Sunday 3 rd March outing to Dundalk Bay

Photo by Michael Mc Nulty. 

A car outing to Dundalk Bay will take place on Sunday March 3rd. Meet at Dundalk Docks at 12 noon. If you wish to car share from Bailieborough please meet at the Market Square at 10.45am. Best to bring a packed lunch and to wrap up well. The outing should last a few hours approx but if you are making your own travel arrangements then you will have the option of leaving a little earlier if necessary. If you have not visited the area before and you are not sure of the location of the docks then please contact me by email or at 086 8336675 to arrange a meeting point in Dundalk.

The black tailed godwit pictured above in its beautiful summer plumage was photographed by branch member Michael at our outing there last March.

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Presentation by Breffni Martin in Bailieborough on 21 February

A talk by Breffni Martin of the Louth branch of Birdwatch Ireland took place on Thursday last in the Business Centre, Bailieborough. Breffni spoke about the waders and wildfowl of Dundalk Bay. As well as giving us many useful wader and wildfowl ID tips he also spoke about the amazing journeys undertaken by many of these birds annually to and from their breeding grounds.  A special mention went to the bar-tailed godwit- a satellite-tagged godwit had been recorded travelling from its breeding grounds in Alaska to its wintering grounds in New Zealand in just over 8 days! (Visit this link to read this  amazing story here)

He also told us of the importance of Ireland as a wintering location for geese and wading birds including brent geese that breed in the Arctic Tundra and black-tailed godwits that breed in Iceland. We hope to see these species along with many others when we make our return trip on March 3 to Dundalk Bay. Thanks to Breffni for a very informative and enjoyable presentation.

Countryside Bird Survey Training Day Sunday 24 February in Virginia

Dick talking to the group at a recent training day in Shannon

Information on the day by Dick Coombes

Ever thought of taking part in one of our key bird surveys, the Countryside Bird Survey (CBS), but didn’t know how to go about it? Well Olivia Crowe and Dick Coombes will be conducting a training day this coming weekend in Virginia. Why not come along or maybe even bring someone else?

The details are:

• Sunday 24th February,  Lakeside Manor Hotel, Virginia, Co Cavan  

The schedule for the day will be:

09.30 – 10.00  Arrival.

10.00 – 13.00  Illustrated talks, instruction about survey methods, ID and a chance to ask questions, with a tea/coffee break mid-morning.

13.00 Lunch (provided)

13.45 (approx) Short field trip. Should be finished by approx 15.30.

The CBS is carried out all over the country, but there are many gaps to be filled. Hopefully this training session will produce some new recruits as well as provide an opportunity for existing survey participants to get a refresher and meet other participants. We will also be showing some of the interesting results achieved by this important survey to date.

Getting ready to commence the outdoor field trip in Shannon

The afternoon field trip will provide easy hands-on experience with the forms and survey methods. The format will be very informal and there will be plenty of time to ask questions.

 Participants enjoying the outdoor fieldtrip at Shannon event 

 To help us plan for numbers etc, please register your interest at:   http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MQ8X38Y or  just get in touch with us directly (rcoombes@birdwatchirelnd.ie) or tel 01-2812408.

"Waders and Wildfowl" Talk in Bailieborough Thursday 21 February

Teal at Navvy Bank, Dundalk.

A Presentation on "Waders and Wildfowl" by Breffni Martin (BWI, Louth Branch Chairperson) will take place on Thursday 21st February in the Business Centre, Shercock Rd, Bailieborough at 8pm.
Many species of water-birds spend the winter months on the Co.Cavan lakes and this is an opportunity to learn more about them and to improve your ID Skills.
Breffni is well known to Cavan branch members and has joined us on many occasions on our branch outings to Dundalk Bay, and we are very pleased to have him come and talk to the local branch.
This talk will be suitable for beginners and we will follow up the talk with an outing to Dundalk Bay on Sunday 3rd March, when we hope to see many of the species that Breffni will talk to us about.
All welcome and admission is free!

Nest Boxes :

Pj and Andrew hard at work!

 If you are interested in putting up a nest box a small number will be for sale on the night.The boxes were made and donated to the branch by committee member PJ Byrne. He has also on behalf of the branch placed a number of nest-boxes in a local forest.Thanks also to Andrew for helping out with the job. ______________________________

Countryside Bird Survey training day

A Countryside Bird Survey training day will take place in The Lakeside Manor Hotel, Virginia on Sunday 24 February. If you wish to take part in the training day Please email Birdwatch Ireland,CBS Coordinator Dick Coombes at rcoombes@birdwatchireland.ie  Visit the following link to learn more about this survey here:

Upcoming Events:.

Sunday 3 March - Outing to Dundalk Bay.Details on this event will be posted soon.

Tuesday 9 April  -   " Are there Woodpeckers in Cavan ?"  A presentation by Dick Coombes, (Birdwatch Ireland, Countryside Bird Survey Co-ordinator.) in the River Front Hotel, Virginia at 8pm. Branch AGM prior to the talk at 7PM.

Sunday 19 May National Dawn Chorus day. Details of walks will follow closer to the date