations and their distribution in Dublin City.

Participants can also benefit greatly from the surveys as taking part offers the chance to improve bird identification skills, make a difference in the local area and improve health and wellbeing.

These surveys can be undertaken by people of all ages at any Dublin City location.

There is no minimum time commitment. Participants should have some basic raptor and/ or river bird identification skills.

Binoculars are recommended but not required.

To learn more about these surveys and to get involved, visit https://birdwatchireland.ie/get-involved/volunteer/