BirdWatch Ireland (BWI) is a voluntary

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

organisation devoted to the conservation and protection of wild birds and their habitats in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It was formerly known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (IWC). Irish Wildbird Conservancy was founded in 1968, among others by Major Robert (Robin) Ruttledge, an Irish ornithologist who became its first president. BWI has over 15,000 active members and supporters, and a network of 30 branches actively promoting the importance of birds and habitats, and general conservation issues. It publishes the annual journal ''

Irish Birds ''Irish Birds'' is the annual journal of BirdWatch Ireland. Its first issue was published in 1977, superseding the ''Irish Bird Report'', which had been published from 1953 (number 1) to 1975 (number 23). ''Irish Birds'' publishes papers and notes ...

'' and the quarterly magazine ''Wings''. It manages a number of nature reserves including

Little Skellig Little Skellig (Irish: ''Sceilig Bheag'') is an unhabitable island in the Atlantic Ocean, 11 km south-west of Valentia Island in County Kerry, Ireland. It is small than Skellig Michael (54 acres)) its twin island. The two islands rose c. ...

. BirdWatch Ireland is a member of the

Irish Environmental Network The Irish Environmental Network (IEN) is a network of environmental Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) that was established in 2002. The network is designed to give greater reach and access to funding for disparate and sometimes small member organi ...

, the Sustainable Water Network (SWAN), Environmental (Ecological) NGOs Core Funding Ltd (EENGO), Working and Educating for Biodiversity (WEB) and the Irish Uplands Forum (IUF). They also work closely with the Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre in providing wildlife monitoring data. The

Charities Regulator The Charities Regulator ( ga, An Rialálaí Carthanas) is the operational name of the Charities Regulatory Authority, the statutory authority responsible for the regulation of charities in Ireland. The organisation is made up of a board, with ...

reported in November 2022 that there had been misuse of funds and inadequate internal controls.

BirdTrack

BirdTrack BirdTrack is an online citizen science website, operated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) on behalf of a partnership of the BTO, the RSPB, BirdWatch Ireland, the Scottish Ornithologists' Club and the Welsh Ornithological Society ( cy, C ...

is an online

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

website, operated by the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginnings In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote: In the United Stat ...

(BTO) on behalf of a partnership of the BTO, the

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...

, BirdWatch Ireland, the

Scottish Ornithologists' Club The Scottish Ornithologists' Club (SOC) is a Scottish ornithological body, founded in March 1936 at the premises of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. As of 2008, the SOC has 2,200 members. The Club runs the Scottish Birds Records Committe ...

and the

Welsh Ornithological Society The Welsh Ornithological Society ( cy, Cymdeithas Adaryddol Cymru) is an organisation which promotes the study and conservation of birds in Wales. Each year it organises a conference and publishes two issues of the journal ''Welsh Birds'', one of w ...

( cy, Cymdeithas Adaryddol Cymru).

Garden Bird Survey

The Garden Bird Survey (GBS) is one of BirdWatch Ireland's most popular volunteer surveys which receives over 1,000 submissions annually when it takes place between December and February.

Report on declining Irish bird populations

The organization released the ''Irish Wetland Bird Survey'' in the 1990s, when there were 1.2 million wintering waterbirds in Ireland. A recent analysis in April 2019 put the number at 760,000."Wintering waterbirds in decline across Ireland"
''

Green News Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a co ...

'', published 4/3/2019 In July 2019, Birdwatch Ireland reported that the Irish bird population was in "dramatic" decline, with 40 percent of the country's waterbirds, or half a million, lost in the prior 20 years. Loss of habitat was cited as the reason for the decline."Irish bird population in ‘dramatic’ decline, Oireachtas committee to hear"
''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', Jack Horgan-Jones, published 2/2/2019 Other reasons were climate changes, agriculture, hedge cutting, pollution, and the burning of scrub. Birdwatch Ireland called for Citizens' Assembly to examine the

biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...

."Birdwatch call for examination of biodiversity loss"
''

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

'', published 7/2/2019 One of every five Irish bird species assessed in the survey was threatened with extinction."Legislative changes have ‘weakened protections’ for breeding birds, TDs told"
''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', , published 7/2/2019

Lapwing Lapwings ( subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A ...

numbers, according to Birdwatch Ireland, were down 67% in twenty years."Bird populations collapse: Today's warning"
''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country ...

'', published 7/3/2019 It also said there had been an "almost complete extermination" of farmland birds, for example the

corncrake The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (''Crex crex'') is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It is a medium-sized crake with buff- ...

."Bird populations suffering serious decline - Birdwatch Ireland"
''

'', David Murphy, published 7/2/2019 The

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

was reported on the verge of extinction in Ireland, with only 150 pairs remaining. In the 1960s, 5,000 pairs had been reported."Irish bird numbers 'dramatically' declining with some species facing extinction"
'' The Journal'', published 2/2/2019

Reserves Managed by BirdWatch Ireland

* East Coast Nature Reserve, Co. Wicklow * Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow * Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, Co. Wexford * Capel Island & Knockadoon Head, Co. Cork * Cuskinny Marsh, Co. Cork * Sheskinmore Lough, Co. Donegal * Rogerstown, Co. Dublin * Shenick Island, Co. Dublin * Bullock Island, Co. Offaly * Bishop's Island, Co. Galway * Small Wood, Co Galway *

, Co. Kerry * Puffin Island, Co. Kerry * Illaunmaistir, Co. Mayo * Termoncarragh Lake, Co. Mayo * Termoncarragh Meadows, Co. Mayo * Annagh Marsh, Co. Mayo

References

External links

BWI Home Page
{{authority control Environmental organisations based in Ireland Ornithological organizations Bird conservation organizations Animal welfare organisations based in the Republic of Ireland