The Bird Atlas 2007-2011 is a joint project to map all of Ireland and Britain’s birds during both the winter and the breeding season. It is a working partnership between BirdWatch Ireland, the British Trust for Ornithology and the Scottish Ornithologists' Club. It will allow us to assess changes in bird distributions since previous breeding atlases in 1970 and 1990, and since the last winter atlas of early 1980s. Atlases have been immensely important for furthering bird knowledge and conservation and Bird Atlas 2007-2011 is destined to set the agenda for the next decades of ornithology in Ireland and Britain.

 (©rspbimages)

 Provisional Distribution of Kestrels taken from data submitted so far.

Fieldwork will span four winters and four breeding seasons, starting on 1 November 2007, during which we will cumulatively survey the whole of Ireland and Britain. To fulfil these objectives there are two complementary fieldwork methods which offer something for everyone, Roving Records and Timed Tetrad Visits.

To make the Bird Atlas a huge success we need volunteers all across Ireland to get involved. So why not be one of 50,000 birdwatchers across Ireland and Britain helping to produce the biggest and best Bird Atlas ever. For further information or to get involved please visit the Bird Atlas website or contact Brian at the BirdWatch Ireland midlands office.

The 2007-2011 Bird Atlas is jointly funded in Ireland by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, the Heritage Council and the Environment and Heritage Service Northern Ireland.