Winter school set for bird-ringing expedition

The ESB Lough Ree Environmental Winter School, from December 8th to 10th, is breaking new ground again this year.

The ESB Lough Ree Environmental Winter School, from December 8th to 10th, is breaking new ground again this year.

When the event was established in 1998 the school made news when it became one of the first in Ireland to go outdoors, with many of its activities held on and around the shores of the Lake of Kings.

That tradition is to continue with the Winter School, where Dr Richard Collins, well known for his contributions to the Mooney Goes Wild team on RTE, will lead bird-ringing expeditions. Richard, a licensed ringer who has carried out extensive work on the mute swans of Ireland, will lead a birdringing expedition as part of the school activities on Saturday, December 9th.

The rings, which carry the message "Inform British Museum London" and are usually found on dead birds, give information on the movements of migratory birds, their life expectancy and breeding successes.

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This year nearly one million birds will be ringed in Ireland and Britain, including the Winter School ones, and their details will be placed on Duchas and the British Trust for Ornithology computers.

This is just one of the many events around the lake on that weekend, according to Jacqueline Skelly, of the Winter School Committee.

No doubt those attending the school will also have been interested in a report in the Longford Leader, which last week reported a huge drop in pike stocks in the area.

Locals are worried that visitors are overfishing the pike stocks and ignoring the rule that only one fish may be killed daily.

Information on the Winter School may be obtained by calling (043) 27070, or on the school's website, www.lough-ree.com