A dataset of the distribution of the breeding birds of Britain & Ireland from 1968 to 1972, generated using a list of the species observed within each 10km square over the survey period.

Geographic Coverage: This datasets contains data only for the island of Ireland, but is part of the larger Britain and Ireland master dataset held by the British Trust for Ornithology at Thetford, U.K. All 10-km squares within the island of Ireland with more than a very small amount of land were visited.

Temporal Coverage: Records for 10-km squares were collated over the breeding seasons of 1968-1972 inclusive.

Species Groups recorded: bird

Dataset Status: The dataset available through Biodiversity Maps is for the island of Ireland but is only a subset of the larger British and Irish dataset held by the British Trust for Ornithology. It was used to produce the first British Trust for Ornithology /Irish Wildbird Conservancy (now BirdWatch Ireland) Breeding Atlas 1968-72 . This was published as Sharrock, J.T.R. (ed.) (1976) The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser, Calton. Records of six species, Red-throated Diver, Black-necked Grebe, Goosander, Montagu's Harrier, Greenshank and Peregrine are withheld from the database as they are considered sensitive species.

Additional Information: Full details of the methods used in the field, how fieldwork was organised and the interpretation of the maps is provided in the published atlas Sharrock, J.T.R. (ed.) (1976) The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser, Calton or from the British Trust for Ornithology website at www.bto.org/birdatlas/previous/old_methods.htm. Specific queries as they relate to the Republic of Ireland should be made to BirdWatch Ireland www.birdwatchireland.ie