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Help record migrant birds in Ireland this spring14/04/2009 10:21:37
Spring Alive - help BirdWatch Ireland to keep track of Swallows, Swifts and CuckoosApril 2009. Summer is coming, and one of the key signs that the seasons are changing is the return of Ireland's migratory breeding birds. All across Ireland, people keep a keen eye or ear out for the return of their local birds: this year, we are asking them to share the good news with us. Spring Alive is an "citizen science" project organised by BirdWatch Ireland and its fellow BirdLife International partners all across Europe. The aim is to track the arrival dates of Europe's common migrants: all over the continent, people are asked to report their first sightings of Swifts, Swallows and/or Cuckoos. This information shows the spread of spring across Europe as our migrants return, while at the same time allowing us to gather important scientific data that will help us to gauge the impact of problems such as habitat loss and climate change. Every single observation is important. How to take part Taking part in Spring Alive is very easy: participants should simply look or listen for their first Swallow, Swift and/or Cuckoo of the year, then enter the date and the location at the project website, www.springalive.net. If preferred, sightings can also be reported either by writing to BirdWatch Ireland, P.O. Box 12, Greystones, Co. Wicklow or by calling 01-2819878. No advance knowledge of birds is required: the website is packed with information, including photos, sound recordings, video clips, and even interactive games and maps which change colour to show the spread of the arriving birds as people submit their records. Spring Ailve - Ireland
All of the material on the website is available in both English and Irish language versions, as well as in a wide range of other European languages. For teachers who would like to run Spring Alive as a class project, a special set of teachers' materials and lesson plans is also available for download, and children can even upload their own stories and photographs to the website. The response from observers in Ireland last year was phenomenal; in fact, Ireland was responsible for more records than any other country in Europe. We are keen to keep up this good work this year, so we need records from as many observers as possible. It only takes a few seconds, and we guarantee that everyone will enjoy the features that the website has to offer.
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