maps of owls sightings around ireland

artieanna

Is there any web site that can give me maps of owls/harriers and other birds, where they are recorded as been seen around ireland. I just want to see if they are around at all in my locality.

Can't find this on birdwatch ireland..is it there???

Pie Man

The only one i know of is the golden eagle trust website, they have all of ireland's bird of prey on there, people send in there sightings.
here's the barn owl one to start you off
http://www.goldeneagle.ie/portal.php?z=237

whyulittle

IrishBirding.com as well.

artieanna

thanks for the links...

It seems to me just by looking at those sightings not very many people record their sightings, probably the same few people in certain areas. Would I be right to say this?

There seem to be huge areas of counties that birds are not being recorded in at all.

LostCovey

artieanna wrote: »

thanks for the links...

It seems to me just by looking at those sightings not very many people record their sightings, probably the same few people in certain areas. Would I be right to say this?

There seem to be huge areas of counties that birds are not being recorded in at all.

That is partly true.

These websites tend to focus on rarities, and certain counties will see more of these than others (e.g. the south coast will get continental rarities that overshoot on migration, the west coast will get American waders that get blown off course by hurricanes, and Antrim will always get more Snow Buntings than Waterford).

What tends to happen is that these counties around the coast are more closely watched because the chances of a rarity are higher, which in turn means more birds are found.

Having said all that, there is no doubt that you will see a bigger variety of birds in Wexford than in Carlow, or in Galway than in Roscommon for the reasons given.

LC

littlebug

I would say that that a lot of people don't record their sightings anywhere. A few years back my husband and I both saw a barn owl in roughly the same location but a few weeks apart.... it didn't even cross our minds to record it anywhere. I know better now