Year 10 Visit to Copeland Islands
On 24 June 2010 two groups of 20 year 10 pupils made the boat journey to Old Lighthouse Island, which is part of the Copeland Islands.On the island we were introduced to the scientific work that is being carried out there. We were given demonstrations on how to catch birds using temporary mist nets and permanent traps and how to ring birds. Different sized rings need to be used for different birds. The ring has a number, which is recorded along with the species of bird, age, sex, date, time, wing length and weight. This information is uploaded onto a website, so that if the bird is found another time it is possible to see where it has travelled and its condition. This is an important method used to monitor and track migratory birds. Many different types of bird land on the Copeland islands on the journey to different parts of Ireland, including swallows, black guillemots, terns and Manx shearwaters.The Copeland Islands are an important nesting site for Manx shearwaters, which nest in holes in the ground. In very wet seasons the holes flood and the young are killed, fortunately the nests all had young and we were able to see one close up. After a walk around the island we caught Arctic Tern chicks on the rocky beach. They were well camouflaged and so were very difficult to see. We all got the chance to hold the chicks before they were ringed and released.At the end of the visit a Constable Nick Jenkins, a PSNI officer from Donaghadee talked to us about the problems of wildlife crimes such as egg collecting. Thanks to Shane Wolsey, Kerry Leonard and Neville McKee from natural Copeland for sharing their expertise with us and giving us the opportunity to be involved in learning about the work which is being carried out on the Copeland Islands.