Cavan Birdwatch Committee

The Cavan Birdwatch branch A.G.M took place on Thursday, 19th March prior to the "Irish Swifts in Decline; What Can We Do?" in the County Museum, Ballyjamesduff.
The committee for the year ahead is as follows:
Chair: Heather Bothwell (Killeshandra)
Secretary: Ashley Wynne (Cavan )
Treasurer: Sean Callaghan (Virginia)

General committee : PJ Byrne, (Vice Chairperson), Michael Mc Kiernan (Vice Secretary), Peadar Reynolds (Vice Treasurer) Liz Mc Kenna, Andrew Carleton  and Nigel Beresford.

New members are always welcome, come along to an outing or meeting; keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page; also check out birdwatchireland.ie and their Facebook page for information, news and events.

Spring walk

Birdwatch Ireland:(NH) 
If you're looking for a fun activity this coming Sunday, 29th March and are in the Dublin area, please join me for a woodland birdwatching walk through the Furry Glen in the Phoenix Park. This is the latest in our joint series of monthly nature events with the OPW, and we hope to see a wide range of woodland species, including (with a little luck) this fellow here, the Jay. The walk is free of charge and open to all: simply meet at the Phoenix park Visitors' Centre (www.phoenixpark.ie/visitorcentre/) at 11:00am (don't forget that the clocks go forward an hour this weekend!)

Swifts

Michael Casey from Birdwatch Sligo gave an interesting presentation in Cavan county museum recently, on the subject of a declining swift population.
Concerned with the apparent decline in swifts, he and Sligo locals set up the Tubbercurry Swift Project. 

Swifts spend most of their life on the wing, landing only to nest, arriving in Ireland in May, staying until August.
Their Latin name, “Apus apus” means “footless footless”, referencing the fact that their weak and small feet only allow them to cling to vertical surfaces or shuffle akwardly on the ground, being unable to take off in flight from the ground.
They need high buildings and crevices as they drop from the nest before gaining momentum to fly.
birdwatchireland./Swifts.
There is alot of work being done in Ireland and across Europe to help the swift. If you have any information or are interested in finding out how to get more involved, please contact us!

We are on Facebook too!

Cavan-birdwatching
Cavan Birdwatch now has a Facebook page, click on the above link to view it.
We will continue using this blog to inform members of events, display photos etc.
If you have Facebook page check us out and like to spread the word!

Hen harrier Survey

(photo Shay Connolly)

BirdWatch Ireland, alongside the Irish Raptor Study Group and the Golden
Eagle Trust are coordinating the National Hen Harrier Survey 2015.

This survey will begin at the start of April and the project co-ordinators
are running a series of training workshops to ensure all surveyors are
familiar with the methods involved and to offer opportunities for newfieldworkers to participate to help monitor the Hen Harrier population.

Anyone who is interested is invited to attend the up-coming survey training workshops which
will cover Hen Harrier ecology, methods, reporting and other research
opportunities during the course of the survey. 
In Cavan, you can attend the Errigal hotel, Cootehill, this Wednesday, 25th March from 9.30 a.m. until 1.30 p.m. The workshop is free, however registration prior to the event is requested.
IrishHenHarrierSurvey2015

Even if you can’t take on a survey square you can assist by reporting
information and sightings of Hen Harriers in your local area. 

You can submit your sightings through the dedicated survey
website   irishhenharriersurvey

A Presentation "Irish Swifts in Decline: What Can We Do"? on Thursday 19 March

 Swift photo by Micheal Casey

  A Presentation entitled "Irish Swifts in Decline: What Can We Do?" by Micheal Casey (Birdwatch Ireland,Sligo Branch) will take place on Thursday 19 March at 8pm in Cavan County Museum.

This talk will be about the decline of swifts in Ireland,causes of this decline and what we can do about it.

Micheal is a vet with the Dept of Agriculture Food & the Marine's Laboratory Service. His interest in swifts is pursued outside of his work. He is also a bird ringer, with a special interest in swifts, dippers and peregrine falcons.
Micheal is involved with the swift conservation project and hopes to encourage local groups in the County to help out by getting involved in a local project.

Members of Tidy Towns committees and local Heritage groups are very welcome to attend this event!

The Branch AGM will take place prior to presentation at 7pm sharp.

More information on the Swift Conservation project can be found here