Whelan, John

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Whelan, John
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Whelan, John

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  • Publication
    Breeding bird populations of Irish peatlands : capsule peatlands are very important habitats for birds despite low species diversity
    (British Trust for Ornithology / Taylor & Francis, 2008)
    Bracken, Fintan 
    ;
    McMahon, Barry J. 
    ;
    Whelan, John 
    Aims to describe the variation in breeding bird populations that occur on different types of Irish peatlands and their associated habitat characteristics. Methods: Bird abundance and diversity were compared between four peatland habitat types: fens; raised bogs; Atlantic blanket bogs; and montane blanket bogs at twelve study sites using transects. Various measures of habitat quality were also taken at each location. Results: Only 21 species were recorded during the study with Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis and Sky Lark Alauda arvensis accounting for over 80% of all birds recorded. Fens had greater bird species diversity and densities than the other three peatland types. Raised bogs, Atlantic blanket bogs and montane blanket bogs were very similar in terms of their avian diversity. Each of the recorded bird species were associated with different aspects of the peatland habitat. Conclusion: This study shows that despite the relatively low avian species diversity of Irish peatlands, they are of enormous conservation value due to the presence of species of high conservation concern such as Red Grouse (Willow Ptarmigan) Lagopus lagopus and Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata.
      831Scopus© Citations 5
  • Publication
    The impact of farming on over-wintering bird populations
    (Faculty of Agriculture, UCD in association with Teagasc, 2003)
    McMahon, Barry J. 
    ;
    Whelan, John 
    ;
    Bracken, Fintan 
    ;
    Kavanagh, Brendan 
    Field boundaries and fields in stubble, set-aside, winter wheat and improved grassland in County Kildare were surveyed for birds on 15 occasions between October 2001 and February 2002. A total of 40 species was recorded on all sites during the period of the study. Arable farming that retains stubble throughout the winter supports the greatest species richness and diversity with the lowest being recorded on improved grassland. Individual species showed preference for certain sites. Seed-feeding species, yellowhammer and skylark, preferred stubble while invertebrate-feeding species, fieldfare and meadow pipit preferred grassland. The analysis demonstrated that certain components of habitat were responsible for differences in species present and density.
      398