Long-term Monitoring Project Provides Valuable Conservation Data While Supporting the Next Generation of Bird Ringers
Lough Neagh Partnership’s Constant Effort Site (CES) bird ringing project at Killycolpy has reached its fourth successful season, continuing to provide valuable scientific data on the breeding bird populations that call the Lough Neagh wetlands home.
Operating under licence from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), with ASSI consent and under the guidance of BTO trainer Aidan Crean, the project forms part of a UK-wide monitoring programme that helps scientists better understand changes in bird populations and breeding success.
The Constant Effort Site operates over 12 sessions between early May and the end of August. Each survey day begins before dawn, with volunteers meeting at 5.30am before carefully setting six 20-metre mist nets within the reedbed habitat.
During the early part of the season, birds returning from their wintering grounds in Sub-Saharan Africa are captured alongside resident breeding species. As the summer progresses, juvenile birds begin to emerge, providing valuable information on breeding productivity.
Each bird is carefully removed from the mist nets by trained and licensed ringers before being transported to the ringing station in breathable cotton bags. Birds are fitted with a uniquely numbered British Trust for Ornithology metal ring before important biometric information, including weight, wing length and sex, is recorded. Once processing is complete, every bird is safely returned to its point of capture and released unharmed.
The project is currently halfway through this year’s monitoring programme. Despite one survey session being cancelled due to poor weather, five successful sessions have already been completed.
So far this season:
- 118 birds have been processed
- 16 different species have been recorded
- 6 volunteers have supported the project
This year’s project has also welcomed students from Queen’s University Belfast, giving aspiring ornithologists and conservationists valuable hands-on experience in bird ringing and ecological monitoring. Some students are beginning their ringing journey, while others are progressing towards the next level of British Trust for Ornithology accreditation following formal assessment.
The Constant Effort Site at Killycolpy continues to play an important role in monitoring the health of bird populations across the Lough Neagh wetlands while helping to train the next generation of skilled conservation volunteers and bird ringers.
