Manx BirdLife is running its second annual Christmas Bird Race this December.
The Laxey-based charity is asking Manx birdwatchers to look out for birds in and around the island from Christmas Day until New Year’s Eve.
Mark Fitzpatrick is organising the Bird Race for Manx BirdLife and says “Last year 103 species were reported on the Isle of Man during the Bird Race. It will be interesting to see if this figure can be beaten this year. We had great support for the event last year. I hope we do even better in 2012”.
One of the birds that I hope will be seen is the Waxwing – a winter visitor from northern Scandinavia and Russia. None were seen last year, but there are quite a few on the Island this year. The above photo is taken by a young Manx bird watcher and photographer, Adam Peet. The photo was taken in Port Erin on 25th November 2012.
The rules for the Bird Race are simple:
• You can spend as little or as much time as you wish looking for birds.
• Sightings must be on or above the Isle of Man, or on Manx territorial waters.
• Observations must be made within the 7 day period from Christmas Day to the end of the year (between 00.00 on 25/12/2012 and 24:00 on 31/12/2012).
• It isn’t a competition between individual birdwatchers, the aim is for Manx birdwatchers to work together to see the maximum number of species possible.
• You can submit sightings either by email to christmasbirds@manxbirdlife.im, by using the reporting form, by Twitter (to ‘@ManxBirdLife’, hashtag #ManxBirdRace), Facebook or by text message to 07976 421992.
• For all observations, send your name, the date and place of the observation, what you saw (Name of species, how many) and any interesting aspects of what you saw.
• This race is just for fun – no prizes.
Progress will be reported on the Manx BirdLife website, http://manxbirdlife.im, on Twitter and on Facebook.
