As part of the project the pupils have been feeding birds, making bird cakes, building bird boxes, writing individual assignments and generally becoming aware of the problems that birds face.

Both the teachers and the children were very enthusiastic and showed a keen interest in all aspects of birds. In the final part of the course the children will be shown how to identify local birds by their song, calls and appearance.

Children at the local Naiscoil Charn Tóchair and Naiscoil Mhachaire Ratha have also been finding out about birds through small sketches that not only look at aspects of birdlife but also relate to their own lives. An example of this is the pied wagtail sketch that looks at different aspects of road safety. The children will finish the series of activities by performing their own sketch in the New Year.

The project also provides an opportunity for adults to learn more about the birds around them. On Wednesday 7th December local environmentalist Seamus Burns will be at An Carn Resource Centre, Tirkane, Maghera to share his knowledge of wintering birds on Lough Neagh and Lough Beg. The talk will be followed up by a guided visit to Portmore Lough on Saturday 10th December.

Both these events will be followed up in the spring with a short course on bird watching as part of a larger course on mammal and butterfly identification.

For information on any of these events please contact David/Claire on 028 7954 9978

Finally, we would like to thank the RSPB for their advice and for using some of their classroom activities, the teachers and staff from all the schools and also Kieran Flanagan of K&P Staircases for helping with the construction of the bird boxes