Thursday 30 June 2011

Roseate Tern Outings & News

The South Dublin Branch of BirdWatch Ireland will be hosting a series of 'Tern Watch' events at Coliemore Harbour, Dalkey, Co. Dublin every Tuesday evening throughout July (5th, 12th, 19th & 26th) between 18:30 & 20:00. Branch members will be present with telescopes, allowing participants to view the terns on Maiden's Rock where 24 pairs of Common & Arctic Terns as well a pair of Roseate Terns bred this year. All are welcome to the event so why not pop down some evening next month for a look?

More info on the Dalkey Tern Project can be found on the following link:

The Roseate Tern colony on Rockabill, located off Skerries in north Co. Dublin, has had another bumper year with 1,109 AON's (Apparently Occupied Nests) recorded during the 2011 breeding season. Common Terns are doing extremely well on 'The Rock' too with 2,149 AON's this summer (another new record) whilst a smaller population of Arctic Tern's is also present (160 AON's). BirdWatch Ireland staff are present on site each summer to warden the terns & monitor their breeding success. They also provide large numbers of tern nest boxes which has played a significant role in the increase in the Roseate Tern population there over the past few years.

Roseate Terns © Billy Clarke
No. of breeding pairs of Roseate, Common & Arctic Terns on Rockabill, Co. Dublin 2006-2011 © BirdWatch Ireland

No comments:

Post a Comment