40% drop in number of waterbirds spending winter in Ireland

Ireland is an important wintering area for these birds which breed at Arctic latitudes and migrate southwards to spend the winter on estuaries, coastal bays, rivers and lakes.

The number of waterbirds spending the winter in Ireland has collapsed by 40% in just 20 years.

That's according to a new study by BirdWatch Ireland which found that over the past five years, the number of wintering waterbirds like ducks, geese, swans and wading birds had fallen by 15%.