Press Release

Winter Waders Wildlife Event at Bay Road Park

5th February 2010

Derry City Council is inviting members of the public to come along to Bay Road Park Nature Reserve on Saturday 13th February for two exciting events that will give people the chance to get involved in local wildlife.

From 11.00am until 1.30pm, members of the public are asked to join volunteers who are working to clean up the area and manage the willow woodland. People are invited to come along to help with coppicing and clearing litter from the shoreline. Lunch will be provided and visitors can then stay on to take part in an innovative Winter Waders event at 2.00, to find out more about the range of wading birds that come to the River Foyle each year.

The shore line at Bay Road Park will offer visitors an excellent vantage point to view a host of wading birds that travel from the Artic regions each year to take advantage of River Foyle habitats. The afternoon will allow people to see these wading birds as they feed on the mudflats.

The event will provide the opportunity for people of all ages to learn how to spot the different birds, find out about their lives and about the wildlife habitats of the river. Craft activities and information stalls will be available and visitors can get up close and personal with birds of prey that sometimes feed on the far travelled waders!

Maria McGilloway from Bay Road Park Steering Group is urging people to visit, commenting, “Bay Road Park is a great place to get in touch with nature, but visitors may not have noticed the diversity of the waders on the mudflats before. This is a great chance to see and learn about these and the Local Nature Reserve in general”.

A number of other events will also take place in and around the Bay Road Park Nature Reserve in the coming weeks, including Wetland Birds Tour, Mammal Tracking event, Woodland Bird Identification, Meadows and Minibeasts and Batty about Bats event. The series coincides with the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity, which will see people from around the world celebrate the biodiversity of their areas and develop the value placed on this.

Bay Road Park is Derry City Council’s first Local Nature Reserve launched in June 2009. Recent surveys have identified that 26 species of bird breed on the site, with a further 9 species breeding close by. The woodland and open grassland is attractive as a home to song thrush, reed buntings and linnets, which are all priority species for conservation action in the United Kingdom.

Everyone is welcome and visitors are asked to meet at the marquee near the shoreline in Bay Road Park. A limited number of binoculars and spotting scopes will be available but people are encouraged to bring their own if possible to avoid disappointment. Visitors are advised to wear suitable warm clothing and footwear.

Sustainable transport options:

Bay Road Park is part of the National Cycle Network on the Inis Eoghain Cycleway. Take bus route 13 to Culmore Road. Entrance is located behind Da Vinci’s Hotel.

For further information on the event please contact Annie Mullan, Wildlife Education Officer with Derry City Council on 028 71365151. For information on the range of biodiversity services on offer, please go to www.derrycity.gov.uk/biodiversity .

Ends

Press Office

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