Birds of a feather
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Liam Vines | May 10 2024, 8:08am | I am afraid it is NOT good news Friday. We have lost the three Slieve Bloom Way events off of the calendar. Our friend the Hen Harrier is ant it again Or maybe Covid is to blame they honestly haven’t fully figured it out yet but The Hen Harrier’s reproduction rate has fallen off a cliff in the last few years and this coincides with the massive rise in traffic on the SBW. The numbers were so bad last year that it has made every nest worth its weight in gold this year and unfortunately two birds have set up home right beside the trail. We can run anywhere and at anytime but sometimes we just have to stand back and let nature do its thing. Replacements… Are all subject to the P word… (permits) Irish Ultra Championship race.. Tucker Trail on the 20th July always a great day out in Glendalough.. it’s already on the calendar and is worthy replacement. Half Marathon League race replacement Trooperstown and a loop of Clara Vale. On the date the SBW was to be 8th June. We had to keep this local as in Wicklow as we are up against it time wise to get all the permits and permissions needed. I am going to be putting out a call for volunteers to come forward for this one. A new race new venue lots of race markers and marshals will be needed.. Not a lot of time to get this together so lots of help needed.. Other news this week, we had a trip to the beach on the North Side and also have a trip to the North as we head up to take on Slidve Donard on Saturday. I can feel my legs burning already… Anyone running tomorrow see you up there. Everyone else have a great weekend.. |
| Eoin Hamilton | May 10 2024, 8:35am | This is such a pity. I'm sure, like me, many other runners felt the immediate deflation of not being able to compete in the run they had trained for. But I absolutely love that as a passionate outdoor community, we are respecting nature and ensuring that our delicate ecosystem thrives. If we chose to run over the lives of these birds, eventually there would be no race to run at all. I'll do my best to support the development of a new course. |
| Jason Dowling | May 10 2024, 9:58am | Hi Liam, From reading your mail, it sounds fairly grim for the hen harrier population. I tried search for when the breeding season is, but couldn't find exact dates. However, I did come across a report about the National Hen Harrier Breeding Survey which was published very recently and can be viewed at the link below: https://www.npws.ie/news/results-2022-national-hen-harrier-breeding-survey-now-published a previous report can be found at: http://ihhws.ie/IHHWS_Guide.pdf Some of the key findings of the most recent report were: + the national hen harrier population has declined by one third since 2015, to an estimated maximum of 106 breeding pairs (i.e. 85 confirmed, 21 possible). + Its breeding range has contracted by 27% for the same period. A review of data for those sites covered in each of the past five national surveys (i.e. 1998/00 to 2022) indicates a 59% long-term decline for those sites. + The magnitude of declines observed for the subset of sites surveyed across all five national surveys would likely prompt the Red-listing of hen harrier on the Birds of Conservation Concern of Ireland. If you read the full report at the link above, you'll see that government ministers are involved as per "The conservation of Hen Harrier is considered one of the most urgent bird conservation priorities in Ireland and on January 12th of this year, Minster Noonan launched the Public Consultation on the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan." Given the above information, would it be possible to consider moving the dates for this event to later or possibly earlier in the year for now and future years when it is outside breeding season? Could we liaise with the relevant authorities and ask them what dates would they be comfortable with and see if those dates fit into the IMRA calendar? From reading the report, if we continue to have the race dates as they are currently in future years, it appears highly likely that we are going to run into this problem again and again. |
| Liam Vines | May 10 2024, 10:09am | That’s great info Jason. To be fair to the Slieve Bloom rangers they went through all of them figures with me during the week. I think but don’t quote me that there was only one chick that made it out of the nest and into the air last year. April to August is the broad nesting season. Already in talks with the Rangers about a 2025 September running of the event. |
| Warren Swords | May 10 2024, 10:23am | Fair play Liam. Great to know these types of conversations are going on in the background. Perhaps if race takes place next year, we could highlight the plight of the hen harrier in some way. I was lucky enough to hear a cuckoo at the weekend, hopefully hear a hen harrier in the future. |
