ACCORDING to Waterbirds in the UK 2012/13, a report just published by the British Trust for Ornithology, the populations of some duck and wader species are declining. Birds don’t recognise political boundaries and wetland ones are great travellers.

There are plans to make final diving preparations today to raise the anchors of the Aud, the arms ship scuttled in Cork Harbour on Easter Saturday 1916.

I WAS impressed with The Shorebirds of Ireland, recently published by The Collins Press, a beautifully-produced treasury of well-written, informative text by Jim Wilson, with a gallery of wonderful bird photographs by Mark Carmody.

American author Valerie Martin beat favourites Donna Tartt and Zadie Smith to win the Orange Prize for Fiction tonight.