Guest blogs by Amy Burns (Fermanagh warden) and Sarah McCaffrey (Upper Lough Erne Conservation Advisor)
Amy Burns:
People ask me how on earth I can get out of bed at 5am to go and look at birds. Well, firstly I tell them by 5am bed is already a distant memory!
In the summer I start surveying at dawn and that means (literally) falling out of bed at 3.45am, jumping in the car, collecting the boat, launching it and navigating to the island to begin surveying at day break.
“Why so early?” is the next question and that’s an easy one to answer. The birds make the most of the day - as soon as dawn breaks they are singing to defend their territory from their neighbours, romancing, searching for food, laying and incubating eggs and trying to avoid being eaten by a hungry predator.
It’s all happening in the bird world at this time of day (and the sunrises are amazing!)
The main reason I survey the islands in Lower Lough Erne is to gather information on breeding wader species like curlews, lapwings, redshanks and snipe. All these species are declining in the wider countryside and curlew is under particular threat of disappearing. The information gathered is then used to monitor populations of species across the UK and Ireland and help us decide how best to manage the habitat on the reserve, so nature can make its home here.
It’s an early start to the day but would I trade it for an extra few hours in bed? Only when it’s raining!
Sarah McCaffrey:
Each year I carry out breeding wader surveys around Upper Lough Erne from mid-April until mid-July. Surveys begin one hour after sunrise when breeding waders are most active, meaning at the beginning of the season they start around 7am. But as the year progresses and the sun rises earlier, I have to be raring to go by 5am!
I survey around a dozen sites, recording the locations and behaviours of the birds I see. Some sites take over four hours to survey. Luckily, surveys are avoided during excessively wet or windy weather to prevent chilling of nest clutches and to make it easier to spot the birds.
On fair weather days I am often greeted by cold, frosty mornings with lingering fog which disperses as the sun emerges. The sunrises are absolutely incredible with an array of orange, red, blue and purple cascading across the horizon.
The early mornings are well worth it when you hear the call of the curlew and spot displaying lapwing overhead – there’s nothing quite like it. Managing the land for breeding waders also benefits other species like Irish Hare, which I’ve been lucky enough to spot during my surveys too. We live in such a beautiful and important place, a home for us and our iconic native species. I’m proud to be playing my part in protecting it for future generations.