Diverse role to preserve lough´s wetlands and their inhabitants

The Lough Neagh Wetlands are a rich and diverse environment. Biodiversity Officer Seamus Burns tells Jane Bell about the area's connection with the Whooper swan and Iceland

Seamus Burns: 'It's important to have an understanding of the priorities for conservation of biodiversity'

What does your role entail?

Co-ordinating projects that deliver action for biodiversity in the Lough Neagh Wetlands, which includes writing the Lough Neagh Wetlands Local Biodiversity Action Plan.

My responsibilities include developing effective partnerships among a broad range of stakeholders to ensure that action can be taken to halt the loss of species such as Whooper swan, tree sparrow, Irish damselfly, breeding waders (redshank, lapwing and curlew), bats, barn owl and Irish hare from the Lough Neagh Wetlands.

I also co-ordinate action to safeguard habitats such as lowland-raised bogs, wet grasslands, wet woodlands, fens, reedbeds, lowland meadows, hedgerows, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. My position is funded by the Environment and Heritage Service and Lough Neagh Partnership.

It's important to have an understanding of what the priorities are for the conservation of biodiversity in Northern Ireland and then to translate that understanding into action at a local level within the Lough Neagh Wetlands.

What geographical area comes under your remit?

I cover an area defined as the Lough Neagh Wetlands. This takes in parts of the council areas of Magherafelt, Cookstown, Dungannon, Craigavon, Lisburn, Antrim and Ballymena.

What's your training and background?

I trained as an enthusiastic volunteer with the RSPB, Ulster Wildlife Trust, British Trust for Ornithology and other conservation organisations and also studied for a Diploma & BSc Degree with the Open University.

Tell us about the Whooper swan project and filming with Kate Humble in Iceland.

The Irish Whooper Swan Study Group (IWSSG) and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) are delivering the Lough Neagh Wetlands Whooper Swan Project, which aims to find out more about the birds migration and the importance of the Lough Neagh Wetlands to the species. In August the IWSSG and WWT went to Iceland to fit satellite transmitters to seven birds to track their migration back to Ireland and Britain.

You can watch the progress of these birds at www.wwt.org.uk/ superwhooper/573/ super_whooper.html

Kate Humble from the BBC Autumnwatch programme came along and filmed the work taking place for broadcast.

We are hoping that some of the birds will come back to the Lough Neagh wetlands area and we are thankful to Lough Neagh Partnership, Environment Heritage Service and the seven councils which border Lough Neagh for funding this project.

You are also working on other species projects. What's involved?

I am co-ordinating several species projects that deal with the restoration of habitats for tree sparrows, white-clawed crayfish, common tern, Irish damselfly, redshank and lapwing, to name but a few. The Lough Neagh Wetlands tree sparrow project is another example of an effective partnership delivering for biodiversity.

This project is led by the RSPB and the Lough Neagh Advisory Committee.

Many such projects depend on volunteers. How can people get involved?

The Whooper swan project requires volunteers with telescopes that can go out and about the Lough Neagh Wetlands in winter and count flocks of birds using fields and lakeshore.

An important part of this work would be to look for birds wearing yellow leg rings, so that the large black letters/numbers on these rings can be read and the information sent back to us to help us track the movements of these birds. Whooper swan reports (including ring numbers) can be sent to me at seamus@lnlb.org and I'll pass these to the Irish Whooper Swan Study Group.

The tree sparrow project also requires volunteers to help put out food at our feeding stations, count birds at the feeding stations, survey our nest boxes and help carry out a survey in early 2008 and to help us find out how many tree sparrows currently live in the Lough Neagh Wetlands. To become a volunteer on the Tree sparrow project, contact the RSPB at Treesparrow.NorthernIreland (no space)@rspb.org.uk mailto: Treesparrow. (no space) NorthernIreland@rspb.org.uk

What's the Wetlands project you have under way with the Sperrin Integrated College in Magherafelt?

At Sperrin Integrated College in Magherafelt, the Coppies River runs through the school grounds, providing an opportunity to develop wetland habitats where these can be turned into an educational resource. The project will highlight how these habitats are affected by pollution and what can be done to enhance them for biodiversity.

Describe a typical working week.

A typical day's work includes developing and implementing projects to help conserve local biodiversity in the Lough Neagh Wetlands.

At this time of the year, for example, I will be undertaking and co-ordinating the monitoring of Whooper swans arriving back to Lough Beg and Lough Neagh from their breeding grounds in Iceland. By monitoring birds back here, we can feed our information back to the Icelandic ornithologists via the Irish Whooper Swan Study Group and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, to help them understand where their birds go when they leave Iceland in winter.