Some 2,340ha of lands are now managed for the conservation of breeding waders under a project that has set its sights on expanding to protect more than 12,000ha of bird habitats.

Management measures in place under the project include habitat protection, predator control, water-level management and efforts to reduce disturbance during the critical bird nesting season of March to July.

The Breeding Waders European Innovation Partnership (EIP) began in 2024 with the aim of boosting the populations of ground-nesting bird species that experienced decades of decline.

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These species include the curlew, redshank, golden plover, lapwing and snipe.

Around 170 landowners have already committed to protecting these vulnerable bird species, which project managers have welcomed as an important milestone in nature restoration.

Collaboration

The EIP operates on a collaborative basis, with every measure tailored at individual farm level to ensure actions are backed by farmers before they are put in place.

Its team then provides advice and participation payments to ensure the best chance of results.

“Many species of birds in Ireland are under threat, but our breeding waders in particular have seen massive declines over the last number of years,” Minister of State for nature Christopher O’Sullivan said.

“Through the efforts of the team at the Breeding Waders EIP and the enthusiasm of the landowners who are volunteering to take part in this collaborative project, I am hopeful that we will start to see a reversal of these trends.”

Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon welcomed the strength of the engagement from farmers and other landowners with the EIP.

“A project of this scale and ambition relies heavily on landowner support and collaboration is essential to securing and improving breeding wader populations which is the key objective of this EIP,” the minister said.

Benefits

The EIP’s senior project manager Owen Murphy highlighted that the habitat actions are hoped to provide benefits beyond just increasing the success of breeding wader species.

“I envisage that the project will ultimately see more than 12,000ha of land receiving management actions for waders while also delivering the associated co-benefits in biodiversity, carbon capture and flood mitigation,” Murphy explained.

“Farmers are essential partners in reversing the decline of our ground-nesting birds and their willingness to engage is creating real momentum on the ground.”

Mike Connell from Inchbofin, who joined the project in 2024, stated that the support received from the project team has been instrumental to the roll-out of measures on his lands.

“The team are incredibly supportive in both consultation and action,” Connell said.

“They assisted with scrub clearance from the shore on my land, offering to cover the cost of a contractor or pay me to do it myself, making it a win-win situation.

“This experience has given me a newfound appreciation for birds. Not long ago, I had very little knowledge of birds.

"Since I started with the Breeding Waders EIP, I can now recognise the birds that have returned to my land, including oystercatcher, lapwing, curlew and redshank.”

Landowners not currently involved in the project who believe that they may have lands suitable for wader habitats can reach out to the project team here.