Birds in Ireland

Clive Hutchinson, John Busby

• Publisher: T & AD Poyser
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781408137017
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781408137000
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Zoology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Birdwatching has become an increasingly popular pastime in Ireland as elsewhere. Nor is all of the birdwatching done by the Irish.

Many professional ornithologists from Britain and Western Europe find good reason to study Ireland's birds, as do the numerous birdwatching visitors each year. Clive Hutchinson, a leading Irish ornithologist, has compiled this comprehensive review of birds in the Republic and Northern Ireland to coincide with the 21st anniversary year of the Irish Wildbird Conservancy's foundation and he has had the IWC's active support throughout.

Knowledge about the status and distribution of birds in Ireland has increased greatly since the 1960s and this is reflected in the detailed species accounts which form the major part of the book.

Factors which led to this greater knowledge, recent changes in bird distribution and status, and reasons for the absence of some species are topics discussed in the book's introductory chapters. Other subjects covered are Ireland's topography, climate and habitats, a review of ornithology and ornithologists in Ireland over the last 100 years, and conservation programmes of more recent times.

John Busby's superb illustrations (more than 100) are a feature of the book, helping to set the Irish scene as well as depict its birds.

APPENDIX 1

List of local bird reports

Bird occurrences in Co. Waterford, 1972–73, 1974–75.

Cape Clear bird observatory report, Annual 1959 to 1969, 1970–71, 1972–74, 1975–77, 1978, 1979, 1980–82, 1983–84, 1985–86.

Copeland bird observatory report, Annual since 1956.

Cork bird report, Annual under several titles 1963 to 1971, 1976 to 1986.

Dublin and north Wicklow bird report 1969, 1970.

Dublin and Wicklow bird report, Annual 1971 to 1973, 1974–75.

Irish east coast bird report, Annual 1980 to 1986.

Louth bird report, 1974, 1975.

Malin Head bird observatory report, 1961–64, 1965.

Northern Ireland bird report, 1980–81, 1982–85.

Report on bird occurrences in County Waterford, 1971.

Tory Island bird report, 1958–59. 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963–64.

Tory Island bird report, Mullet bird report, Tory 1965, Mullet 1966.

Wexford bird report, Annual 1970 to 1972, 1977–80, 1981–82, 1983–84.

Most of these reports are available for consultation in the IWC’s library.

APPENDIX 2

Principal organisations

Republic of Ireland

Irish Wildbird Conservancy
Ruttledge House, 8 Longford Place, Monkstown, Dublin. Branches (20) in Athlone, Carlow, Cork, Donegal, Dublin Central, Dublin North, Dublin South, Fingal, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Liffey Valley, Mayo, North Munster, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, West Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow.

Cape Clear Bird Observatory
Address of Secretary available from Irish Wildbird Conservancy.

Northern Ireland

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Belvoir Forest Park, Belfast BT8 4QT.
Members’ groups (7) in Antrim, Bangor, Belfast, Enniskillen, Larne, Limavady and Lisburn.

Northern Ireland Ornithologists’ Club
Address of Secretary available from RSPB.

Copeland Bird Observatory
Address of Secretary available from RSPB.

APPENDIX 3

Scientific names of plants, fishes and mammals named in the text

Plants

Holly Ilex aquifolium

Bramble Rubus fruticosis

Rowan Sorbus aucuparia

Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna

Gorse Ulex sp.

Ling Calluna vulgaris

Heather Erica sp.

Rhododendron Rhododendron ponticum

Sea Buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides

Elm Ulmus sp.

Birch Betula sp.

Sessile oak Quercus petraea

Pedunculate oak Quercus robur

Beech Fagus sylvatica

Scots pine Pinus sylvestris

Lodgepole pine Pinus contorta

Norway spruce Picea abies

Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis

Yew Taxus sp.

Bracken Pteridium aquilinum

Eelgrass Zostera sp.

Fishes

Eel Anguilla anguilla

Salmon Salmo salar

Roach Rutilus rutilus

Wrasse Crenilabus sp.

Mammals

Pygmy shrew Sorex minutus

Rabbit Oryctalagus cuniculus

Bank vole Clithriononys glareolus

Wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus

Brown rat Rattus norvegicus

Mink Mustela vison

Bibliography

Alexander, R. W. & Gahan, S. V. E. 1987. A review of sites protected for conservation in the Republic of Ireland. Irish Geography 20:80–82.

Allison, A., Newton, I. & Campbell, C. 1974. Loch Leven National Nature Reserve. WAGBI.

Austin, L. W. & Leach, S. J. 1984. Wintering waders on Belfast Lough and the Outer Ards coast, Northern Ireland. Wader Study Group Bull. 47:13–17.

Bailey, C. 1982. Waterways bird survey on the River Lagan. Irish Birds 2:153–166.

Bainbridge, I. P. & Minton, C. D. T. 1978. The migration and mortality of the Curlew in Britain and Ireland. Bird Study 25:39–50.

Barrington, R. M. 1900. Migration of Birds as observed at Irish Lighthouses and Lightships. Dublin and London.

Batten, L. A. 1976. Bird communities of some Killarney woodlands. Proc. R. Ir. Acad. 76B:285–313.

Benington, A. 1971. The decline of the Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus in Northern Ireland. Ir. Nat. J. 17:85–88.

Birkhead, T. R. 1975. Movement and mortality rates of British Guillemots. Bird Study 21:241–254.

Borton, D. G. 1987. The breeding passerines of Cape Clear island, 1986. Cape Clear Bird Observatory Rep. 19:50–61.

Bourne, W. R. P. 1986. Late summer seabird distribution off the west coast of Europe. Irish Birds 3:175–198.

Bradley, M., Irvine, I. & Platt, G. D. A. 1986. Breeding of Pied Flycatchers in Co. Antrim, 1985. Irish Birds 3:281–282.

Brown, R. A. & McAvoy, W. 1985. Nesting terns in Strangford Lough, 1969–84 – a review. Irish Birds 3:33–47.

Butler, D. Q. & Whelan, J. 1987. The release and survival of the Red-legged Partridge (Alectoris rufa) in Ireland. World Pheasant Association Journal 12:66–73.

Cabot, D. 1967. The status and distribution of the Greylag Goose (Anser anser) in Ireland, January 1967. Irish Wildfowl Conservancy Res. Rep. No. 7.

Cabot, D. 1977. Movements and migration of the Mallard in Ireland. Irish Birds 1:37–45.

Cabot, D. 1984. ‘The future of nature conservation in Ireland’ in Jeffrey, D. W. (ed.) Nature Conse...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Copyright page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• Factors affecting the distribution of birds
• Ornithology and bird conservation
• Recent changes in status
• Background to the species accounts
• The species accounts
• APPENDIX 1 - List of local bird reports
• APPENDIX 2 - Principal organisations
• APPENDIX 3 - Scientific names of plants, fishes and mammals named in the text
• Bibliography