Organisation

The I-WeBS Office co-ordinates the scheme in the Republic of Ireland.   The co-ordination of I-WeBS is greatly facilitated on a local basis through a network of Regional Organisers.  The counts are undertaken by skilled amateur ornithologists and professional staff of the partner organisations. 

Counts conducted for I-WeBS, known as core counts, are aimed at monitoring non-breeding populations, and are predominantly carried out between September and March inclusive.  In order to maximise co-ordination of counts across the entire country, and thereby, to minimise duplication, count dates are pre-determined.  It is recommended that counts be conducted over a short period of time (up to three hours) on these dates, or on the nearest appropriate date, and that there is at least a three week gap between successive count dates.  This flexibility is important to allow for local conditions such as counter availability and weather conditions.  Further, it is recommended that counts of coastal sites be carried out at or near high tide.  For these reasons, dates on mid-month weekends with high tides around midday are usually selected and, given differences in tidal cycle regimes around Ireland, counts for south and west coast sites are scheduled one week later than those of east coast and midland sites.  This enables counting to occur in the hours immediately preceding and following high tides. 

Participants are encouraged to try to co-ordinate counts of adjacent sites (between which movements are likely to occur).  Manpower demands are so high and the widespread nature and scale of sites so great that some sites cannot be counted in every month.  In these circumstances, counters are encouraged to undertake counts in January (coincident with the International Waterbird Census) and in as many months as possible on either side.

For some sites, additional data from other months are occasionally submitted.  Additionally, extra counts within some months are submitted for a site.  In the latter situation, the count that was conducted on or near the pre-determined date is selected as a core count, and all others are hereafter referred to as duplicate counts.  These are included in the central database and contribute significantly towards gathering information on site importance.