County bird race on this weekend

THE annual Wicklow County Bird Race makes a welcome return this month as teams of three to four people battle it out to record as many species of bird as possible in one day.

There is a charge of €5 per person to cover organisational costs of the event with proceeds going to the BirdWatch Ireland Wicklow Branch.

Things get underway on Saturday, February 16, at 7 a.m. for team registration at the southern end of Bray promenade, beside the amusements. The race starts at 7.15 a.m. and finished at 6.45 p.m. at The Beehive, off the N11 south of Rathnew.

Category A is for experienced teams, while Category B is for beginners and improvers teams. There are prizes to be won for the teams in each category with the highest number of species recorded. Birds can only be recorded within the County Wicklow boundaries and each species spotted scores one point.

A species must also be seen at least three team members for it to count as a point.

A species must be heard by at least three team members to count as half a point.

Feral pigeon and the re-introduced population of Red Kite count but not escapes such as Black Swan or the Bar-headed Goose, or feral or introduced species whose populations are not yet self-sustaining such as the Mandarin Duck. Teams finishing late will be docked points as appropriate!

Generally teams are organised in advance of the race so there is no guarantee that there will be a team with space for others on the day. If people are looking to take part but are currently without a team then they should register their interest on the BirdWatch Ireland 2018 Wicklow Bird Race Facebook event page.