Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 October 2024
116. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide details of the results of recent scientific surveys of teal numbers and trends in Ireland; and if there is currently a species action plan in place for teal. [43378/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is a large population of Teal (Anas crecca) that migrate to Ireland to ‘over-winter’ for the non-breeding period, and a relatively small population that breeds in Ireland and is considered resident.
The Irish Wetland Bird Survey (I-WeBS) is the national programme for monitoring population trends of wintering waterbirds and the habitats they use. The I-WeBS is delivered under contract by BirdWatch Ireland to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department and is the primary tool to survey and monitoring non-breeding Teal in Ireland. In a 2018 publication, the national population of Teal over-wintering in Ireland during the non-breeding period was estimated to be 27,644 individuals, based on data gathered during the period 2011-2016. A more recent analysis estimated that the over-wintering population of Teal increased by 19.4% from winter 1995/96 to winter 2018/19.
The most recent estimate of the size and trends of the breeding population of Teal in Ireland is from the period 2008-2011, at which point the population was estimated to be between 531 and 885 breeding pairs. At that point, the population was considered stable during the short term (1991-2011) but having declined in the long term (1972-2011). Teal breeding distribution is primarily monitoring through the breeding bird atlas projects, and the breeding distribution was estimated to have increased by 24% between 1991 and 2011, but to have declined by 43% between 1972 and 2011.
There is currently no species action plan in place for Teal in terms of their non-breeding or breeding populations.
For more information, see:
Ireland’s 2019 report under Article 12 of the Birds Directive: cdr.eionet.europa.eu/Converters/run_conversion?file=ie/eu/art12/envxztxxq/IE_birds_reports_20191031-130157.xml&conv=612&source=remote
National population trend analysis from I-WeBS data: birdwatchireland.ie/app/uploads/2022/04/iwebs_trends_00000_National.html#Teal
Burke, B., Lewis, L. J., Fitzgerald, N., Frost, T., Austin, G. & Tierney, T. D. (2018) Estimates of waterbird numbers wintering in Ireland, 2011/12 – 2015/16. Irish Birds 11, 1-12.
