The Fourth Non-Estuarine Waterbird Survey is Back This Winter

The fourth Non-Estuarine Waterbird Survey (NEWS IV) will be taking place this December and January. NEWS is an essential monitoring tool for assessing waterbirds on rocky, sandy and shingle shores, which, when combined with core I-WeBS data, helps us calculate more accurate waterbird population estimates.

NEWS is open to everyone to get involved. All you need to do is walk along your assigned stretch of non-estuarine coast just once in either December or January and record the birds you see. Maybe you have a family member, friend, neighbour or colleague who has always been interested in volunteering but couldn’t commit to an I-WeBS count every month – NEWS is the perfect way for them to get involved. We aim to survey 50% of the coastline of every coastal county in Ireland!

How Can I Sign Up?

The entire coastline has been divided into hundreds of short, manageable sectors ranging in length from <1km to 10km (only a few are as long as 10km!). Fifty percent of these sectors have been labelled “Priority”, and we are asking people to request these first, over non-priority sectors.

We are excited to be teaming up with the BTO who are hosting the online map for counters to see and request sectors, and for data submission. The I-WeBS Office can see all requests for Irish sectors on the system and we will be managing the allocation of them.

If you don’t already have an account with the BTO from your use of another BTO survey e.g. BirdTrack, you will firstly need to register and sign up.  You can do this easily by clicking on ‘My BTO’ on the top left of the BTO main page to set up a username and password, and then select ‘Sign Up For Projects’ and select ‘WeBS’.”

In the WeBS Data Home, you will find the ‘NEWS Options’ on the right-hand side. Please navigate to this, select “Request a NEWS Sector” and use the map to select a sector(s). Priority sectors are shown in red. Once I have accepted your request, you will be able to see all sectors allocated to you by navigating to “News Options” à  “Count Entry” and using the dropdown box labelled “Site.”

Please see guidance document below “NEWS IV WeBS Online Instructions 2026” prepared by the BTO to help you. This has step-by-step instructions – from creating your BTO Account to submitting your data at the end of the survey.

Counting Your Sector

The fieldwork will be confined to the period 1^st December 2026 to 31^st January 2027 and observers who choose to take part will be asked to survey their chosen sector(s) of coast on one occasion within this timeframe. The NEWS fieldwork is to be carried out during the 6-hour low-tide period (3 hours either side of the low-tide time). Please count all birds both on land and offshore.  Details on precisely when, where and what to record are provided in the guidance document below “NEWS IV Counting Instructions 2026.”

Feel free to save the attached “Quick Start Guide” on your phone to easily refer to while conducting your fieldwork.

Count forms to download and print, that you can fill out in the field, will be made available ahead of the survey period. Please note that these are currently being updated and the ones available online at the time of this email are out of date. Once the correct forms are available, you will be alerted.

Data Entry

We are encouraging everyone to submit their count data online via your BTO Account. Step-by-step details can be found in the attached guidance documents.

For anyone with limited access or use of the internet, please post your completed count forms to:

I-WeBS Office, BirdWatch Ireland, Unit 20, Block D, Bullford Business Campus, Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, A63 RW83

OR

Email a clear photo of your count form to iwebs@birdwatchireland.ie. Please ensure all information, including counter details, is clearly visible and easily read.

Please aim to submit your data as soon as you have completed your count – but no later than March 1^st.

We are here to answer any questions that you may have, but please ensure that you have read all the guidance documents found below.