Natural Heritage at Risk: Preliminary results from constant effort monitoring of Tory Island waders

Speaker: Dr Kyle Coughlan, Tory Bird Warden
Organisation: Birdwatch Ireland, in conjunction with PeacePlus Nature, a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, SEUPB.

Kyle will present his results from the first year of constant effort monitoring of the breeding populations of wader species on Tory Island. The island represents one of the last strongholds for breeding waders in Ireland. Very few places host as many species as Tory Island. These species include Lapwing, Oystercatchers, Redshank, Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, and Dunlin.

Most of these species are under Red Conservation status, meaning they are at high risk of extinction or severe population decline. Kyle will discuss how the numbers of all these species have declined over the last 10 years. He will also discuss some of the potential works which will be undertaken in order to help increase the number of birds which call Tory Island their home.