A study on Cruagh Island’s Manx Shearwater population (1202_CIMS23)

Tender description

Ireland is obliged to classify the most suitable territories in number and size as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for the conservation of regularly occurring migratory birds and those listed on Annex I to Directive 2009/147/EC. Effective conservation management of such areas requires a sufficient level of contemporary data on the focal bird populations as well as understanding the pressures and threats likely to be of most relevant to such populations. The islands and marine waters of Cruagh Island SPA as well as other areas within the wider region hold important habitats for Manx Shearwater. The last comprehensive breeding survey of this population was in 2001. Manx Shearwater breeding populations are considered to be particularly susceptible to invasive predatory mammals such as American Mink and Brown Rat. There have been reports of the former occurring on Cruagh Island in recent years. Telemetry studies are an increasingly important tool for the understanding of marine bird ecology and can be of significant importance in the identification of important foraging areas and other areas relevant to the conservation management of such species. NPWS are seeking a suitably qualified and experienced team of at least two persons to undertake: a survey of the breeding population of Manx Shearwater of Cruagh Island SPA; characterize the nature and extent of the island’s invasive predatory mammals; and to collect telemetry data from a representative sample of adult birds during the chick rearing period.